They Turned Up in a Van… and Tried to Rob Me: Buyer Beware

BUYER BEWARE is the series where we expose the scams, tricks and tactics nobody tells you about when buying or selling cars.

This episode?

They don’t message.
They don’t email.

👉 They turn up.

In this episode of Cheap Thrills, I break down the in-person buyer scams that can cost you thousands  from coordinated callers, to groups arriving on your driveway, to the psychological tricks that make a perfectly good car suddenly sound broken.

If you’re selling a car privately, this is the stuff that catches people out.

👉 Multiple buyers, one agenda
👉 The “inspection” designed to shake your confidence
👉 Fake faults, real pressure
👉 And how a £3,000 car becomes a £1,200 “deal”

It’s funny… until it’s your car.

 Follow Cheap Thrills for:

• More Buyer Beware episodes
• Marketplace scams & survival tips
• And the ongoing attempt to take a £1,600 Peugeot RCZ to the Nürburgring…

…which is either brave…

…or completely stupid.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

They turned up in a van and tried to rob me. Five blokes, one buyer, three different opinions. And suddenly my perfect car has an engine knock, gearbox slip, and it's definitely been in a crash mate. All discovered within 14 seconds of opening the bonnet. Most people think getting scammed when selling a car only happens online. Fake payments, dodgy bank transfers, the classic, my cousin will collect it. But no, the real theatre, the ultimate performance, happens on your driveway. This is Cheap Thrills. And today we're talking about the in-person bias scam. The ones that turn up, smile, shake your hand, and then try to mentally, emotionally, and financially dismantle you. It starts simple. A message. Hey mate, very interested. Can I come today? Then another message. Then a call, then another call. The same number, but weirdly different voices. And you think, well, this is loads of interest, but a bit weird. But no, that's not interest, it's a coordinated attack plan. You're expecting one bloke, a polite handshake, a torch, maybe a bit of tire kicking, a bit of talk about how someone's had one of these before and that it's great, maybe it's a little bit too pricey, is there room for movement, a deal to be had, you know, the normal selling a car stuff. But instead, a van pulls up and out steps the buyer, the mechanic, some guy who just kind of fucking stares at you. A guy who somehow hates your car, and an absolute lunatic who's there for the vibe. Your driveway has just turned into Top Gear, the hostile Baghdad edition. So it begins. They spread out like a tactical unit. You're stuck talking to the buyer. Whilst behind you, someone's trying to work out where the bonnet is and they're rummaging around in the footwell, and then somewhere else, so that there definitely would not be a bonnet latch. Then someone's kind of underneath the car, waving an arm around, even though the car's so low you can't get under it. And there's some clown tapping panels like they're tuning a piano, and then it starts. Does that sound right? That's a bit smoky. And are you sure this hasn't been here? Or my favorite one, mate, I can smell clutch. I'm like, you can smell clutch from three meters away with the engine off. Impressive. You must know your shit. But this is where it gets clever. They don't attack you, they attack your confidence. And suddenly you're second guessing the car. You're apologizing for things you've never noticed, and you're explaining noises that just don't exist. One guy says, these engines go bang. Another guy says, the gearbox is definitely on its way out. And the quiet nutter in the corner just kind of shakes his head. But he's the dangerous one. He says nothing, and somehow it's gonna cost you a thousand pounds. But then comes the moment the buyer walks over, he sighs, puts his hands in his pockets, and he looks a bit disappointed. And he says, Look, mate, I still like it, but with all that, I'm at about £1,200, and I think that's a good deal. You're like, mate, the car's up for three grand, twelve hundred quid. That's not a negotiation, that's absolute fucking daylight robbery with some mild manners thrown in. And whilst all of that just takes the piss a little bit, here's where it really crosses the line. Some of these groups do this all day, and they flip cars for a profit. Or worse, because there's so many of them and they've got out of a van, they intimidate sellers into folding. You're outnumbered on your own driveway, and suddenly it feels uncomfortable. And that's the point. They want to knock you down from 3 grand to 1200 quid. That's an 1800 pound swing. Do that twice a week, and you're looking at £3,600 a week. That's nearly £14,000 a month, all from talking loudly and shaking heads, just being a bit of a twat. About two weeks ago, three guys turned up in a flatbed with a trailer on the back, looking at my 335 eye. Now, I kind of expected just from the look of them that this was going to be a bit of trouble. I had some guy going over every seam on the car, going over every scratch. I think he thought that he was from We Buy Any Car, because every scratch was going to cost about £100 to fix, and I mean every scratch. Not that there's loads of scratches on the car, but you can imagine how many scratches you're going to find on a car when you think you're going to get £100 off the asking price for it. Now, I knew something was a bit sus because they were just absolute lunatics. They were telling me that the engine was making a noise and it was ticking and that the fuel pressure gauge was not working properly and there was an incorrect signal from the front and the back to the car. They didn't even bring a scanner. They were just giving it a go. And the guy said to me, Well, look, I think you're pushing it a bit hard for five grand here. I think I'd be taking a chance, but I'm happy to give you 1800 quid. He's like, I'm a bit worried that it might not be working properly, and I wouldn't want to take the risk of driving it home. So I've bought a trailer. And I was like, okay. And he said, So it's 1800 quid and I'll take it off your hands right now. Now I've just put two rear tires on that car that was 600 quid. There's absolutely no way I'm letting these clowns or anyone take it away for 1800 pounds. So I said to the guy, look, listen, mate, I think you might be wasting your time here. It's five grand, and actually, I think it's worth more than that. If this is what's going to happen, I don't want to sell the car. And that's where they got a bit angry with me. They told me that they'd driven from Burnley or Blackburn or some Rover's town up north, and that they made an especially long trip to come down here to buy this car. So I said, well then you'll pay five grand for it. And he said, no, I'll pay 1800 pounds for it, and I'll take it right now and I'll forget all the problems with the car. And at this point, I was quite annoyed, so I told them quite clearly to fuck off. Which they did. Now obviously that may not work on me or many of my listeners, but that is going to work on someone. That is some high pressure intimidation from some absolute loser. Now, here's the reality. They're not smarter than us. They're just more rehearsed. They're more confident and they're kind of working as a team. So how do you win? Sometimes it's not enough just to say, yeah, I don't want to I don't want to sell it for that. Because these guys, they put the pressure on. They put the pressure on me, and I'm twice the size of half of them. So how do you beat them? I think it's simple really. You don't play their game. You limit viewings to one to two people and you say, sorry mate, you're gonna have to wait in the car. Then you need to control the inspection. You open things, not them. You guide them around the car, open the door, show them what you want to show them in an order that you think is appropriate. Don't let them take you away from the car. Don't let them get you in one part and them in another. It is totally not unheard of that people have pulled cables and hoses and things like that just to get a couple of quid off. But most importantly, you need to be prepared to say no. Because the strongest position in any deal is I don't need to sell this today. Most buyers out there think it's a buyer's market. They think they're gonna come up to you, offer you something, and you'll take it, and you might just need a bit of persuasion. But let me tell you this, that is not the case. Maybe you've priced your vehicle too high, I don't know. If it's worth it to you, it will sell in the end. Maybe somebody's just taking the mick and they want to get a couple of quid off. Usually people are pretty fair about that. They might come up with some kind of random reason why they should get a couple of quid off, taxes too high, might need a front tire, etc. But that's negotiation speak. But when people come at you, lowball you hard on your own driveway and then tell you you should be taking a deal, that's different. You need to be ready to stand up for that and say no, I don't need to sell this today. Selling a car shouldn't feel like a negotiation, a performance, or a low budget episode of Crime Watch driveway edition. But sometimes it totally does. So the next time a van pulls up and five guys get out, just remember, you're not desperate, your car isn't broken, and you're allowed to say, no thanks, lads, not today, and shut the door. Because the best deal you'll ever make is the one you walk away from. If you've ever been stitched up buying or selling a car, or you just enjoy watching me slowly ruin my life with cheap ones, follow cheap thrills. I've got more buyer beware episodes, marketplace madness, and next, a very questionable decision involving a £1600 Peugeot RCZ and the Nervo ring. Trust me, it only gets worse from here. Thanks guys.