Risks to selling a car to someone in Northern Ireland?

[MrRockliffe]

Current situation:


Car booked in to be sold Monday with a garage.

Called today by a gentleman in NI highly interested in my car, asked to buy it.

I explained it’s being sold on Monday to a garage, so if he can offer better and collect before, it’s his.

He can’t because flights are expensive this weekend and too short notice. Offered to collect Monday/Tuesday. Has paid me a £500 deposit via BT.


Collection

Wants to collect Monday/Tuesday next week.

Will be getting someone else to collect the vehicle. (Red flag)

Is happy to pay the money upfront, before the guy drives away (obviously wouldn’t do it otherwise)

Is happy with the detailed information I’ve given him on condition of the car.





What are the risks to me?

I’m planning to call the garage to delay it by a week, as I’ve also got a windscreen repair booked in for Monday - this is the earliest they could do.


Am I missing anything obvious?



Thanks in advance

 

[tom_e]

Unless he's beating the garage price by a fair margin I'd refund his deposit and go with the easier option.
It'll probably be fine but is it worth the ball ache?

 

[teenwolf]

oh oh red flags for sure

 

[brendy]

Current situation:


Car booked in to be sold Monday with a garage.

Called today by a gentleman in NI highly interested in my car, asked to buy it.

I explained it’s being sold on Monday to a garage, so if he can offer better and collect before, it’s his.

He can’t because flights are expensive this weekend and too short notice. Offered to collect Monday/Tuesday. Has paid me a £500 deposit via BT.


Collection

Wants to collect Monday/Tuesday next week.

Will be getting someone else to collect the vehicle. (Red flag)

Is happy to pay the money upfront, before the guy drives away (obviously wouldn’t do it otherwise)

Is happy with the detailed information I’ve given him on condition of the car.





What are the risks to me?

I’m planning to call the garage to delay it by a week, as I’ve also got a windscreen repair booked in for Monday - this is the earliest they could do.


Am I missing anything obvious?



Thanks in advance

To be fair, we (Northern Irelanders) buy quite a lot of cars from Scotland, England and Wales. My last 3 have been from Ulveston, Kent and Bradford and have drove/flown over for all three. One was a cash purchase the other two were bank transfers. Your car, your money but I wouldnt be put off wholesale. Maybe do some digging though if you have their name/address. My guess is that if its a second person collecting, it could be a dealer of some sort.

 

[Rroff]

Is there anything particularly special about the car that someone from NI would bother about it?

 

[brendy]

Is there anything particularly special about the car that someone from NI would bother about it?

Ive bought my missus a 320d msport from Derby before, doesnt have to be rare, just well priced and in good condition. A flight is 100 quid and a ferry a little more, NI cars can be over priced due to supply so its well worth shopping in the entire UK.

 

[MrRockliffe]

Is there anything particularly special about the car that someone from NI would bother about it?

It’s a high specced early 2018 S5 in a somewhat rare paint/spec combo, machine polished, ceramic coated and some other stuff, so I could see why they’re looking at it

 

[MrRockliffe]

Unless he's beating the garage price by a fair margin I'd refund his deposit and go with the easier option.
It'll probably be fine but is it worth the ball ache?

This is largely my thinking. He’s not beating their offer by a significant amount, but equally the garage are buying it “subject to condition”, which means they could also drop their offer on the day.


I’m thinking if I entertain this offer from the guy for now, and delay my sale to the garage by a few days, there is no risk to me.


The guy has already sent me £500

 

[Scania]

I sold an old e36 to a guy from Belfast, I was wary although it was only £1500 but still, £1500 is £1500 I expressed my concerns and as said earlier he explained the same car in N.I. was quite a bit more money, he sent me the whole amount (bearing he’d not seen the car in person) turned up the following day , jumped in and drove it away without even looking under the bonnet.

Sure your S5 represents a considerably larger sum but, on the face of it given you have a deposit already, I wouldn’t be too concerned.

 

[ivrytwr3]

Unless he's beating the garage price by a fair margin I'd refund his deposit and go with the easier option.
It'll probably be fine but is it worth the ball ache?

I wouldn't be refunding just yet. Is the £500 deffo in the account? Well known scam that they pay from a dodgy account > you refund your own money > bank comes back and says fraudulent account and you are now out £500.

What i don't get is the OP must have provided their bank details and are only now worrying about it.

Outside of England + reasons why they can't collect + someone else collecting on their behalf = could be ok, but a couple of red flags for me.

I'd be getting confirmation from the bank that it is safe to refund and sell to the garage. "It's the only way to be sure"

 

[MrRockliffe]

I wouldn't be refunding just yet. Is the £500 deffo in the account? Well known scam that they pay from a dodgy account > you refund your own money > bank comes back and says fraudulent account and you are now out £500.

What i don't get is the OP must have provided their bank details and are only now worrying about it.

Outside of England + reasons why they can't collect + someone else collecting on their behalf = could be ok, but a couple of red flags for me.

I'd be getting confirmation from the bank that it is safe to refund and sell to the garage. "It's the only way to be sure"

I’ve been unsure since the beginning, but it was the sending of a deposit to someone he didn’t know for a car he hasn’t seen which really made me think “I must be missing something here”.


Money is, as far as I can tell, definitely in the account. Paid by faster payments.


I was very explicit when I said to the guy it’s non refundable, and he was happy with that.



The guy called me again last night to ask if I could meet him at a local airport on Monday morning.


He has booked his flight apparently.

 

[ivrytwr3]

I'd be doing what i could to get a photo of him and his ID in case things go south. And don't release the keys/docs until the cash is in your hand or the bank have confirmed the funds are in.

If he asks if you like dags, run a mile.

 

[Robbo]

I would be very cautious here. It may be fine but I’d lean toward the safer option if possible…

People who are really keen to buy cars they haven’t seen (privately) are always a concern to me.

 

[Spleen Sauce]

It could be someone who has been looking for an S5 for a while and has been waiting for the right spec and colour to come up in the right price range… in which case a deposit without seeing the car isn’t that uncommon.

Make sure you take someone with you when you go to pick him up. Double check everything and when the payment hits your account call your bank and ask them to verify the incoming payment and confirm everything is in order (if they’re open… if it’s Monday then bank holiday…)

 

[Uther]

If he pays this weekend then don't forget it's a bank holiday so will you be able to verify anything. Unless he's bringing a wad of cash, which I'd be surprised at.

 

[inflames]

I sold my mk1 MR2 to a lad from NI years ago, was easy I picked him and his pal up from my local airport. Lucky for me it was just just up the road. They test drove the car. paid cash and then started their long drive home. At the time I thought they were mental, but turned out it’s very common.
But in the OP’s situation I would stick with your current situation and sell it to the garage. What if you hold on for the guy from NI and he pulls out etc.

 

[MrRockliffe]

What if you hold on for the guy from NI and he pulls out etc.

£500 non refundable deposit, and I can move the garage sale back a few days

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

I had a guy fly from Ireland to buy one if my Mazda 6s

He arrived we both went out in the car for a bit, he left it parked outside mine overnight stayed at a hotel and drove off early doors the next day.
I'd normally use the DVLA website when selling but in this instance we used the paper version, so he didn't have to pay a months tax for one day lol

 

[radderfire]

What are the risks to me?

I’m planning to call the garage to delay it by a week, as I’ve also got a windscreen repair booked in for Monday - this is the earliest they could do.

Am I missing anything obvious?

I've never sold a car privately, but since you've asked re risks:

Re financial risks, my understanding is once you can see the money is in your bank account, by checking your ac yourself (important!), then you don't have financial risk, because the bank can't refund or take bank money sent to your ac. Obviously you should want to see money in your ac before releasing the car.

Other risks are risk of theft and personal safety. There is quite a lot of advice online about how to do a second hand car sale as safely as possible, e.g. on conducting the test drive etc.

My thoughts are a video call with the potential buyer would help you suss him out before you do the deal. I would ask for his full name and address, copies of his driving licence and insurance, plus similar details on anyone being sent to inspect the car. I think a genuine buyer would be ok with this, whereas anyone with criminal intent would not.

Anyway, have a look at the advice available online before proceeding. I think car dealer Mike Brewer has done an article.

 

[radderfire]

The guy called me again last night to ask if I could meet him at a local airport on Monday morning.

He has booked his flight apparently.

Being asked to meet at the airport sounds suspicious.

Telling you he's already booked the flight sounds like rushing you, this also sounds suspicious. Fraudsters will always try to rush you through things, so if anything, slow the deal right down, a genuine buyer will wait.

Already there are things that are a bit suspicious about this and I would proceed with caution. Plus it's the bank holiday weekend, also a more likely date picked by criminals. Plus it's a desirable car which makes the possibility of criminal activity higher.

I would definitely be asking for a video call beforehand to get a photo Id and then matching this to photo Id (driving licence and passport). Then as soon as they arrive first thing I would do is take a photo of them and check their Id again (hopefully you know how to identify genuine documents). I would also try and have a friend/family member with me during the car inspection for added security.

In general it is about building up enough steps to ensure you are dealing with a genuine buyer.