Sales visits: what to do when a buyer calls

08/09/10

You’ve prepped your car so that it looks its best and you’ve advertised it for sale. Now you sit back and wait for the phone to ring, writes Ray Castle of motors.co.uk. But what you do when it does could make the difference between netting a sale and letting it slip away. To do it right, follow our expert guide to selling:

Be ready
Buyers expect to speak to you when they ring, not your voice mail. So you need to be able to take calls while the ad remains live. If you can’t, make sure that you ring back promptly. If anyone calls from an agency promising a queue of waiting buyers if you first pay a registration fee, beware. Our experience is that such offers are bogus: a waste of money.

Keep an appointment diary
Set buyers’ appointments to firm times and note their full names, addresses, land line phone and mobile numbers. That way, if you sell the car quickly you can tell other would-be buyers and not waste their time – or yours.

Don’t see would-be buyers alone
Keep a friend or relative on hand. While most would-be buyers are honest, you could have the bad luck to meet a crook. While your attention is elsewhere they might burgle your house or snatch your keys and drive off. A second pair of eyes makes life so much harder for them. And you can help by keeping sharp: never let them slip alone into your house ‘to use the loo’ and always keep the keys – for car and house - safely in your pocket.

Think twice, too, if buyers ask to meet at a pub or in a car park. Don’t agree to any such set-up unless you’re 100% happy - and take some-one with you.

Be open, honest and polite
Keep your approach friendly. If they ask questions you’re obliged to answer them truthfully. But don’t attempt a sales pro’s spiel or try to pressure them into a decision. Allow them plenty of time to look at the car. Play fair, but don’t feel that you must point out every defect the car has.

Keep paperwork in a folder and let them see the registration document and also past and current MoT test certificates (if the car is old enough to need them). They may wish to check these against the car to ensure that the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) match. But don’t let them make photocopies, which could be used dishonestly.

The test drive
You should expect any buyer to try the car. It’s important, though that they have a current licence and that they are insured to drive, too – preferably on their policy, not yours. Ask them to bring along a copy of their insurance documents for you to check. They’ll want to drive your car hard and at a variety of speeds: that’s only fair. But if they ignore speed limits or drive recklessly, don’t flinch from bringing the session to a close.
Whatever you do, never climb out of the car leaving the keys in the ignition for them to grab. And never allow would-be buyers to drive the car without you, even if they leave their own motor as ‘security’. You may never see your car again – and will probably discover that the vehicle they’ve given you is stolen.

The sale
Be prepared to haggle over price but keep a figure in mind below which you won’t drop. A tip: if they won’t meet your desired price, go silent. If they want the car, they’ll offer more. Unless your motor is rare and prized, be suspicious of anyone who agrees to pay the full whack without quibble – particular if they haven’t first checked the car over carefully. If they are over-eager, are they genuine buyers?

Once you’ve agreed a price, arrange payment. If they can’t pay in full there and then, take a deposit, for which you should give a written receipt. Make it clear that you expect them to go through with the deal and will withhold some or all of their deposit if they don’t. The law allows you to recoup your costs in this way if the deal falls through. Make a clear arrangement over when the balance will be paid and how.

The money
The best way to arrange this is for the seller to pay direct into your account using the CHAPs system. To do this, you go together to his or her bank where he or she arranges immediate payment to your account. You then call your bank to check that the money’s there, and the job’s done.

Cash is the next best alternative. To be safe, ask the buyer to accompany you to your bank. Accept the cash only once inside the branch and pay it in directly. Hand over the keys, documents and receipt only once the money is in your account.

Any other form of payment is risky. Cheques aren’t secure. Even after the money appears in your account it may be later recalled if the cheque ‘bounces’. Building society cheques and banker’s drafts promise payment but can be forged. Be on your guard particularly if any buyer offers you a cheque or draft for more than the asking price and requests the difference from you in cash.

Finally...
You’re not obliged to take back your car, even if it develops a fault within days of sale, or offer cash compensation. As long as you’ve described the car truthfully in the ad and in answering any questions asked, it’s very much a case of ‘buyer beware’.

For more great car buying advice and to view and buy new and second-hand cars, click on to motors.co.uk. Surf the web using your mobile phone? Go to motors.co.uk's mobile site or text ‘motors’ to 65056 and we’ll send you a link. If you’ve an iPhone, you can download the motors.co.uk app for free. Go to the ‘utilities’ section of the iTunes store.