Bizarre response to car ebay ad - scam?

freebooter · 9 Apr 2016 at 16:45

I put a car on ebay. It is an old car with a few issues that I was hoping to get more than scrap value for; advertised for a couple of hundred. I am in the South West and the only response I have had is from someone who is in London who says he wants to come and tow it back to London.

It isn't a rare or valuable car in any way, there are currently more than 250 of them on ebay. There are some minor faults that I detailed in the ad but he has given some story about wanting to buy and spend money doing it up for his grandmother.

It doesn't make any sense to me but as I haven't had any other interest I am tempted to say yes as I also can't see how I could lose out. I told him it would be cash on collection. If he pays cash and signs the logbook as usual is there anything else I should be wary of?

MissChief · 9 Apr 2016 at 17:26

Cash on collection, make sure he brings ID and you sign the car over to him on the V5. If he's coming to your house make sure someone is there with you and it might be an idea to get him to sign that he's aware of the faults and buying anyway.

Jez · 9 Apr 2016 at 17:41

I sold a vectra with a broken gearbox for about £300 to a pair of Russians who turned up with a Russian registered flatbed.

They didn't even want the v5, I made them sign it anyway which is all you need to worry about. I obviously took a photocopy before I sent it off.

Convinced they wanted to use it for a murder or something but they paid cash so who cares

[TW]Fox · 9 Apr 2016 at 17:51

When I sold the Mondeo for spares or repair somebody did a similar thing, drove 200 miles with a trailer.

Vish Petrol · 9 Apr 2016 at 17:56

Most likely they will split it for parts, as long as they sign the v% you're fine

iaind · 9 Apr 2016 at 18:52

Not quite the same but when I sold the jag (in Devon) it was a bloke from Essex. He gave me a story on the phone about how he dealt in jags and wanted another x type... He offered nearly my asking price over the phone and said he would come over that evening from Essex. I thought it all sounded a bit odd but he arrived about 9pm that same evening, took it for a spin around the block, handed me a wadge of cash and stamped the v5 with his trade address. He was gone by 9:15 and the last I heard about the car was the confirmation from the dvla a week later.

Some people do odd things and everyone has a different perspective of how far is too far to travel for something - my girlfriend thought I was nuts for doing a 3 hour round trip to pick up some alloys I bought on eBay

As for the OP, I'd prefer to speak to them over the phone first but when selling a car in person it's pretty easy to be safe and sensible. It's too low value to be conned on, provided they pay (real) cash and sign the V5 then who cares how far they want to travel!

snapdragon69 · 9 Apr 2016 at 20:32

We sold a 15 year old dishwasher on ebay for £60 by auction about 15 years ago. You could go to Currys and buy a new Candy one for £119 at the time. She drove nearly 200 miles each way to pick it up. Some people just seem to prefer old tat.

ianh · 9 Apr 2016 at 20:56

Lots of cheap cars are being broke down for parts and shipped to eastern Europe for a huge profit (comparatively).

Scania · 9 Apr 2016 at 21:12

Jez said:
I sold a vectra with a broken gearbox for about £300 to a pair of Russians who turned up with a Russian registered flatbed.

They didn't even want the v5, I made them sign it anyway which is all you need to worry about. I obviously took a photocopy before I sent it off.

Convinced they wanted to use it for a murder or something but they paid cash so who cares

Similar scenario with the Lithuanian guys who bought my e39 recently, the drove down from Scunthorpe, paid cash & drove it back (stuck in 3rd gear!) paid cash, job done.

They didn't want the V5 either, but I made them sign it.

mattcrane · 10 Apr 2016 at 10:34

I put my 1993 Pajero with 12 month MOT on Gumtree for £500 just wanted a quick hassle free sale.

Within 30mins I had a phone call from a guy living in Croydon that agreed to the price without any haggling at all.

The next day he flew down from Gatwick to Newquay, I picked him up drove back to my place did the paperwork and off he drove.

Even now I still struggle to see the sense in traveling that far for such a cheap car.

soundb0y · 10 Apr 2016 at 10:49

I had someone drive 3 and a bit hrs to pick up my knackered rotbox of a 323ci with a failed headgasket for 500 quid. I can't explain why but it happens!

freebooter · 10 Apr 2016 at 11:22

Thanks for the replies. I can see why someone might do it for a Jag or BMW that either appeal to enthusiasts or offer a resale profit with a bit of work but I can't see that on mine.

The only other thing that occurred to me was the reg no but it isn't anything special and I can't see any value in it.

I haven't had any other interest so I will take him up on it if he is still interested and just make sure I get all the paperwork done properly. I have never sold a car before so don't want to get caught out.

I thought someone local would be interested in a running car with 9mths mot for a couple of hundred but apparently not.

flowrider99 · 10 Apr 2016 at 11:58

Jez said:
I sold a vectra with a broken gearbox for about £300 to a pair of Russians who turned up with a Russian registered flatbed.

They didn't even want the v5, I made them sign it anyway which is all you need to worry about. I obviously took a photocopy before I sent it off.

Convinced they wanted to use it for a murder or something but they paid cash so who cares

Same thing with my sons Celica except the lorry was Polish registered. When they opened the back of the truck there were already 2 cars in there.

Rexxar · 10 Apr 2016 at 12:07

flowrider99 said:
Same thing with my sons Celica except the lorry was Polish registered. When they opened the back of the truck there were already 2 cars in there.

Friend of mine sold a non-running m3 to some eastern european lads, wanted to meet in a car-park so a few of us went along.

Had to be a carpark, because they brought an artic along with a container on the back and 2 great big ramps. They had great fun getting it into the back.

Amazing the lengths people will go to.

Rroff · 10 Apr 2016 at 12:16

snapdragon69 said:
We sold a 15 year old dishwasher on ebay for £60 by auction about 15 years ago. You could go to Currys and buy a new Candy one for £119 at the time. She drove nearly 200 miles each way to pick it up. Some people just seem to prefer old tat.

It can be some odd things - I know of someone who drove a considerable distance and paid over the odds to buy a 2nd hand washing machine due to their mother (getting on/dementia) being familiar with that model which wasn't made any more.

egraphixstudios · 10 Apr 2016 at 13:38

Jez said:
I sold a vectra with a broken gearbox for about £300 to a pair of Russians who turned up with a Russian registered flatbed.

They didn't even want the v5, I made them sign it anyway which is all you need to worry about. I obviously took a photocopy before I sent it off.

Convinced they wanted to use it for a murder or something but they paid cash so who cares

haha funny...