My eBay advert for a broken car - is it good to go

almoststew1990 · 4 Jun 2018 at 11:32

I've never sold a car before (but use ebay quite a bit).

Does my advert sound reasonable for an auction spares or repair car? Anything I should look out for in terms of dodgy buyers?

the reserve is £500.

Photos of the car on the ad are here:

Firestar_3x · 4 Jun 2018 at 11:57

Does it have a current MOT?

If so i'd make that clear in the text.

Joe T · 4 Jun 2018 at 12:16

Firestar_3x said:
Does it have a current MOT?

If so i'd make that clear in the text.

It's in the table. Expires in July.

Armageus · 4 Jun 2018 at 12:32

Joe T said:
It's in the table. Expires in July.

Worth sticking in the body text as well imo, as afaik you dont see the table when viewing on mobile.

Joe T · 4 Jun 2018 at 12:32

Armageus said:
Worth sticking in the body text as well imo, as afaik you dont see the table when viewing on mobile.

If it had 12 months (i.e. something to shout about) then I would agree.

wedrum · 4 Jun 2018 at 12:34

would get rid of the well loved bit

cheesyboy · 4 Jun 2018 at 12:47

My advice, having spent a long time trying to shift a spares/repairs passat, is to get used to having the winning bid go cold on you time after time.

I listed and 'sold' 4 times (for ~£1k, then £850, £700, £650) before eventually just taking the £500 offered by some chaps from poland who arrived in a massive double trailer lorry, driven from Poland that morning, to pick it up in.

£500 was good money, since the car would have been worth ~£1600 without the knackered oil pump, bad tyres, bodywork damage, and other issues, but I did get quite excited by that initial £1k sale.

Finners · 4 Jun 2018 at 13:10

Would put it on as a classified advert myself for more than its worth with best offer available. Then communicate through eBay messages with everyone interested. Should hopefully then get a serious buyer

jpaul · 4 Jun 2018 at 13:41

maybe - how long you have had it ? that would add too credibility.

cheesyboy said:
I listed and 'sold' 4 times ... by some chaps from poland who arrived in a massive double trailer lorry, driven from Poland that morning, to pick it up in.

did you nonetheless get some reliable uk identity from the chaps - to ensure registration docs transferred ok. ?

Haggisman · 4 Jun 2018 at 15:04

Knowing what eBay idiots are like, I would put the faults in 24pt red text at the top of the listing so there is absolutely no way they can possibly claim you tried to hide it them.

lordrobs · 4 Jun 2018 at 15:24

Why Paypal only? I'd imagine this is the sort of thing people would prefer to hand over pound notes for?

Edit - spotted cash on collection at the top but description only says Paypal.

Lopéz · 4 Jun 2018 at 15:27

jpaul said:
maybe - how long you have had it ? that would add too credibility.

did you nonetheless get some reliable uk identity from the chaps - to ensure registration docs transferred ok. ?

How do you get UK identity from Polish men from Poland?

almoststew1990 · 4 Jun 2018 at 17:21

Armageus said:
Worth sticking in the body text as well imo, as afaik you dont see the table when viewing on mobile.

Yeah good idea - they can drive it home, no need for a trailer.

wedrum said:
would get rid of the well loved bit

Gone.

lordrobs said:
Why Paypal only? I'd imagine this is the sort of thing people would prefer to hand over pound notes for?

Edit - spotted cash on collection at the top but description only says Paypal.

I was going to do paypal only on the basis that someone paying cash will turn up and change their mind. Even though I have described it accurately and the photos don't hide anything.

Thanks for the input - it goes live tonight

Temujin · 4 Jun 2018 at 17:28

Is it customary to ask for a non-refundable paypal deposit in instances such as this? At least if they know they need to pay 10% within a few hours of the auction ending it may stop people bidding to never turn up. Often see it on car adverts!

Deus Ex · 4 Jun 2018 at 19:11

I guess their is a spectrum at which point getting the best price will mean too much of your time. Deposit sounds reasonable

Scania · 4 Jun 2018 at 20:40

Have you looked into the likely culprits for this juddering - cam & crank position sensors and / or coil packs?

I’d have thought - assuming you haven’t done this - a couple of hundred quid with a fault code reader and some new bits could well get it running well enough to sell as a runner and command a fair premium on what your likely to reap....

jpaul · 4 Jun 2018 at 21:28

Scania said:
Have you looked into the likely culprits for this juddering

... he explained some theories in his earlier thread ?

[TW]Fox · 4 Jun 2018 at 21:57

[Pedant]

It's not an M Sport, it's a Sport.

[/Pedant]

almoststew1990 · 11 Jun 2018 at 13:35

One week later, the auction is sitting at £1,030 and ending tonight. I've prepared a receipt, does this look alright?

jpaul · 11 Jun 2018 at 13:52

since you have said it runs smooth when warm with traction off, not sure as a buyer I would want to sign this until I'd had it a few days.
I would find it draconian - was the wording recommended elsewhere ?

... however despite signing this, if he drove off , and next day, for example, cooling system failed, he would have some comeback ?
and, he may well remark such a scenario, before handing over money.