Annoying sellers

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Trust me.... I have been through this about 50 times it feels like... Except I have drove for 15+ hours to get a car.... Get there and the damn thing is so rusted out if you pulled it with a wintch it will break in two....
Also I have wasted a week talking to a guy on a 70 swinger... I get in the truck 4 hours into the drive (8 hours total) He texts me "I think I am going to part it out and scrap it"
Mind you I was 4 hours into the trip...
Also he was asking $5k for it.. It was running 360 fresh rebuild....
I hate people like that.
 
Want to solve the no show inconvenience.

I set up a time that I can be here and tell them I'm leaving to head out 30 minutes later as I have an appointment, so don't be late. In fact, I've had as many as 5 people supposed to show at the same time. They don't get the address, just the local offramp, call me when you get there for the rest of directions! No call, no waiting around.

If they hesitate even a little bit, they likely aren't showing up.
 
I drove 3 hrs to looks at a ram charger. He told me on the phone- rust free, and safe to drive home- I get there and the drivers rocker panel is non existent an when I drove it, I wasn't comfortable driving 25mph because the steering had so much play! I stopped 3 blocks away and walked back because I thought I was going to die if I turned a corner! Told him "you pile of **** is over there! YOU go get it!" And drove my butt back home..
 
I always ask for as many photos as possible [if they refuse I don't even bother any further], I always take a trailer, I never trust their description without photos [your opinion and mine of condition may differ]. I have sold parts and a vehicle or two on C.L./auto trader and I have no problem in representing it as I should, providing as many photos as requested, I have had my share of no shows and tire kickers I have also had several persons interested in an item and when it sold I called the others to let them know of the sale, common courtesy in my book!!!
 
lou3500 said:
i always ask for as many photos as possible [if they refuse i don't even bother any further], i always take a trailer, i never trust their description without photos [your opinion and mine of condition may differ]. I have sold parts and a vehicle or two on c.l./auto trader and i have no problem in representing it as i should, providing as many photos as requested, i have had my share of no shows and tire kickers i have also had several persons interested in an item and when it sold i called the others to let them know of the sale, common courtesy in my book!!!
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x2..
If some one asks me for pictures I run out and get the pictures ASAP... Because I am not scared to let some one know of the rust on the car..
 
I usually buy Mopars the people with money aren't interested in, so I usually have the seller pestering me to come get it:hello1:

Here's the problem I have with buying cars, and I've seen it mentioned in this thread in fact:

This deal with sellers that create this illusion of being so busy that they cannot answer the phone in person, or, cannot return messages etc etc etc. Maybe they ARE that busy, maybe they aren't.

But it's like this.... if I have 2-3000 dollars cash or more in hand to come buy your car, you are going to answer the phone and establish a line of communication if you want my money. I'll give you a couple chances,otherwise, BYE. The BUYER in this economy wields the power, not the seller.

I understand that there are a lot of flakes that never show up, and lots of dreamers who get off on talking to people about something they can't even begin to be able to buy. That's the kind of whack jobs that populate this country.

However, if you are in it to sell cars or horsetrade or whatever you call it you gotta be in it, good and bad.

Then, this excuse about "well I'm not on the computer to check email but every x amount of days". Why not?? It takes about 10 minutes max to sit down, turn on the computer, bring up the email client and check them. That's not fair anyway to encourage emails, then make folks sit and wait until you decide to check them. Again, if you aren't motivated enough to establish lines of communication then I'm not motivated to buy your junk.

I'm aware that people do that to weed out the flakes, but I've sold cars to people that I never dreamed would be the one to buy the thing.

This line that goes "I don't need to sell it"...that's fine, people that say that usually are asking too much anyway in my experience and there always is another seller with the same thing at a better price if the buyer is willing to be patient and look.

If you WANT to sell something, you have to do a LITTLE work at least to facilitate it, like answer the phone and emails...I don't know...daily? Otherwise, if you aren't that motivated because selling means you have to move one stack of cash to have a place to put the new stack, well, hope that works for ya:D
 
TylerW said:
I usually buy Mopars the people with money aren't interested in, so I usually have the seller pestering me to come get it:hello1:

Here's the problem I have with buying cars, and I've seen it mentioned in this thread in fact:

This deal with sellers that create this illusion of being so busy that they cannot answer the phone in person, or, cannot return messages etc etc etc. Maybe they ARE that busy, maybe they aren't.

But it's like this.... if I have 2-3000 dollars cash or more in hand to come buy your car, you are going to answer the phone and establish a line of communication if you want my money. I'll give you a couple chances,otherwise, BYE. The BUYER in this economy wields the power, not the seller.

I understand that there are a lot of flakes that never show up, and lots of dreamers who get off on talking to people about something they can't even begin to be able to buy. That's the kind of whack jobs that populate this country.

However, if you are in it to sell cars or horsetrade or whatever you call it you gotta be in it, good and bad.

Then, this excuse about "well I'm not on the computer to check email but every x amount of days". Why not?? It takes about 10 minutes max to sit down, turn on the computer, bring up the email client and check them. That's not fair anyway to encourage emails, then make folks sit and wait until you decide to check them. Again, if you aren't motivated enough to establish lines of communication then I'm not motivated to buy your junk.

I'm aware that people do that to weed out the flakes, but I've sold cars to people that I never dreamed would be the one to buy the thing.

This line that goes "I don't need to sell it"...that's fine, people that say that usually are asking too much anyway in my experience and there always is another seller with the same thing at a better price if the buyer is willing to be patient and look.

If you WANT to sell something, you have to do a LITTLE work at least to facilitate it, like answer the phone and emails...I don't know...daily? Otherwise, if you aren't that motivated because selling means you have to move one stack of cash to have a place to put the new stack, well, hope that works for ya:D
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more!!!!
 
Yup.

I had one guy selling a 66 Satellite that was listed at 4K, and he said he wasn't coming down very much at all. After several emails and 20 pics, plus me telling him 4K wasn't an unrealistic price, he emails LATE one night saying $2500. First thing next morning, I ask again for his address, and he says "I got three people coming, get in line". I respond that I was interested at 4K, minus a little for the rust in one pic that was behind the bumper, and his next reply is "sold, thanks".

WTF, he threw away $1000, because he is THAT poor of a businessman with very little common sense?
 
Sometimes the buyers are not any better. A few years back I was selling a bike. Damn near every response was someone wanting to trade. Claims of my truck is worth 30k and I will do a heads up trade for your $3500 bike were pretty common. Changed the ad the read cash only, no trades. One of the clowns that had called previously wanting to trade had called again. He made mention of the trade & I said nothing. Gave him directions to the Home Depot a few miles away. He was coming from 175 miles away. Met him at the Home Depot....with a copy of Cycle Trader in hand. He hit me up with his pitch about a trade, my $3500 bike for his hot rod. I asked me if he was illiterate or just stupid. He got a bit hot with me....I showed him the ad he responded to and asked him if he knew what no trades meant. He proceeded to call me damn near every name in the book. A passerby had dialed 911. Cops showed up, heard both sides of the story, cuffed the guy and called a wrecker for his ride that he was trying to trade me....it was stolen....
 
inkjunkie said:
A passerby had dialed 911. Cops showed up, heard both sides of the story, cuffed the guy and called a wrecker for his ride that he was trying to trade me....it was stolen....
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That SOB got just what he deserved.




Annoying seller right here on FABO. A member listed something for sale and someone else posted PM. I sent a PM saying second in line. Next I get back that there was four people that are wanting to buy the item so now he is taking the highest offer even though he has an asking price that I agreed to.

Now, it is an off screen auction where you don't know who you are bidding against and what the bids are. For me this is a no brainer, he can shove the all the parts he has listed because I wouldn't buy from him at all now.
 
There's another CL guy in FL that lists a price, then when you contact him (or his GF) you get told they have a "bid" of a higher price.

WTF
 
I guess the bottom line is did you find a better deal on a truck that you wanted. Or did you pass on something you should have tried to make a deal on.
 
I've been down this road a time or two.
72 Duster, Drove about an hour to see a "daily driver"....drum brakes were so bad that I thought I was going to die.
74 Duster, Drove 1.5 hrs for a car that "Needs some interior work, but solid driver". Had what looked to be the entire dash harness hanging out on the floor board and springs poking out of the bench seat on the drivers side..ouch!

Seller says: Needs paint. I hear: Body is so wavy I had to use primer to cover it up.
Seller says: Daily driver. I hear: If you're willing to risk your life, go right ahead.
Seller says: Some rust. I hear: MANY rust HOLES that you can put your fist through.
Seller says: Fresh paint, or Recent paint job. I hear: Macco special job to cover up the quarter panel made of bondo.
Seller says: Ran when parked. I hear: Was knocking so bad I didn't want to risk it stranding me on the way to the scrap yard :lol:
 
player1up said:
Seller says: Ran when parked. I hear: Was knocking so bad I didn't want to risk it stranding me on the way to the scrap yard :lol:
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Ha, I bought a 4 door dart that ran... I asked if the engine was OK, no issues, yep... yeah except for the broken rod in the engine, nothing wrong.

Sounded like a 14yo masturbating in a chainmail suit. LOL
 
I like the sellers that say perfect interior....except for the rip in the seat cover. Hmmmmm....Last I checked repairing a 8" tear on a 40 year old car aint gonna happen
 
crackedback said:
Ha, I bought a 4 door dart that ran... I asked if the engine was OK, no issues, yep... yeah except for the broken rod in the engine, nothing wrong.

Sounded like a 14yo masturbating in a chainmail suit. LOL
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how old do you think the masturbater would be if there were 2 broken rods?
 
Really haven't been jerked around to that extent that but it pisses me off no end when people don't reply to their emails, and don't provide a ph number. If you're trying to sell something pay some attention, what the hell is the matter with you :violent1:
 
Making every attempt to be considerate, clear and responsive, and creating an email chain of the specifics to the deal for follow up documentation is important.

Also 1 or more phone calls to get the feel for the person's personality a bit more. If I think someone is weird or shady after a phone call, I will stall a bit and call them the next day to get another feel for their behavior.

I have backed out of several deals after talking to punks with attitude or seemingly mean people and behavioral anomalies which made me uneasy about a transaction. I could be wrong or right but I don't deal with people after they give me a bad impression.

I look at buying or selling parts / autos from individuals like running a small business: You would not do a deal with out written or documented facts of the transaction and you wouldn't do a deal with someone or an entity you dont trust or think is behaving irregularly.

It aint worth the risk to deal with whackos and screw-ups. They just bring more problems to the table.
 
My brother was responding to an ad on craigslist for a camper, emailed the guy half dozen times before he got a response with a phone number, called theguy half a dozen times before he got a call back, and the guy says,"I don't know why I haven't gotten more calls on it."
 
Good Day, This is my first post!

I don’t like to barge into any conversation without introducing myself first.

I live and work in the Detroit metropolitan area, and have been in the automotive field most of my life. I come from a hot rod family going back 60 some odd years, meaning: “Nothing ever remains stock for long!” When I was 17, I started my first Street Project, a 10 sec. 625 at the tires, bored & stroked “74” 340 Duster, a.k.a. ”The Ruster” 4 years old and the quarters were already gone! Ahhh MOPAR (Mostly Old Parts and Rust) Forward to: College, Service, Family, College again…. Now I finally have time for new project. I’m building up a Dart with a stroked 406 Magnum motor (500 w/1 plate). Funny thing is I’m building up the motor and Trans first….. Because I’m still looking for the car….. I prefer a 69, but a 70 > 72 will work. It’s been tough… I’m picky!

Now to pile on. I go as a consultant on many of these trips, and man… the shenanigan’s people try to pull. They get nervous when I ask to pull a plug for a compression test, like “do you really think I’m that stupid? 5 quarts of STP….. Really?” Or, trying to convince me that the 1” of undercoating is for sound…….. But as others have stated, people have absolutely “0” concept of how to sell. The last one I went on was this guy watched a lot of Hot Rod build shows, read a lot of muscle car magazine’s and opened up a Jeg’s catalog and decided he’s ready! He went and bought a “Rust-o-Reck” spent 3 grand in junk, and finally realized…….. he was over his head. He put the Dart up for sale at $5,000 FIRM with the intent on recouping every-dime he had invested BACK! He never sold the car as far as I’m aware.

For some reason people never seem to comprehend the facts of, “What you paid for it, $ invested, what’s it worth (market value), and what you can $ell it for.” Those numbers will never match.

Thanks!

Woodward
 
There are two ways of buying an old car that have worked well for me:

First one is use eBay. That can be real bad news, but you have to read between the lines of the ad. Plus, the things I buy usually aren't even represented as being that nice in the first place, so there seems to be less issue of neglecting to mention something.

Not to mention that I buy from sellers there who have excellent feedback, so you know they don't want you getting pissed and dinging their record. So far every last vehicle has been what it was represented as.

The second way is word of mouth. That's how I got the '74. Co-worker saw the ad on CL, checked it out and passed on it because he wanted a 2-door...imagine that.

I got a good description from him, checked it out, heard the story of it not running, saw the coil laying loose and a new ballast, figured nobody tries to start a blown engine, handed over the cash and a week later it's up and running.

I do have to agree with the not holding cars for people. Most people flake out. However I do tell people I won't hold it, cash buys it. I take calls, them them customer A is on the way to look at it and if he passes I'll call Customer B and can come. Works out nicely because I've created suspense, anticipation and possible some DESPeration:D
 
I was lookin to buy a 93? Camaro a few years ago off cl. The guy wanted $800 for it n it looked good in the pics that were included. I talked to him a few times he told me the interior needed some work but it ran n drove great. I asked him about the body n he said it was pretty good so the one afternoon I called him to see if I could come look at it the next day, he said sure if he's not there he'll be in the area. The next day I took off work early n my dad n I headed that way. Drove an hr n a half to go look at it. Got up to the small town where he lived, called and called and called some more, never answered. We finally just started driving around and finally spotted the car on a side street, drove up to the car and the body looked pretty straight... Got out and looked in the driver side window a what do we see? An interior that needed some work, just like he said... What he forgot to mention was the fact that when you looked from the driver side at the passenger side door you could see 2" of daylight between the top of the window and the roof and 2-3" of GROUND under the door!! Walked around to the passenger side (couldn't see it from the road) and it was obvious the car had been t-boned! The front door post was bent to the point that the door body line was 1-2" higher than the quarter body line and the rocker/floor pan was smashed in 4-6"!!! He just stuck another door on it n called it good! Needless to say we left! I called him on the way home and left him a message letting him know what a worthless liar he was!!
 
I've had so many of these experiences as a buyer and seller that it would take too long to list them all.

So I thought I'd flip one around and tell the story of a sale that I thought was going to go bad, but ended up good.

I was selling this C20 Chevy pickup. It was a bit of beater, but a decent driver. It was a good "shop truck" to go get parts with. I actually bought a second very rusty C20 with a big block with the intention of putting the big block in the shop truck.

But time got away from me and eventually I let the rego run out on the shop truck andm sold the big block truck in parts and got sidetracked. I put the old girl up for sale 18 mths later and had some interest until one guy actually gave me a $1000 deposit without even seeing the truck in person. He just rang me up and asked my account details and dropped a deposit in. The deal was I would hold it for him for 6 weeks or so while he came up with the rest of the money. Six months later I'm wondering where this guy is and I finally get in contact with him and he tells me his circumstances have changed and he can't buy it anymore. I say that's okay but I'm going to have to keep the deposit and he was fine with that.

Another six months later I mention to a friend of a friend that I've got a c20 that I wouldn't mind moving on, knowing the guy is a bit of a fan of those trucks. I've dropped the price at this point knowing I've already got $1000 for the truck, if I can get the difference I'll be happy. So he comes around, has a look and kicks the tyres some and then agrees to take it. Now I'm thinking he'll come back with his C30 transporter that I know he has. Nope, he grabs the keys, jumps in it and drives on down the road.

Now I'm worried. The truck has been basically parked for 2 years and has no registration or insurance, there's some rust starting to break out and it's pretty ugly. I'm thinking he's going to get in an accident and it's gonna come back on me. But no, the guy gets home, some 100kms away, and rings me to tell me how happy he is with the purchase and why didn't I tell him it was such a nice truck to drive. It's a weird, weird world out there.
 
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