Mate is trying to sell his BMW...

Blackhawk47

Blackhawk47

Blackhawk47

Soldato
Joined
17 Sep 2007
Posts
11,117
Location
West Yorkshire / Market Bosworth
Can anyone take a look and post here with any advice, perhaps make the ad a bit better or something. :)

He is after a quick sell but doesn't want that to give potential buyers the idea. :o

Said I will post it here as there are so many BMW owners. ;)

Hi all i am selling my BMW 325 CI coupe which i bought as an indulgance, unfortunatley my work have told me working hours are going to reduced and we are expecting our first child so i am having to sell the car.

Cars is my daily driver at the moment and is an absolute pleasure to drive and always puts a smile on my face.

Recent MOT and car only required a new set of wiper blades and two new rear indicator bulbs as had discoloured and had started showing white light.
Receipt for replacement clutch last year. All brake disks look recent and are in good order.

Previous owner had car HPI checked and have paperwork to prove thats its all clear.

Original car owners manuals present including spare key and spare plastic key. Car has full service history up to 90k.

Engine and transmission are all in great order and work as they should, alloy wheels in good condition with few minor marks as expected with vehicle of this age with good tyres all round. Engine is perfect and sounds amazing under acceleration. Interior in good condition no worn seat bolsters.

Car has cruise control which works from steering wheel as well as radio controls which also work.
Car has reverse parking sensors.

Odd small marks externally hardly noticable as expected with age, very clean interior.

Now the minor bad bits all cars have them : -
Paint on the both front wings is starting to bubble as shown in picture and small rust marks around boot area would not take much to have these treated and resprayed was going to get them done but afraid dont have the spare money. Slight scratch on drivers rear corner of bumper.
Passenger door lock actuator is lazy and dosn't always open with central locking, door can still be unlocked from inside and relocks with central locking.
Yello oil level light illuminates for approx 5 seconds after engine started, have checked oil level and it is ok been told common problem with pressure switch.
Other than the above the car is brilliant and dont really want to sell it so no stupid offers please.

Test drive or any inspection welcome, will need to see proof of insurance if you want to drive the car.

Call me on 07870 536576

Apologies to genuine ebayers I will not personally export the vehicle, cash on collection.

You bid to buy not to tyre kick or pick faults. I have been honest in my listing.

Please no time wasters this is a genuine car and a genuine sale.

Vehicle is advertised elsewhere

Am hoping to get an Impreza Turbo for myself or small four door car for my partner eg 5 door Focus/Astra/Megane
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Advert sounds my alarm bells.

He tells us that it has to go becuase it's an indulgence and now his work hours are being reduced. Fair enough. He mentions there are some faults, rust etc and claims he doesnt have the money to fix them. This conjurs up an image of somebody who bought a car they can't afford to look after. This is bad - he needs to be strictly factual and remove things like 'I dont have the spare money'.

The other bit thats random is he tells us his hours are getting reduced and he cant afford to fix things on the car and then at the end of the advert he is hoping to buy a Subaru Impreza Turbo!?

This basically says to me that all the reasons for sale are just excuses and there is another reason he isn't telling us. If thats not the case, its certainly what I get from reading between the lines.

You don't sell a 325Ci because work is cutting your hours and then buy an Impreza Turbo.

It's best to stick to facts and facts alone - don't tell the internet his job is being cut. Dont say you cant afford to do XYZ and definately dont say oh btw getting an Impreza Turbo. It just sounds like it's neglected and he can't be bothered so wants something else.
 
Less is often more with these ads. Fundamental problem is it sounds like a bit of a shed really.

Cut the sob story.

Nobody cares about wipers and indicator bulbs.

If rust or anything else is dead easy/cheap to fix, then you'd fix it before sale. Faults listed like this generally turn out to be a right pain in the backside.

What's a genuine car and a genuine sale?

Why tell the world you're buying something equally expensive to run. Take it out.
 
Now the minor bad bits all cars have them
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Really?

Anyone here got rusty wings and a broken door lock?

Yello oil level light illuminates for approx 5 seconds after engine started, have checked oil level and it is ok been told common problem with pressure switch.
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It's not the pressure switch it's the thermic oil level sensor which has failed.
 
I personally wouldn't think about veiwing, as said, cut out the BS, stick to facts about the car. People want to buy a car, not know the seller.
 
agnes said:
I personally wouldn't think about veiwing, as said, cut out the BS, stick to facts about the car. People want to buy a car, not know the seller.
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Sometimes its good to know the seller, but usually only if the sellers story makes you want to buy.

ie

'I purchased this car brand new in 2000 etc etc'

= good

'I cant afford this car'

= bad
 
[TW]Fox;21721992 said:
Sometimes its good to know the seller, but usually only if the sellers story makes you want to buy.

ie

'I purchased this car brand new in 2000 etc etc'

= good

'I cant afford this car'

= bad
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Good point, I just don't like when half the advert is a reason, like you say, a short simple reason is enough.

"I want to sell the car because I have finally taken the plunge to get a Imp T, therefore this car needs to go".

Job done.
 
I never put a reason for sale. Not really their business at the end of the day and I don't think anyone's particularly interested, either. Excess non car-related information.
 
I would take out the first two bad points. A buyer should notice something like this when they go over the car. Don't put people off before they've even come around. Of course, if they do ask, be honest and don't waste people's time.

Also, take out the "you bid to buy, not pick faults". This to me suggests that if someone points out a problem, you'll get annoyed. Just put something like "You bid to BUY the vehicle. Please arrange viewings of the car BEFORE bidding by calling 07xxxxxxxx or 01xxxxxxxx"

Picking up on faults is part of a private sale, if you take this away, i think you'll scare some people off. And lets face it, there's not many people looking for a 2.5 litre 6cyl BMW these days.

Also, delete the "odd small marks expected for age" thing. If it's expected that it will have small marks because it's old, then why bother saying anything about it? Same with the part about alloy wheels. If they're described as being in "good condition" i expect they'll have a few marks on them, so don't say anything more about them.

Half the battle with selling cars is to get someone to view them. Once you've done this - it's child's play. I've sold 5 cars (3 mine, 2 for my parents) and ALL have been sold to the first person that comes and views. The longest it took to sell my car was my old 330i because i made the same mistake. I listed every imperfection, which in reality were very minor, but i have no doubt that i unwittingly put people off due to my "over honesty".
 
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I never put any stuff like 'bid to buy' either. If they're going to be idiots about it, they will be regardless. Much cleaner without and ultimately you don't bid to buy - you can walk away if it's not as described, or just not turn up at all.

I just tend to put something along the lines of "If you have any questions, or would like to see more pictures, please feel free to contact me."

I list every single fault or issue as well, within reason. At the end of the day, they're going to find out and I'd rather they knew beforehand and bid appropriately, than have them turn up on the doorstep and walk away.

Obviously your methods may differ though, each to their own! :)
 
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Gaygle said:
I would take out the first two bad points. A buyer should notice something like this when they go over the car.

Picking up on faults is part of a private sale, if you take this away, i think you'll scare some people off. And lets face it, there's not many people looking for a 2.5 litre 6cyl BMW these days.
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It's not a private classified advert though, its an Ebay Auction. It's very important you list faults in an Ebay auction - people are bidding to buy not view.
 
[TW]Fox;21722283 said:
It's not a private classified advert though, its an Ebay Auction. It's very important you list faults in an Ebay auction - people are bidding to buy not view.
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But it's still a private sale. IMO just because the eBay buyer can't be bothered to go around to inspect the vehicle/ask for detailed photos/call the seller and have an in depth conversation, is not your problem. If they're blaisé about buying the car, they should expect to receive a vehicle with some minor faults. It's not like the engine is on it's last legs or something. It's a small bit of rust on the wing. And it's pictured too.
 
Gaygle said:
But it's still a private sale. IMO just because the eBay buyer can't be bothered to go around to inspect the vehicle/ask for detailed photos/call the seller and have an in depth conversation, is not your problem. If they're blaisé about buying the car, they should expect to receive a vehicle with some minor faults. It's not like the engine is on it's last legs or something. It's a small bit of rust on the wing. And it's pictured too.
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If you wish to auction something, describe it accurately. If you don't wish to do this, use a classified advertisement and let the viewer appraise it for himself.

Otherwise it just ends up costing you a fortune in listing fees when the winners turn up, find something they didnt expect and walk off.
 
Lashout_UK said:
I list every single fault or issue as well, within reason. At the end of the day, they're going to find out and I'd rather they knew beforehand and bid appropriately, than have them turn up on the doorstep and walk away.

Obviously your methods may differ though, each to their own! :)
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I find there needs to be a happy medium between honesty and over honesty. Obviously it's totally wrong and moronic to describe a car as mint, for a buyer to travel all the way to view, then find out it's scrap. But i find describing things in text/over the phone makes things sound far worse than if a buyer was to turn up, already in the mindset that they're going to buy the car, see the scratch and say "ok, will you knock £50 for me to get that fixed?"
 
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