What are your pet hates with classic car ads/sellers

MotherTeresa · 09-04-2017 1:00am #1

I thought this would be a fun thread.
So I will start with mine..
No NCT on the car, above all else. Not even a failure sheet. For 55 Euro its the best pre-buying inspection money can buy. Yet the lazy seller won't do it.
Usually goes with the; will fly through NCT saying of course. Well if that was really the case, you would have paid the 55 and flew it through then wouldn't you.
Another one is; lady owner, call Pat on 086... Selling it for your wife Pat? Of course you are.
And there is the part time car dealer types that pretend to be private sellers or enthusiasts. I often catch them out when I call and ask; I am phoning about the car for sale.. Which one? They reply... Then one finds out they have loads of cars for sale. Private seller? With 5 cars for sale? Of course you are.
Lack of effort in ads really kills my enthusiasm to call about or view a car too.
One picture when Donedeal allows 10. You paid your 3 Euro for the ad, so why not make the most of it?
Barn finds, that have never been near a barn are another pain. Is that the standard excuse for never bothered washing it, nor throwing a dust sheet over it?
Its like the ones with flat tyres that don't run. A gallon of fresh petrol, jump start, and pump the tyres is too much effort for them. But they still expect the same asking price as a runner that would start and drive.
I suppose above all else my biggest hate is sellers being liars. I don't mean little white lies or exaggerations, I mean blatant major ones.
For example, I rang about a car. Does it drive and run OK? Any problems with the gearbox or engine? None at all of course.
When I got there, the head gasket was blown and the clutch slipping.
I showed the car slipping pulling off in second, and then the mayonnaise on the oil filler cap; and he just looked blankly. Yeah, no problems there at all; just like you said friend.
Or another one is pre '87 cars that are flat rate 200 Euro VRT, but still on UK plates despite being in Ireland for months/years.
Just pay the 200 VRT man! Do they not realise a ZV plate will help it sell more than a UK plate? I despair at these type of seller.
I went to view a car recently and the reserve petrol gauge light was on.
Can I take it for a test drive I asked? Of course he replied. So of we go to the nearest petrol station. Does the seller put 10 Euro in? No chance.
He expected me to juice up his car for free for him.
When I am selling a car I don't give a luck penny. Call me mean.
But what I do, is fill the car with petrol to the neck as a goodwill gesture.
I think that is fair enough. I also think having more than 3 Euro of petrol in the tank for a prospective buyer to test drive it is fair enough.
Covering up the numberplates is one more. Why bother? I am going to see the reg when I view it anyway! You want to hide that it's a ZV ringer is it?
Or you think someone is going to clone your precious ZV plate for their TD5 or something? Just show me the reg so I can NCT check it!
Anyway, that's enough for now. I can feel my blood pressure going up.
So what are yours then?

w124man · 09-04-2017 6:20pm

Sellers who use the word 'RARE' .... 'investment opportunity' ........ 'doctor owner' ..... 'genuine miles' ........

SCOOP 64 · 09-04-2017 6:32pm

This problems applied to all car sale, but agreed with "no nct, car will fly through it" annoys me but these adds i just avoid.

MotherTeresa · 09-04-2017 6:49pm

The Doctor owner one makes me laugh.
What are they implying exactly? He earns over 50K so therefore spent more on the car?
Or maybe he drove the car more carefully?
As far as I know, Doctors spent the same on car maintenance as anyone else, and drive the same as anyone else.
Fair enough if that Micra with 16K was owned by Sister Josephine from new it's worth saying.
But otherwise things like Doctor owner, lady owner; etc, are meaningless.
In my experience ironically mechanics cars are the worst looked after. Reason being, after 8 hours working on cars every day, the last thing they want to do is work on their own car in their time off. They will run the brakes, tyres, etc, down to the last before doing anything about them.
What really puts me off a car is when the inside and outside are filthy. I always think that reflects the maintenance of the car.
An owner that just cannot be bothered.

jelutong · 09-04-2017 6:55pm

Alloys encrusted with brake dust.

MotherTeresa · 09-04-2017 7:00pm

The brake dust I can forgive. But when they are kerbed to hell, that really puts me off. It's an indication of the way it was driven generally I always think. Yeah, careful lady Doctor owner, and she kerbed it daily. Good one.
I think chrome arches on anything are a red flag. Its got to be the most blatant rust coverup going.

_ptashek_ · 09-04-2017 10:46pm

Great thread

OP crossed off most from my list, but here's a few more:

- "rust free" / "mint" / "pristine" - used to describe a multi-decade old car which has never been restored. Where'd you keep it all these years, in a climate controlled museum?

- "full respray" / "glass out respray" - invoice for two grand, and no pics to show any of the work done. I've seen enough Irish resprays to run for the hills as soon as it's mentioned in the ad. Two grand buys you what, maybe 40 man-hours at Johnny's "spray it like you stole it" Garage?

- "needs a bit of TLC to be perfect" - saw a great example of this today in Swords. There was a fellow selling a W123 230TE. The car literally consisted of filler and rust, and he was asking 2750 sterling for it, using these exact words... The car needed a crusher, not TLC

- "(one of) the best in (Ireland / UK/ anywhere)" - you arrive to view it, and it's a neglected rust bucket, with the interior worn down, windshield seals cracked and filled with silicone, 15 year old bald tyres and half-working electrics.

- dreamed up asking prices - it's a free country, and anyone can ask for whatever price they think is right, but will ye just do a bit of market research first for crying out loud?

MotherTeresa · 10-04-2017 1:49am

Here is another one. I went to view a car, asking price was 3500 ONO on the ad. I liked the car so offered 3300. Seller said no. So I offered 3400. Seller said no. So I walked away. One week later I am looking online and see the car is still for sale. Price dropped to 3200 ONO! FFS sake man.. 100 Euro in petrol round trip wasted the first time. I wasn't going to go through that a second time.
Why put ONO if you won't take; or near offer? And then drop it anyway!
I also see deluded sellers hanging on, and hanging on, genuinely thinking that after 6 months someone will come and pay their deluded asking price. Rather than say drop the price 100 Euro per month until it sells, they hold out at full asking price for the 6 months etc.
One would think these sellers don't want to sell the car at all the way they carry on.
When it comes to haggling on the price, some sellers seem to think 50 Euro off the asking price on a 5K car is something special.
That is their idea of ONO rather than OVNO. Yeah, real gent giving me that 5K car for 4950. I won't blow it all on petrol at once..

kadman · 10-04-2017 9:07am

Bottom 6 inches of a car painted shiny black.
Freshly undersealed....mmm.

Wishbone Ash · 10-04-2017 9:18am

'low mileage', 'average mileage'

Just give the fcuking mileage! :mad:

red sean · 10-04-2017 10:01am

Pictures taken from the same angle. Or just 2/3 out of focus pics. If you want to generate interest, let the hound see the hare.
Worse still, pictures taken at night. Why bother?
I recall one ad on DD a while back for a Dolomite Sprint, and the pics were 20 years old from when the seller first bought it!

SpitfireIV · 10-04-2017 10:22am

red sean wrote: »

Pictures taken from the same angle. Or just 2/3 out of focus pics. If you want to generate interest, let the hound see the hare.
Worse still, pictures taken at night. Why bother?
I recall one ad on DD a while back for a Dolomite Sprint, and the pics were 20 years old from when the seller first bought it!

Speaking of pics...

Pictures taken of the interior......through the window?!!

Makes me think they dont have keys for it or its so bad that the window is a nice filter?!

w124man · 10-04-2017 12:35pm

I forgot the most offensive of them all ........

"Fully Restored"

_ptashek_ · 10-04-2017 12:55pm

w124man wrote: »

I forgot the most offensive of them all ........

"Fully Restored"

As with the resprays, it really depends on supporting documentation. I can easily claim "fully restored" on my car - but I have 5 years worth of invoices and 1000+ detailed pics to support all work.

I expect no less from all those "fully restored" ads.

I've got another one - "celebrity / famous owner" combined with an outrageous price. Unless we're talking a special order car, with full ownership record and a certificate of provenance, what do I care who drove it before me? All I care about is the maintenance records.

MotherTeresa · 10-04-2017 1:04pm

Some of these have really made me laugh. I had a feeling this thread would be popular.
Often when one is looking to buy a classic, one feels like I am the only one that this happens to.
It can be a very negative experience, from trawling ads, to calling liars, to travelling long distances and viewing bad cars.
Over the years I have had the best and worst experiences when it comes to buying or selling a classic car.
But going through all the pain, makes finding the right car even more pleasurable in the end I suppose.
What I have found to be true, and this applies to all marques, is that buying privately from a collector/enthusiast can be the best way.
Rather than try to find a decent car online, I prefer to chat to owners of a car I fancy; and ask them would they sell it, or give me first refusal on it when the time comes.
The fact they aren't trying to get rid of a problem car in the first place, means one can buy it with more piece of mind. Often their car will be a labour of love, rather than do the minimum to get it through the NCT.
When one sees 20 pages of restoration on a thread from a proud owner, this is the car I want to buy. Not the one on Donedeal from the part time car dealer looking to flip something on for a quick profit.
Recently I viewed a car and asked the seller straight, are you a car dealer? No he replied. And then I looked at the tax book, and saw his name wasn't on it. I am selling it for my brother he said. Why lie? Why not just be straight and say, I bought this car to flip it for a profit. Car dealers sell cars, they make profit. No need to play games then is there?
This lack of honestly, makes me also think; what else are they going to lie about? Pretty much everything about the car.
I find a collector/enthusiast will tend to be more straight about any negatives, and work the car needs etc.
All things considered, I find sellers in Ireland hard work to deal with generally. In the North and England I had better experiences overall with sellers. Main reason being, the general quality of ad descriptions and pictures is higher, and the seller more honest about the car. No nonsense.

MotherTeresa · 10-04-2017 1:18pm

_ptashek_ wrote: »

As with the resprays, it really depends on supporting documentation. I can easily claim "fully restored" on my car - but I have 5 years worth of invoices and 1000+ detailed pics to support all work.

I expect no less from all those "fully restored" ads.

I've got another one - "celebrity / famous owner" combined with an outrageous price. Unless we're talking a special order car, with full ownership record and a certificate of provenance, what do I care who drove it before me? All I care about is the maintenance records.

Great one! I agree with you on all counts, and its one I forgot to mention.
The celebrity owner.
For example there is a MK1 Golf convertible in Sligo on Donedeal at the moment with one of these celebrity owners. Hasn't said who they were though of course.
And don't get excited, it won't have been anyone high profile from Sligo like Louis Walsh. It will have been the owner of the local Supervalu back in 1986 or something.
Who cares if some celebrity owned it? Unless you are a hardcore Manchester United fan, and that S500 was previously owned by David Beckham etc, its meaningless.
OK cars owned by the likes of Elvis, John Lennon, Freddy Mercury, etc; I get that they have an historic value to collectors.
But the Irish idea of celebrity? Callum Best owned this car.
Often they will also use the classic line; investment opportunity, collectors dream, etc.
In my experience, affluent people don't necessarily look after or maintain their cars better than poorer owners. The rich often be very tight with money, and will run those brake discs and tyres down to the limit before changing them etc.
So the fact someone was a celebrity, or wealthy, does not reflect that the car will have been looked after.
Its the same as, lady owner, Doctor owner, etc. In both cases I can think of Doctors and women that drive their cars very, very hard. Maintenance? They wouldn't have a clue.

ba_barabus · 10-04-2017 2:21pm

"Only one in ireland" or even better, "only 4 left according to howmanyleft.com"

Generally these claims are baseless and easily disproved but sadly all too often result i an additional '0' on the price

MotherTeresa · 10-04-2017 2:45pm

ba_barabus wrote: »

"Only one in ireland" or even better, "only 4 left according to howmanyleft.com"

Generally these claims are baseless and easily disproved but sadly all too often result i an additional '0' on the price

Another great point.
I saw this one recently..
MK2 Golf GTI Campaign, rare one in ten million car..
FFS man.. Your car is one of a batch of 10M produced, and you call that rare?
It's hardly some E30 M3, Sierra Cosworth RS500, 190 Evo, edition is it?
I call one of 500 rare. Not 1 in 10M!
But the guy was going on like it was the last Oak Green MK2 left in the UK.
How my twitchy hair trigger finger resisted clicking buy it now button on Ebay I will never know?
The funny thing is, some of these sellers really believe heart and soul in what they are saying on the ad. They actually believe they are selling something very special, very rare, and it's the deal of the century.
Talking to them is a real privilege, they are giving YOU, yes you, the chance; that special lucky once in a lifetime chance; to purchase their very ordinary mass produced car.
Its hard not to resist playing with them on the phone sometimes.
So Pat, were the wheel bearings greased on every service to factory specs?
Dehumidified garage you say Pat? Fully carpeted with deep shag pile I hope..

red sean · 10-04-2017 3:49pm

MotherTeresa wrote: »

Great one! I agree with you on all counts, and its one I forgot to mention.
The celebrity owner.
For example there is a MK1 Golf convertible in Sligo on Donedeal at the moment with one of these celebrity owners. Hasn't said who they were though of course.
And don't get excited, it won't have been anyone high profile from Sligo like Louis Walsh. It will have been the owner of the local Supervalu back in 1986 or something.
Who cares if some celebrity owned it? Unless you are a hardcore Manchester United fan, and that S500 was previously owned by David Beckham etc, its meaningless.
OK cars owned by the likes of Elvis, John Lennon, Freddy Mercury, etc; I get that they have an historic value to collectors.
But the Irish idea of celebrity? Callum Best owned this car.
Often they will also use the classic line; investment opportunity, collectors dream, etc.
In my experience, affluent people don't necessarily look after or maintain their cars better than poorer owners. The rich often be very tight with money, and will run those brake discs and tyres down to the limit before changing them etc.
So the fact someone was a celebrity, or wealthy, does not reflect that the car will have been looked after.
Its the same as, lady owner, Doctor owner, etc. In both cases I can think of Doctors and women that drive their cars very, very hard. Maintenance? They wouldn't have a clue.

He's from Mayo. We do not like having him beamed into Sligo :P

MotherTeresa · 10-04-2017 3:54pm

red sean wrote: »

He's from Mayo. We do not like having him beamed into Sligo :P

I am pleased to say I did not know that.
I stand corrected. Must be Westlife that were from Sligo. Again I am pleased to say I am not certain on that either.
Anyway, all celebrities that are worthy of a Donedeal classic car ad for sure.
I can only imagine the ad for Ed Sheeran's first car if it ever came up for sale!
Would probably break the internet with traffic..

w124man · 10-04-2017 8:13pm

_ptashek_ wrote: »

As with the resprays, it really depends on supporting documentation. I can easily claim "fully restored" on my car - but I have 5 years worth of invoices and 1000+ detailed pics to support all work.

I expect no less from all those "fully restored" ads.

I've got another one - "celebrity / famous owner" combined with an outrageous price. Unless we're talking a special order car, with full ownership record and a certificate of provenance, what do I care who drove it before me? All I care about is the maintenance records.

I have a car that has a "celebrity / famous owner" ..... doesn't add value, just interest!

In my book, 'fully restored' means just that. EVERY part of the car has been replaced or refurbished - nothing less. 'Partially restored' is usually more accurate but there will always be the 'bodged up' for sale examples about

w124man · 10-04-2017 8:17pm

Duplicate

kyote00 · 10-04-2017 8:29pm

'barn find'

kaizersoze · 11-04-2017 12:22am

'First to see will buy'......

MotherTeresa · 11-04-2017 12:39am

kaizersoze wrote: »

'First to see will buy'......

Agreed. How can the seller know if the first one or tenth one will buy it?
He reckons it's so good that that the first man that calls will 100% have it does he? The height of delusion.
In 20 years of selling cars I never sold a car to the first man that saw it.
Even with a 250 Euro Polo around 5 lads came to view it before one of them bought it.
If anything I find classic car buyer take more time to think it over, and even want to see the car a second time; maybe bringing a friend or mechanic etc; to check it over before parting with the cash.
This first to see saying will often go with; NCT ready, or will fly through NCT..
So not only will the first to see it buy it, he can be 100% sure it will pass that NCT first time round.
What planet do these lads live on? Seriously.
First to see will walk away more like. I often think if one wants the truth just think of the opposite of what the seller is saying.
10th to see will buy, hasn't a hope of passing an NCT. Sounds more realistic doesn't it?

Testacalda · 11-04-2017 4:04pm

MotherTeresa wrote: »

In 20 years of selling cars I never sold a car to the first man that saw it.

Really?, never in 20 years? For me, the first viewer, more often than not, buys what ever I'm selling, or at least agrees to buy and gives me a deposit. Obviously I've had people over the years who were unsure, wanted a second opinion, just stopped for a look, or were time wasters.

Clear and concise ad, good pictures and reasonable price for the the item. That normally attracts the right kind of people straight away.

Thinkingaboutit · 11-04-2017 9:43pm

ba_barabus wrote: »

"Only one in ireland" or even better, "only 4 left according to howmanyleft.com"

Generally these claims are baseless and easily disproved but sadly all too often result i an additional '0' on the price

The stats on that site don't mean too much, I'd say there's more than 182 Wolseley 16/60 manuals left in the UK. I got one of the 208 in 2004 or so. Mine is blank details in this country. I'm not bothered to go to the motor tax office.

Anyhow, dishonestly so much.

I saw a Kawasaki Voyager (an old motorbike but anyhoo) for sale and like a fool I bought it. Like one of my bikes it smoked at startup, which needn't be serious, anyhow long story short, I got the money back in the small claims court. He (his father showed the car) was one of those dealers pretending to be a private person, so I was legally protected, cause he was a de facto dealer. I researched him, and I hope he enjoyed his trip to court. A bit of an unsuitable trade for an AA man, tho his father was worse (even shorter temper than me), the seller and son being an AA man, thought it prudent to pay up what I asked in court. The engine on the bike had suffered from years of oil starvation, basically falling apart inside.

okistag · 13-04-2017 2:48pm

Loved reading this thread - well done on starting it.

Everything stated in each reply is very valid.

Or the wife's car, she loves it and is going to kill me for selling it..
Or the dealer "Personal car" !!
How about ex demo, director wife's car and all along its ex hire drive.

The Doctor one I had a good giggle. I remember my father "Dentist" & Uncle a Doctor "GP" racing around in their cars of the day. Okay they were well maintained and looked after by garages but they enjoyed driving them. I not saying they were thrashed but certainly enjoyed.

The Uncle raced for number of years, his cars would of been road going during the week raced on weekends. MGTD's to Jaguar XK's. Yes I know different times but you get my point.

Neither of them knew anything about mechanics but certainly could drive and enjoy cars.

Another relative in the same profession, but his cars are always top of the range but not very well cared for. Scuffs and dings, items chucked in theboot or on back seat causing marks as they land.

The dog jumps in and out nail marks on leather. Coffee stains everywhere, windows left open in rain at night, basically his car is just purely mode of transport and really could not care two fiddlers about it.

He thinks I am nuts !!! because of my disease of enjoying cars !!

He trades in his car every 2 /3 years. Recently he traded in his car, well it was a mess.
The garage had the leather re done, dial a dent must of spent days on it, never mind valet guys. Also replace bits and bobs on the interior like a switch, trim as young child played freely in it with the dog etc.

I remember saying to him his engine sounded very odd tappet noise like diesel. Looked in saw red light on, "OIL" so i check it. Dip stick was dry!!

The advert was along these lines. Previously cared for by Doctor long standing customer no expense spared in maintenance low mileage blah blah. Admittedly it looked superb on forecourt but reference to doctor lol was because ???

Oh one of my late fathers cars sold in USA. Even there in Florida car auction description This rare car came in from Ireland x number of previous owners but previously owner by a DOCTOR!!! the part they did not say was that 50 years ago !! car sold here mid 60k mad 185k USD plus buyers comm there. NUTS so i am told

Up Donegal · 15-05-2017 2:10am

I think that the ZV registrations take away from the appearance of vintage cars. Why not allow them retain their original registrations and maybe have the ZV registration on a separate disc, perhaps like the IRL, GB etc stickers that are used on vehicles?

w124man · 15-05-2017 8:34pm

Another few pet hates particularly associated with older Mercedes cars ....

Last of the over engineered Mercs

Last of the bullet proof Mercs

Built before the accountants took over

These engines will easily do a million miles

mossy50 · 16-05-2017 10:57am

beautiful car ONE BLOODY Picture

What are your pet hates with classic car ads/sellers

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