Just sold it on locally for £100 profit. Its all good. Buyer is ecstatic about it, he seems to have an 80's fetish, nice guy tho, real lover of old motors. Perhaps could have got more for it as it was on Ebay and going stringly, but I was suss about some of the bidders and this was an easy way to make it go away without the hassle of getting the potential non-payers.
I got me money back, thats all I care about. Love my Toyota too, just what I wanted.
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Git :).
Well done though for making a profit, I am jealous :).
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Thu 13 May 10 at 14:02
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One would expect you to do well, Stu. After all, it was a Mazda!
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It was the service history that sold it really, people go nuts over it. Was the only reason I bought it originally as its such a good selling point with an old car.
It was rather sweet when this guy came round to see it originally that he was already talking about buying a car cover for it and that he would be cleaning it every weekend and take it to shows.
I knew then that he was gonna have it and then after a few days and it was looking like the price would go mad on ebay, he contacted me today offering to bring me the majority of the asking price as a deposit and the rest this evening in exchange for me cancelling the listing.
When he arrived I said ' It ate away at you didnt it?' and he grinned and said 'Yes'.
Im glad its going to a good home though, its lasted this long, it deserves more tlc in its twilight years.
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Watch it appear in a new series of Live on Mars soon :).
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Always nice when a punter like that gets horned up one it.
I had it with an '87 Gold Wing 1200. Advertised nationally on Fish4Bikes. Got one call and he lived 3 miles away. Taxi round clutching brand new helmet and coat. Wanted a test ride, put £3k on the table and was back in minutes.
No haggling, made over £2K profit and never saw him again.
Bought current bike with the proceeds.
Now to get me Fiesta done. Stu, what's best to clean stained cloth seats ?...Small steam cleaner ?
Ted
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>>>cancelling the listing
Shame you did that... ruins Ebay and helps undermine folks trust in it.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Thu 13 May 10 at 15:59
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Can I jump on the bandwagon here, Stu?
A recommendation for something to rejuvenate the vast amount of matt black plastic around the dash, doors, etc on my 8 year old Mazda would be much appreciated.
It's a pity I don't live in Northampton.
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Ebay is what it is, only one guy bothered to actually come view it so he was taken seriously. Of the 8 different bidders, only two had more than zero feedback and while they may have been genuine, Im not going to mess about when I have someone genuine on my doorstep.
Re seats: Cloth seats tend to get tide marks if you dont dry them properly. The trick I use is to get them decently wet ( but not sodden ), a hard scrub with a stiff brush ( and some form of fabric cleaner ), doing the base and backrest separately, then vac the moisture off as best you can, then rapid drying with a fan heater on full. If it dries too slowly, you get tide marks. Its even better if you start the heating process while you do the seats by training it on the underside as you are scrubbing them. If its stubborn, using boiled water from the kettle also a good idea.
Re black plastic: It depends what you want to get out of it. Once its faded, its faded and all you can do is apply any number of different products that sit on the top of the surface and make it shiny to varying degrees. I use a matt finish silicone dashboard aerosol which evens out the look but isnt shiny as such as I loath the 'over valeted' look.
There are also wipe on products which generally apply more evenly than aerosols but obviously are more work. Some last longer than others but it comes down to the specific type of plastic as to how well a product takes to it. It varies enourmously and only experience can tell you which will work where. Its also very important to remove dirt first.
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>>Re black plastic:
Thanks for the advice. Wipe on product sounds best for me.
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>>>>only one guy bothered to actually come view it so he was taken seriously. Of the 8 different bidders, only two had more than zero feedback and while they may have been genuine, Im not going to mess about when I have someone genuine on my doorstep.
Withdrawing an item with several bids on it is just as bad as the winning bidder changing their mind and not buying.... and doesn't that drive sellers mad. People viewing is no indication of intent. In fact all the viewers I've had have been seemingly after a nose about.... they've never been the highest bidder at the end. Most very serious buyers don't view and knowing this I try to avoid viewings so that folks don't get to see the stuff I have about.
>>>Ebay is what it is....
Indeed.... a fantastic marketplace where the good deals only work on the trust both buyer and seller will complete the deal.
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Viewing alone might not be an indication of intent, but laying down nearly all of the money I wanted for the car is. I just want the money, through whatever channels that comes through.
It would be rather naive to think that Ebay motors is all about the auctions - it isnt which is why Ebay brought in the classifieds section to try and mop up the deals done outside of the auctions.
Its not a religion, its just a business and not to be sentimental about.
There is a mechanism put in place by Ebay to cancel the listing if the item is no longer for sale, their words not mine, therefore when my car sold and was therefore no longer for sale, I used it.
Ive had cars I was bidding on end early and ive been disappointed not to have won, but thats the nature of the game and you play knowing that these things are possible.
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>>So that folks don't get to see the stuff I have about.
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Oh! so true. Some toerags out there.
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Stu, thanks for the hints about the seats.
Ted
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Well done Stu.
Even though I am a car enthusiast, I have to say that some of your purchases seem a little bonkers to me. I struggle to warm to a 90s Carina or an 80s Mazda. But credit to you, you recognise that there are other people out there who DO need or want these motors and in the end it's win-win for everyone isn't is, which is nice.
And you could use the Carina for mini-cabbing on the side at weekends ;-)
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I think most LAs now have strict licencing rules on the age of mini cabs. I think in Manchester it has to be less than six or seven years old (I can't remember) when it firsts get the plates and there is also a limit to age it can be full stop.
I remember going in quite a few Carina taxis.
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>> I remember going in quite a few Carina taxis.
I hope you cleaned it up before you got out !
Ted
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The only car I've ever sold on e-bay had the usual 'how much d'yer want for it guv' responses, but the only people that came to view it (40 mile round trip) declined a test drive (you can drive it if you can prove to me you're insured to do so, otherwise you'll sit there and I'll do anything, within reason, you ask) and were the top bidders.
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I fully accept your experience with your car Ebay sale bathtub but it just isn't how the pattern looks for me taken over a larger sample of deals (almost 700). For me the best bidders have always been those that didn't view and bid in the closing minutes. I've only done a modest amount recently but over the previous 2/3yrs I sold items to a total of £22k on Ebay... 5 items amounting to £16k of that (All private stuff related to my interests). Honestly not once was a viewer the winner.
>>>It would be rather naive to think that Ebay motors is all about the auctions - it isnt which is why Ebay brought in the classifieds section to try and mop up the deals done outside of the auctions.
Yes quite Stu so if you don't want to allow an auction use the classified ad like the lilac car.
>>>There is a mechanism put in place by Ebay to cancel the listing if the item is no longer for sale, their words not mine, therefore when my car sold and was therefore no longer for sale, I used it.
You are humouring me surely. That system is for limited and genuine circumstances where the vehicle is not to be sold at all and very specifically not to be used to sell outside of Ebay. They say...
>We strongly discourage sellers to end listings early because it undermines the trust buyers have in the eBay platform. eBay buyers are told that their bids are binding. Equally, buyers expect the auctions they bid on to conclude successfully.
>Ending a listing early for the following reasons is prohibited as it is considered fee avoidance: Cancelling bids and ending a listing early in order to sell the item off-eBay. You should be aware that as well as avoiding fees, you risk fraud by selling items off the eBay website. If a member writes to you to ask you to sell away from the eBay website, please report them to us.
You say...
>>>Its not a religion, its just a business and not to be sentimental about.
Hmmm.. perhaps my standards are too high?
Last edited by: Fenlander on Fri 14 May 10 at 08:24
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>> We strongly discourage sellers to end listings early because it undermines the trust buyers have
>> in the eBay platform...
Just playing devil's advocate for a minute here, perhaps the main reason they object is that they lose out on their percentage of the deal?
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>> Just playing devil's advocate for a minute here, perhaps the main reason they object is
>> that they lose out on their percentage of the deal?
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Saint's advocate says the main reason is that you have cheated, theived, defrauded, eBay out of their perfcentage of their deal. You have used them to find a buyer and then abused them. But then on the iternet most people lose thier sense of fairness and morality, and cheating, pirating, and theiving are the norm. Saint's advocate say so, not me. :-)
Last edited by: John H on Fri 14 May 10 at 09:17
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>> Just sold it on locally for £100 profit.
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How do you calculate your profit? Did you not have some work done on your car by your "mech" and valeting by yourself? What is the net profit after you account for your time, expenses, NI, and tax. Someone used to claim on HJ's forum that selling cars like you have done could be construed as trading.
Last edited by: John H on Fri 14 May 10 at 09:25
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My accountant will be made aware of the profit for my tax return, but the losses on the Charade would override any tax implications in the general scheme of things.
My mech didnt charge me for a little adjustment he did and well, you could say that I charged myself £100 for valeting if you like, ill just write myself out an invoice ;-)
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Mazda has left the building :-) - RattleandSmoke
