DoneDeal is Ireland’s biggest car marketplace. It’s also where most car scams happen. We track 280,000+ listings across every Irish marketplace, and the patterns are clear: certain scam types appear again and again. Here’s how to protect yourself.
1. Clocked Cars (Mileage Fraud)
This is the most common scam in Ireland. A car’s mileage is rolled back to make it appear less used. Our data shows that roughly 1 in 10 used cars in Ireland has a mileage discrepancy in its history.
How to spot it:
- Check the vehicle history on Motorly — we track mileage across every listing, every marketplace, over time
- Wear on the steering wheel, pedals, and driver’s seat should match the claimed mileage
- A 2015 car with 40,000 km? That’s 5,700 km/year. The Irish average is 16,000. Ask why.
- Check the NCT disc — it shows the mileage at the last test
2. The Deposit Scam
A seller asks you to pay a deposit to “hold” the car, often via bank transfer. They claim there are other interested buyers creating urgency. Once you transfer the money, they disappear.
Red flags:
- Seller wants payment before you’ve seen the car in person
- They’re “out of the country” or “working offshore”
- Price is too good to be true (use our price checker to verify)
- They refuse to meet in person or do a video call with the car
3. Outstanding Finance
You buy a car, only to discover it has outstanding HP or PCP finance. The finance company can legally repossess the car from you, even though you paid the seller in full.
How to protect yourself:
- Ask the seller for proof of finance settlement
- Check our vehicle check tool which flags cars with known finance issues
- If buying from a dealer, they’re legally required to disclose outstanding finance
4. The “Category” Write-Off (UK Imports)
A car written off by a UK insurer (Cat S, Cat N) can be legally imported to Ireland and sold without disclosure. The seller might not even know — or they might know exactly what they’re doing.
- If the car was previously UK-registered, ask for its UK history check
- Unusually cheap UK imports are often write-offs
- Check for paint colour mismatches, uneven panel gaps, or signs of repair
5. Fake Photos / Phantom Listings
The car in the photos doesn’t exist, or it’s not the car you’ll see when you arrive. Stock photos from Google Images, photos from other listings, or photos of a different car entirely.
How to spot it:
- Reverse image search the listing photos
- Ask for a photo with today’s newspaper or a specific pose
- If the photos look too professional for a private sale, be suspicious
6. The “Dealer Posing as Private” Trick
Dealers list cars as private sales to avoid consumer protection laws. Under Irish law, buying from a dealer gives you significantly more rights (warranty, right to return, etc.).
- If the seller has multiple cars listed, they’re probably a dealer
- Check the phone number — if it appears on multiple listings, it’s a trader
- On Motorly, we flag sellers with multiple active listings
Your Anti-Scam Checklist
- Run a free vehicle check on Motorly — mileage history, listing timeline, marketplace tracking
- Check if the price is realistic — if it’s 20% below market, something’s wrong
- Always see the car in person before paying anything
- Never transfer money to “hold” a car sight unseen
- Check the V5C/logbook matches the seller’s name and address
- Trust your gut — if something feels off, walk away
The best defence against car scams is data. Browse 280,000+ verified listings on Motorly where we track every car’s history across all marketplaces.