Car park dealers anger trade and the public
Wednesday 23rd March 2011, 2:29PM GMT.
Cars on sale in the Southside car park.
SOME public car parks are being used to store and sell vehicles on a commercial scale, it has been alleged.
There have been complaints that spaces are being taken up by cars with ‘for sale’ signs in their windows in places such as Southside and Vazon.
One garage owner, who did not want to be named, said people were buying up MoT failures cheaply at UK auctions and selling them from the side of the road to Guernsey motorists without any proper checks being conducted on them.
Guernsey Motor Trades Association chairman Iain Carse said he was aware that there was an issue with some individuals trading from the side of the road and warned against buying their cars.
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Surely the Police must know who they belong to, can’t anything be done?
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Thats all the more reason to have a proper M O T for all vehicles if people are buying M O T rejects, it makes me wander what these people know that other official bodies eg VOSA operated garages dont. and the mentality of people who would buy a car off the roadside
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typical response from motor trade. there is no evidence of any body importing cars to sell and in fact most of the cars belong to individuals who just wish to sell on their car after local garages have insulted them with a pathetic low trade in price. if you buy a car from a local garage and its below £3000-£4000 theres no guarantee with it. road side car sales are a excellent way to purchase a cheap car at half the price of a garage
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It is no surprise the GMTA chairman is telling people not to buy cars privately from the roadside – he wants people to buy cars from his members instead.
Unfortunately not everyone can afford to pay forecourt premiums on used cars – and many dealers won’t touch cars over a certain age. As for the MoT issue, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of cars sold on island forecourts wouldn’t pass the MoT test either.
I bought a vehicle privately from the “Bridge Car Lot” last year – judging by the price of similar vehicles I would’ve paid double that if it was on a forecourt. When I took it in for a service I was told by a local dealer that it was one of the best examples of a vehicle that age he’s seen in ages – he even asked me where I’d got it from.
I accept there is a risk buying privately but there are safeguards one can take, if something doesn’t match up you run a mile. History checks can be done online to ensure the car isn’t stolen / a write off / outstanding finance etc.
Service records can be checked by receipts and double-checking with garages to make sure the car has been looked after – I wonder how many dealers do stringent checks on a claimed FSH?
This sounds like scaremongering on the part of the motor trade to me.
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I once bought a car for over £3000 from L’Islet motors, after a few months I began to have a lot of problems with it and after spending about £800 on it to sort it I was told the car required another £1500 of work!! I decided it was not worth it so traded it in at Le Mont Saint on a Saturday for £1500 and by the Monday morning it was on the forecourt down by the Vale Garage selling for more then what I originally paid!!
Private sales do seem to be the better option!!
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What twists my melon is all these hire Kayak’s trading from coastal carparks,shouldn’t be allowed, are they lit overnight?, are they insured to be left on the Queens Highway? How can the Police have difficulty finding the owners of the cars when somewhere under For Sale is a contact number Bergerac wouldn’t have trouble …
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Chris
My mentality told me to buy a car from the roadside instead of the over inflated prices the garages ask for, and its still going strong.
Paul Le Page
Spot on.
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Chris
No, we do not need MOTs. The current Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme works perfectly well.
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Taking a cue from vehicle registration numbers and our Guernsey tradition of selling produce from the roadside, I propose this practice should be known from now on as ‘Hedge Reg’
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The garage owner is going to say that…
It’s the buyer’s responsibility to check over the car before buying, there are a few easy checks to see if it’s MOT worthy.
I disagree with bringing the MOT over to Guernsey, it would be a waste of money as the speed limit is only 35mph.
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Interestingly a good few of these cars are being sold by a couple of garage and ex garage owners, one of which still trades from an official forecourt!
The ‘Bridge Forecourt’ is being used to sell cars that are not worth displaying on a proper legal forecourt, this is probably why it is rare to find a vehicle under about three grand at a local garage….
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kevin – that may be so, but a car sold privately for £1,500 might well be sold on a garage forecourt for over £3,000!
Just because a car is on a dealer’s forecourt is no indication of its quality – as Helen’s post illustrates. I have seen some right old rust buckets for sale at local dealers, and not every privately sold car is a lemon.
I don’t have a problem with car dealers – but I don’t like this scaremongering. There is room in the market for dealers and private trading.
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In the Isle of Man, they don’t have an MOT either. However if you want to register a vehicle older than 3 years from off island (UK, Foreign etc), then it has to be examined by the Govt Vehicle examiners first of all. It is like a very thorough MOT and checks everything on the vehicle. Lots of vehicles fail first time – most will make it through the second. Once the vehicle has passed the test, then that’s it – no more tests. It stops people buying these UK MOT failures and then selling them over there. It would be easy enough to do a similar scheme in Guernsey???
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Simple tactic to try and get people to start buying cheaper cars from garages again.
Very hypocritical when many garges are selling cars that would fail MOT for 2-3 times more on their forecourts. Not to mention some of these cars are being sold by garages which have no forecourt space.
Not so long ago I test drove a golf which was up for £4500. The suspension was ruined and the clutch was on its last legs, juddering about all over the place. When I got back to the garage and questioned the clutch the bloke told me “it’s just had a new clutch, cost £700″. Not to mention the 3 series I tested that didn’t even make it out the forcourt due to a throttle problem. £5000 for that excellent used car. Do they really think people are that stupid?
And then theres seeing the car you traded in last week up for sale at over 3 times the value they gave you. I know they need to make a profit but seriously!
I would rather take my chances on the private market!
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I recently bought a car at auction in the UK for £4,600 complete with full service history, new MOT etc, only 17,000 miles. Similar car over here is around £7,000 or even more, it’s the first time I’ve gone down that route but wouldn’t hesitate to do so again, it’s not as difficult or daunting as you might think. Also interesting to note that some garages over here also buy at UK auctions, then slap about £3,000 on top as their profit margin. That’s a hefty margin to pay to save yourself about £400 and 48 hours of your time, which is what the trip to the UK and back cost me.
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It’s simple.
Get someone from the income tax to go down there and take down all the phone numbers and check to see the owners. See if they are selling more then one car or are regularly selling cars and declaring it as a business.
Problem solved as most of them there are not paying tax. Fine them for not paying tax.
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There is obviously a demand for this kind of thing, so what is the problem? If people want to pay less for a car surely it is their choice to do so. Cars are too expensive here anyway. The prices you pay here for new cars are not indicative of the VAT difference at all….and do not say it is the transport costs, as there is no way that that could add up to what is being charged! As for the spaces being used…I do not think this is really as big a problem as some claim it to be…and if the guys in question move them around it should not be.
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The trade needs to get it’s own house in order before it criticises legitimate private sellers. They charge in excess of £1,000 on a new car for delivery then at trade in time offer rock bottom UK prices minus to Vat. It is easy and much,much cheaper to import new or used from the UK .
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Saw a blue car on the South Side lot this morning with three tickets on it,so somebody is doing something about the problem
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This really is very straight forward. The States simply needs to enact a law making it illegal to sell or dump cars on common land or in public car parks. Fine the offenders and tow away the cars.
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CD
Would you place this new law ahead of or after the animal protection law now about seven years in the drafting?
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CD – Why should people be prevented from trying to sell their car using a public car park? The answer is even simpler – enforce current parking laws.
Dumping vehicles is an entirely different matter altogether. More freedom should be given to the authorities to remove vehicles left for a period of time (say one week) and then charge the owners for the work.
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If anyone wants to buy a used car it is up to that person to check its condition before handing over the cash.It would be a case of “Buyer Beware”. Try to get a certified mechanic to check it out first! If the seller says it has had “this” and “that” done to it, get the receipts from the seller to prove it or get a signed statement to that effect! If the seller gives any kind of warranty as to its condition GET IT IN WRITING!
You will have only yourself to blame if you find something wrong with the vehicle when steam is coming out of the engine!
The most vulnerable of buyers is the unsuspecting 17+ years old making his/her first purchase of this kind who is trying to “get on the road” as cheaply as possible and will dismiss any precautions as a waste of time! What with having to pay for insurance, registration fee, and any potential interest on a loan obtained to buy the vehicle in the first place! I know because I was in that position at that age myself! If it is not the law already, there should be one that says anyone younger than 18 years old wanting to purchase a car or motor bike from any seller(private or otherwise),must have their parents’ legal permission to do so. If the seller does not get it then any contract made will be deemed “null and void” in court if and when the buyer sues because the vehicle turns out to be a lemon!
In any event, there should be a Guernsey “MOT” which would prevent anyone from registering a vehicle without “certification of roadworthiness” or “proof of insurance”.If the vehicle fails the “cor” inspection, they will have the option of returning the vehicle to wherever they bought it and getting their money back.
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This is a post-script to my earlier posting.
Of course the states motor dept. would have to
regulate the certified mechanics or “inspection stations” authorised to do these inspections and mandate the fee that can be charged to the potential owner of the vehicle in question.
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For the GMTA’s information an over inflated market will always result in other people exploiting a gap. We do not need an MOT in Guernsey, and anyway why should complicated Laws be passed for commercial reasons ie to line the pockets of motor traders.
Isn’t it interesting how most islanders don’t give a fig about the Bridge Car Lot??
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I don’t see how big brother can stop anyone displaying a notice in their private car if it is parked legitimately. My daughter saw three cars with for sale signs parked on Salerie Corner – they were parked by people at work (one of whom she knows) – I see nothing at all wrong with this. People advertise all sorts of things in their car windows.
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the only problem thats being caused on say, the bridge , is that the possibility of an accident following somone who stops to look at the cars, then again if you keep your distance there is no problem. If someone is using their car daily and advertising it for sale then no harm is done, having 3 or 4 cars in a prime position on the Salerie corner is not really the done thing , there was a dealer who had 5 mobile numbers and 5 cars in that position recently, I was sat on sea wall watching him move cars around
In Jersey all the coastal car parks have signs that state “all vehicles advertising good for sale will be subject to a £50 fixed penalty notice” that has been going for some years now.
I think that a bit harsh but then again that is Jersey lol
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I recently sold a motorbike by placing it out on the coast near my house and it sold within a few days – but I did take it home every evening and certainly didnt dump it there for a long time
I’ve also had a note in the window of a few cars I’ve tried to sell – works pretty well really.. but no doubt there will be some knee jerk legistaltion passed to stop this happening..
As for the MOT issue that a few people have raised there should be a minimum vehicle standard. A vehicle that looks in good nick could look good but be a death trap.. – whats the difference if you are driving at 30 mph in the UK or Guernsey and your brakes fail because of lack of maintence??
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Are the States or the parishes missing a trick here. We already have car boot sales at La Mare de Carteret school on Saturdays. Why not have car/motorcycle sales with a set entry fee on regular dates at large premises. The seller could deposit his vehicle on the site leaving his “for sale” notice on it with a contact number. The buyers would turn up and check out the vehicle then call up the seller. If the fee was reasonable it would be far cheaper than adverts in the Press. I’m sure someone could fine tune my suggestion and get it going.
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Mac
A good example of thinking outside of the box
The Vale Douzaine car park is large enough for one such sale a month
Alliance could also make a few bob on a Sunday until the stupid Sunday Trading Law is suspended
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Outstanding idea Mac.
Part of the reason people are placing their cars in these locations is the cost of advertising in the press, £65 is a major cost if the vehicles is only up for a few hundred.
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The Island is becoming full of cars for sale.
Counted 24 cars for sale at the weekned from St Sampsons to St Peter Port.
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