Some Advice on What to Watch out for When Selling your Car

June 28, 2012

Word of caution to everyone out there, I have outlined a few unethical tactics as per below. There are a few Companies out there that will do everything they can do to get your car as cheap as possible, this means being forceful in their language, telling you lies, and threating you with the cost of their time if you change your mind on selling to them. It is a disgrace that this can happen, unfortunately it is not illegal and Consumer affairs cannot really do much. There are also Companies that are not LMCT (Licensed Motor Car Traders) that are running around buying cars when they are legally not allowed to do this, however when caught they can reopen under a new ABN under a family members name and continue to do this.  Unfortunately this kind of activity just hurts the legitimate Cash for Cars and Car Removal Services and also hurts you the seller of the vehicle.

Common tactics to look out for in the industry are as below:

  1. Searching online for Cash for Cars and Car Removal Companies utilising Google Maps, there are Companies that are flooding Google Maps with false Companies then adding multiple reviews from non existent users mentioning how good the Company is in order to boost themselves on the Google Maps Rankings. Reading through the reviews it is obvious when you can see that the users posting do not have history or that there has been multiple reviews posted in a very short space of time. Also the same Companies are falsely visiting other Companies Google Maps or Google Places profiles and posting false negative reviews. Google does make an effort to delete multiple listings from the one Company however this can take months to do, so it is very easy for a Company just to keep relisting in order to flood Google Maps and Google Places, we are really hoping that Google can come up with a fast fair solution to stop Companies doing this.
  2. There are a couple of Cash for Cars and Car Removal Companies that are setting up branches in different areas, however they are proposing to be different Companies then when they flood the advertising you call their first branch and get a price then call their 2nd branch and get the same price again or less which conditions the customer to be more accepting of the first quote, the seller thinks that they should just go ahead with it, however they have been falsely cheated believing that they are speaking to 2 separate Companies. Again not illegal however it is unethical.
  3. Some very large Cash for Cars and Car Removal Companies that are internationally based and new to Australia are now enabling people to obtain a quote immediately online, as convenient as this may sound, the prices that are given for your vehicle are 100% of the time false and rather a carrot to entice people to bring their vehicle in for a so called “inspection”(more likely to use this inspection as a put down session of your vehicle) there are cases as I am sure people can see for themselves on the net from independant review websites within Australia and other countries with people claiming to be electronically quoted online $5000 for a vehicle then only to bring it into one of these inspection depots and be offered $300. Realistically if you know yourself that the car is not worth that much, you are wasting your time. You will always be better off getting a genuine guaranteed quote over the phone before going anywhere.
  4. There are some Cash for Cars and Car Removal Companies that are just quoting the same high price over the phone for every car no matter what car it is just so they can clock up jobs, then the driver coming out will crunch the price and his pay will be based on a percentage of whatever he can save off the original buying price. The only winner in this situation is the driver and the Car Removal Company. If you are brave enough to stand up to the driver and send him away, he will most likely threaten you with a bill for his time in coming out which is completely ridiculous as he has broken agreement on price that you have been told so you have every right to break agreement with no cost. If a situation ever worsens just call the police and be sure that the driver will leave you be. How you can mostly identify that you have just been quoted in this manner is that the Company in question does not ask for any details on the car whatsoever. A Company that goes to the effort on finding out more on your vehicle is going to be able to quote you a just and guaranteed price as there will be no surprises. As tempting as a high price may sound for a run down vehicle, you are always better off to go with a guaranteed genuine quote.
  5. Also caution with any Company or Scrap Company that wants to pay you a week after getting your vehicle, or pay you with a cheque in the mail. Some Companies will pay you within a week, however there are other Companies that you will be forever chasing for upto a month for payment on your vehicle. Just make sure you deal with someone that can pay you on the spot as there is no need to delay payment to yourself, this is just a luxury for some Companies to process your vehicle or Wholesale it first then pay you after they have made their money on it.
  6. Also stay away from any Companies that do not show an address website, this of course is common sense, you should be reassured that the place you are dealing with actually can show their address online or tell you over the phone so you can visit direct if there is any problem.

If anyone has any questions on the industry do feel free to call us on 03 8401 4334. To save yourself the hassle, always make sure that you notify of everything that maybe a problem with the vehicle including the accessibility of the vehicle as this too can be used to drop the price by a driver. We will always ensure that an accurate true price will be given to you over the phone, our main priority with your vehicle is that it is complete, if there is anything missing when calling to get a quote please let our Customer Service Operators know.

We have 3 websites – this one, Cash for Cars Removal and our Parent Company Toyrolla Spareswhich specialises in Toyota Parts. If you are coming through either of our websites we will only email you once with a quote, and we have a main number for all Car Removal enquiries which is 03 8401 4334.

We Buy Any Car across Melbourne, Victoria, do call us anytime for a no obligation quote.