Reg. Query? take offence?

Shakti

So my ongoing search for a car continues,
So I rung this chap this about a corolla, googled his number he has a couple of ads on the go but no matter and seemed like a genuine ad and what I was looking for, so spoke to him asked him were the car and its about a 120km round trip for me to have a look at it so I asked him what the reg was so I could motorcheck it and maybe save myself a trip if it didn't check out.....well he hit the roof, I explained about motorcheck it , tax history etc. . still going bananas I said "calm down sure I'm going to see the reg when I get there anyway so whats the problem?" he calms down a little and says "It's a Dublin reg" I says "but its a mayo/meath/monaghan reg in the picture of the car in the ad as you can see a little bit of the 'M' from the number plate" he starts losing the plot again saying its a "private sale, private car" I say "I'm not disputing that and I don't want to upset you but you have several other ads up so....?" anyway at this point I figure this is way to much hassle to look at and maybe buy car and so I say thanks but I'm no longer interested.
My question is this ...
Should I ask for the reg in future? is it that big of a deal?, I dont mind if its just up the road but sometimes a motorcheck is actually cheaper than the price of petrol to get there.

Jimdagym

Motorcheck is a great service, but it all depends on what car you are buying. I wouldnt bother with one unless I was spending more than a couple of grand, which I wont be for the forseeable future.

You could certainly argue tha asking for a reg is a good way of gauging the seller, so in that end you may well ask for it. It certainly worked in this case.

Mycroft H

Shakti wrote: »

So my ongoing search for a car continues,
So I rung this chap this about a corolla, googled his number he has a couple of ads on the go but no matter and seemed like a genuine ad and what I was looking for, so spoke to him asked him were the car and its about a 120km round trip for me to have a look at it so I asked him what the reg was so I could motorcheck it and maybe save myself a trip if it didn't check out.....well he hit the roof, I explained about motorcheck it , tax history etc. . still going bananas I said "calm down sure I'm going to see the reg when I get there anyway so whats the problem?" he calms down a little and says "It's a Dublin reg" I says "but its a mayo/meath/monaghan reg in the picture of the car in the ad as you can see a little bit of the 'M' from the number plate" he starts losing the plot again saying its a "private sale, private car" I say "I'm not disputing that and I don't want to upset you but you have several other ads up so....?" anyway at this point I figure this is way to much hassle to look at and maybe buy car and so I say thanks but I'm no longer interested.
My question is this ...
Should I ask for the reg in future? is it that big of a deal?, I dont mind if its just up the road but sometimes a motorcheck is actually cheaper than the price of petrol to get there.

Walk away from people like that, not worth the hassle to be honest.


For what its worth I tend to ignore add with the reg plate blanked out. It smacks of the seller having something to hide.

GERMAN ROCKS

Shakti wrote: »

So my ongoing search for a car continues,
So I rung this chap this about a corolla, googled his number he has a couple of ads on the go but no matter and seemed like a genuine ad and what I was looking for, so spoke to him asked him were the car and its about a 120km round trip for me to have a look at it so I asked him what the reg was so I could motorcheck it and maybe save myself a trip if it didn't check out.....well he hit the roof, I explained about motorcheck it , tax history etc. . still going bananas I said "calm down sure I'm going to see the reg when I get there anyway so whats the problem?" he calms down a little and says "It's a Dublin reg" I says "but its a mayo/meath/monaghan reg in the picture of the car in the ad as you can see a little bit of the 'M' from the number plate" he starts losing the plot again saying its a "private sale, private car" I say "I'm not disputing that and I don't want to upset you but you have several other ads up so....?" anyway at this point I figure this is way to much hassle to look at and maybe buy car and so I say thanks but I'm no longer interested.
My question is this ...
Should I ask for the reg in future? is it that big of a deal?, I dont mind if its just up the road but sometimes a motorcheck is actually cheaper than the price of petrol to get there.

i cant see any problem wit asking for it. stick up the ad so we can have a look at the car too. i wouldnt be long telling him take his treatment if he was like that in the phone.

Col200sx

If the seller won't give the potential buyer the reg, walk away.

Ill always do a history check before buying a car, so if the seller won't let you do it, it sounds like he's trying to hide something.

Also, I don't like the idea of doing a history check when you arrive to view the car.

IMO it should be done before you travel (if you're seriously thinking about buying the car), so you can have all your homework done, and not be rushing through it when you arrive.

Shakti

GERMAN ROCKS wrote: »

i cant see any problem wit asking for it. stick up the ad so we can have a look at the car too. i wouldnt be long telling him take his treatment if he was like that in the phone.

I would stick it up but I don't need the grief he sounded like a fruit loop

Jimdagym

Col200sx wrote: »

If the seller won't give the potential buyer the reg, walk away.

Ill always do a history check before buying a car, so if the seller won't let you do it, it sounds like he's trying to hide something.

Also, I don't like the idea of doing a history check when you arrive to view the car.

IMO it should be done before you travel (if you're seriously thinking about buying the car), so you can have all your homework done, and not be rushing through it when you arrive.

I viewed 5 cars recently when buying a car. the first 4 looked well in the pics and the seller on the phone each time said they were great condition. I went to look at each of these cars with the cash in my pocket and I would have driven any of them home had they checked out. But none of them did. They had cracks or scuffs or dents or holes or brocken bits or faults. None of which was made aware to me before travelling, and certainly wouldnt have shown up on any motorcheck.
View the car, and then do the check if you are interested. You can always go off for a coffee while getting it done.

Jimdagym

Shakti wrote: »

I would stick it up but I don't need the grief he sounded like a fruit loop

Unless your real name is Shakti, you are probably safe enough!

Col200sx

Jimdagym wrote: »

I viewed 5 cars recently when buying a car. the first 4 looked well in the pics and the seller on the phone each time said they were great condition. I went to look at each of these cars with the cash in my pocket and I would have driven any of them home had they checked out. But none of them did. They had cracks or scuffs or dents or holes or brocken bits or faults. None of which was made aware to me before travelling, and certainly wouldnt have shown up on any motorcheck.
View the car, and then do the check if you are interested. You can always go off for a coffee while getting it done.

I'm very much aware that a motorcheck won't tell you the condition of the car

But things that are important like: owners, outstanding finance, insurance claims, off the road etc that you need to check.

I'm shocked sometimes when enquiring about a car and the seller doesn't know the basic knowledge of it, like how many previous owners, the NCT expiry etc.

But what I'm saying is if you're travelling to another county to view the car, it's good to have your homework done before you set off.

It's 25euro on Cartell, (35 for 9 years and younger cars) and it could well save you a wasted journey, or worse, thousands of euro

Shakti

Jimdagym wrote: »

Unless your real name is Shakti, you are probably safe enough!

I'm not on a vendetta to discredit the guy,
Just wanted opinions on whether I should ask in future or not, think I'll just steer clear of those type of ads in future

Jimdagym

Col200sx wrote: »

I'm very much aware that a motorcheck won't tell you the condition of the car

But things that are important like: owners, outstanding finance, insurance claims, off the road etc that you need to check.

I'm shocked sometimes when enquiring about a car and the seller doesn't know the basic knowledge of it, like how many previous owners, the NCT expiry etc.

But what I'm saying is if you're travelling to another county to view the car, it's good to have your homework done before you set off.

It's 25euro on Cartell, (35 for 9 years and younger cars) and it could well save you a wasted journey, or worse, thousands of euro

Well we could argue chicken and egg all day long. I wouldnt spend the price of a motor report unless I was absolutley buying, and I cant know that till I see the car.

Whatever works, I suppose.

sean1141

I had my car up on donedeal recently with the reg blocked out. No way was I giving some so and so an easy chance to clone my reg and blast true the toll plaza a few times with it. I have no problem with blocked reg adds on donedeal but if the seller refused to give me the reg or private pics of the car with the reg in full view I wouldn't bother with it.

Col200sx

Jimdagym wrote: »

Well we could argue chicken and egg all day long. I wouldnt spend the price of a motor report unless I was absolutley buying, and I cant know that till I see the car.

Whatever works, I suppose.

Works fine for me

When viewing a car in the same county, I'll view it first. But being based in Galway, it seems that i always have to travel to view, hence the check before setting out.

But back at the original thought, the seller taking offence by getting asked for reg, I wouldn't pursue that car if that was his attitude.

Jimdagym

Col200sx wrote: »

But back at the original thought, the seller taking offence by getting asked for reg, I wouldn't pursue that car if that was his attitude.

100%. I'd be long gone.

mathepac

Shakti wrote: »

I'm not on a vendetta to discredit the guy,
....

I would be and I'd also report him to the Revenue. He's running a motor trader business (multiple ads according to OP) while posing as a private seller. Buyers ripped off, no dealer T&C's apply to sales, revenue ripped off, no tax paid on turn-over, and no doubt customers ripped off as well.

Sonnenblumen

+1. In yesterday's Guardian there was a report on HM Revenue investigating many serial sellers on EBaY which are suspected of running businesses, not declaring income etc etc.

This is also good news for unsuspecting buying public, genuine traders etc which suffer at the hands of unscrupulous operators.

Our man in Havana

Who does a history check on a car only worth a few hundred?

Shakti

Col200sx wrote: »

Works fine for me

When viewing a car in the same county, I'll view it first. But being based in Galway, it seems that i always have to travel to view, hence the check before setting out.

But back at the original thought, the seller taking offence by getting asked for reg, I wouldn't pursue that car if that was his attitude.

I'm in the same boat,

corktina

often a car check is cheaper than the wasted petrol to view a lemon.

Shakti

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Who does a history check on a car only worth a few hundred?

It was a couple of grand, but even so I'd think I'd still like to do at least a tax history check which costs nothing

Shakti

mathepac wrote: »

I would be and I'd also report him to the Revenue. He's running a motor trader business (multiple ads according to OP) while posing as a private seller. Buyers ripped off, no dealer T&C's apply to sales, revenue ripped off, no tax paid on turn-over, and no doubt customers ripped off as well.

Ah I dont know about any of that, just a bit nervous whether or not to ask in future or not, but I see your point.

2 stroke

If the seller has a bad attitude to a simple query like this, stay away. Imagine his attitude if you have a problem with the car.

mathepac

Shakti wrote: »

Ah I dont know about any of that, ....

I/m sure lots of people don't, but I do, which I why I posted it.

bazz26

corktina wrote: »

often a car check is cheaper than the wasted petrol to view a lemon.

A car with a clean car check could still end up being a lemon.

bazz26

2 stroke wrote: »

If the seller has a bad attitude to a simple query like this, stay away. Imagine his attitude if you have a problem with the car.

I know what you are saying but in this case it's a private sale so any problems are the buyer's once he drives off with the car.

Belle Morte

Sounds very dodgy alright, I always ask for reg's over the phone so I can do checks before going to view, I never have any problem giving one out either if I'm selling.

Think you dodged one there!

2 stroke

bazz26 wrote: »

I know what you are saying but in this case it's a private sale so any problems are the buyer's once he drives off with the car.

I don't accept that. If I buy something and a major flaw shows up within a few weeks I expect a comeback. I dont expect the resources of a main dealer but I don't buy off someone that provides no comeback.

kildare.17hmr

2 stroke wrote: »

bazz26 wrote: »

I know what you are saying but in this case it's a private sale so any problems are the buyer's once he drives off with the car.

I don't accept that. If I buy something and a major flaw shows up within a few weeks I expect a comeback. I dont expect the resources of a main dealer but I don't buy off someone that provides no comeback.

Doesnt matter if you accept that or not if you buy a car privatly and something happens you have no comeback

2 stroke

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

Doesnt matter if you accept that or not if you buy a car privatly and something happens you have no comeback

OK I believe in buyer beware but if I sell a car as a runner, at a price I'm happy with, I usually offer a limited guarantee, this rarely covers the timing belt as I do not prepare a car for sale, I simply tell the buyer when the belt was last changed and recomend they get it changed. I've only ever sold 3 cars as runners and never had one back, most are sold as scrap as I usually drive older vehicles.
Last car I bought privately, the seller guaranteed it for the nct. Rear safety belts failed, €250 new, he sourced a secondhand set for me and offered to fit them.

BnB

BX 19 wrote: »

Walk away from people like that, not worth the hassle to be honest.


For what its worth I tend to ignore add with the reg plate blanked out. It smacks of the seller having something to hide.

No reason to ignore Ads with the Reg Plate blocked. The vast majority are done for the very legit reason that they don't want the car cloned etc.

But if he still can't give it to you over the phone... then - Yeah - 100% sounds messy. Either a twat or has something to hide

2 stroke

If somebody wants to clone a reg, can't they just pick one from the street? Maybe I should cover my reg while driving. A much better reason for hiding the reg on ads is to limit traceability by revenue.

fasttalkerchat

Even if the car was legit he wasn't the sort of person you want to be dealing with.

mathepac

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

Doesnt matter if you accept that or not if you buy a car privatly and something happens you have no comeback

Untrue. If the seller sells the car in a dangerous condition or lies in response to direct questions about the car or its condition the buyer has all the come-back (and more) he'd have against a legitimate dealer.

sean1141

2 stroke wrote: »

If somebody wants to clone a reg, can't they just pick one from the street? Maybe I should cover my reg while driving. A much better reason for hiding the reg on ads is to limit traceability by revenue.

Yes they could see it on the street but it would be so much easier to look up one on carzone/donedeal etc. Take my old car for example. A red seat leon. You could walk around for a hour and maybe not see one but 5 mins on the computer will find you a few!!

mathepac wrote: »

Untrue. If the seller sells the car in a dangerous condition or lies in response to direct questions about the car or its condition the buyer has all the come-back (and more) he'd have against a legitimate dealer.

Yes if you can prove the seller knew about any defects and lied. This could be very costly with garage reports, solicitors etc etc

ShadowHearth

Jimdagym wrote: »

I viewed 5 cars recently when buying a car. the first 4 looked well in the pics and the seller on the phone each time said they were great condition. I went to look at each of these cars with the cash in my pocket and I would have driven any of them home had they checked out. But none of them did. They had cracks or scuffs or dents or holes or brocken bits or faults. None of which was made aware to me before travelling, and certainly wouldnt have shown up on any motorcheck.
View the car, and then do the check if you are interested. You can always go off for a coffee while getting it done.

This. I would not even bother with motor check if I haven't seen car it self. This is the reason I leave very small deposit too.
There are so many people full of shiet. They will tell you that that car still smells of the factory paint! It drives like mickey covered in lube etc. then when you arrive and have a look, all you want to do is smack sellers face in to nearest wall.

kildare.17hmr

mathepac wrote: »

Untrue. If the seller sells the car in a dangerous condition or lies in response to direct questions about the car or its condition the buyer has all the come-back (and more) he'd have against a legitimate dealer.

I wasnt talking about that, i ment if you buy a car off a legitimate private seller you have zero comeback no matter what happens.

Even in your scenario above tho it would be very unlikely you would get any comeback

mathepac

sean1141 wrote: »

... Yes if you can prove the seller knew about any defects and lied. This could be very costly with garage reports, solicitors etc etc

My post was about what a buyer's legal entitlements are in a purchase from a private seller, a response to the "no comeback" post; your post above is about how the buyer might seek recompense.

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

I wasnt talking about that, i ment if you buy a car off a legitimate private seller you have zero comeback no matter what happens.

Even in your scenario above tho it would be very unlikely you would get any comeback

Your original post was factually incorrect; so is this one. Why would you want to allow mis-information to remain uncorrected?

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

I don't think its suspicious covering the reg in an ad. It can be given out to a caller on the phone.
However if the potential buyer rang on a withheld number I wouldn't give out the reg.
That way, if there is ever an issue with your car going through m50 tolls or speeding fines and you think your car was "cloned" you have a record of when you advertised it and the mobile numbers of who wanted your plate details.
Its not foolproof but its something, at least.

2 stroke

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

I wasnt talking about that, i ment if you buy a car off a legitimate private seller you have zero comeback no matter what happens.

Even in your scenario above tho it would be very unlikely you would get any comeback

If you are careful who you buy off, first they won't deliberately sell you a lemon, second they will stand over the deal. There are so called car dealers in my area that I wouldn't buy off because they are little better than scam artists. You don't have to buy, if you don't like the car, or you dont like the seller.

bazz26

2 stroke wrote: »

If somebody wants to clone a reg, can't they just pick one from the street? Maybe I should cover my reg while driving. A much better reason for hiding the reg on ads is to limit traceability by revenue.

But why make it easier for them by letting them do it from the comfort of their computer? I could sit here on my computer, search through Donedeal and find a car the same as mine and get the reg, go off and get number plates done up and fly up and down through a toll all day long or fill up and drive off without paying. Alot less hassle than having to go out and find a similar car like mine. Regarding Revenue, all you have to do is either google the seller's mobile number or when ringing ask about the car, if they ask you which one then you now they are selling more than one and may be a dealer.

Unless one has endless money to be running motorchecks on a number of cars you see online, I don't see the big deal in someone blanking out their reg plate. You ring the seller, ask as many questions about the car as possible, this will give you a vipe about the seller also. Based on those answers you can decide if you are still interested in viewing the car. So go view the car, then decide based on what you see if you want to proceed further, negotiate a price and then go away and do a history check.

There are risks involved when buying private but if people are going to be overly paranoid about everything around a private sale then maybe they should stick to buying from legit garges.

ianobrien

2 stroke wrote: »

If somebody wants to clone a reg, can't they just pick one from the street? Maybe I should cover my reg while driving. A much better reason for hiding the reg on ads is to limit traceability by revenue.

If they take one off the street, the original reg could be a local and there is a chance of the owner of the original reg spotting it. If you go online, you can get a car from the opposite end of the country, making it less likely that the original reg owner would spot it.