Comments on for sale threads

[Smartbear]

Overall I think this forum is awesome and I would be happy to buy and sell any car through it.
As a separate point, the amount of value the info in this forum gives people is incredible. Not having to pay a fee to get access to the gold mine is another incredible achievement. Anyone who doesn't see that is just plain short sighted. Where else can you get so much good stuff for nothing?

There's a donations link for donations to keep the forum solvent, it's not really free
Rob

 

[foregoneconclusion]

Despite being fairly new around here I would be leaning on the side of no comments.

I can see the value of commenting on for sale threads for various reasons such as sellers leaving details out so people asking further questions can prod for details people are wanting being the main one, And generally can give you a feel for the seller in that they are forward with giving information, History etc.

But this is out weighed with comments I (and others) have seen. People with no interest in the car for sale just being troublesome, Making snidey comments on price, condition etc and then starting pages of back and forth, Although I havent seen anything malicious as a seller I would be a bit annoyed if my for sale thread turned into pages of useless Jibber Jabber.

If someone wishes to advertise their car for X price then that surely is up to them. Ultimately potential buyers will pay what they are willing to pay. A potential buyer will surely have looked at various for sale sites and got a guage on what prices are for spec, mileage history so will be aware if they are getting a good deal or not. Comments like "Good luck at that price :? " Isnt particularly good for anyone involved.

The other ones I have seen, A car for sale with listed bad points honestly from the seller, Only to be told in the comments he should fix them as it shows the car has not been maintained. Again if a seller wishes to list his car with faults mentioned and reflected in price rather, This is surely upto the seller, Could be numerous reasons for it. Time, Finances, mechanical knowledge.

The worst I seen was someone commented that the photos were bad as it shown the car had been recently washed as there was soap on the floor. I couldnt get my head around that one and would prefer not to have clogging up a for sale thread.

I agree there are times needed for comments but being the internet some people just dont have a moderation of control and say things they would never consider saying in person. Could just be me but I view a car sale as a fairly professional thing and would treat it as such so I would always PM regarding details rather than publicly making comments on threads.

My recent experience purchasing a coupe on saturday from a forum member on here. All dealt with through PM for any details I was looking for and arrangements made from there. Although the car sale was not as professional as it could of been lol, It included taking a tourist trip of leeds trying to find a bank while google maps sent us in circles, Possibly expecting a fine for driving in a bus lane on a test drive and then forgetting signing some paperwork. But he was a Genuinely nice guy, Knew his stuff and in the end was a good sale.

Pretty much my thoughts on the subject, just more eloquently worded

 

[Mr Tidy]

I'm really torn on this, but after considerable reflection I'm with the Mods.

Allowing comments does mean anything "shady" can be highlighted - while it also means you can get unhelpful comments from people who have no interest in the car but just like to post.

But given that adverts are free I think allowing comments is the way to go - and I really wouldn't like to see a move to charging and locking.

I'd be happy to sell mine on here, mainly because I have nothing to hide and would rather be up-front about any issues than try to hide things.

I did sell my first Coupe on here to another Forum member, but only because I foolishly replied to a "Coupe Wanted" thread, although to be fair after that it was all done by PMs! Then when the reality of what I had done sank in I had to go and find another which was on PistonHeads!

But both transactions were totally painless - much better than any dealings I have had buying or selling on AutoTrader! Probably because you are dealing with people with some enthusiasm and understanding of what they have/want.

 

[sp3ctre]

I just think you should be able to come on here and pick up a really good Zed with confidence

That's my point... comments allow people to discuss the car and weed out and dodginess. We've had several examples of bad cars being advertised on here that people could've fallen for if the thread had been allowed to be locked.

If you advertise your car at a reasonable price then you won't have a problem... if you want to try and sell it over the odds then you will get comments, but it doesn't "clog up" anything, a proper potential buyer would simply scan through the chuff and if your car was good enough would probably agree that the comments were nonsense.

If you don't want to sell on here then fair enough, I'm not going to lose sleep over it, I have nothing to profit from you doing so anyway. The only person losing out is you, as you might miss out on a buyer... but like you said, if your car is good enough you should easily sell it on AT anyway.

 

[zedfourthreelitre]

I'm talking about the comments along the lines of these (not exact quotes but lifted almost verbatim from a recent thread) - '£21k????? GLWTS' or 'mileage? Must be low low low at that price' or '£21k? I'd be expecting a car with 21k mileage'

probably my comment lol, if the guy gets 21k then good luck to him but is 21k a realistic price for his car???????????

This is exactly the kind of comment me & many others in this thread have a gripe with. :thumbsdown:

 

[zedfourthreelitre]

Very pleased to see this thread coz over the last few weeks I've been burning to raise it myself

No way would I advertise my car on here after seeing some of the malicious smart assed comments that are pitched in - it feels to me like an exam - if you don't get it 100% right then out comes the red pen

I have talked to Alan (number 5) and other members and all have said no way would they (we) advertise here - so given we have some of the best maintained cars around where does that leave the argument that you get the best cars on the forum??

Of course there are newbies posting poor ads - but TBH this is the minority

I just think you should be able to come on here and pick up a really good Zed with confidence - but whilst you can do this the numbers are limited because of members attitude to what comments are acceptable against a for sale ad and the reaction this creates

I love this forum - but in this area we are wide of what is acceptable reasonable and productive to the promotion of a great car.

Just my opinion of course

Judging by some PM's I've seen in the last couple of days, you're certainly not alone feeling like that, but it seems like you can come out with any old s**t provided you're not a seller. They have to be absolutely 100% accurate on every last detail or face a public dressing down.

This. You can literally feel the vultures waiting to descend on a for sale thread with a 'why havent you included 1000 pictures' or 'why havent you had it serviced at xxxxx miles!!?!' are you a criminal?!!?!

 

[Number5]

I'd be happy to sell mine on here, mainly because I have nothing to hide and would rather be up-front about any issues than try to hide things.

It's not a case of trying to hide anything shady. Its a case of people pointing out every feature that your cars doesnt have. (i.e. Sport Seats, heated Seats, no Wind Deflector, only Halogens and not Xenons, and "Nice car but missing 2 cylinders! " in the case of a 4 pot

The car is what it is and there may be nothing hidden or wrong with the car at all, but you had may as well put up an advert saying :-
" Very basic car for sale. Lacks equipment, power, and style, please look elsewhere for something far better equipped"

If somebody likes the car and is interested in some top down motoring and an affordable and insurable cost, why does everybody feel the need to be-little a vehicle that someone else may have been perfectly happy to buy, but now fear they will be inferior on the forum if they proceed (or unless they can get it at a steal) ?

Do members go and buy a paper copy of Autotrader and then sit down for the evening writing critical notes next to all the adverts of cars they have absolutely no interest in buying ? No ? Then why do it on here ?

If people only added positive posts and resisted the negative comments, perhaps we would stop driving down the values of our own cars and this would be the place to come and buy and sell them.

JMO.

 

[monaco_blue]

The armchair anonymity of an internet forum easily allows negative comments to be thrown out with little thought as to the consequences or any fear of retribution.

Would the same person who thought the the car recently advertised at £21K was too expensive walk into Hexagon and tell the salesperson that the £50K Z4M C was too expensive. No, they can't be arsed to do more than raise a sniping finger or two and then feebly excuse it with an lol.

Keep the comments factual and reasonably polite - something you would be willing to say face to face and substantiate and defend. Otherwise let the market be the judge as to the price as that's surely the acid test.

 

[zedfourthreelitre]

The armchair anonymity of an internet forum easily allows negative comments to be thrown out with little thought as to the consequences or any fear of retribution.

Would the same person who thought the the car recently advertised at £21K was too expensive walk into Hexagon and tell the salesperson that the £50K Z4M C was too expensive. No, they can't be arsed to do more than raise a sniping finger or two and then feebly excuse it with an lol.

Keep the comments factual and reasonably polite - something you would be willing to say face to face and substantiate and defend. Otherwise let the market be the judge as to the price as that's surely the acid test.

well said that man

 

[markeg]

Keep the comments factual and reasonably polite - something you would be willing to say face to face and substantiate and defend...

This is my mantra for all posts on all forums - except when Marlon or john-e89 posts a terrible joke in "The Light Side", when polite is dropped

 

[z4all]

Keep the comments factual and reasonably polite - something you would be willing to say face to face and substantiate and defend...

This is my mantra for all posts on all forums - except when Marlon or john-e89 posts a terrible joke in "The Light Side", when polite is dropped

100% agree Monaco blue. This should be the new rule on here.

 

[john-e89]

Keep the comments factual and reasonably polite - something you would be willing to say face to face and substantiate and defend...

This is my mantra for all posts on all forums - except when Marlon or john-e89 posts a terrible joke in "The Light Side", when polite is dropped

Ah well see now you've shot yourself squarely in the foot there Mark, you have to substantiate and defend and when did I ever post a bad joke hmmm..? Exactly. Never.

Marlon has lots of times obviously, but I'm beyond reproach....

 

[Joycey]

The armchair anonymity of an internet forum easily allows negative comments to be thrown out with little thought as to the consequences or any fear of retribution.

Would the same person who thought the the car recently advertised at £21K was too expensive walk into Hexagon and tell the salesperson that the £50K Z4M C was too expensive. No, they can't be arsed to do more than raise a sniping finger or two and then feebly excuse it with an lol.

Keep the comments factual and reasonably polite - something you would be willing to say face to face and substantiate and defend. Otherwise let the market be the judge as to the price as that's surely the acid test.

Couldn't put it better myself.

You could go one further and allow the person posting the thread the option to tidy the thread if they see fit.

 

[sp3ctre]

You could go one further and allow the person posting the thread the option to tidy the thread if they see fit.

Yeah, and allow someone with a complete lemon of a car to easily be able to sell it on here.... really??!!

 

[Joycey]

You could go one further and allow the person posting the thread the option to tidy the thread if they see fit.

Yeah, and allow someone with a complete lemon of a car to easily be able to sell it on here.... really??!!

Of course it will need some more thought, approval by a mod for example.

Don't assume everyone is that naive on this forum.

 

[sp3ctre]

I think we've allowed this enough time for everyone to voice their view... thanks for the feedback guys