Car adverts

Time & again I see cars re advetised due to "time wasters". Who or what is a time waster? I feel that anyone has the right to look at a car, test drive it & even get a second opinion before deciding whether to buy. If the prospective buyer seems keen on the phone, arrives to see the car & finds that the description does not match the buyers mental image he can say no. As a seller it is always dissappointing but it should suggest that you look again at your price, description & target market. People have different ideas about value & even if the seller thinks that the buyer wants a Rolls for Mini money it is an opinion best kept to oneself! I have yet to meet a person whose idea of fun is to trawl through classified ads so that they can arrange a drive out just to look at a boring family car when a trip to the local supermarket car park will reveal splendid examples of the mundane but necessary.


No potential buyer, however high their expectations, is a "time waster" & I certainly would resent being described as such, just because I did not buy your French priced RHD Mondeo!


Next time you see a car re advertised due to time wasters it is more than likely an over valued piece of junk!

I will admit that there ARE some people who could do their research better! A couple came to look at a car I had for sale the other weekend. I waited in for them & when they arrived (2 hours late) they said the car was too big! They knew the model - they could have found one in a car park if they were not sure of what it looked like!

I agree Mark but there are occasions when your time IS wasted. For example I recently advertised a set of alloy wheels and tyres to fit a Peugeot 205GTi. The exact dimensions were stated including speed/load ratings and at a bargain price. Sure enough I had a bite almost immediately from a French guy who came to view them. After an hour of deliberating umming and ahhing and me even putting 2 of the wheels on his car so that he could see if they fitted/suited his car ( a Peugeot 307) he said they were not the correct size and the CT man would not like them? I was in the middle of a service and yes I wasted an hour on this joker!

A time waster in my book is someone who makes an appointment to see the car and then doesn't turn up.

We've bought and sold loads of stuff in France and several cars and it's always the car buyers who say they will came and then don't turn up. And often on a weekend too. Grrr!

My perticular favorite was from an old friend, advertising a rangerover v8, when asked what it would do to the gallon, he told the prespective buyer, if you need to ask that you cant afford to run it.

I think I broadly agree with your definition. An honest prospective buyer, happy, or dis-satisfied, is not a “time-waster”, but a tyre-kicking “can I have a test-drive, sorry, but forgot my licence”, and "can you hold it for me, but Im not gonna put even a fiver deposit down", do qualify for the title. Im not experienced enough to comment about national types, but am somewhat prejudiced against “yoofs” who cant tell the front of their baseball caps from the back, and couldnt possibly afford insurance for their prospective purchase, let alone any other running costs etc. Thanks, & that`s my rant for the day!

In my opinion, a time waster is :- an e bayer who has the winning bid and never collects,
or some one who makes an offer on a car then has second thoughts or finds another and does not have the brains to be honest enough to tell the seller
if some one comes to look and says it is not what i am looking for thats fine, its the I will think about it and get back to you that leaves me puzzled, do you hold car indifenatly, whilst they think ?

I have sold several cars in france, every french buyer has arrived test driven and payed same day, its the english who tend to be looking for a french car at uk price.
End of rant