Selling a used car in Ireland guide

L-M

A Guide to Selling a car in Ireland.
I suppose for every person that buys a car, there’s someone on the other side selling one. Hopefully this will take the woes out of selling a car privately for the first time.

Where to start?

Well firstly you are going to have to choose where you want to sell your car. There are loads of options for you to take on board, the likes of adverts.ie, gumtree.ie, donedeal.ie and carzone.ie and some of the ways in which you can sell your car online. After that there are the more simple options of sticking a sign on the window of your car, posting a bulletin in a local supermarket and of course word of mouth (Make sure to tell everyone and anyone you meet that you’re selling your car. May sound funny, but it’s a great way to sell a car)

Making the ad

So, every ad needs pictures. If you do not have pictures in your ad, very few people will ring. The joys of the internet allow us to view a car before we go to see it, albeit not in great detail but it’s a start. “First impressions are everythingâ€. So, taking that on board, there’s no reason why your car should be dirty in the pictures, inside or out. Take half an hour to give the car a wash and a hoover inside. (If you’re lazy bring it to a Valeting company who can do a mini valet from €25-€35. But just remember these are all costs). So once your car is cleaned, park it next to a fence or a wall (not on top of a mountain with 100 miles of scenery to be seen, remember, it’s the car you are selling), and take pictures from every angle. Most websites allow you 9 pictures there abouts, so allocate three of these to the interior, (front seats across, back seats across and boot) and the rest at various angles around the car. Don’t get artsy, it’s distracting. Get good clear shots of the car.

So, once you have your websites picked, the car is cleaned and pictures are taken it’s now time to work on your “descriptionâ€.

This is relatively easy, I find a very good way to do this is to get a pen and paper and walk out to the car. Start from the outside and write down everything you see that you think will add value to the sale. Examples would be fog lights, alloys, parking sensors etc. Etc. Take note of the tyres, if they’re new, make sure to mention that, if they’re borderline illegal, it may be time to head to a tyre outlet and ask for some part worn tyres. Leaving a bald tyre on the car only gives more reason for the buyer to bargain. Once you have your list for the outside sit into the car and write down all the extras, ie. Cd player, cruise etc. Make sure to stick to extras.

After that make sure to include any relevant service history, recent work like timing belt and servicing.

Pricing

You probably have an idea in your head already of what price you want, but to save you wasting time, make sure your car is priced competitively. Having your car priced too high means it won’t sell and you’ll be getting your hopes up. So go onto the likes of donedeal, gumtree etc. And price your car likewise. (Dealers generally ask more, because they provide a warranty etc. So price yours a bit under these). Once you have your price, it’s time to put your car online.

Going Live

Once your ad has go live, all you have to do it sit back and wait for the phone to ring.

Timewasters vs. Genuine buyers

How does one differentiate? Simple.

An example of a text from a time waster will be “Hi, what’s the best price on the car?â€
There is one simple reply to this, “Come and view it and we can talk on the price thenâ€.
99% of the time you will never hear any more from this person.
If someone rings you about the car make sure that you have all your information for them, so they can ask any question and you will know the answer. If it’s something too technical or something you don’t know the answer to, don’t lie, just say you honestly do not know.

DO NOT under any circumstance budge on price on the phone, if someone is serious and plans to give you something near enough the asking price they will gladly come to see the car first. It’s then you can talk price.

Organizing a viewing

This involves common sense, don’t meet someone down a dark alley at half ten at night. If you have to meet someone at night, meet them in a petrol station that is well covered by cameras. Always have someone else there when you are meeting someone, don’t ever go alone.

Some buyers will ask you to meet half way, to me it’s not worth it, if they want your car they will come to you. Besides, meeting them halfway is completely out of your comfort zone, especially when it’s a car you’re selling, and money that you’ll be taking.

Most buyers will want to come to your house, to prove you are the owner and that it isn’t a scam. This is fine, but don’t let the buyer in around your house. Limit it to one room of the house. There’s no reason why they should be wondering through your house, after all it’s the car they are buying.

Meeting someone

Before meeting someone at an agreed time make sure to have the car cleaned and have all the relevant documentation at the ready. Once they have arrived give them time to look around the car and ask the questions they want to ask.

Test drive

Most buyers will want to test drive the car before they buy it, always go with them or send someone with them, never trust someone irrelevant to what they tell you, this is your car and you do not know these people. Also ask for proof of insurance, it sounds simple at a 5 minute test drive, but if something was to happen, make sure you’re covered.

Price

Once they have looked at the car and are happy with it, it’s time to discuss price. You shouldn’t of already told them your bottom price, and don’t do it either, make them make you an offer. A simple line is “The car is advertised for x amount, what do you think it’s worth?â€

After that, every situation depends. It’s now up to you to decide what you are willing to accept for the car, but remember to fight hard.

For example, you’re selling the car for €5,000 euro, and you are offered €4,500. Now, if €500 less is completely out of the way, just laugh off the offer. It’s now time for you to stand your ground firm about €100 above what you were willing to accept for the car. So lets say you were willing to accept €4750, tell the buyer you were hoping to get €4850 and leave room to bargain that extra 100 euro. That way you get what you want and the buyer feels he is after getting a good deal.

Completing the deal

Once you both have agreed on price, it’s time to complete the deal. The buyer now pays you, and you in return let them fill out the logbook with their name and address.
These are a few DON’Ts when completing the deal. You have been warned.

Don’t let them take the logbook (registration cert) with them, post it yourself. Do not listen or believe any excuse they may have. I cannot stress this enough.

Don’t take a cheque!!! For obvious reasons.

Don't accept part payment, it's all or nothing.

To me the only way to deal is cash, and at that make sure the cash is real. That or completely the deal outside your bank where you can lodge a bank draft straight away.
Once the cash has been handed over and the logbook has been signed, bring it to the post office and send it.

The deal is now complete and it’s time for you to buy your next car Best of luck

-Chris-

Fair play LM, these are great resources for people. Thanks for taking the time to put them together!

msg11

Another thing also, if you are going to view a car. Bring a person with you too talk to them about options on the deal. Bounce it off the other person.

In my experience of selling cars, there's no need to have a group of people come with you to view a car and the same can be said for the seller, no need for a group of people around your car. It's quite intimidating and would make a buyer think something fishy is going on. Which could cost you the sale.

Also on test drives, make sure people are insured to drive your car cause if something was to happen, it could get very messy.

L-M

msg11 wrote: »

Another thing also, if you are going to view a car. Bring a person with you too talk to them about options on the deal. Bounce it off the other person.

In my experience of selling cars, there's no need to have a group of people come with you to view a car and the same can be said for the seller, no need for a group of people around your car. It's quite intimidating and would make a buyer think something fishy is going on. Which could cost you the sale.

Also on test drives, make sure people are insured to drive your car cause if something was to happen, it could get very messy.

I think I covered both those options in the post

Deiseboy01

Fair play Lm, great post again.

Bearcat

Ok, you strike a deal.......how does it work re bank draughts ? How do you confirm it is the real mc coy as against a fake draught? Is it best to advise buyer that until the money is confirmed in situ in your bank account only then will you release the car ? Yes cash is king but when your dealing with say a 20k plus car noones going to arrive with that type of loot in their pockets unless they are upto nefarious activities.

Thanks

L-M

Bearcat wrote: »

Ok, you strike a deal.......how does it work re bank draughts ? How to you confirm it is the real mc coy as against a fake draught? Is it best to advise buyer that until the money is confirmed in situ in your bank account only then will you release the car ? Yes cash is king but when your dealing with say a 20k plus car noones going to arrive with that type of loot in their pockets unless they are upto nefarious activities.

Thanks

I've never sold a car to that value, but I would only meet them outside my bank and lodge the money into my bank account. It's very easy fake a bank draft.

voxpop

With a bank draft you can get the issuing bank and the draft number and you can ring the issuing bank and check they issued it.

I would class a bank draft about as good as cash - both can be forged but its very unlikely. Best option to be fully safe is to do a bank transfer or go into a bank branch - not always possible esp if selling at the weekend.

L-M

voxpop wrote: »

With a bank draft you can get the issuing bank and the draft number and you can ring the issuing bank and check they issued it.

I would class a bank draft about as good as cash - both can be forged but its very unlikely. Best option to be fully safe is to do a bank transfer or go into a bank branch - not always possible esp if selling at the weekend.

For the sake of 20 grand, and if they buyer is serious, I'd wait until the Monday. Also, they wouldn't be able to get out 20grand cash on a Saturday :L

voxpop

Limerick man wrote: »

For the sake of 20 grand, and if they buyer is serious, I'd wait until the Monday. Also, they wouldn't be able to get out 20grand cash on a Saturday :L

Ah yeah - if we are talking 20 grand - the bank is the only way to do it. Wouldnt want that kind of cash sitting around all weekend either. Most ppl (in my experience) take the cash out on the friday and turn up on Sat to haggle.

helimachoptor

Have sold a good few cars over the last few years but after getting plagued by spammers on done deal, i used alternative methods. Now the OH got me to use it so I put the add up last night and have had about 10 missed calls from 085 numbers, one of them asking me for "luck" money, at this stage i'd prefer to scrap the car!

delta36

Thanks for the guide Limerick Man, very useful!

Just one or two questions, as I recently came into ownership of a car that I need to sell (as a 21 year old male on a provo, I don't even want to know how much the insurance for a 1.5L will cost).

I have absolutely no idea about selling a car, but is it correct to say a bank draft is the best form of payment to accept? (A bank draft essentially being a pre-paid cheque?) And with regards to insurance, how do you know if they are covered? And while this may not be on topic specifically, if the car itself currently does not have insurance, can someone else still drive it, provided their insurance covers them to drive any car?

Any help on this would be appreciated!

mathepac

Here's a few tips I cooked up about 3 years ago for another site - http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=120880

HTH

Seweryn

Very handy guide, grand job .

However, I can't agree with this:

Limerick man wrote: »

Don’t let them take the logbook (registration cert) with them, post it yourself. Do not listen or believe any excuse they may have. I cannot stress this enough.

You have to hand the Vehicle Registration Document to the Buyer, if he / she lives outside of Ireland.

whomitconcerns

Seweryn wrote: »

Very handy guide, grand job .

However, I can't agree with this:



You have to hand the Vehicle Registration Document to the Buyer, if he / she lives outside of Ireland.

and what if they drive off from your place with it and break lots of traffic laws get caught on camera and then leave and dont send off teh paperwork..your liable as the car is registered to you..dont know if thats worth the hassle...

Seweryn

whomitconcerns wrote: »

and what if they drive off from your place with it and break lots of traffic laws get caught on camera and then leave and dont send off teh paperwork...

Send off what paperwork? They will not be sending any paperwork. They need the document for 2 reasons:

1. To drive back to their country (in case they are stopped by Police in any country).
2. To register the car in their own country.

To answer the question - prepare a written sale agreement contract with full details of the buyer with date and time of the transaction in case they break the law, speed limits, etc. on the way home.

whomitconcerns wrote: »

...dont know if thats worth the hassle...

You can always keep the car. Or sell it to a local person, if you have a problem with that. But that is the law and this aspect should be discussed here also. IMO.

mathepac

Seweryn wrote: »

Send off what paperwork? They will not be sending any paperwork. ...

AFAIK there is nothing in the law that says the documents cannot be signed, sent to Shannon where the car registers to the buyer at their Irish address and they sail off into the sunset a few days later once the fresh paperwork is delivered.

L-M

Seweryn wrote: »

Very handy guide, grand job .

However, I can't agree with this:



You have to hand the Vehicle Registration Document to the Buyer, if he / she lives outside of Ireland.

That's a very rare situation here, very very few cars would be exported.

i didn't want to confuse people in the case of something that will more than likely never happen!

Seweryn

mathepac wrote: »

AFAIK there is nothing in the law that says the documents cannot be signed, sent to Shannon where the car registers to the buyer at their Irish address and they sail off into the sunset a few days later once the fresh paperwork is delivered.

What Irish address? The buyer has no Irish address. The buyer came to Ireland to purchase a car and is leaving straight after he paid for it. He is not going to wait "a few days" for the fresh paperwork to come. And he has no address here in this country.
That is an example where you have to hand over the registration document to the buyer.

Seweryn

Limerick man wrote: »

That's a very rare situation here, very very few cars would be exported.

Yeah, true, but you would be surprised sometimes...

Limerick man wrote: »

i didn't want to confuse people in the case of something that will more than likely never happen!

Sure... It happened to me and I am sure it happens to other sellers, so we better bring this up and discuss .

ShadowHearth

Right. In Lithuania you need to go to special car registration office with a car and take it off books and then put it back on the books for new owner. It's a long process and can be pain in a gap.
There is another way how you can change ownership if you can't get to that office. Both seller and buyer goes to notary office. They fill in document that person X is giving all the rights to the person Y. So person Y can change ownership with that document and he does not need anything from seller anymore. This way buyer won't worry about the tickets and seller can change ownership when he has a chance.
I am prety sure that you can do that in Ireland too. All they need is log book, but of you go to notary office and have that document, then you are safe amd can prove that car is not yours anymore.

mathepac

Seweryn wrote: »

What Irish address? The buyer has no Irish address. The buyer came to Ireland to purchase a car and is leaving straight after he paid for it. He is not going to wait "a few days" (or more :rolleyes:) for the fresh paperwork to come. And he has no address here in this country...

Jeeze, sorry for causing you to develop rolly eyes syndrome, but as Limerick man says, he wanted to keep it simple. I did as well by acknowledging at the start that the guide was unlikely to meet all needs, IIRC.

Oh, and I know of a good optician if the rolly eyes don't clear up over the weekend. Have a good one.

mgbgt1978

There was a fairly big discussion here a few months ago which involved an Irish guy (or gal) selling a mid 90's Celica.
Anyway they had a few enquiries from Poland, where apparently this particular model is very popular and quite expensive locally.
It worked out much cheaper for the buyer to travel over, drive the car back, pay any local taxes, and convert the car to LHD.
Although it is not common it does happen that a buyer from outside Ireland may be interested in a car for sale here.
Personally I would photocopy the VLC and get the buyer to fill that in, as well as the original. I would also get them (and myself) to complete a receipt with all the car's details on it....they may possibly need this back home to prove that they actually bought the car.
Also a photocopy of the buyer's licence and/or passport (if they have nothing to hide they won't object) to confirm their ID is advisable.
THEN they can take the logbook with the car.

P.S. This advice only applies where a buyer actually turns up.....it is not intended for the e-mail scammers who contact you and offer to buy your car by sending a Draft which includes an extra amount for shipping.

Seweryn

mathepac wrote: »

Jeeze, sorry for causing you to develop rolly eyes syndrome

No problem, that syndrome has a very short lifespan and was only caused by your comment about posting the VR Document to Shannon, which made no sense in the discussed case .

mathepac wrote: »

as Limerick man says, he wanted to keep it simple. I did as well by acknowledging at the start that the guide was unlikely to meet all needs, IIRC.

Sure, but what is wrong with bringing up a less likely to happen situation? It is like talking about an unlikely to happen fraud when selling a car to a stranger. Yeah, we deal with honest people in vast majority of cases, but every so often, something unusual happens.

mathepac wrote: »

Oh, and I know of a good optician if the rolly eyes don't clear up over the weekend. Have a good one.

No need for this, cleared out itself... By all means, my eyesight is not at its best anymore, especially in the dark, so your advise may be worth taking .

Anyway, have a good one!

xserty

Limerick man wrote: »

Most buyers will want to come to your house, to prove you are the owner and that it isn’t a scam. This is fine, but don’t let the buyer in around your house. Limit it to one room of the house. There’s no reason why they should be wondering through your house, after all it’s the car they are buying.

Great post, but I have to disagree with you on the point above and give my 2 cents to fellow sellers.
I had my old Micra stolen that way. So my advice is to never, ever give your address (home or workplace)! Always meet in a public place where there are plenty of cameras (as you also mentioned).
Regards,
Xserty

L-M

xserty wrote: »

Great post, but I have to disagree with you on the point above and give my 2 cents to fellow sellers.
I had my old Micra stolen that way. So my advice is to never, ever give your address (home or workplace)! Always meet in a public place where there are plenty of cameras (as you also mentioned).
Regards,
Xserty

I wouldn't buy, and most people would be the same, a car off someone in a carpark.

PauloMN

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Also a photocopy of the buyer's licence and/or passport (if they have nothing to hide they won't object) to confirm their ID is advisable.
THEN they can take the logbook with the car.

Funny how different people look at these things. There's no way on God's green earth I would let a stranger take a photocopy of either my passport or driving license. And I've nothing to hide.... at least I think so!

Good OP by the way, useful info. Only thing I'd add is to specify how much tax and NCT is left on the car, and for low emission post '08 cars, I'd probably state the band just to highlight it would be cheap to run.

L-M

PauloMN wrote: »

Funny how different people look at these things. There's no way on God's green earth I would let a stranger take a photocopy of either my passport or driving license. And I've nothing to hide.... at least I think so!

Good OP by the way, useful info. Only thing I'd add is to specify how much tax and NCT is left on the car, and for low emission post '08 cars, I'd probably state the band just to highlight it would be cheap to run.

I wouldn't give anyone a copy of my licence!

Also, that whole spending an extra four grand to save 300 euro a year on tax doesn't wash well with me

PauloMN

Limerick man wrote: »

I wouldn't give anyone a copy of my licence!

Also, that whole spending an extra four grand to save 300 euro a year on tax doesn't wash well with me

It does with most buyers. You are selling the car, not buying, remember?

L-M

PauloMN wrote: »

It does with most buyers. You are selling the car, not buying, remember?

Jeeze sorry, I actually thought this was the The Guide to buying! My bad

hollyday

I'd love to know for those who have sold their car privately, on average how long did it take to sell? I'm trying to sell mine at the moment and getting a bit tired with the slow process lots of interest but nobody buying..

L-M

hollyday wrote: »

I'd love to know for those who have sold their car privately, on average how long did it take to sell? I'm trying to sell mine at the moment and getting a bit tired with the slow process lots of interest but nobody buying..

Link to the ad please!

PauloMN

hollyday wrote: »

I'd love to know for those who have sold their car privately, on average how long did it take to sell? I'm trying to sell mine at the moment and getting a bit tired with the slow process lots of interest but nobody buying..

I've only sold a few, but they were sold really quick because they were priced right and advertised well.

I cannot understate how important good photos are. Car should be spotless inside and out, and the photos taken during the day, preferably on a bright day (though that might be hard at the moment!).

If the advert is clear and concise, the photos are good and the price is right, then it will sell.

Pet hates of mine:
- Blurred/dark photos
- Hidden reg plates
- Dirty car
- Only a few photos and two or three of a similar angle
- Pub talk, "no time wasters", "no test pilots" etc..
- Vital details missing like mileage, year, spec, engine, NCT, tax etc.

Any of these, or a combination of them, and genuine buyers will likely not even bother calling.

Jimbob 83

Fab, just what i needed for selling the octavia once i give her the cleaning of her life

hollyday

hollyday wrote: »

I'd love to know for those who have sold their car privately, on average how long did it take to sell? I'm trying to sell mine at the moment and getting a bit tired with the slow process lots of interest but nobody buying..

.... a day to 3 or 4 months has been my experience. Nothing recent though.

irelandspurs

Can someone have a look at my add see if i'm going wrong as i have not had many calls.I've had to bump the add to see if it gets any calls but none.:(
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3700061
I know wheel trim missing but has only just happened after getting it washed.

Jimbob 83

Ad/Car looks fine to me maybe €200 too high pricewise though ?

PauloMN

irelandspurs wrote: »

Can someone have a look at my add see if i'm going wrong as i have not had many calls.I've had to bump the add to see if it gets any calls but none.:(
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3700061
I know wheel trim missing but has only just happened after getting it washed.

Take out the bit about the tax. Only put a comment in about the tax if it's cheap i.e. tiny engine, or post '08 low emissions job. I'd also take out the bit about the dent. It should be a list of positives, not negatives.

Try and find a spare 2nd hand wheel trim for the missing one. Amazing how something small like that can make a difference. Photos look fine but if you get a chance, take some more on a sunny day.

irelandspurs

Jimbob 83 wrote: »

Ad/Car looks fine to me maybe €200 too high pricewise though ?

I'd take €1000 for it but thought i'd put €1200 so they can knock me down or is it better to put €1000 no offers?

irelandspurs

PauloMN wrote: »

Take out the bit about the tax. Only put a comment in about the tax if it's cheap i.e. tiny engine, or post '08 low emissions job. I'd also take out the bit about the dent. It should be a list of positives, not negatives.

Try and find a spare 2nd hand wheel trim for the missing one. Amazing how something small like that can make a difference. Photos look fine but if you get a chance, take some more on a sunny day.

I put the bit about dent in case someone drove a long way and was put off by the dent so thought i'd point it out.
I have only just took them photo's and its very sunny outside,:) Maybe its the house throwing a shadow on it.

PauloMN

irelandspurs wrote: »

I put the bit about dent in case someone drove a long way and was put off by the dent so thought i'd point it out.
I have only just took them photo's and its very sunny outside,:) Maybe its the house throwing a shadow on it.

The dent is perfectly visible from the photos, no need to mention it again I reckon. The photos are fine, don't worry about them, just could be a tiny bit brighter - I'm just being fussy!

€990 no offers might be a good price to try for. Means it'll come up when people search for a car under €1000 also.

miller50841

Put down at end price or nearest offer also just put in taxed till whatever month taxed till also put in NCT on ad with everything else also does it have a cd changer ? Electric windows? Service history or put in serviced regurlarlay, has clutch been changed if so put in the ad,
I would take the pics down that have missing hub cap and rotate the caps you have to have all wheels covered for pics until you can replace.
Does it have 1 or 2 keys if 2 state that in ad.
Just put as much info as possible in the ad.

L-M

irelandspurs wrote: »

Can someone have a look at my add see if i'm going wrong as i have not had many calls.I've had to bump the add to see if it gets any calls but none.:(
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3700061
I know wheel trim missing but has only just happened after getting it washed.

The advert is fine.

Put the NCT date in the text of the ad also, and also put the tax expiry in the ad.

Leave in the bit about the dent and don't touch the price (Lowering it under 1k makes you subject to stupid offers), just leave the line in the water and see does someone bite.

irelandspurs

Not 1 phone call,i have know dropped the price to €995 and still no interest.Do you think it could be because it's 1.5?

L-M

Could be because it's a horrible 3 door Almera :pac:

irelandspurs

Limerick man wrote: »

Could be because it's a horrible 3 door Almera :pac:

irelandspurs

Finally have it sold

L-M

irelandspurs wrote: »

Finally have it sold

Maith an buachaill!

How much?

irelandspurs

Limerick man wrote: »

Maith an buachaill!

How much?

Got €1000 for it, I bumped the add on wednesday and the phone never stopped ringing,a nice couple bought it as a second car.

L-M

irelandspurs wrote: »

Got €1000 for it, I bumped the add on wednesday and the phone never stopped ringing,a nice couple bought it as a second car.

Lucky you got askin! Fair play.

rameire

irelandspurs wrote: »

a nice couple bought it

cheers.:)