Stop it, stop it, stop it....I will be strong, i will be...oh bugger

I'm trying to see what the problem is here 25 posts in?

I used to like buying and selling cars, now I hate it:

I've had about 10 people come to look at my MX-5 over the last few days, and all but two of them absolutely loved it. 4 of them have made me offers which I accepted but they said they'd have to get in touch and buy it later if still available. As soon as it's gone I can go and get my new Coupe, and nobody has called back all day... I'm going crazy!

I know its easier said than done, but ask for a deposit, this usually sorts things out or scares them away. Simple

Don't think there is a real problem, just man banter

This is the other side of the coin Matt...I hate it when someone commits and then evaporates...as Phil says..deposit or not sold sorts the men from the wasters....

That wont get it sold any quicker. I just dont get why so many people go to view a car, say it's the best one theyve seen and they want it, but dont buy it.

Very good

Selling, the other side of the coin. The car is the star, but its not always obvious to the potential buyer. It's up to you to make sure this is not only a good buy, but its a must have. Obviously another story to unfold.

Have another read...I thought it made sense..

No problem apart from wasting my time and costing me money!

More a social banter on the unreliability of some used car sellers I guess

Jon

I see your mood is melowing from rage to sorrow Jon, the sun will shine for you soon

Amazing what a few hours and a glass of merlot can do for a man ...It's cost me a couple of tickets for Micheal Bouble' at the O2 to placate the boss though - a full day travelling to look at yet another coupe don't come cheap

Humanity is the problem, people.

When cars break, it's not their fault, they dont mean to... but some people deliberately try to cheat and deceive for their own benefit at other people expense.

Don't want to seem uncaring.  I know you pissed off as I guess I would be with the effort you put in. 
But, had you been going to see the car through autotrader for instance, still cost you the same.  
If I am correct you won it off eBay then did not buy it?
 Two weeks before my 944s2  was going for major service the cam chain tensioner came apart. It took the best part of 3k to sort it out finding why no oil pressure etc   Put it on eBay when it was fixed. Got £3,600. That guy got a bargain.  Not to 'get rid' as it was in the best condition to sell.  Was a great car. eBay unlike other forms of selling is a definite timeline. Auction ends , you take the breaks.  
FAIL on my behalf
Last car I also sold on eBay. Solid. 12 months mot etc few hundred quid.  FAIL on my behalf. 
Bought the coupe eBay, unseen. But went through with it when I made the train journey. It's ok. Spend three times the amount to be how you want. FAIL again. 
Just, sweeping sentiment about eBay. Be good buyers and sellers. Simple. 
Luckily you hadn't paid a deposit on it. 
You went to see a car you didn't want to buy.
Yes I know it's banter. As I am adding?

Hey thats a story that I can relate to, but without sounding too facetious, I may have blue hair & changed my name to stainless/steel. Obviously this is cryptic, but hope you understand....

sorry to hear this jonjeffryes.

Keep looking and im sure your find the right one soon. But if it was you who parked next to me in tesco carpark a couple of weeks back?.... i wouldnt rush in finding a turbo as she does look very nice

steve

Sorry to hear.

I dont understand this behaviour really.

Admittedly there is always a matter of interpretation, one mans rubbish is anothers...etc but there is a definite line between interpretation and lying.

Ive sold a few cars on ebay, and at risk of putting potential buyers off I always list all faults in detail. Okay, if its stonechipped you cant list each one but a fair description of condition is a must.

I'd feel an absolute idiot making someone turn up for something which is obviously not as it is described, and it'd also be a waste of my time as much as theirs.

Hell, I sold an mr2 mk2 once and said the battery's on its way out and hadnt been driven for a while. I told the buyer "dont leave the lights on when you fill up with fuel at the garage down the raod as it wont have time to charge the battery sufficiently in under 1 mile"

Sure enough a call comes through from the buyer " im not happy, blah blah, car wont start in garage...."

I go down there feeling really bad and offer to jump start, try another battery etc and notice the pop up lights are up he liked them being up as not had them before and decided to leave lights on while filling up!

Jump start and off it goes...!

Still felt bad about it and wasnt really my fault, let alone making someone travel for miles about a car which is clearly not as described

No it's not that simple...The car was to be purchased following an advert on Pistonheads.

I responded to the advert with phonecalls and lots of e-mails to establish the condition...and this is the point...before I agreed to travel and buy the car...if it was as described.

Now we all describe things differently - the guy's trying to sell so he is positive...I'm buying so I'm careful they are the rules of the game- we all understand that.

However...and this is the clincher...He knows I'm travelling from Sussex to South Wales...He knows it will cost me £100 one way to get there (for me and my wife)..we have had an indepth discussion about his most realistic view on the chances of the car making it back along the M4 and home - some 200 miles plus so he knows the score.

I get there...the ar looks like someone has gone around it with a ball pein hammer in places. there is a two inch long dent and gouge about 2mm deep in the drivers door. The rear wheel arches are rusty,the bonnet slam is rusty, the car is filthy..and I mean not just needing a wash but filthy. The tyres are illegal. The tracking is clearly miles out and has been for some time by the wear on the tyres. Where there is tread left, it is down past the wear indicators. there's no coolant in the coolant bottle...and I mean bone dry....

When I go to start the car..the battery is dead..it takes an hour to get the battery sorted (I had to fix the battery charger first) it's pretty evident that the coolant was exiting through the exhaust. We are talking no doubt that the head gasket was shot.

I did not road test the car...it was not safe.

The problem is that, knowing the potential purchaser of the car was driving it back several hundred miles...just making sure the car was safe and legal (and yes I did specifically ask questions in writing about the cars legality...and was told in writing it was)...

This wasn't just a mismatch of expectations..this was deliberate misrepresentation...if I'd been a young lad or less savey about cars...he might have got away with it and that is disgraceful...no matter what type of car it is.....

Now off the soap box and intending to enjoy the coupe I have....

Re: your 944...what a shame for you..I love the 944...in my view, one of the best cars Porsche ever made (I have a realy early minter in my garage awaiting Pinion bearing and clutch replacement)...I've had 911's, 928's, 924's but I don't think any of tham match the 944 for balance and poise...I wish I'd seen your S2 for sale...I'd probably bought it

Hi Steve,

is that you with the Green coupe...she looked very smart..

I think I may just stick with it....but who knows...if the right car comes along...you never know!

Matt,

I think you need to join me with the merlot..works for me....

Exactly....I didn't expect a minter...but I did expect a roadworthy car...

nightmare jon, and if it helps in anyway, yours is a story which i think most on here have suffered in some respect in the past, myself included.

without wanting to jump on MY soap box too much, this does echo a post i wrote about buying a coupe (overpriced) recently, and basically, follows what i have read about work done to your own VIS.

you have in your possesion a car which you have spent a fair amount of cash on, that you know the history of, and that you know what needs doing to it.

ANY car that is advertised for sale wont be 100% as described, it never is, and in the end the only one who is going to suffer that fact is the new buyer.

of course, it is pretty unfair for this guy to think that he can bluff you over the phone/pc to make you think you are going to be getting a little gem because its at a decent price, when clearly when you see it in the flesh you are very quickly going to realize its a turd.

but, if you were going to buy a dirt cheap coupe, thats adverised cheap because its faults are obvious, then you know what you are getting yourself into - and then if you are willing to spend the money on it, you end up with a nice example, much like your VIS.

To be fair...the conversations never promised anything other than a roadworthy car with bodywork representative of 11 years use...the last 3 years gentle use in the hands of an 'enthusiast'.

So the loaded expectation of something needing the input of my dentman and probably a bit of paintwork and belts plus a service..I wasn't too concerned with bodywork really as long as it was solid...this I made clear.

It was the fact this car would not have made the published journey home that's got me steamed up (excuse the pun)

When I bought my 16v na...i knew there were problems with running within a mile or two..they were fixed..but there were no safety issues with the car..i.e it was roadworthy.

When I bought the yellow peril, again it was safe and road legal...if a little frayed around the edges...you always expect this with a secondhand cheap car....but you do expect it to be road legal..and it clearly wasn't.

The yellow peril will stay...another 500+ to be spent with roger on Thursday so unless someone offers a decent swap/exchange for a turbo on this list...she'll remain in my care...and she'll always be road legal at the very least....Lesson learnt I guess

Jon

Sorry to hear this mate, I had similar experiences when I thought of changing to a turbo this Easter!

In the end I stuck to my VIS which I bought fron rog at PowerItalia....

Buying from private sellers is a ball-ache!

There was a special edition MX-5 called the Merlot!

Got me all worried now.

Flying to Northern Ireland to get a 20vt next week.

Jon,
just spotted this thread. Shocking story, and I cannot even begin to imagine your feelings when you saw the "machine". Feel sorry for you AND the car - at least you are not going to the scrappy (yet ).

Keep the faith and see you again soon (few 20VTs on Autotrader if you can bear to look )

Tim

It took me 4 months to find the perfect 20VT Coupe. Must have looked at 10-15 cars in that time and all had shortcomings, missing history, and many were total sheds despite being described as 'mint' in the adverts. I was about to give up looking when my car turned up on Autotrader in the nick of time.

That was nearly 5 years ago too. It was hard to find a 'goodun' back then, so the search must be doubly hard these days with even more Coupe's approaching shed territory.

Good luck with looking and if you keep the faith that perfect car will come good in the end.

There's been a fair amount said on this thread already so I won't pad it out any more, other than to say that as mentioned previously well done for keeping your head and going home carless, the easy thing to do would have been just to buy it anyway...the result being an extra two threads a day in the technical forum while you try day and night to make it work...!

Gareth