Guys buying your car at your door

Spunj

I haven't seen a thread on this before so here goes..

About 5 months ago a guy called to my door and asked to buy my car. I had never advertised it as being for sale so it was a bit of a surprise. I quote "I buy your car" then a wallet opening motion with the wallet being fat with €50 notes.

I was taken aback to be honest as I had no plans of selling my motor, but I had moved home a few months before and had the use of 2 other cars and the costs of my car sitting there doing nothing suddenly became apparent.

I had a moment of indecision and then said wtf get rid of it and drive the other cars and welcome to a little cash.

Sold it to him after sending him home, taking a number and finally doing a deal. Has anyone else had someone cold-call for their car? I mentioned this to a friend and he told me that it had happened with his car but he hadn't sold it.

The guy in question was foreign (most notable by the mouthful of gold teeth that shocked me as a first impression ). Someone told me that this is a pretty common phenomenon among our new immigrants (I have nothing against a bit of Del Boy amongst our native or our imported people btw) .

Anyway I have no idea where I have ended up right now I sold my car to the guy, he was nice, and someone told me the last sale auction thing he was at was at least 50% this kind of person selling on my type of bought car.

Is this a new thing? Or is it that I have just been made aware of a practice that has been going on for ages?

Let me just make something clear - I have no objections to immigration, cultural diversity etc, this is just a question of whether you have ever been approached at your door to sell your car.

milltown

Yep, happened me a few (3?) years ago. I had just bought a new, to me, car and the old POS was still on the driveway. I honestly thought I was going to have to pay to get it scrapped until one evening a pair of guys rang the bell asking if any of the cars were for sale.
Long story short, I got €150 for a 15 year old Civic with no exhaust, no tax and no hope of getting an NCT instead of paying someone to take it away. Cash paid was all legit and I never heard anything of the car since, no parking fines, speeding tickets, nothing. Guys looked Turkishy/Moroccany and it was in Lucan. I too wonder if they go door to door, or were they just passing through my cul de sac and got a horn for "white lightning", as it was known.

kikel

I advertised my car on carzone for 3 months. Not one person came to look at it. After 3 months i wasn't bothered trying to sell it anymore and had decided to hang onto it.
2 weeks later i sold it while doing a nixer. The person i was working for just had to have it. Cash in hand 24 hours later

mikemac

What I'd be concerned about here is forged bank notes. But I'm sure any seller would know to check this before handing over the keys

gyppo

Yes, has happened twice for the same car, a toyota starlet. Both times, the callers were foreigners. As it happened, the car was needed at the time, and I could'nt sell for a few months.
Same car sold rapidly on the B&S a few months later.

peasant

There is regular trading going on with old cars in Europe ...they all end up in Africa somewhere and are kept going with spit and bits of wire

Guess the market is expanding to Ireland now.
There would be rich pickings with all manner of jaloppies sitting in the hedgerows.

On my old camper I was approached about once a month if I would sell it.
(not by Africans though)

oleras

Quick word of warning, not sure if it is an urban myth or what, but im sure it has happened before.

Same story, someone offers you cash for your car at your house, cash handed over, all paperwork filled out. A few hours later masked and armed gang enter the house and take the cash back !

C_Breeze

Yeah I had a Colt GTi that i sold to a memeber of the Travelling communtiy about 3 yrs ago (so it does not seem to be a new phenomenon amongst foreigners) ...Paid cash in hand , only to find it smashed into a lampost in town the next morning Lol

And I had a guy knocking on my door to ask me where i got the tints done on my previous car.

Oh and when i went to get my lats car serviced, another punter offered to buy it off me there and then as he loved it so much.

seamus

oleras wrote:

Quick word of warning, not sure if it is an urban myth or what, but im sure it has happened before.

Same story, someone offers you cash for your car at your house, cash handed over, all paperwork filled out. A few hours later masked and armed gang enter the house and take the cash back !

I'd say you'd only find that for more expensive/high-powered cars.

I can't see anyone risking a charged of armed robbery for €150 and a wrecked Civic

oleras

seamus wrote:

I'd say you'd only find that for more expensive/high-powered cars.

I can't see anyone risking a charged of armed robbery for €150 and a wrecked Civic

LOL...........very true.

ambro25

Had about 7 offers over 2 years while we had the MX5 on the drive (2 of which from neighbours - they had obviously witnessed for themselves the painstaking care lavished on it ). I guess it was, in small part, one the many reasons why we have relocated it since

milltown

micmclo wrote:

What I'd be concerned about here is forged bank notes. But I'm sure any seller would know to check this before handing over the keys

If he had handed me a €150 note I would have gladly accepted! I was saving that much by not having to scrap it myself.

Saruman

My friends mates do this sometimes... They will buy a junker, do it up and sell it on
For instance they were driving down the country one day and saw an old morris minor sitting in someones yard. They knocked on the door and asked to buy it. they got it and did it up, spent a few thousand on it and sold it on. I do not think they made much profit even, they just love doing up old bangers

blastman

Happened to me a couple of times as I had two cars the same relatively unusual model sitting outside the door. On both occasions the guy was offering to buy the more weathered example, so he was a either a fan of the model or after a cheap car. At the time I didn't want to sell, so I refused, although I have sold it since.

Jumpy

milltown wrote:

If he had handed me a €150 note I would have gladly accepted! I was saving that much by not having to scrap it myself.

Personally I wouldnt accept a €150 note. They are like fivers. Too much use so they are dirty and rumpled. A crisp €225 note would suit me better.

milltown

It was a buyer's market tbh. Bear in mind this was during the great Civic crash of '04.

blastman

Was that the one on the M7? I remember that vaguely...

dlofnep

When I first got my mini, I had a few people call. Then when I sent it to the mechanics, it was outside his place for a few days. When I came to collect it, he told me at least 6 or 7 people asked to buy it.

unkel

Used to have an old Starlet - it was intended for Mrs unkel to learn to drive in. She didn't really get 'round to that. The low mileage car was running fine but tax and NCT had expired. When a young and friendly member of the travelling community enquired about it, I let him take it for free. He was delighted