Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Sold my car and buyer isn't happy

209 replies

monotonousmum · 09/05/2022 11:24

I sold my car at the weekend, and the buyer has messaged today to say she isn't happy.

Car is 13 years old. Only known issue is that the boot needs to be opened via remote button on the key. It's been like this for three years - and I showed her this before she took the car.

This morning I've had a text to say she's taken it to a garage and they've valued it at £900 under what she paid for it. Brakes need doing, wiper needs replacing, and apparently an electrical problem causes the boot issue.

She hasn't asked me for anything yet. Just told me she's not happy.

I've sent a polite response back to say its a good car, and she should maybe get another opinion. A dealer offered me £200 under what she paid for it last week, and it's a 13 year old car so not going to be perfect.

I offered her to test drive it, she didn't want to. She asked for a reduced price, which was agreed (slightly more than she offered, but £300 less than my asking price). The price was in line with the autotrader valuation, and similar cars for sale.

I feel bad for her if she's not happy, but I have no intention of giving her a refund or anything. AIBU?

OP posts:
CatsAreCrackers · 09/05/2022 12:06

Clearly you don't know how the car industry works. Dealers ALWAYS offer way under asking price, so the OP was absolutely right to ask for more for a private sale. Otherwise, you'd just sell it to the dealer for less hassle. Besides, it wouldn't be unethical for the OP to ask for a million pounds for her car. The buyer was under no obligation to buy it. The OP is within her rights to get as much for her vehicle as she can, she'd be a fool not to. If you don't know about cars, you always get someone you know who has a clue or pay a mechanic to look at a private-buy sale. If you don't know anyone or don't want to pay for an expert then you buy from a garage.

Scianel · 09/05/2022 12:07

@Discovereads do you not understand that selling your car to a dealer means you will get paid under the market value of the car? Some people will still do it as it removes the hassle factor of having to deal with a bunch of randomers test driving your car, mucking you around etc but for a private sale yes you will charge more. As will the dealer when they then put that car on their forecourt.

You're effectively castigating the OP for not giving the buyer a wholesale price. Why should she?

ThePenOfMyAunt · 09/05/2022 12:10

The dealer wouldn't be selling it on at the same price they bought it. Is that unethical?
There's an expectation for price to be negotiable on car sales, so not many people will advertise at their bottom line. (Though obviously at the moment it's more of a seller's market than a buyer's)

passport123 · 09/05/2022 12:11

Tough. The AA and RAC do car checks and she could have arranged one before she bought it.

Discovereads · 09/05/2022 12:11

@AchatAVendre

So why should a buyer take someone who knows cars with them if it’s nonsense that buyers do so to avoid being ripped off by unethical sellers? You said the buyer should have brought someone who knows cars…why should she have then if my reason is “nonsense”?

And as my reason is “nonsense” doesn’t that mean you believe every private seller of cars out there is 100% honest and trustworthy?

dottiedodah · 09/05/2022 12:11

On no account engage with this person.Everyone knows that you buy a second hand car as seen .This is not news! As above PP says a male in her family /friend group has probably said "They saw you coming or" some such tosh.No garage will ever value a car as market value or they wouldnt make any money!

Wheresthebeach · 09/05/2022 12:12

Doggydarling · 09/05/2022 11:35

Either block and ignore or tell her she bought 'as seen' from a private seller with no guarantee or warranty. She chose not to test drive it or have a mechanic look at it prior to purchase so if she does look for money to be returned just refuse her.

This covers everything

Dixiechickonhols · 09/05/2022 12:14

Older cars are usually then offloaded again to sell at auction as they are too old for forecourt so a dealer offer much less than it’s worth. They don’t want the car it’s just taken to facilitate new car sale. Cars are worth what buyer will pay. Woman was happy to pay £x. End of story.

RitaFaircloughsWig · 09/05/2022 12:15

Buyer should have had it checked over BEFORE she bought it.

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 09/05/2022 12:15

She knew what she was getting when she bought the car. Its not like you advertised it as flying Ferrari, is it.

Discovereads · 09/05/2022 12:15

Scianel · 09/05/2022 12:07

@Discovereads do you not understand that selling your car to a dealer means you will get paid under the market value of the car? Some people will still do it as it removes the hassle factor of having to deal with a bunch of randomers test driving your car, mucking you around etc but for a private sale yes you will charge more. As will the dealer when they then put that car on their forecourt.

You're effectively castigating the OP for not giving the buyer a wholesale price. Why should she?

Thats not really the case. There are different market values for a car depending on private sale versus dealer sale. A private sellers market value is lower than a dealers market value. The reason is because a dealer will do full service on a used car and has to provide a warranty of sorts before selling it on. A private seller doesn’t offer these extras which have a cost that should be reflected in the market price. Generally what a dealer will give you for a car is the market value for any private sale whether to a dealer or a private buyer.

Tschecked · 09/05/2022 12:15

Discovereads · 09/05/2022 11:38

To take a car you just bought to a garage and find out you paid £900 over its value for a 13yr old car would be a shock. Most 13yr old cars are under £5k, so that’s a massive difference.

Why did you price the car at £500 over what a dealer offered you for it? How much % of an increase was this? You showed her the boot issue, and she could have seen the wipers, but why did you not mention the brakes?

Yes the law says caveat emptor (buyer beware) but part of me thinks you’ve been a bit greedy and taken advantage of a less well off person by deliberately charging them too high a price for your 13 yr old car and not disclosing expensive brake maintenance you knew was due.

You don't know much about buying and selling second hand cars. Op was perfectly reasonable in this, in terms of pricing the car and revealing known issues. As for problems surfacing after purchase - anyone can take a mechanic friend to check a car over when buying, or the AA do a pre-purchase check for a very reasonable price. This woman is trying it on.

Penguinsaregreat · 09/05/2022 12:16

I agree with what's been said. There is a huge demand for used cars at the moment so the price has increased.

ThePenOfMyAunt · 09/05/2022 12:16

But to answer the OP, it sounds like she's experiencing some regret but I wouldn't engage in it. You've done nothing wrong - you made her aware of the boot issue. Brakes and wipers needing replaced is part of car ownership. It's a private sale and she'll just have to accept it or sell it on.

Original poster
monotonousmum · 09/05/2022 12:16

There's no known issue with the brakes. As far as I know they're fine, or I wouldn't have been driving my kids around in it!

Less than 3k miles since the MOT and no mention of it then.

I'd already advertised the car when the dealer offered less - specifically so he could sell it for more and make money. I chose to decline and make some of that money myself. £200 isn't exactly greedy, it doesn't even cover a month's gas and elec bill!

OP posts:
YetAnotherCupOfTea · 09/05/2022 12:18

When we recently bought a new car, we got around £500 for the old one (13 years old, a number of issues) as part exchange.

Could we have got more from a private seller? Sure, probably. Would we have been ripping off a private seller to sell for, say, £750? No.

We sold to the dealer for convenience.

mm40 · 09/05/2022 12:19

I could have written this thread myself but with a 15year old car. The grief and agro that I’ve had since selling it has made me question my own sanity.

what (nearly) everyone else has said - block and move on. The world is full of nutters.

muddyford · 09/05/2022 12:21

If she wanted the legal protection from buying from a dealer, she could have done so. She didn't and you owe her absolutely nothing.

Discovereads · 09/05/2022 12:22

You don't know much about buying and selling second hand cars.

Lol. I only buy and sell used cars. I’ve owned over a dozen cars. I just happen to be more ethical about it than what appears to be the majority. Which is truly depressing.

“This woman is trying it on.”
Why is it ok to assume the buyer is a scammer but not ok to ask the OP why they priced the car £500 over it’s market value and whether the brakes truly were not known when that seems unlikely given how MOTs are done?

Surely we need these questions answered to know whether the buyer has a valid reason to be unhappy?

Sidge · 09/05/2022 12:22

I’m more astonished that she bought a car without even driving it.

Just reply “it was sold as seen for the price you agreed. Please don’t contact me any further”.

RedWingBoots · 09/05/2022 12:25

BigSandyBalls2015 · 09/05/2022 12:06

We sold a car and the buyer messaged me a year later to tell me it had failed it’s MOT 🙄😂

😂

Oh dear - there's nowt so queer as folk

drpet49 · 09/05/2022 12:26

@Discovereads oh get over it. Nothing wrong with the OP pricing the car £500 over market value. Nothing wrong with this whatsoever.

DuckQuacksFrogRibbits · 09/05/2022 12:26

This is standard garage manipulation. "You got ripped off" puts it in the buyer's mind that the car's seller is a bad person, and the garage is the hero of the piece for "telling it straight". This puts them in a trust mindset towards the garage who then find a ton of "issues" with the car. Does anyone really fall for this rubbish?

Tschecked · 09/05/2022 12:26

Ignore Discovereads - has no idea what they are talking about. Dealers buy for less than private sale value, and of course they sell for a bit more than private sale value - they put some time in on the vehicle before offering it and time costs money.
Discovereads is also suggesting that it's "ethical" to treat this sale as if you were a car dealer. That's rubbish of course. You were ethical - you disclosed everything you know about the car. You offered it at a price, you accepted a lower offer, the deal was done.
Anyone with any sense considering buying a 13 year old car gets it checked over by a professional first.

RedWingBoots · 09/05/2022 12:27

Discovereads · 09/05/2022 12:22

You don't know much about buying and selling second hand cars.

Lol. I only buy and sell used cars. I’ve owned over a dozen cars. I just happen to be more ethical about it than what appears to be the majority. Which is truly depressing.

“This woman is trying it on.”
Why is it ok to assume the buyer is a scammer but not ok to ask the OP why they priced the car £500 over it’s market value and whether the brakes truly were not known when that seems unlikely given how MOTs are done?

Surely we need these questions answered to know whether the buyer has a valid reason to be unhappy?

You claim to know about buying and selling cars privately but you know nothing about haggling. 🤔