A mischievous car seller sent a hopeful buyer on an 85-mile wild goose chase to a hospital and told him to 'get himself checked' - because he offered less than half the asking price. Mechanic Janis Drikis, 37, says he was 'sickened' when Charlie Murry, 51, offered him £250 in cash for his Honda Civic that he'd advertised at £550, hoping for a quick sale.
The dad-of-two pretended to be happy with the bid and told Charlie to collect the car the next day, giving him the address to a local hospital, only telling him he'd been played after he'd already made the two-hour trip. When Charlie had made it to the hospital, Janis advised him to 'make an appointment and check yourself' for making such a low offer to which a furious Charlie replied calling him a 'rotten b*stard'.
Janis ended the message exchange by telling Charlie he was teaching him a lesson - who has since slammed Janis' 'trick' and says he 'did not find it funny'. Charlie defended his offer and claims that the advert described the car as an MOT failure and that it had a blown turbo meaning it was only good for scrap.
Janis, from Newry, Northern Ireland, said: "I put the car for sale on marketplace for £550. I know there are people who are going to ask. I had lots of messages offering £450 and £400 and I don't mind if someone asks like that. I would probably ask.
"But I got that message for £250 in cash and I thought 'Jesus Christ'. It made me sick and I was just about to send some nice words but I sent him a thumbs up instead. He text back asking for my address so I gave him the address to a hospital. I thought I had to give him a good lesson.
"He asked if I'd be there all day and I put a thumbs up. The next day he text saying he couldn't find my house so I directed him to the hospital.
"He text me saying he was at the hospital five minutes later. I told him to go make an appointment and check yourself for making that stupid offer. It was a good way to teach him a good lesson. He called me a rotten b*stard.
"He came from Ballymoney, which is hours away. I feel sorry about that but it's a good lesson for him."
Charlie says he'd been helping out at his son's scrap business when he'd offered to take the journey from Ballymoney to Newry to pick the car up. He said: "It was an MOT failure and had a blown turbo on it as well. It said that in the description. He had it up for £500 and it was only for scrap.
"It could have been used again if you wanted to spend £1,000 on it. If it's good enough to be used, why didn't he take it back to MOT, repair it and drive it.
"My offer was fair, it was only good for scrap. All he had to do was send to my reply 'that's not enough. No thank you'.
"I was pretty annoyed when I got there because it was an absolute low-down act to do on anybody. I'd understand if it was a £2,000 car and I offered dirty money for it but it was scrap.
"When you're buying on marketplace there are no numbers exchanged, we buy cars off it every day and never have a problem. He probably thought it was smart but I didn't think it was very smart.
"From now on, we'll ask for a phone number so you can contact the client and speak to them verbally." Luckily, Charlie claims he had already planned to pick up two other cars from the same area that day.
Janis says that the car was advertised as 'ready for MOT' and says that he'd recently paid for a new windscreen and tyres. He argues that £550 was a fair price as the car would value at £2,000 after the MOT and although the car was 'down on power' it still started and was drivable.
Janis said: "It could be some sensor or worse case the turbo. A second-hand turbo is £100."
Janis shared the message exchange on Facebook where it racked up more than 4,000 interactions with other sellers sharing similar experiences.
Janis said: "People on Facebook said the same man offered other people £200 for a £600 car. They said well done, this is what he's supposed to get and I did a proper job for him."
Janis says he hasn't heard from enraged Charlie since. He had been hoping for a quick sale but has decided to keep the car.
Janis said: "The car is good, he's buying and scrapping cars but I could do that myself and get my £550 by selling parts and wheels and scrapping the car.
"Scrap money is good now but the car is good enough for someone to use it. I thought I wanted a quick sale and be happy enough with my £550."
Charlie added: "Just say no like other people and there's no harm done. I don't know why he'd take it into his head and play this trick. Everyone thought it was smart and funny but I didn't find it funny."
