Bad idea to sell used cars on roadside
Up and down Ireland car parks and roadsides are littered with used cars, vans and commercial vehicles with a for sale sign placed in the window.
Worryingly, private sellers are turning to this method of advertising the sale of second hand vehicles. This is despite the fact the practice of selling cars on the side of the road is frowned upon by local authorities, banned by some county councils and oft labelled illegal.
Sometimes all the crude sign in the vehicle window will have is ‘For Sale’, followed by a mobile number. Some will advertise a price with o.n.o. (or nearest offer) as well as details of whether the car is NCT’d.
Apart from coming under the scrutiny of local Gardaí or councils, one of the downfalls of the roadside car for sale is that it’s a danger to other motorists. A car driving by at 100km which brakes suddenly when the driver or passenger notices it’s for sale could be a danger to other motorists. Reversing back up the road or doing a swift U-turn to check the price, mobile phone number, NCT details, or the year of the car for sale could also be hazard.
While it may seem like a good idea to people trying to sell used cars– passing motorists can see the make and model of the car, and even manage to take down the mobile number without causing an accident, it is hardly an effective way of making a sale compared to advertising it through a website such as Carlot.ie.
Having to resort to selling a second hand car on the hard shoulder has an air of desperation about it, which can transfer doubts into the minds of potential buyers.
Is the individual selling the car is so unsure of the worth and value of the car that they can’t go pay a fraction of the car’s worth on advertising? There is the tried and tested means such as an ad in a local or national newspaper’s motoring section, or a website such as Carlot.ie
One of the advantages of Carlot.ie, is that it is a website which attracts people interested in buying new and used cars; potential buyers can search the site for specific makes, models, prices, locations, body style, car doors, transmission, fuel and so on.
Unlike strawberries or new potatoes for sale at the side of the road, when it comes to second hand cars for sale on the grass verge, there’s no vendor there to give a potential buyer the sales spiel.
There’s also the chance that the car could be vandalised, taken for a joyride, put up on blocks, towed, clamped or impounded.
Even if a car for sale on the side of the road looks new and in good condition, and seems like a bargain it still may not sell – the right buyer might be sitting at home or in work looking at newspaper ads or doing car searches online. They may never even take the road the car is parked on the side of, or they could be in the next county. One of the beauties of online car sales is that people from all over Ireland can search for what’s available countrywide. And if they have a specific make, model, features or price in mind, there’s nothing to stop them travelling 100 miles for the car they want.
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