Be careful of this car

S

Skella

Member
Yesterday, I went to to view the below Z.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201912145344153?model=Z4&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&radius=80&postcode=l253ns&advertising-location=at_cars&price-to=17000&make=BMW&sort=distance&page=3

The car looked great and drove fine so I was happy/excited and thought I'm having this car.

We get to the paperwork and it only has 1 service at 13000 miles. The guy who owned it said he never serviced it as BMW never contacted him to tell him he needed to. This was the first warning flag as the owner was a middle aged man who seemed to know about cars as he had a lot to say about them when we went on approx a 30 minute drive in the car.

The V5 showed a different address to where he told me to view the car and was not the location in the pictures. Don't know if this is a thing either.
I viewed the car outside some flats and the guy was already outside waiting for me with the key in and the paperwork in his hands (not cleaning the car or anything, just standing there). It was an hour drive to get there so I gave him a rough time of between 12:30 and 1pm and he was already outside the flats so I don't actually know if that was even one of his flats.

I explained about the service history and said for peace of mind I could give him a deposit and we'd agree I could get my deposit back if it failed its MOT or if anything major came up when serviced (he said he would arrange the MOT and service). When the test drive was over, he said he would get the service/mot done then ring me. Then I see this morning that it has gone back up on Autotrader stating a full/stunning service history.

Just something to be mindful of as it was my Mrs who kept saying this doesn't add up as we were driving home. As I took her with me to be the logical person as I go giddy when around these cars :oops:

The seller was a polish guy who said he was a visual artist in the movie business so is away all the time so keeps moving around. He has been in the UK a few years and mentioned something about applying for taxes/citizenship as he has nearly been here five years. I'm a bit vague on this one as I was in the middle of driving the car full pelt in sport mode so wasn't really listening.
I could have bought into all this but maybe I was just blinding by wanting the car and the fact the advert going up today and it stating a full service history when that is the main thing we spoke about yesterday.

Just typing this up as I'm out the door so apologies for any poor grammar/sentences.

Genuinely gutted. If anyone is still interested, I checked inside and out of alloys and no marks or cracks. Save you getting down on the floor with and getting your other half to drive back and forward :D .

Advert was originally seen on Ebay as 'selling for a friend'.
 
Good that you took your Mrs as a voice of reason.you did the right thing and walked away, did you put any money down?
 
You did the correct thing to walk away if the deal did not feel right,there are plenty of cars for sale.
 
i wouldnt have bought that either, even if i wanted it, with that sketchy background story.
So many cars for sale, just find one thats right, that has a documented service history, and is at the address thats on the V5, and ask the seller for a form of ID..
The forum is a great place to start looking.
Good luck with your search
Mike
 
We all can get sucked in - had a ‘minter’ of a car on 17k being sold by a trader from his home address this summer... turned out to be an absolute dog all dressed up as a little princess - walked away

Can only suggest to always ask as one of the first questions is the car being sold by its registered keeper from its registered address... if not, be prepared to be disappointed.
 
Sounds to me like at best the guy is a trader passing off as a private seller to escape his responsibilities as a trader or at worst possibly stolen? Never buy from anyone claiming to be a private seller and the car is not at the address on the V5. His statement selling for a friend could be genuine but then again maybe not, how do you know if he is telling the truth? If you can't trust the seller don't buy. You were right to walk away remember there are plenty of cars out there. Another tip even if the car is at the address stated in the V5 ask the seller for some ID so you can make sure the person selling the car is the same as the person on the V5 (of course doesn't apply to a trader). Ultimately just remember there are plenty of cars out there.
 
We looked at an E89 on EBay a couple of years ago. It all seemed to be genuine. There were photographs of the car at an address in Scotland. The seller wanted to deliver the vehicle telling us she was out of the country a lot with her job. She even sent us a passport photograph and said the car was guaranteed through EBay. Well to cut a long story a bit shorter, when we investigated we discovered it was all a scam. Photographs of the car had been copied from somewhere and then used by the scammers. So as others have said be very careful because these guys can be very convincing. :thumbsdown:
 
Looks like someone might have reported the ad to autotrader as it's gone.

Couldn't possibly verify that this thread was linked to the reporting so they had the full story as I'd then have to admit that it was me which obviously it wasn't!
 
skelters said:
Looks like someone might have reported the ad to autotrader as it's gone.

Couldn't possibly verify that this thread was linked to the reporting so they had the full story as I'd then have to admit that it was me which obviously it wasn't!
Click to expand...

Didn't realise that could be done. I noticed it went a while ago and it was only up for short while.
 
When I go to buy a car, 50% of my time is looking at the owner, his house and his family.
Sounds strange but, there is a lot to be said about the things on the peripherals.

This attitude has never met me down yet, the only marr has been when I purchased my Coupe, I did not realise that the aircon condenser needed replacing. This could have been an oversight as the guy had already purchased a new car?

It’s always good to take an impartial friend/partner/wife, not just for piece of mind/reason but for security too.

Glad you did not get stung.

Still, had you got stung, I’ve read enough articles on this site to know the members would have done their best to advise you as to how to move forward.

P
 
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