Sold car, not collected - advice please

Sold car, not collected - advice please

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Discussion

Jordie Barretts sock

Original Poster:

6,018 posts

26 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
In November I sold a 2017 non running Hyundai to a Senegalese gentleman. No, wait. Stay with me here. He travelled from Edinburgh to Exeter on the National Express, saw the car and transferred the money. Car is paid for, no scam.

However, he said he'd arrange collection to take the car to Tilbury by the middle of December at the latest. The car is still at my place. The V5 is in his name, I have no idea if he's sorned it. It certainly isn't insured.

What would you do?

I messaged him today to say that from Monday (22nd) I'll be charging £20/day storage and the car will not be released until the storage is paid. If it is still with me by Feb 22nd it will be towed to the nearest lay-by and left. Am I being unreasonable? Every time I've contacted him it'll be 'next week' or someone is out of the country/sick/some other spurious excuse.


TL;DR Bloke bought my car two months ago and still hasn't collected it. But has paid for it.

joropug

2,696 posts

196 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
Might be worth checking to see if it has been reported stolen.

Buy non runner for bargain price. Phone insurance company a couple of weeks later to say it's stolen. Get full market value.

Not unheard of but unlikely.

JQ

6,032 posts

186 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
If it's in his name then I'd likely have already towed it to a local road and told him where it was and suggest he pick it up asap before it gets impounded. It's then not your problem any more.

TikTak

1,816 posts

26 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
Not totally unreasonable really. Just obviously be careful if he knows where you live etc.

Also at first I read it as you sold a car in 2017 and they still hadn't collected and I was about to praise your patience. drunk

Nickp82

3,403 posts

100 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
TikTak said:
Also at first I read it as you sold a car in 2017 and they still hadn't collected and I was about to praise your patience. drunk
I also did this smile

MrBig

3,108 posts

136 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
He travelled 450 miles on a coach to see a non runner 6 year old Hyundai?!? I have no idea what goes on in some peoples minds!

Is the address he registered it to legit? Has it definitely been registered to him? If so, then the layby idea seems pretty good on the face of it!

Tyrell Corp

258 posts

27 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all

Was it a little hatchback for export perchance?

These often get piggy backed onto/into trucks and trailers for export, probably an add-on for another deal maybe fell through.

Also shipping schedules aren't like train timetables, this middle east issue will likely cause delays throughout the system.

If customer has marked v5 for permanent export already then the reg number is toast now.

Jordie Barretts sock

Original Poster:

6,018 posts

26 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
I40 touring. 230k on it, 1.7 diesel with a shot bottom end.

It's Sorn. I've just checked.

He reckoned he could get a cheap engine shipped to Senegal from Canada or possibly Egypt. Neither were my problem.

And yes, he travelled the length of the country to sit in the car for 10 minutes. Then paid in full. silly

Skyedriver

18,839 posts

289 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
Was he intending to take it home on the bus?
I really don't understand some people, travel hundreds of miles to buy something that he could probably buy locally.

Jordie Barretts sock

Original Poster:

6,018 posts

26 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
I have absolutely no idea.

Before he paid he said he would arrange recovery within two weeks which I raised an eyebrow at, but agreed. After all he had travelled the length of the country.

Legacywr

12,779 posts

195 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
This is all VERY odd.

dvs_dave

9,024 posts

232 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
This has scam written all over it, but exactly what I can’t tell. Identify theft, vehicle cloning maybe? Is the money still in your account? No reversals attempted, etc.

StrawberryBurst

89 posts

62 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
This is insane.

It sounds very dodgy IMO.

Maybe cloning details of the car to attach to a nicked RR or something. Only kidding.

x5tuu

12,134 posts

194 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
I sold my A6 (with cracked heads) on eBay to a guy from Ukraine.

He turned up, took a very very quick cursory glance at it parked up in my lockup, paid cash and left, saying he would have a transporter collect it the following week.

Months went by - I wasn’t bothered as it wasn’t in the way or anything - and I was regularly messaging him and eventually about 5mths later it was collected by a different guy with a car transporter. He paid me again for the car, wouldnt take no for an answer and had been told to pay me by his “boss”.

He saw all the spares I had for the car in the lockup too (bumpers, wheels, seats, etc.) and asked what I wanted for the lot and also paid cash, no haggling. Again told to buy as much as possible and just throw it in the car.

Very very odd and I believe it went to start its new life as a taxi in the eastern block somewhere. It don’t believe it was officially exported though on the logbook.

Some people are just odd.

StrawberryBurst

89 posts

62 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
x5tuu said:
I sold my A6 (with cracked heads) on eBay to a guy from Ukraine.

He turned up, took a very very quick cursory glance at it parked up in my lockup, paid cash and left, saying he would have a transporter collect it the following week.

Months went by - I wasn’t bothered as it wasn’t in the way or anything - and I was regularly messaging him and eventually about 5mths later it was collected by a different guy with a car transporter. He paid me again for the car, wouldnt take no for an answer and had been told to pay me by his “boss”.

He saw all the spares I had for the car in the lockup too (bumpers, wheels, seats, etc.) and asked what I wanted for the lot and also paid cash, no haggling. Again told to buy as much as possible and just throw it in the car.

Very very odd and I believe it went to start its new life as a taxi in the eastern block somewhere. It don’t believe it was officially exported though on the logbook.

Some people are just odd.
This is also insane. WTF biggrin

MDMA .

9,205 posts

108 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
Skyedriver said:
Was he intending to take it home on the bus?
I really don't understand some people, travel hundreds of miles to buy something that he could probably buy locally.
A lot of people will go to great lengths if it’s 50p cheaper. Muppets. Bit like people who’ll travel the other side of town if fuel is 1p a litre cheaper.

Unreal

4,908 posts

32 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
StrawberryBurst said:
x5tuu said:
I sold my A6 (with cracked heads) on eBay to a guy from Ukraine.

He turned up, took a very very quick cursory glance at it parked up in my lockup, paid cash and left, saying he would have a transporter collect it the following week.

Months went by - I wasn’t bothered as it wasn’t in the way or anything - and I was regularly messaging him and eventually about 5mths later it was collected by a different guy with a car transporter. He paid me again for the car, wouldnt take no for an answer and had been told to pay me by his “boss”.

He saw all the spares I had for the car in the lockup too (bumpers, wheels, seats, etc.) and asked what I wanted for the lot and also paid cash, no haggling. Again told to buy as much as possible and just throw it in the car.

Very very odd and I believe it went to start its new life as a taxi in the eastern block somewhere. It don’t believe it was officially exported though on the logbook.

Some people are just odd.
This is also insane. WTF biggrin
If you sell old cars you meet some proper characters. I once had two W123 Mercs and had lost the keys and just needed them gone.

Mahoosive Anthony Joshua look a like turned up with some sort of double transporter. I asked how he was going to move them and he jumped into the first one and just wrenched the steering wheel and snapped the lock. Effortless. He then repeated the trick with the second one, winched them on to the transporter and was gone. Took all of 10 minutes but in that time he did tell me the cars were going "to Africa".. I've also sold to Eastern Europeans who are exporting back to Poland or similar and they've been great to deal with even if looking a bit like they are assassins on the side.

Anyhow, OP is being reasonable. I suspect the purchaser is well aware and is just using the OP's place for free storage while he sorts out his transport. In his mind he paid and it's not a big deal.

Edited by Unreal on Tuesday 16th January 20:59

Jordie Barretts sock

Original Poster:

6,018 posts

26 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
No attempt to recover the money.

I think he didn't realise the recovery costs to Tilbury. Again, not my problem.

gazza285

10,182 posts

215 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
x5tuu said:
I sold my A6 (with cracked heads) on eBay to a guy from Ukraine.

He turned up, took a very very quick cursory glance at it parked up in my lockup, paid cash and left, saying he would have a transporter collect it the following week.

Months went by - I wasn’t bothered as it wasn’t in the way or anything - and I was regularly messaging him and eventually about 5mths later it was collected by a different guy with a car transporter. He paid me again for the car, wouldnt take no for an answer and had been told to pay me by his “boss”.

He saw all the spares I had for the car in the lockup too (bumpers, wheels, seats, etc.) and asked what I wanted for the lot and also paid cash, no haggling. Again told to buy as much as possible and just throw it in the car.

Very very odd and I believe it went to start its new life as a taxi in the eastern block somewhere. It don’t believe it was officially exported though on the logbook.

Some people are just odd.
Same as my non running T4, but as a bonus as the geezer was dragging it onto the beavertail he dragged the offside rear into my 100x100 steel gate post. He didn’t seem bothered about the damage, and as the gate post didn’t move, neither was I.

Paddymcc

1,007 posts

198 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
I had a couple of Ukrainians turn up to buy an old Transit fridge van I was selling.

While one was checking it over I had a bit of a chat with his friend who told me they were looking fridge vans to send to the front line in Ukraine for transportation of bodies.

Lovely.