Buying and selling
Buying or selling a car? Put a second number on the advert
A car advert reaches more strangers than anything else you will ever sell, and dealers keep the number for years. A second number takes the enquiries and switches off when the car is gone.
Selling a car is the one time most people knowingly publish their phone number. The advert goes on several sites, the number is copied into traders' systems, and for months afterwards the phone rings with offers to buy "any car, any condition". Buying is not much better: every dealer you enquire with keeps your number for the follow-up campaign.
A second number is the answer in both directions.
Selling: the advert number
Get a local number, name it after the car, and put it on every listing. Calls ring in the app; texts arrive under that number on the Messages tab, with photos of the service history going out as MMS when a buyer asks. Serious buyers get answered; the "we buy any car" calls get declined without touching your personal line. See Start a conversation and send a message.
Set hours. Switch on voicemail and set business hours, and the early-morning and late-night calls reach a greeting that says when you will call back. Genuine buyers leave a message; traders rarely do. See Set up voicemail and business hours.
Use Respond with SMS. When a call comes at a bad moment, decline and text "Yes, still available, viewings Saturday morning" in one tap.
Keep a record. Recents keeps every call against the number, which helps when three buyers claim to have "spoken to you first".
Buying: the enquiry number
Give dealers and private sellers the second number when you enquire. Test drives get booked, follow-ups arrive, and the six months of "we have a new model in" afterwards land on a number you can deactivate.
The scams a number does not stop
A second number protects your identity; it does not vet the buyer. The known car-sale scams still apply: the buyer who wants to pay by a "secure" link, the overseas buyer with a shipping agent, the request for your bank login to "verify" a transfer. Meet in person, check payment has cleared before handing over keys, and be suspicious of any message that moves you towards a link. A second number does make those messages easy to ignore, and impossible to connect to the rest of your life.
After the sale
Deactivate the number, or delete it. The buyer's records, the traders' lists and the listing sites all point at a line that no longer rings for you. Selling another car next year? Reactivate it or take a fresh one; extra numbers are bought for a week, a month, three months or a year.
Frequently asked questions
Can buyers text me to ask for photos, and can I reply with pictures?
Yes. With an SMS/MMS-capable number, texts and photos go both ways from the Messages tab under that number.
Does the number look like a normal mobile on the advert?
Yes. It is a local or mobile number in the format of its country. Nothing indicates it is a second number.
Will "we buy any car" traders stop calling when I deactivate it?
They may keep dialling the number, but it no longer rings on your phone. Your personal number was never on the advert, so there is nothing else for them to reach.