Buyer beware dodgy classic sellers
Not only are some online sellers trying to con us out of our money, it seems that some traders posing as private sellers are trying to do the same.
Recently, I decided to add another car to my collection. I discovered a Morris 1000 online that, judging by the pictures, looked decent. The number plates were covered over, so I could not see the registration to do further checks.
I phoned the seller and was told that it was ‘his old man’s car’ and that he knew nothing much about it, but if I would like to pay the money into a bank account and another £100 for delivery, he would drop it off for me. I said that I was not prepared to do this until I had seen the car.
The seller was extremely reluctant but nevertheless, he agreed and I arranged to see the car, which was more than 100 miles away. I decided to go a little early and as I was driving past the house, I noticed several classic vehicles in various states of repair were being pushed across the road into a friend’s garden out of the way. I waited down the road for a little while and then decided to turn up half an hour earlier than planned. It’s a good job I did – the car in the pictures that I had gone to see was not the car being sold online, having two extra doors, although it was the same colour.
I asked about an MoT and roadworthiness and was informed that ‘it is tax- and MoT-exempt so it doesn’t matter about condition’! I was gobsmacked, especially when I was told that ‘all cars are safe, it is the drivers who are faulty’. When I finally saw the registration number, I checked the MoT status and found that it had an exceptionally long failure list of excessive structural corrosion, brakes, steering suspension and lights. I ‘thanked’ the seller for wasting my time and fuel, took my leave and reported him at my earliest opportunity.
In these difficult times that we find ourselves in, I say to all prospective buyers of classic vehicles – check that the car is what it is supposed to be and if the number plates are hidden, disguised or covered, be very careful!
❚ Robin Laughlin, Suffolk
Sound advice, Robin. It’s worth pointing out, too, that falsely claiming to a buyer that a car is roadworthy is a criminal offence, regardless of whether it’s MoT-exempt or not – Ed.