How not to sell a car...

Kaladan · 4 Jul 2009 at 12:46

I just went to see a 2nd hand car with a mate who had just recently passed his test and was looking to get a semi-decent newish car as he had some cash tucked away.

I said I'd go with him to have a look at a MK4 Golf he'd seen in the local paper. Anyway, I drove us over to the seller who was a woman in her late 20's or so.

Went through the usual spiel and had a quick look over the car and then I asked the standard question "Why are you selling it?"

I almost burst out in laughter when the response was "Oh I'm selling it because it's constantly broken down since I've had it, I have to take it to the garage every few months for one thing or another"

Kudos for her honesty I guess, but I think her sales technique was fundamentally flawed :rolleyes:

Anybody else been subjected to anything quite as ridiculous or bizarre as this when buying a used car?

Beerbaron · 4 Jul 2009 at 12:50

so your mate snapped it up then

Dorje · 4 Jul 2009 at 12:51

Blonde?

Duke · 4 Jul 2009 at 12:54

Tomsk · 4 Jul 2009 at 12:59

Kaladan said:
I almost burst out in laughter when the response was "Oh I'm selling it because it's constantly broken down since I've had it, I have to take it to the garage every few months for one thing or another"

Kudos for her honesty I guess, but I think her sales technique was fundamentally flawed

Her idea of a breakdown might be blown bulb or running out of washer fluid, so if it's priced right it could still be a bargain.

MeAnBoY · 4 Jul 2009 at 13:06

Tomsk said:
Her idea of a breakdown might be blown bulb or running out of washer fluid, so if it's priced right it could still be a bargain.

That could be true, but if that's the case then it means she has totally zero knowledge of cars so i can only assume she doesnt/didnt give a stuff what she did with the car

And seriously LOL at her 'sales technique'

Kaladan · 4 Jul 2009 at 13:11

Tomsk said:
Her idea of a breakdown might be blown bulb or running out of washer fluid, so if it's priced right it could still be a bargain.

That was my initial reaction, so I enquired further, but when she said it'd just been in the garage for "gearbox problems", that's the point where we walked off.

Now you could very well be right that previous issues could have been very slight, and maybe the car was in decent order, but I wasn't that confident in my technical knowledge to tell or distinguish between them, and she didn't seem to really be able to fully explain what issues it had, so I figured it'd be safer to walk away.

Also when you've got a car like a Golf which is usually a pretty solid/reliable vehicle and you're told there's nothing but problems with it, it raises questions about how well the car has been treated/driven.

Also, not one to perpetuate a stereotype, but yeah, she was Blonde.

Scania · 4 Jul 2009 at 13:14

I wish I'd had my camera on thursday night, I was delivering to Tesco's at Irlam in Gtr Manchester, on the staff car park was an M reg Mondeo Ghia in the window was a sign that read "Engine ****ed - £200 o.n.o"

Wicksta · 4 Jul 2009 at 13:15

Kaladan said:
That was my initial reaction, so I enquired further, but when she said it'd just been in the garage for "gearbox problems", that's the point where we walked off.

If he's looking at a Golf mk4 around the 2001 age then be thankful it's been in the garage for the gearbox problem, it's a very common faullt where they cheaped out on the rivets that hold the diff together and it comes apart and destroys the box. It happened to my missus' car after 35k miles ownership from new, have a google.

I'd be more inclined to go for that one than a Golf of the same age which hasn't had the rivets fail yet.

Kaladan · 4 Jul 2009 at 13:28

Wicksta said:
If he's looking at a Golf mk4 around the 2001 age then be thankful it's been in the garage for the gearbox problem, it's a very common faullt where they cheaped out on the rivets that hold the diff together and it comes apart and destroys the box. It happened to my missus' car after 35k miles ownership from new, have a google.

I'd be more inclined to go for that one than a Golf of the same age which hasn't had the rivets fail yet.

Ahhh interesting. See, if I'd have been buying the car myself, the first thing I'd do is scour the web for common faults and look through the relevant enthusiast forums, much like I do anytime I make a semi-big purchase, I suss the lay of the land. Since this was a phone call this morning at the break of dawn, I didn't do any preperation.

Wicksta · 4 Jul 2009 at 14:00

Kaladan said:
Ahhh interesting. See, if I'd have been buying the car myself, the first thing I'd do is scour the web for common faults and look through the relevant enthusiast forums, much like I do anytime I make a semi-big purchase, I suss the lay of the land. Since this was a phone call this morning at the break of dawn, I didn't do any preperation.

Here's a description of the problem so you and your mate can look out for the relevant age with the gearbox model numbers etc.

http://www.btinternet.com/~a_hutton/VW_Gearbox_Failure.htm

Kaladan · 4 Jul 2009 at 14:10

Wicksta said:
Here's a description of the problem so you and your mate can look out for the relevant age with the gearbox model numbers etc.

http://www.btinternet.com/~a_hutton/VW_Gearbox_Failure.htm

Excellent page. Many thanks for that link, will be most useful if he ends up looking at any other golfs. Interestingly the one we did look at today did fall into the right age to be affected by this issue, so it could very well be that we missed a good oppurtunity. Plenty more fish in the sea