Distance selling

[Swscar]

Someone I know bought a 1974TR6 which was about 350 miles or so from him just by looking at some pictures and talking to the seller. It was the first car he had “seen”, and had not looked at any others in person. He had it transported to him by carrier. I’m not going to say if the car was as described or not. 
I’m just curious as to what people on here think, please, with considered opinions on it. 
SWS 

Edited October 1, 2022 by Swscar
Grammar

[John Morrison]

Very Unwise.

John.

[4Mal]

I'd rather play the lottery

[PodOne]

Given you would never buy a house unseen and a car is likely to be the next biggest purchase people are likely to make along the potential costs involved in sorting any issues I have to say not the best decision.

[Swscar]

I’ve  removed this as it may identify him. . 
SWS 

Edited October 2, 2022 by Swscar

[Charlie D]

There was an article in the papers a couple of days ago about this very subject. Apparently there was a bogus firm that sold cars on-line to be delivered and just ran away with the money. I’d be very surprised if there were not half a dozen or more doing that.

I see the adverts on the TV for the big firms that sell this way, and even some main dealers do, I believe.

Just seems weird to me. Is it possibly mainly the younger generation (40 to 50 year olds ) who expect everything delivered to them (Just-eat, Deliveroo etc.) ?

Personally I’d never do it.

 

Charlie.

[Pogo]

I understand the concerns here, but this time last year I bought a Range Rover from a company near to Brighton (I'm in Cheshire). It was a decent amount of money, but it was exactly the spec I wanted and I had been looking for a long time. I spoke with the guy who had the company and he seemed OK (don't all car salesmen though?). I didn't want to spend the time going to look at it in case it wasn't a good one, so I paid an online company to go and view it and test it. I got a report and a call from the tester. It all seemed OK and drove well and other than a couple of minor things was in good condition (the vendor put those right). I checked the MOT history online and it seemed legit. So I bought it. I got the train down from Crewe to Brighton and drove the car home. It turned out to be a cracker, but I guess I was just lucky.

Would I do it again - probably.

Having said all that, I have been stung buying online a couple of times when all seemed OK though (for much smaller items) and ended up claiming back from my credit card company.

Rog

[Swscar]

I’ve removed this as it may identify him. 
sws

 

Edited October 2, 2022 by Swscar

[StuartG]

Apart from the main issue of multiple risks involved in buying unseen. There is also the issue of what is "good condition" ? Some cars I looked at when buying my TR6 were described as good condition but my assessment / opinion of them was that they were a pile of c**p.

[Bfg]

I bought my '66 Jaguar S-type unseen, as it was being sold from Devon I am in East Anglia ..but like Rog, I did have the car checked out and test driven (in my case by Classic Assessments). The car was not too bad, but pretty rather than well cared for, and I would probably have bought it anyway ..had I viewed it in person.  But in truth the assessment was pretty pathetic - seemly mostly copied standard report following a generic look-around, rather than an appraisal by a Jaguar expert & professional).  His road test was but a few minutes and quite untesting, and so things were missed (like a rear wheel being loose, the under-bonnet wiring's insulation being hardened and cracked, likewise the leather seats, the carpets being moth eaten, overheating issues (furred up inside and weeping core plugs), and the gearbox needing a rebuild).  No compression test was done ..even though the seller would have been happy for this to have been done, and the car was not jacked up to get a half-decent view of the undersides, or to feel for axle / steering play.  The seller was not at all impressed, and nor was I ..not least considering the cost of that appraisal.

I may buy sight unseen again, but only if I might have the AA to assess the car, and I'd want a new MOT from a different garage (which I'd be happy to pay for). I'd more likely want to pay a deposit, but then go to buy the car in person. 

On the other side of the coin, when I sold that same car a few years later (..after much work in sorting things out and countless ours in refurbishing), I had a father & son come to look at it and test drive. The father was a mouthy London wise-boy / know it all, which was ugly but tolerable. But then he test drove the car so unkindly (these cars are a Gentleman's classic saloon, not a sports car) recklessly around these small country lanes, he misjudged speeds around corners, and then hammered fast down the farmer's dirt track I lived along (..with loose stones flying all over the place) - that I simply refused to sell the car to them.  That may seem foolishly sentimental but these cars are not just old metal to me. 

The S-type was sold to a very pleasant elderly couple from 'up north' who that Christmas sent me a greeting car expressing their many thanks, and enclosing a photo of the car in the driveway of their home.  No regrets. 

Pete

 

Edited October 1, 2022 by Bfg

[len1]

I personally wouldn't buy unseen ,but have recently sold an mgb unseen by the buyer. I described it honestly  sent some pictures and the buyer agreed to buy .transport collected it after payment received, that same afternoon I received a phone call to say how delighted he was,and he thanked me for being honest.

I still wouldn't do it myself !

Len

[Steve-B]

I'm almost a distance sales as I agreed a part-ex price, and then bought our TR-6 after about a 10 min viewing and the day i saw it it was bucuketing down. It was a distance sale as the well known vendor is at Brands Hatch and I'm in South Bucks (85miles each way). I didn't have a hesitation as the owner of the firm was the chap who wrote the order invoice for our custom Caterham(whilst he was Sales Dir at Caterham in 2001) which we part-ex'd for the TR-6. Even with that, being a reputable vendor, they came with the car to ours to part-ex with the understanding I would go on a drive and pass final verdict. They did give a warranty, which they honoured replacing the fuel pump so there are swings and roundabouts with all of this.

Frankly, I'm of mixed minds to blindly trust distance selling as pointed out the tabloids are showing quite a recent rise, but I equally know of a lot of very successful distance sales. Perhaps, it should highlight caution as Robert DeNiro says "in your circle of trust" as to whether to proceed or not.

Edited October 1, 2022 by Steve-B

[FatJon]

I might consider it from a trade supplier with an excellent reputation but not a chance on a private “caveat emptor” sale.

[Nigel A]

Recently decided to sell my Range Rover Evoque due to all the known inherent problems. I didn’t want to sell privately as would rather have a dealer sort out any future problems with the eventual purchaser.

in the end Cinch gave me the best price and the BMW I bought from them had everything I wanted and price and mileage was what I was looking for.

the exchange on the day went without hitch and the delivery driver spent quite some time explaining everything.

would definitely recommend distance buying and selling from a known reputable company

Nigel

 

 

 

[Swscar]

I’ve removed this as it may identify him  
SWS  

Edited October 2, 2022 by Swscar
Identity

[PodOne]

Fingers crossed after all the milage its the car for you.

The couple of hundred quid in fuel will most likely have saved you a lot more down the line!

Best you luck and show us a few pics.

Andy

[Topoff]

I bought my most recent TR from photos on ebay but it was at the other end of the scale, a total restoration project.

It was a safe bet as it was worth what I paid even if It ended up as a breaker.

If it a runner to use then a visit is a must but research what you're looking for or take a second pair of eyes from the club.

[astontr6]

23 hours ago, StuartG said:

Apart from the main issue of multiple risks involved in buying unseen. There is also the issue of what is "good condition" ? Some cars I looked at when buying my TR6 were described as good condition but my assessment / opinion of them was that they were a pile of c**p.

+1 I would have to agree with that statement