Selling a car: is it still caveat emptor or has that changed

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vidapura

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Hi,
I'm thinking of selling my car, just think I'll get better deal with cash than a trade in on the next one.

But I'm just dreading the thoughts of a million calls from dodgy people off of donedeal.
Also worried that I might have someone come back hassling me if anything goes wrong with the car down the line?

It used to be a private sale was just buy it and leave me alone.
But someone in work reckons thats changed recently and I could end up with a buyer coming back.

The car is fine and has no defects I know about.
I just dont' want to get into any hassle, like some smartarse who breaks something and then tries to blame it on me?

Thanks
 
I would advise strongly that you agree to meet and show the car in a local shopping centre.

Do not show it at your home address as you will be plagued with nutjobs looking for you to replace headlights in 6 months time.;)
 
@vidapura If your car is reasonably young say 2021 & up, I think you would probably get a better deal with car dealership. Why don't make an enquiry on what you would like to buy, send them a video of your car, tell them the mileage and ask them to make an offer? Similarly if you are thinking switching brands, say a ford to toyota, ask the local ford dealer will they buy the car off you? You might be surprised at the offer, as they may have had a customer looking for your make, model and age. It will be reasonably hassle free & you don't have to haggle with eejits.

BTW it is cavet emptor with a private sale.
 
Thanks for those suggestions.. its a 2017 C4 grand picasso with low enough mileage and in good condition but the trade in values I've been getting are less than 8k which just sticks in the throat. I wouldnt be buying a new car or anything so I'm generally stuck with independent dealers...
 
HappyLuck said:
BTW it is cavet emptor with a private sale.
Click to expand...
Unless that is the seller fails to respond honestly to questions about faults or knowingly sells a car with dangerous defects or faults.

From Ask CI

"If you sell a car privately, the buyer generally has fewer legal rights than if they bought from a garage or car dealer. Consumer protection law mainly applies to sales between a trader and a consumer, not between two private individuals. This means a private seller does not have the same legal obligations as a business selling cars.

According to Problems with a used car and Buying a used car:

A buyer who purchases from a private seller has very few legal rights if problems arise after the sale.
The buyer should inspect the vehicle carefully before buying, including checking its history and condition.
A private seller does not have a legal duty to provide information that the buyer did not ask for.
If a dispute arises, the buyer can still try to resolve it directly with the seller and may be able to take a civil case if they believe there was wrongdoing.

There are still some important points to be aware of when selling privately:

If the car was bought using a Hire Purchase (HP) or Personal Contract Plan (PCP) agreement, ownership does not pass to the buyer until the finance is fully paid off. The seller should ensure the finance company no longer owns the vehicle before selling it. See hire purchase.
Both the seller and buyer must complete the correct ownership transfer documents when the vehicle is sold. Information about this is available on Buying a used car."
 
I've sold a good few cars privately over the years, never had anyone come back to me, and always a very straightforward transaction too. In fact almost always positive, one exception but nothing major.

Then again if had a near 10 year old Citroën i dont think I'd have much faith in the car and would probably not want to sell privately.

I doubt it's particularly sought after so could take a while to shift and probably would need to be priced cheaply, not sure it would be worth the hassle, you night make 1k to 1.5k if you're lucky
 
I recently was offered 3k more than dealer to sell privately but i went with dealer becasue i wasnt 100% sure the car was without defects.

Peace of mind was worth it for me
 
We recently sold a car, a 10 year old Audi A1. We were going to trade it in, and had the deal organised with a toyota dealer, but were offered 500 more from another dealer who would just take the car cash. We sold the car to him, and when we went back to the toyota dealer, thinking we ould get a better deal as we were now offering cash, we were told the car was now 1k dearer. We never read the small print which said
"Price includes €1000 Trade in Booster"

So we actually lost €500. Our mistake, and I can understand why, as they make some of the profit by shifting on the traded in car.

Just saying, check the car/dealer you are buying from, and if they have a trade in allowance, factor that into the price you are looking for for your old car.
 
vidapura said:
I'm thinking of selling my car, just think I'll get better deal with cash than a trade in on the next one.
Click to expand...
Maybe you would do better privately from a cash point of view, but not from a hassle point of view. In your shoes I'd just trade the C4 so as to draw a line under it. You've been lucky if you've had no real issues. That C4 will likely bite you soon, especially if it's the 1.6 diesel.
 
vidapura said:
but the trade in values I've been getting are less than 8k which just sticks in the throat.
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That's the trade off. Get a trade in, instantly get rid of the car and no hassle. There is a cost for that.

Or, stick it up on DonDeal or another site and get a load of tyre kickers. It may also takes weeks/ months to sell it. People are wary to buy cars off strangers in car parks. What if they get sold a lemon? At least if it was from a garage, they can go back to the garage.

If I was buying off someone in a car park, I would want a big discount off the asking price for the risk I was taking, especially for a 9 year car. For example, has the timing belt been changed on it?
 
@vidapura whats the going rate for that make and model, yr and mileage on the donedeals and carzones of the world?
 
Bout 12k fir my mileage.

But I'm thinkin of getting out of cars and buying short wheel base camper. So cash would be preferable.
 
Caveat emptor certainly applies to private sales.

You could sell a car in utmost good faith but it could have problems that you cannot reasonably be expected to know about.
In that situation you could end up being plagued by a disgruntled buyer whose view of contract law might be inadequate !

I would always prefer to sell or trade in to a "knowledgeable buyer" such as a bona fide motor trader.
If you sell to such a party the chances of comeback are virtually eliminated and you will have peace of mind.
Unfortunately, in the modern world, there are just too many chancers and fraudsters to deal with especially if you don't know them.
 
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Thanks, yeah.. leanin towards a trade in now after reading all the above.
Just have to find some dealer willing to be a bit daycent about it..
 
Additional thought in relation to private sales.

If the potential buyer wants a test drive you would need to have the motor insurance position nailed down.
If the intending buyer drives your car with your consent both he and you are probably not going to be covered.
Potential buyers might say that they have DOC that covers them to drive your car. That usually turns out be waffle !

If the intending buyer has an accident in a public place whilst driving your car any negligence of his is imputed to you.
That means that you pay for any third party claims out of your pocket.

The joys of a private sale / purchase :rolleyes:
 
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