Haggling, time wasters and disputes over condition: the most common private car sale pitfalls

Two thirds of motorists have never sold a car privately, with the fear of pesky hagglers potentially the biggest disincentive when it comes to going it alone in the car market.

That’s the takeaway from the latest survey by Auto Express which has shown that the prospect of dealing with low offers and buyers determined to negotiate hard on the asking price is the most common negative that potential sellers face.  

The survey revealed that 35 per cent of over 500 respondents had never sold a car privately. The 65 per cent who had engaged in a private car sale before revealed the most common pet hates around the process. It turns out that 28 per cent of those car sellers have encountered unreasonably low offers and haggling from buyers, making it the most common issue in the poll.

The next most commonly reported problem was that of no-shows; 17 per cent of those who had sold privately (11 per cent of the 509 people surveyed) encountered time wasters on their car-selling journey - people who arranged viewings or test drives but ultimately failed to show up. Almost one-in-10 (eight per cent) of sellers encountered disputes over their vehicle’s condition, while a surprising six per cent reported concerns about their personal safety when engaging with potential buyers.

While the majority of those surveyed who had sold a car privately (63 per cent) said they hadn’t encountered any of the most common private sale issues listed, the results do underline the range of pitfalls car owners face when navigating the open market on their own. 

Last year, there were over seven million used car transactions in the UK – up from the 2022 total but still down on pre-pandemic levels. Private sales remain hugely popular, particularly on lower-priced cars, but a part-exchange directly through a dealer or use of an online car selling service can help mitigate the risk of things going wrong. 

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