Car buyers inspection techniques ??

[HULK_I6T]

As we all know buying a used car can be like being in the jungle, anything and everything can happen.

But as a seller of a used car what inspection techniques have we witnessed from buyers to evaluate our vehicles? Ive sold a few cars over the years and ive witnessed some very odd techniques, here are a few.

I recently sold a car and a family turns up and they stood there for a good 15 minutes testing the key works with the central locking. barely looked under the hood or at the body. They also inspected the car late evening with basically no light. Then they buy the car, thats it. happy.

I had a bloke ring me for a car i had on carsales, saw the ad on carsales, barely asks about the car, gets my bank account details and direct deposits the car (interstate buyer), then asks that i drop it at a depo where it was transported to victoria. barely asked a question about the car.

I once had three carloads of people turn up to inspect a car i sold, everyone got out with a torch each and was assigned to a panel of the car and put their hand up when they were happy. I was almost in laughter. It was also late evening almost in the dark. anyhow this car didnt have any roof lining and none of the 10-12 people that were inspecting noticed it, they looked everywhere but up. They paid on the spot and drove it away.

Then I once had a guy turn up with his son and daughter looking at a car i was selling. he looked at every square inch of the car, opened and shut everything, every hose, he drove it, he argued with his son about what was better this car or his car, did a 3rd party inspection. Came back 3 times to look at the car, each time over 1 hour and asked every possible question about it. Just wasted so much time and then i told him that he should either buy the car or stop coming back every day for an hour fiddling with it. he got offended and left. Then I ended up selling the car to someone else a few days later and he rings me a week later and asks if he can have another look. Told him it was sold and he was shocked and then wanted me to reimburse him for the 3rd party inspection. ha

What are your tales of selling a car, buyer inspection techniques? the weird and the wonderful..

[xxx000]

I've had people start the car and take the oil filler cap off and study inside the rocker cover intently for ages
They'll rev the car, idle it, rev it again and nothing else about the car matters as much as watching inside the rocker cover

Also had one guy trying to get me to reduce my price specifically because the buyer he came with was a church minister.

Had one tyre kicking expert tell me a car 'wasn't getting full boost'

[marlin351]

was selling a hot 351 xd falcon a few years ago ( whole car was on the edge of being illegal.) Any way after much looking over the car it was decided for the deal to be done I had to drive the car past several police cars. The car was very tidy so I said ok. After driving around for several hours driving as close to every police car I could find and getting no reaction at all the deal was done. ( later heard car was written off two days after sale )

[mechanic]

Tales of buying and selling cars?
I've been employed in RACQ accredited shops where we had to do pre purchase inspections, worked for shonky used car dealers, done pre purchase inspections in lots of other garages.
One of the funniest things we used to hear in Qld. was when the vendor says that his 4WD had only been on the beach "once". It's always just "once", never "a few times" or "not much", just "once".
Even the very best inspection won't tell whether a radiator hose is about to go or a welch plug is paper thin, starter motor brushes nearly gone, alloy thermostat housing practically corroded away inside.
One thing for sure the buyer will be back to lay the blame on the person doing the inspection if his newly acquired vehicle has a drama not long after purchase.
After the floods and cyclones we've had I'd be very wary about water damage to any used vehicles.
Personally, taking the vehicle for a test run to see how it goes is probably as good as any. Over a period, I've bought 5 cars that were for sale on the side of the road and all have been OK.
Buyers of used cars have to be realistic and accept the fact that not everything is foreseeable in a machine with so many variables.

[HULK_I6T]

I sold a Holden barina years back. It didn't have air conditioning, I never said it was air conditioned in the ad. Some girl gets a train from somewhere on the central coast to Sydney to come inspect the car.

She didn't negotiate too well as I knew this was her ride back home. It was a long train ride back if she didn't want the car. So she buys the car. It was a stinkin hot 45 degrees day that day. She rings me as she turns into the f3 and says how do I get the air conditioner to work??

I told her the car isn't fitted with air conditioning then she says oh, forgot to ask.

[HULK_I6T]

A guy at work was looking for a cheap car to get around. he had a maximum of $5000 to spend.

Plenty people at work were saying buy a commodore / falcon as cheap to maintain and parts are cheap etc.

He kept going on carsales showing us these euro cars with leather and alloys that "looked heaps better". They had a few km on them but he was lovestruck by the looks of older BMW or Audi peugoets etc. He said its just to get to work so wont be doing too many km, he wasnt bothered by the km.

Kept telling them that if they need something fixed it would cost him a bomb to fix. So he should just get a simple falcon or commodore. back n forth we went about it.

He ignores our advice and buys a 2001 Audi a3 with 195000km on it for $4200. He doesnt know about cars so his checking process would be a quick run round the block. On the Monday comes into work saying he bought it and how happy he was.

Anyhow two days later we notice he is not at work. He calls in and says his car broke down. Didnt he cop a pasting when he got into work, every man and his dog was on him saying "told you so". Some would just stand there laughing out aloud.

[uniacidz]

Buying cars
Im quick, visual inspection. engine bay and fluids check shows its maintained etc etc and a quick ride.
Think the quickest was my ED falcon, 5mins and that was with the paperwork.
EL XR6, 10mins
VX SS bout 15mins

Selling
Sold the ED Falcon. On the night I was selling it, BCM decided to not start the car. No crank. Nothing. (3rd time ever did that)
Played with all electrical knobs and fired up and got home and work flawlessly

Guy comes round and buys it, took a good 90mins of checking, talking to mates, testing and inspecting before he bought it.
Week later BCM did same trick to him. Told him what to do and worked.

Hyundai Accent 2000
That was a easy sale, Yellow Bumblee car and had the best air con.
Daughter of buyer fell in love and had to have it.
That was real easy actually.

Not very exciting stories.
Im going to bed
Sorry

[danzvtil]

i would sooner stick bamboo shoots under my nails than sell privately, too many people say they will come and look, so you reorganise you day and they dont show.
I just sold my excel, spent 6 weeks on gumtree, had a few lookers, open,shut everything and drive around the block.
The bloke who bought it, came in the morning, started it, listened under the bonnet, didnt drive it, we agreed on a price and he would return with his GF in the arvo.He wanted to leave a deposit and was surprised when i declined and told him to bring the cash later in the day.
He and his GF turn up with her daughter, drive around the block, happy that the ac was cold, unfolds crisp $100 notes.Happy as Larry.

[GREGL]

The oil cap test is a tad out of date on a newer car , still a good indicator on a old banger though , along with the exhaust test . I had an near perfect ( for a ute ) xg for sale a while ago , it was advertised on here as well . So we have pictures in full colour resplendent in it's near perfect reef green livery including tray which was absolutely unmarked . The only person who came for a look said he didn't like the colour FFS why did you waste every ones time . He didn't take it for a drive either or listen to the engine running , he just saw it and went ummm no thanks .

[Paull]

Not quite a buyers inspection story but still very funny. I had an old HD wagon with a clapped out 202 in it. I was selling it for $150 (back in the late '80's) and this bloke rocks up on his Harley. Jumps off his bike and starts the engine: first test was the clutch - his response "clutch is stuffed", next test was the oil breather test - his response "engine is stuffed". He then jumped back on his bike and took off. He would not have been there for more than 3 minutes. I knew the above problems hence the $150 asking price.

The really funny thing was that this twit wanted a car to drive from Perth to Karratha the next day (1600 kilometres). Oh dear.

[MercurySilver]

sold the jeep to a guy who was in the raaf
came for a look
open the drivers door and stuck his head in for 20 secs, shuts door
opens the boot, asks if it all folds down in the back and does it have baby seat clips, shuts the boot
leaves
rings us two days later and asks us to take it to a mechanics for an RAA inspection for an hr
sure thing, RAA mechanic is done in 40 mins and we drive it back home
rings nearly a week later saying he will be around with a cheque for the car

never popped the hood
never drove it
never asked any real important questions
a year later he put it on car sales for sale for the same price he paid for it

[FNQracing]

Sold a clapped out 79 XD iron head, with a 50/50 metal/bog ratio and retreads to a young Scottish tourist who was planning to drive it from Sydney to Perth. Fresh off the plane, he takes it for a drive, and later asks how is it for fuel economy. Told him it was pretty good for a 4.1.

He bought it and sped off. That was 10 years ago and I still feel a little guilty to this day and wonder if the car ever made it to Perth. I think it had a shaved head as that thing was a bit of a freak that went like stink.

[Mr Brooksy]

When I sold my Futura, I had 'interesting' offers. But the guy who bought it in the end, rang asking to come see it. Sure no drama's just be aware that another guy is looking at it that afternoon.

He rocks up on time, brings Dad.

As soon as he see's he is sold. I've never seen a face light up so brightly! But we do the dance. They check everything over, see its in good nic, I run them through the mods/work done to it. Show them the folder of every single receipt for every part the car ever had in my ownership.

He takes it for a test drive with me in the passenger seat, still beaming. Compliments evey singel little detail he sees etc. We pull into the driveway and he forces a thoughtful look on his face and says "I have got to talk to dad about it".

They go out to the road as I smile to myself, and comes back with an offer 2K lower than asking price!

Said "sorry, as I said there is another guy coming this arvo to look, feel free to go home and think about it". He almost wet himself!

In less than a second, the asking price was agreed to.

A few members here see it still cruising the Central Coast in great nic which is nice to know.

But I will never forget that forced thoughtful look.... and the eyes that almost fell out when I reminded him another person was going to look at the car.

Moral of the story, when you are buying a car, don't show your hand right away if you want to negotiate.

[Franco Cozzo]

Someone is paying for a roady on my ambo on Wednesday, so that will be interesting.

Then I get a call from what must be an older gentleman from deeper Country Vic about it, saying he saw it on carsales 3 weeks ago but is computer illiterate so couldn't contact me but still wants to check it out even though someone else will probably most likely buy it.

I said I'd keep him in the loop, but if someone is organising and paying for a roady on someone elses car they must be pretty serious?

[Bushbasher]

My story is from the buyers perspective and it's a bit of a saga.

I flew in to Adelaide to do a deal on an dual fuel EF Fairlane after a couple of phone calls and an assurance the car was an honest car and that there was nothing serious wrong with it. The seller picked me up from the airport in it and it seems fine on the drive back to his workshop but I didn't twig that anything was up with him driving like a blind deaf pensioner. The only thing that I noticed was the airbag light on and asked him about it. "Don't know", he says, "it just came on one day and I never bothered to fix it". Hmmm, ok, probably just a fuse or loose wire. Anyway, it was on dusk and I wasn't too concerned about aesthetics as long as it was straight and rust free, which it appeared it was. The engine was quiet and started easily and smoothly and the interior was ok so after agreeing to buy the car and telling him I'm ok if there is any little niggles to deal with I looked him in the eye and asked him if there was anything I needed to know. "no mate, it's all good" he says. So I handed over the cash and off I went.
The traffic was heavy so I had to drive gently as well and it was 15km up the road before I got to boot it only to discover the S5 solenoid was cactus when it flared and kicked me in the back. Hmmm, ok, not happy but buyer beware. Then I pulled over to clean up the headlights and polish them up for the drive home. While at it I decided to try and program the aftermarket head unit and as soon as I hit the channel button and hold it to program it the head unit went blank and died. The only way to get it going again was to pull the fuse it was wired to and kill the power supply. Hmmm, really not happy. So I phoned the guy and asked WTF did he think he was playing at and what's wrong with the stereo and why didn't you tell me about the trans. He played dumb and claimed he never used the radio and only played CDs' and never drove hard enough to discover the trans issue. Hmmm, strike 2, but again, buyer beware. So I asked again, with the proviso that he really didn't want me to come back because I wouldn't be happy, was there ANYTHING I needed to know about the car because I don't want any more surprises. "No, there's nothing" he says again.
So I get the car home and the next day decide to trace the airbag issue and check out the rest of the car. What I found made me see red. Firstly the entire induction piping was split in half along it's seams from a backfire and had been zip tied in strategic places so it couldn't be seen, and more importantly, when I took the passenger airbag out looking for the problem with the light I discovered a wrecking yard white texta Part ID and a discharged airbag WITH THE BAG JUST CUT OFF and the cover replaced.
I grabbed a mate and jumped in our other car and drove back to Adelaide to confront the guy the next morning at his workshop. Just the look in his eyes as the blood drained out of his face when he saw me coming was worth the drive. I then, erm,,,,, convinced him that it was in his best interest, as a manager of a MIDAS MUFFLER SHOP, to reimburse me $500 on the spot for knowingly selling me an unroadworthy car. He paid up quick smart when I reminded him that it would get real ugly if he didn't.
It then cost me $100 for an airbag and $50 for the inlet ducting from a wrecker on my way out of the city and the car was good to go. I never did fix the head unit, just had to tune it in every time I started the car, and never bothered to fix the S5. But I never spent another cent on that car except for regular service items till the day the insurance company took it away after a roo strike 50,000km later. I even made a profit on it with the pay out.

I later found a big a$$ amp behind the rear seat and monster cable everywhere wired directly to the battery so my guess is the car had a fender bender in it's past and the airbags were replaced then the peanut managed to set off the passenger bag again when trying to fit his stupid doof doof stereo and instead of replacing it again he just cut the bag off and put the cover back in place.

Take from that tale what you will but I learned to never trust a seller that day unless I know him/her and the history of the car.

Bushbasher

[HULK_I6T]

I test drive a vw polo with a lady friend and whilst it was a nice car, basically brand new with only 4000km... the seller said something that got us in an argument.

he says "geez the Germans make great cars"...

i replied "well its true that germans make great cars but what does that have to do with a polo?".

he replies, VW are german.

I said yes they are but they make the polo in spain.

he went on and on about how you cant beat german cars.

i got him back as i haggled the price down over a few weeks, initially the response to my offers were bugger off, then my offers would get less each time he said no. It was like peeling an onion layer by layer.Then he cracked it and said come and get it. When i arrived with the cash I was paying the money to his dad who must have called in the loan so to speak. You could feel the tension in that room as his dad counted the money far less than what his boy paid for the car brand new just a few months earlier. (He lost about 30% of the new purchase price in a few months and 4000km) Gave his boy filthies.

[Nic85]

Polo GTi's are made in Germany.

[Neale]

I was selling my old laser when mu parents offered me their falcon as an upgrade.

I had one guy have a look at the car & then he claimed that he used to be a mechanic.

He started spilling a heap of BS saying the car had a blown head gasket. He then said that he's not interested in buying it, but he would fix it for me by using some special fluid that he would pour into the radiator. But it was a trade product that only he could buy & wouldn't tell me what it was. He then said would look after me and only charge me $150 to fix it.

Even though it sounded like a good deal I said no. I wonder how many of these shonks are out there doing that to people that don't know anything about cars.

[vbvbvb088]

C1990 my sister and I bought a 76 Toyota Corolla...the dealer was wearing one way sunnies the whole time. Before that we inspected a white Mitsubishi Sigma wagon. I asked the rep 'How many owners did this one have?'... he said 'one at a time'...lol. Pulled the bonnet release and it promptly broke.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by vbvbvb088

Pulled the bonnet release and it promptly broke.

I did that on a new FG Falcon at Essendon Ford, the latch snapped off in my hand.

[In Focus]

Originally Posted by Nic85

Polo GTi's are made in Germany.

No, they're made in Spain. I had the same routine from a dealer, telling me the one he was advertising as in stock was actually "on the boat from Germany." To which I replied, "Why would you not just ship it from Spain directly?"

[xxx000]

Originally Posted by Nic85

Polo GTi's are made in Germany.

I'm no expert on VW's but a quick google search very strongly leans towards them being made in Spain but then shipped to Germany for export around the world

[Nic85]

Regular Polo's are made in Spain, GTi's are made in Germany. Well, at least ours is.

[K_Man]

My big thing when I buy a car is that it still wears its original rego plates from new. My (probably flawed) logic is that if I am buying a 10-15 year old car and it still has those plates, means it was never left to lapse and flogged with no rego/rwc over the years. So far I have had three re registered cars, all have been dogs, but the ones that still had their plates have been great. Even the old xd, which had been let go cosmetically, mechanically was bullet proof.

Probably flawed like I said, but the system seems to work for me. Current wagon according to the owner book was a dealer demo in SA, but vic rego PSX *** is consistant with it being a 1998, so ill go with that lol