Selling My Fiesta

[tiggerblue10]

A chap called by earlier and said that he saw my car in the driveway and wanted to know how much I wanted it for. I was a bit dubious at first and asked him if he lived round the area and how he saw my car. He said he was giving driving lessons to his daughter when he saw it and wanted to buy a car for her.

It's a 3 door 2004 dual control 1.4 model with very low mileage due to mainly local trips and the battery has a tendency to go flat due to infrequent use

He asked me how much I want for it so I took his number and told him I'd contact him after I looked into it. Given the problems I've had with the car, should I go ahead with selling it as I rarely use it? And if I did go ahead, how much should I sell for?

[tiggerblue10]

Ah no! What happened?

[barry1010]

Maybe it's the reg plate he wants.

[Tilly2]

Do be careful, Tiggs.
Perhaps ask him to bring his daughter to have a look at the car and look him up on Google, if he's a driving instructor.

[david small]

Most probably a dealer looking for a cheap bargain. Cash deal, sold as seen. No bother.

[tiggerblue10]

What would be the reason for wanting a reg plate?

[barry1010]

If the plate has his initials or ties in with his business, football team, wife's name....

[barry1010]

I really can't see how any dodgy character could rip you off even if he paid in forged banknotes, an 18 year old Fiesta is scrap value really

[barry1010]

I don't know what you mean by dual control

[Sam1960]

I think I would decline this guys offer tiggs.
If you want to know the value of your car though, try Parkers Used Car Guide.

[tiggerblue10]

As I mentioned earlier, it's an automatic but with manual gears. I called it dual control but I think it's actually a semi-automatic.

[tonyav]

If you do decide to your car to this unannounced bloke that knocked on your door about the car that you haven't advertised for sale, do not allow him to test drive it without yourself or one of the family or a friend being in the car and also ask him to show you his insurance that states that he is insured to drive any car.

[tiggerblue10]

I've decided against selling, Tony. He was being pushy and wanting me to make a decision there and then. I took his number and he gave me his name as Joe.....

Glad I posted to get people's opinions as I was dubious about it in the first place. Hope he doesn't come back!

[Sam1960]

Think your Fiesta might be worth more than you think tiggs ?
Some here to give you an idea of your cars value.
Still wouldn't sell it to the guy your talking about though.

https://www.motors.co.uk/ford/fiesta/year/2003/used-cars/

[Hopkirk]

To get an idea of value, run it through webuyanycar.com.

[goodgoalie]

I think you'd be doing well to get anything near £2,000 for it. It's not a huge sum, and it would be reasonable to ask for it in cash - and I would only sell it if they are prepared to pay in cash.

[tonyav]

tiggerblue10Question AuthorI've decided against selling, Tony. He was being pushy and wanting me to make a decision there and then. I took his number and he gave me his name as Joe.....

The right decision imo, tiggs.

[Toorak]

I agree - very fishy. If you decide to sell do so with advice as to what you need to think about/be aware/wary of.

[tiggerblue10]

Thanks all :o)

I need to check my mileage first before I can check the value. The battery isn't hooked up but in any case, I've decided against selling to 'Joe'.

[davebro]

Even if you don't sell to Joe probably best to get rid of it now - it will only deteriorate further if left unused.

[Hopkirk]

Webuyanycar will give you a reasonable offer, but not the best you could achieve with effort.

However their staff are trained to reduce the eventual agreed price once they see the car. They receive commission on that reduction. There is then an 'admin fee' added.

I have to say though that the process is very easy, and possibly the reduced amount you receive is worth it for the ease of the sale. Worth standing up for yourself and being prepared to walk away to get the best price from them.

A higher price would probably be achieved using motorway.co.uk, though more effort is needed.