Driver claims car buyer used 'a sob story' to haggle down her Audi's £2,500 price by half - only for him to advertise it on Facebook for £3,850 just HOURS later
- Sarah Hutchinson, 24, from Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, was selling her Audi TT Quattro 3.2l for £2,500
- Nightclub DJ Mark McCallum claimed there were multiple issues with the car
- After numerous exchanges between them, Ms Hutchinson 'felt sorry' for him and agreed to sell car for just £1,100
A young driver claims a DJ haggled her down to less than half her asking price on her Audi by spinning a 'sob story' - only to advertise it for three times the price an hour later.
Sarah Hutchinson, 24, from Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, in Scotland, listed her Audi TT Quattro 3.2 for sale online for £2,500 two weeks ago and was contacted by Mark McCallum, who offered to buy the car.
Despite informing the nightclub DJ that she needed the cash to buy a more practical car and pay off some debt, Mr McCallum bombarded her with messages pointing out issues with the vehicle.
Sarah Hutchinson, 24, from Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, in Scotland, claims a DJ haggled her down to less than half her asking price on her Audi by spinning a 'sob story' - only to advertise it for three times the price an hour later
She listed her Audi TT Quattro 3.2 (pictured) for sale online for £2,500 two weeks ago and was contacted by Mark McCallum, who offered to buy the car
Case worker Ms Hutchinson says Mr McCallum, from Glasgow, Lanarkshire, 'spun' a story that he only wanted a 'wee runner' and that he needed the car for weekends for use with his daughter.
He even told her he would have to 'save up' for the repairs and that his dad would have to buy him a spare key for it.
Ms Hutchinson claims Mr McCallum, who appears to have sold numerous cars on Facebook in recent months, made her so worried that she wouldn't be able to flog the vehicle that she agreed to slash the price to a mere £1,100.
However she was devastated to spot Mr McCallum appearing to list the car for sale online just an hour later - for a whopping £3,850.
Case worker Ms Hutchinson says Mr McCallum, from Glasgow, Lanarkshire, 'spun' a story that he only wanted a 'wee runner' and that he needed the car for weekends for use with his daughter
When contacted for comment, Mark originally claimed the advert was a prank by his pal.
But he subsequently said that he would be selling the car after doing repairs on it and was entitled to sell it for as much as he wished.
Ms Hutchinson said: 'If anyone else is approached by this guy, I'd advise them to be very wary.
'He spun a sob story and didn't make it clear. I [would have] had no issue with what he was going to do with it afterwards - it's the fact he was so untruthful.
Mr McCallum told Ms Hutchinson to 'be real' and bemoaned the car's age, miles to the gallon, lack of service history, number of owners and mileage
'He said 'I need a car for the weekend - I've got a daughter, we've moved house, we really need a car'.
'I think part of it was that I'm a young girl. The fact is he was condescending, when I'd already done my research and checked it.
'But when you're dealing with things that are more geared towards men, you start to question yourself.'
After deciding to buy a new car for her short commute, Ms Hutchinson listed her Audi for sale for £2,500 because a bodywork expert reportedly said her bodywork would only need £400 to touch up.
When contacted for comment, Mark originally claimed the advert was a prank by his pal. But he subsequently said that he would be selling the car after doing repairs on it and was entitled to sell it for as much as he wished
Mr McCallum got in touch with her and offered £1,800 at first, but Ms Hutchinson showed him a screenshot of an online estimate of more than £3,400.
Telling her to 'be real', he bemoaned the car's age, miles to the gallon, lack of service history, number of owners and mileage.
Despite pointing out the 'bumps and scrapes' in the original listing, Mr McCullum acted surprised when Ms Hutchinson mentioned them in their exchange.
After coming to see the car, he claimed there were a long list of issues and calculated that it would cost £1,600 to fix them.
During their exchange, he even tried to trade other vehicles which he was selling with her, which she turned down.
Ms Hutchinson repeatedly tried to walk away from the sale but was bombarded with further issues by Mr McCallum, until she claims she became worried the car would never sell.
Mr McCallum claimed he would have to 'save up' to be able to afford the repairs and that his dad would have to buy the car a spare key for him.
Ms Hutchinson felt sorry for him and was desperate to buy her new pink Nissan Micra convertible and so settled on just £1,100.
Despite informing the nightclub DJ that she needed the cash to buy a more practical car and pay off some debt, Mr McCallum bombarded her with messages pointing out issues with the vehicle
Ms Hutchinson told Mr McCallum that the car had been valued at around £3500
The pair continued to disagree about the value of the car before Mr McCallum started to point out problems with the car
He claimed that giving Ms Hutchinson £1200 and then spending £1600 to repair it would still be 'way more than it is worth'
But when Ms Hutchinson and her mum went on Mr McCallum's Facebook page to see if he was showing off his new purchase, they were devastated to see it listed for sale for £3,850.
Ms Hutchinson said: 'Me and my mum thought we'd have a look to see if he was showing it off.
'We were dead shocked and thought 'that's just an hour after we sold him that'.
Mr McCallum claimed he would have to 'save up' to be able to afford the repairs and that his dad would have to buy the car a spare key for him
When Mr McCallum appeared surprised that there was only one key, Ms Hutchinson said 'this is ridiculous, you can't keep going back and forward with it'
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'He'd put up the photos of the car in my driveway and he'd put the car was 'immaculate' and he was selling it for £3,850.
'My mum was in contact with him saying 'look, I know you've ripped my daughter off,' she added.
However she claims Mr McCallum complained that the car was 'gubbed' and that they had ripped him off.
He claimed that the car would be 'heavy' on tax and insurance in a bid to get her to lower the price
Mr McCallum claimed he was just 'being honest' as he continued to point out what he claimed was wrong with the car
He claimed that £1800 would be 'good money', even though Ms Hutchinson was hoping for £2,500
Mr McCallum said: 'I bought the car in good faith and do not need to explain myself.
'If I bought a car through Facebook for £1,100 spent £1,500 on repairs and sold it on, that's my business.
'If I choose to sell it for £1,000,000, the owner cannot have any comeback.
During their exchange, he even tried to trade other vehicles which he was selling with her, which she turned down
'She was desperate to sell as she knew the amount it would cost to fix and if I can do this and take on the responsibility then there's nothing wrong with that.
'They have looked at an advert and decided they are not happy, it's my personal Facebook, it's not for public viewing.
'Ms Hutchinson being in debt is not my responsibility. I also have bills to pay and am a single parent.
'I paid good money for the car in the condition the car was in. I am being made out to be some kind of bad guy which is not the case at all.
'From my point of view having to spend money repairing the vehicle as no one would consider paying the £2,500 market value unless it was in excellent condition with a new mot, service and the body work repaired.
Mr McCallum offered Ms Hutchinson a Ford Fiesta as he was trying to buy her Audi
Ms Hutchinson eventually agreed to sell the car to Mr McCallum for £1,100 because she said she 'felt sorry' for him
'No one would consider buying a car at market value in that condition. She just has the hump because she has seen an advert that she did not like.'
While he appears to have listed numerous cars for sale on Facebook over the last year, Mr McCallum claims he does not have a side business and just 'helps friends' when they ask him to go to car auctions.
Ms Hutchinson added: 'Everybody is going to haggle, but it seems that every tiny thing he picked out was detriment to the price.
Ms Hutchinson felt sorry for Mr McCallum and was desperate to buy her new pink Nissan Micra
'If you know your facts and how much your car's worth, don't let anybody tell you differently and [convince] you [to] believe them because you're not as confident.
'I don't know why I didn't tell him to forget it. I was scared I wouldn't get anyone to buy the car because of what he was saying.
'The car that I was selling was a really good car,' she added.
