plastic91

I have recently listed a car on Autotrader that i wish to sell and today i have received a phone call with one of the most unusual circumstances.

Basically, the guy that called sounds english but works/live in Malta. He is really interested in the car and wants to secure the car before he makes his flight to the UK to view/collect the car. His reasoning is that he does not wish that when he has booked his flight and later be told that the car is sold. So he needs the car reserved and do not mind paying a deposit.

What I don't really understand is, does Malta not have cars or is the cars there very expensive that he doesn't mind going through all this trouble? He sounds very genuine to me as he's not very fluent in his speech (ie not a prepared dialogue).

What do you think of the chances of a scammer? He gave me a landline number, which is the exact one that is shown on my caller id.

Any views appreciated.

MB

I hate selling cars!

Did he call from Malta, and is the number genuine? I do know of a guy from Malta who came over and bought an Exige. I guess it's to do with exchange rates as a lot of Euro buyers are going to the UK.

I'm not sure how him giving you a deposit gives him any more security on the car though?? Also, if he was ocming over to buy a car, you would guess he had a few in mind?

The most obvious thing would be that he wants your bank details to make a transfer, and then somehow hacks your account. So I wouldn't give any details.

It could be genuine, but I prefer to trust nobody.

Is there any advice on Autotrader? They are often aware of the latest scams.

Fieldl

By all accounts a lot of cars are being exported at the moment so treat with caution but it could very well be on the level.

plastic91

Yeah, he called from malta, it's a +356 prefix.... so i believe it's genuine.

anyhow, he's called again and said that he's booking his flight ticket for the next few days and asked me to reserve the car for him. so no deposit invovled at the moment, and i believe i'm risk free.

MB

tiger289

A friend of mine sold a E Type to a guy in Malta a year ago. He flew over saw the car was happy and transferred the money. Part of the deal was to deliver the car to a shipping company in London which we did and it all went well.

HTH.
Good luck with it.

m1bjr

It's a shame we are all so paranoid.
But I would get a written document of export he can sign onto.
In case it ends up full of drugs in some Spanish port!

s2000malta

No we are buying cars like the plague here. Basically a change in the registration system made cars that have less emissions a good buy to get from the UK. Also the sterling to the euros is making it advantageous.

Most notable are the new range of BMW's which have around 156g emissions.

What did you list if I may ask?

What hassle is involved? You come over sign, send over everything to the DVLA and Bobs your uncle. The hassle is in Malta as you have to register everything in no time otherwise you get fined.

j8mie

So long as you don't give out your bank details, and are happy to hold off any other buyers until he arrives then I can't see there being a problem.

plastic91

it's a 2006 mini cooper s.

To me, the hassle invovled is that he has to fly over, drive from the airport to my location, inspect the car and finally take the car back to malta. unless the price difference in malta is a lot more than in uk, i think that's a lot of effort.