Advice needed ...........

[marshy01]

Hi guys , hope u r all well at this miserable time of year . I,m struggling at the moment with my business , as know doubt a lot r , i might have to sell my beloved RS but to be honest i am a bit worried after some of the advertising horror stories i have heard . Cars being snatched after coming to view them . Any advice much appreciated ?

[fataitch]

I'm in the process of selling one of my cars at the moment and have the same concerns.

My plan is to insist on photo id as well as fully comp insurance (check it thoroughly too and take a note or copy, you'd be surprised how some people's names are all very similar in some communities - i speak from experience before anyone gets upset!).

Note the details of the vehicle they arrive in and if anyone else is in it; only the potential buyer in for a test drive, or one at a time if his mate's the "expert" and make sure they bring their car keys with them.

All sounds a little cloak and dagger but any genuine purchaser won't mind.

Last month a friend was selling a Rangey Sport; two guys turned up and went with the seller for a test drive. Halfway along, one said he was concerned about the turbo smoking and could the seller rev it a little so they could look - ok, so he doesn't know much about turbo's but that's not his fault - as he stepped out to climb into the driver seat, they jumped back in, locked the doors and drove off. Never seen again. The 5 series he thinks they turned up in was nowhere to be seen by the time he got back.

Make sure there's someone else at home too so they don't burgle your house while you're out !!

It's a pretty crappy world we live in sometimes, don't you think ?

In true crimewatch style, these incidents are few and far between, just be aware and be careful, or trade it

Good luck with the business and good luck with the sale if it has to happen.

Hayden

[marshy01]

I'm in the process of selling one of my cars at the moment and have the same concerns.

My plan is to insist on photo id as well as fully comp insurance (check it thoroughly too and take a note or copy, you'd be surprised how some people's names are all very similar in some communities - i speak from experience before anyone gets upset!).

Note the details of the vehicle they arrive in and if anyone else is in it; only the potential buyer in for a test drive, or one at a time if his mate's the "expert" and make sure they bring their car keys with them.

All sounds a little cloak and dagger but any genuine purchaser won't mind.

Thank you Hayden , in some ways what a horrible world we live in , the car has a tracker so i need to put warning sticker on it , .

Last month a friend was selling a Rangey Sport; two guys turned up and went with the seller for a test drive. Halfway along, one said he was concerned about the turbo smoking and could the seller rev it a little so they could look - ok, so he doesn't know much about turbo's but that's not his fault - as he stepped out to climb into the driver seat, they jumped back in, locked the doors and drove off. Never seen again. The 5 series he thinks they turned up in was nowhere to be seen by the time he got back.

Make sure there's someone else at home too so they don't burgle your house while you're out !!

It's a pretty crappy world we live in sometimes, don't you think ?

In true crimewatch style, these incidents are few and far between, just be aware and be careful, or trade it

Good luck with the business and good luck with the sale if it has to happen.

Hayden

[wrekka]

My advice is make sure you have at least one other person with you at all times.

Don't let anyone drive unless they have insurance proof. Make sure that you are in the car when keys are passed over to let them drive. Also when they have finished a test drive with you, make sure they turn the car off and give you the keys before you get out.

Also don't meet anyone on a car park, petrol station etc. You may get callers saying "can you meet me half way". Just say no. Anyone really wanting an RS4 will be prepared to drive to your house. It took me 14 trips around the country, 5 months and over 2000 miles in total before I found the right car!!

hope that helps a little?

[Ice_Coffee]

never mind I was beaten to it

[marshy01]

Thank you all , i messed up my thanks to Hayden but i said half joking that i will have to put tracker stickers all over the car .............

[sevy]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum but I've already benefitted from the advice/comments posted on here by others (DRC issues!) so thought I might be able to help with another option.

Have you thought about selling your RS4 through an agent on a commission basis? I sold my 130i M Sport through a company (actually one guy) who's main business is sourcing cars to order, but he also sells cars on behalf of his clients. He'll agree a fixed amount of commission in advance, and then sort out the advertising (Autotrader, Pistonheads, etc), ready the car for sale if it needs it, and deal with prospective buyers. Plus, as soon as he has the car it's covered by his company insurance.

There's a lot of trust involved so it's not an option for everyone, but he sold my BMW in less than a week for £2500 more than the best p/x price I'd been offered - all for a fee of £500 plus advertising/prep costs of about £70, and without any hassle on my part. Since then he's also sold my sister's Astra too.

Happy to fwd his details if interested. Hope that helps...

Simon