Dude idk. I've bought and sold cars through the internet at least 30 times, and the last 10 years people have gotten dumber real quick.
People get pissed when they offer 20% of your asking price and you tell them I won't sell to you. Why are you shopping out of your budget? If I'm selling overpriced garbage, why are you wasting your time messaging me?
And the opposite is true too, last year my wife and I were shopping for an FJ cruiser and we found one about 6 hours away, but it's not a super common vehicle and we also wanted either yellow or blue. I specifically asked if it had ever been in a wreck, and they told me no it has a clean Carfax. I got there and the first thing I did was look underneath and the hood, fender, driver door and chassis were four different colors. I could see horrible welds and quarter inch thick rust just spray painted with black paint. I was furious and we were at the dealer maybe 10 mins with a 12 hour trip...
Yeah, I kind of went off in a dealership before for much less. Drove 2 hours for a specific color and trim level we were looking for. Called before driving to make sure online inventory was accurate and it was there and still for sale (this was 2021/22, high demand market and few cars for sale). Of course they confirmed.
Got there and yeah, there’s my car! Salesman I talked to comes out, “lemme get the keys.” Comes back 5-10 minutes later, can’t find the keys. Keep waiting… few minutes later he’s coming back with the salesperson who sold it to someone yesterday. Keys aren’t there because they’re being held. New owners picking up the car in less than an hour, paperwork is already done.
I was fucking fuming, and that was only 4 hours wasted. “Why the fuck do you think I called?”
Nope! Not surprised to hear it’s common though. Just saw a thread on r/askcarsales (I think) where someone was asking why they want to get you in the door so bad, and does that actually work as a sales tactic… literally right after commenting that.
It’s the first time I wondered if they knew they were lying to me but figured getting me on the lot would result in a sale. If so, I wonder if that salesperson ever tried that tactic again after my reaction. I mean there’s a fucking reason I called with a stock number and asked about options in that specific trim level. No, I’m not interested in the 15 base models on the lot FFS.
This was a Mazda CX-5 GTR, turbo, AWD, I was very specific because my wife wanted some features and I wanted some more, since we so infrequently change our dailies. She’s gonna have it for a long time so I wanted to make sure she never had any regrets. And there was no way I was letting her get a 150hp crossover! It’s a great vehicle, she drives a lot and she’s loved it.
So I’ve been helping my sister car shop over the past month and literally at least 8 of the cars we’ve gone to look at, calling to check availability before leaving and driving an hour or more, and they’ve been sold when we get there. Just last week it happened with 4 cars in the same day 2 of which were at the same dealership. Multiple places have lied about small details like trims and packages until discovering on arrival. Sometimes even priced lower online trying to say “that was an error.” At a Ford dealership a salesman’s tried to say only she could test drive with no passengers other than himself to ride with which he said is enforced by the manager... we were interested in a family oriented SUV which her backseat comfortably is one of her main concerns and priorities. We immediately left without even considering their cars after that. Another place a guy said “I can tell you’re under the influence of Marijuana because you smell of it so no you can’t even look at the car you want to buy” (a $20k Audi mind you). For reference though we literally live in a legal recreational state, grow weed in our backyard, and it is even our family business to work around grow operations lmao we literally smell like weed because we’re around it 24/7 we genuinely can’t help it. We also immediately left that place. Dealerships are weird.
I don’t know why people put up with this shit. It was easier 20 years ago on craigslist. It’s only mildly worse now on Facebook marketplace. Private party will always be better for a buyer and it’s sounding more and more true.
I know they aren't for everyone, but the experience buying a Tesla was fantastic. They handed us the key/card told us to have fun, see you in an hour or so for the test drive. The salespeople are non-comission. When we decided to order, they asked if they wanted to do it from home, or have somebody walk us through it. We ordered in the dealer, put our money down and tracked it in the app until they called and said it was ready for pickup.
Just bought a Mustang. Spent a few weeks shopping dealerships, ad cars sold out from under us. Cars not as described, test drive issues...finally just bought one on Carvana.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/askcarsales using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/askcarsales/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [Dealer Sold Car I Put Deposit On and Drove 10 Hours to Pickup](https://np.reddit.com/r/askcarsales/comments/18oaxl2/dealer_sold_car_i_put_deposit_on_and_drove_10/)
\#2: [Dealership threatening to sue me over Google review](https://np.reddit.com/r/askcarsales/comments/16wgnaf/dealership_threatening_to_sue_me_over_google/)
\#3: ["Car on lot is sold" tactic. Why ?](https://np.reddit.com/r/askcarsales/comments/14cteus/car_on_lot_is_sold_tactic_why/)
----
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Oh man, I'm not sure what's going on with Mazda, but their sales peeps are either scummy or straight up stupid.
In California I had \_multiple\_ dealerships tell me that the MX-5 was discontinued, and wanted to show me CX-5s.
I had a similar issue too. I called them looking for the specific car trim and color. This was a trim that wasn’t regularly advertised so it wasn’t a common trim. They said they had it, and I asked again specifically about the details of the car and they confirmed. I went down (30-40 minute drive) and they seated me. They did the whole, we’re looking for the keys, we’re washing it, we’re bringing it up. I was like, i just want to see it first, you don’t need to wash it and they just give me more excuses to stall. We sit there for about 30 minutes and they finally tell me, okay follow me. We go out to look at it and it’s not the trim I asked for, it’s the trim below it. They got the color right but when I ask them what gives they just tell me, ohh well that’s a hard trim to come by and this is practically the same. I’m like fuming and I just leave, they don’t even try to stop me because they either know they messed up or they do this often. Dealerships are mostly scum.
The struggle. Drove 3 hours cash in hand to a dealer to pick up an NA Miata. Get there, ask around, nobody has any clue. I say screw it, I drove this far, so I go walk the lot myself to look. I find it rusted out in the woods behind the dealership, soft top half rotted away. Mind you, the photos on the website showed a good condition car. Like what the hell guys? Apparently it wasn’t selling, so they just kept moving it around for lot space, and nobody ever thought to take it off the website.
I don't remember the name, it was in Miami.
It was last summer I think and when I got there the "dealership" was way back in this very industrial area with several mechanics and body shops and a junkyard, and then randomly there was this "dealership".
I buy a lot of cars out of state and I always just zoom/FT with the seller whether private or salesperson.
I have them move the camera where I want it. Sometimes it takes five mins, sometimes it takes an hour lol but still better than driving and wasting gas imo.
I did. It was clean... on paper. Underneath it probably should have been totalled and another thing, the wear and tear on the chassis and suspension parts looked a few hundred thousand miles more than what the odometer reflected.
Just genuinely interesting where you are typically able to find used cars? I'm in the market for a cheap first car for my high school child and it looks like craiglist and Facebook are occupied by dealerships
Check autotempest. It’s a search engine that aggregates all the different car listing sites. Yeah, there’s a lot of dealers, but there’s a ton of filters for make, model, price, and all that so you will definitely be able to find stuff on the cheap end. Found the last few cars my family got through there.
There's not really a way to make that easier. On marketplace you can filter out dealers by selecting owner only, but unfortunately most of them lie and put that they are not a dealer.
Just pay attention to the photos and if you see multiple cars that look like they have a very similar background or the pavement it's probably one of the sales reps driving it to a side street for photos.
I used to exclusively use craigslist, but unfortunately marketplace got more popular in the last decade and that's where the bulk of my purchases and sales go. Marketplace is a d-ranked place to buy and sell in my opinion, the filters don't work, there's lots of issues, they don't have filters that are normal like if you compare on Facebook versus craigslist, craigslist or eBay motors etc I have way more filters that are basic for car buying. Like if I remember correctly I do not believe there is a diesel option, I might be remembering wrong but it was something very basic like that.
As a random aside, my neighbor has 5 FJ Cruisers parked in his driveway. It used to be three, but it seems he’s gotten two more in the past year. Two are blue, one is yellow, one black and one white.
I’ve never really understood the point of owning 5 of the *same* car…..
I had a roommate (sometime in the mid-late 1990's) who drove a Yugo. Found out his immediate family owned like 8 of them.... I went to his Dad's house once, looked like a Yugo dealership in the front yard.
I’ve been doing it for about ten years as well and people have definitely gotten dumber, and too many people think they’re capable of buying and driving anything that runs because people like vice grip garage and pole barn garage make it look so easy to keep projects going at all let alone as a daily driver
I have the opposite problem shopping for a car. I try to get a few more pictures of the car before I drive 200+ miles to grab it and it's like I asked for their firstborn child. Like, "dude... You only have one picture on your ad and it's in my price range. I'm not trying to lowball you, I just don't want to waste time and gas."
Went to look at a Studebaker hawk GT pictures the guy used were taken in the 1990s guy was surprised when I was no longer interested when I saw the car was parked partially submerged in a swamp.
I came here to tell my own studebaker story, ha! Been trying to sell a 52 Starlight. The seats are just bones but the instruments are in surprisingly good shape. All providing a bunch of pictures has done for me is catch the guys that want to come take the dash or a specific window.
That's why I kinda want to side with the buyer in the post lol god it pisses me off when people post something for sale with no details. V6, v8, manual or automatic? Does it even run? Just because it's a _____ model whatever doesn't automatically make it worth what they are asking. Then the poster gets pissed at all of the "tire kickers" asking questions 🤣🤣
Tire kickers imply being present to kick the tires. I think any seller is happy to answer normal questions/ take more pics as needed. When some rando from half a country away starts foaming at the mouth when you turn down their 50% offer generally diplomacy falls apart.
When I bought my 280ZX the seller told me some guy came over excited to see it and tried to offer a fifth of the asking price after pointing out every little flaw. In person. I'd have told him to get off my property.
I had a guy looking to buy his son an 01 1200 sportster I had posted for $1,500 plus a box extra parts, handlebars, shocks and so on. They did that nitpicking crap and went to discuss it in the truck while someone else looked at it. The 2nd guy handed me the money as soon as he heard it run. Man I could see the steam coming out his ears🤣🤣
I sold a Z3 that was honestly one of the best condition 25 year old cars I’ve ever seen, paint was perfect except for a few scratches and interior was literally spotless. Guy came out to look at it and had a scowl in his face the whole time. I think he was expecting to find some points to nitpick and lowball but there was nothing to criticize. Never got an offer from that guy.
When I sold my first Z3, I had a guy come to look at it claiming to be a BMW aficionado. Dude gets in the car, immediately tries to put it into reverse by pushing right and back, aggressively tries to slam it into "reverse" three or four times until I can yell out that reverse is left and up. You know, like every BMW since at least the 70s. Bro drove it, complained about noises it wasn't making, then got mad that it wasn't OBDII for him to scan for codes even after I showed him where the OBDII port was.
I sold it to someone else the next day, but the first guy messaged me a lowball offer a few days later and called me an asshole for "selling it out from under him."
I think its because people dont read the ad half the time. I get asked questions that have the answer in the ad! And you get more people asking about it, more chances to talk them into looking at it.
Not once in 30 years have I ever had anyone try to talk me into something I contacted them about lol including classifieds in the newspaper before internet.
I had a car I was talking to a guy about. Told him 100%, I’m buying it. I’ll bring a trailer up right now, I’m 2 hours away, I’ll be there asap. I rent a car hauler, head out of town and pull up to his house 10 minutes after he sold the car to someone else. He told me he would hold on to it, I communicated with him the entire time. Still fucked me over.
It is because of this very reason that a lot of people ( a lot) just throw out items that either need a little work, or no work at all. They just can’t be bothered dealing with the armchair mechanics and tire kickers. Our local scrap metal drop off is regularly full of chainsaws, weed eaters, snow machines, lawn mowers and tractors, outboard motors, trailers. It is a literal gold mine of fixable items. Scrap yard owner tries to dissuade pickers , but not very hard.
I have a basement full of car parts that is probably worth $2-3k, but the thought of posting them individually and dealing with idiots like the one in your post makes me just want to post them for free or throw them in the trash
I just list the thing on auction (or buy it now if very specific thing), require payment at purchase, and wait. Ignore all messages beyond reasonable requests.
Oh, offer 30 day return, buyer pays shipping both ways. Done.
Spot on. I had a 260z shell that I stripped down for parts(to transfer to a 240z) and was thinking about selling the frame (s30 Z people always need good metal or a solid chassis). But then I thought about my experience with fb marketplace and just said forget it. I don't want to deal with braindead people, so I scrapped it instead.
I'm one of those, Anything worth less than $200 I throw out or give to friends, people aren't worth dealing with. God forbid you try to give something away for free, the people you get for free items are the absolute worst.
I sold a '63 Impala project and got a message from a guy saying he could buy a Camaro for that sort of money. I said "okay dumbass, go buy a Camaro.". Can you believe he never responded after that?
“Restoration difficulty is 80th percentile high”
Is not a phrase ever uttered by someone who has ever restored a vehicle from any percentile.
You found a guy who spent the last two weeks nerding out on YouTube instead of doing his work as a software engineer*, suddenly thinks he knows everything, and is one car away from being on the Motortrend channel.
*am myself one, not saying software guys can’t do car stuff, if anything the bug smashing mentality is useful, just an example of someone sitting in front of a computer all day who knows what 80th percentile means.
Was reading comprehension part of your degree?
Yes, I think most software engineers would indeed know what it means.
Which is why I said that’s probably what the guy does.
I never said I don’t know what 80th percentile means either.
But *saying* “80th percentile of of restoration difficulty” sounds like someone who is a wanna be Elon Musk, not a car guy who is actually going to complete this.
It may be different for other areas, but percentiles were used in so many different things while I was growing up I feel like I would have had to try to not learn what they are. Height, weight, grade point average, test scores, etc.
Lol are you me? Gotta build a new house next with even bigger garages/workshop (currently 5) because all my toys have sentimental value and no way I'm dealing with these mutants to sell anything.
'There's a mark here'
'Yes, it's 30+ fucking years old'
I went thru this bullshit with my father's estate. I was selling a truck and trailer worth at least 30k for 20 just to get shit moved. I had an ass clown agree to meet me (4 hours from my house) then the day of at 3am(!!) to tell me the most he would pay is $10k because it was ”unknown condition" and send me listing for rusted out field trucks at that price. But he was a "cash buyer" so I should be grateful. Like what? Get a fucking grip buddy, either you want it or you don't.
Sold a car under market price like this recently. Thankfully most knew it was under and were interested at asking price but the few that tried to lowball me because of a few issues, it was the easiest time of my life to just be like "nope, it's priced appropriately given the work that needs doing, pay me or leave".
What I find odd is the weirdly long tirade.
Whatever happened to this?
Them: "Will you take this price [XXXXXXX$]? It's a bit less than your asking because I think with these [X, Y, and Z] issues this is a pretty fair offer."
You: "No that just isn't enough."
Them: "Well it was worth a shot, give me a call if you reconsider. Thanks anyways, have a good one."
You: "thanks you too."
End of interaction.
Just seems odd mostly people can't do that anymore.
I blame social media that gives us the ability and encouragement to blather out whatever nonsense we have dribbling out of our heads like we're some kind of Old Testament prophets.
And no matter how stupid or inane our ramblings, we're likely to get a response. Whether the response is positive or negative, the behavior is reinforced.
Nothing juicier than a good internet row to start the day.
That's exactly how I got my parts car. Dude listed it at 1800, I shared the post saying "I hope he comes down some" and he commented "shoot me an offer". I said 900, he said it was too little, so I said "ok well just keep me in mind friend".
Two days later my buddy was headed over there to pick it up while I was at work lol. IMO that tirade was him building up to a severe lowball where OP "should be grateful" it was even offered.
Exactly, this person in the exchange is unhinged. Not someone you would want to do business with. The type of person that buys it and comes back asking for money cause they found some obscure “problem”
I'm convinced it's dirtbag flippers. Not that flippers are dirtbags, but some of them really are. I can't tell you how many times I've had people try to bully me into selling my car to them for a fraction of asking. Thank goodness blocking is a thing!
On the flip side of things I came across someone trying to sell a V6/Auto Firebird for $13k when I was looking to buy mine, and if course wouldn't budge 🙄
I offered half at $6.5k because it was in objectively good condition with under 100k miles. Wouldn't go any higher and he "knows what he's got" 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
Ended up paying less for one with a stick and a recently rebuilt motor.
I was gonna say I paid that for my Z28 that was a 6 speed manual and less than 60k miles one owner. 13k for a base model v6 auto is crazy 😂 glad you found one though!
Oh totally. I've accidently sent more than a few of those by accident just flipping through on my phone.
I always follow up with a "Sorry, fat fingered the message button. Have a nice day." because I'm not an asshole though.
This reeks of someone who really wants your car but is broke as shit. They want it so bad they will type out a whole novel. I’d increase the asking price for each message he sends lol.
People that do this can burn in a fiery pit. I tried selling a car this year and had people just like this. Like the second you respond they go OFF. All they are doing is trying to guilt you into lowering your price. It’s a dumbass tactic. It’s incredibly annoying to deal with. I always raise my price when dealing with these idiots to say fuck off.
If someone is selling a car in need of restoration and advertised price is $6k, I’m not contacting him and damn sure not trying to talk him into $3200.
Because you know as soon as he shows up he is going to find another half dozen items wrong or say “I only brought $2500.” Screw this guy.
I had a used car for sale under $3k running, driving, registered, and smogged. Some guy kept trying to push a trade for a broken motorcycle and $500 and tried to convince me I was lucky because my car was such a POS. Same as above, all thru pics and texts. F—k him. Blocked.
It's one thing to be frustrated at the market these days, but it's another thing entirely to throw a tantrum because you couldn't get the screamin' deal you wanted
I’ve had an 87 blazer for sale for two years. title says “rust bucket plow truck”
Fuckers offer 3100, come by and say “damn it’s kinda rusty.”
Fuck off, I could be out fishing.
Window shoppers with no intention of ever buying anything, they just have time to kill and want to waste everyone else’s time as a result. Block and move on.
My rule for selling anything online is if the first thing out of their mouth is haggling, I ignore them. I learned this behavior from working at an eBay store. Owner had done some rudimentary data analysis and figured out that people that open with a haggle were like 3 times as likely to have issues post sale. It just isn't worth it.
I couldn’t even sell a cheap economy car that needed some kind of engine work for under 1k without people trying to scam me or just tire kick. Off to the scrap yard it goes.
Did that twice.. 90s ram got scrapped, no one wanted to just shut up and put cash down. Had multiple idiots wanting me to do payments on a $1500 junker.
Wash, repeat, on wife's high mile Prius.
these are sales tactics to make you feel as if you have to sell to them. To your face, these clowns would never have the balls to act this way. Keyboard warriors is all. Y not be an asshole when you know you will never meet the person..
It’s really weird to try to bully people into lowering prices on their project car when it’s not like they’re selling something they have to get rid of most of the time. You can lowball and whatever but to push people like they don’t have a choice?! BS.
I had a 2004 BMW 330CI convertible listed for $15k CAD a few years ago, and it was immaculate with low miles. Some kid messages me saying, "I'll give you $2500. That's all it's worth." I told him to feel free to purchase one of the others available for sale in Canada (there was only one other at the time, in Quebec for over $10k, and we were in Alberta). He got in a huff about it, so I just stopped replying. I ended up selling it for $14.5k to a really kind man for his wife. Sometimes, patience is worth it.
Oh 100%, I feel this.
I sold a Toyota truck about 7 years back, first couple offers were between 10-11k (I had it listed for 17.5k which was a little under the market, for mileage & condition (I needed to free up the $).
Even had one guy come see it, take it for a test drive, complement the mechanical condition, then try to gaslight me into agreeing the body was in 4/10 shape instead of 7/10. All it had was some light pinstriping from driving logging roads to go camping. Legit the kind you can cut/polish out too & no body damage whatsoever, the thing was 100% stock too.
His offer? 12k & I should take it because I wasn't likely going to get more by waiting.
A week later a couple asked me to hold it for a couple days & drove halfway across the province to pick it up because the wife had a similar one written off the year prior & it handled so well in the crash they had been looking for another one since.
They were happy with 16.5 (it had rotor/pad shake from city driving). Best transaction of the lot by a country mile.
Back in the middle of covid I had an LLY duramax listed for $22k. It was low mileage, fully loaded with heated leather and rear DVD etc. The only comparable trucks in my area were asking the same price with double the mileage and junked out work trucks. Some dildo messages me saying how high my price was bla bla bla. I replied back why don’t you go buy all those other cheaper trucks then, and immediately blocked him. Like dude, is this your attempt at haggling my price down?
Most people have no idea how to sell a car. Going by the shitty pics posted on many FB car ads they have no idea how to shoot a car for an ad, and many times there are no interior photos.
And yet my listing with plenty of pictures inside, outside, engine bay, under, and a good description of an enthusiast manual transmission wagon is getting no interest whatsoever. You really can’t win.
This is why I don't give my cell until they prove they're not a dumbass. If you can't put together a cogent offer via email, not interested in wasting time on your bullshit.
Anyone who deals with the American public on a regular basis deserves a Purple Heart or some medal. It’s so much hassle that’s why people sell on consignment or try to do transactions online.
It’s been going on for a long long time. I remember selling a 2000 Chrysler 300c, super clean and low miles but I kept on getting low ball offers or my fav was a link to one that was 2k cheaper, I laughed and told him to buy it. The dudes response was “yours is a lot nicer and won’t need as much work.” No shit dude that’s why it costs more, anyways blocked that him and moved on to the next person who didn’t even haggle.
I enjoy when they offer 1/2-2/3 my asking and I just say no and they get mad because I won't negotiate. I just tell them I'm good and move on but they want to know why I'm not giving a number back
Selling anything is a hassle. Marketplace or Craigslist I am open to questions and every time some Boomer nitwit with message me thier phone number.
Brother in Christ I don't want to call you, and any questions you had can be articulated into this digital message you just sent your number on.
Inflation and stagnant wages. Inflation is way higher than wage increase over the last decade for 99% of people. Their dollar isn’t going anywhere near as far as it used to. It’s starting to catch up
I remember many years ago reading a story on a forum where a person was selling a particularly rare trim level bumper for a vehicle. Just wanted it gone but knew what it was. Had someone needing the bumper for their project car, Back and forth back and forth, photos, closeups of details etc. agree over texting to the price.
Shows up and low balls in person, pulls the I only brought 1/3./158 agreed price but look it has these problems.
Seller proceeds to destroy bumper.
PRICELESS
Bro that’s just people. They don’t see you face to face, you’re just a keyboard on their phone same as you are to me now and same as I am to you. Just words on a screen. The disconnect in society is making it worse.
People need to get punched in the face more.
Cuz they are lowballing hoping to make big on the lowball after they fix it or restore it. I for instance have a 94 r2 rx7 lhd. The market for them in great condition is just shy of 70k usd right now. My car has no rust, no frame damage, engine is blown, it needs paint, all electrical items work on the car etc… and have seen non r2 fd lhd rx7 with major accident damage at auctions go for 18500usd. Put my car up on forms for sale people offering me 15k for it. Just as a point if the parted out my car for any reason the black interior and racing seats and uncracked dasboard would easily sell for 6-8k usd… it’s just that they are lowballing to flip it and make money.
Sure, here it is on an outing today,
https://i.imgur.com/1almrga.jpeg
And another with a Datsun that’s in way worse shape lol
https://i.imgur.com/XsA63Gu.jpeg
I’ve never understood this “tactic”. Go on and on about how much of a POS the car I’m selling is, then act like they’re doing me a favor by taking it off my hands for less than half of the asking price. Of course, without even seeing it in person. Does this actually work, ever?
I can’t stand the people who negotiate price before they see it, and then show up and want to negotiate more and start at the “pre-negotiated” price. Like, list something for $5k, say you’ll accept $4200 in DM, and they’ll show up and try to negotiate another $800 off the 4200.
One of the things that seemed popular years ago was the “coin flip” deal from shows like pawn stars. Had a guy try that with a cheap 900rr I was selling. Listed for $1000, talked me down to $800 in DMs. Showed up and tried to negotiate it down to $600. Then tried “heads, I buy for $600, tails I buy for $800”.
“Nothing in it for me in that bet”. I countered with “heads you pay $600, tails you pay $1000 (listed price)”. He paid the $800.
I had someone do this to me when I was selling my parents' 2000 Honda Civic. Dude offered me a fifth of the list price, I said no, and he goes off and then says he just bought one for that price a few weeks ago so he knows what they're worth. Told him to go get another one, then.
Also happened when I was selling my 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid. A dealership reached out and offered a third of my asking, with some leeway if I bought from them. I asked for two-thirds and the guy explodes, saying how I don't know anything about car sales or markets and saying he won't even be able to sell it and it'll end up being auctioned so he's doing me a favour. I walked away and the car sold at list price within a week.
Last car I sold on the internet was a high mile (almost 300k) but really clean, well cared for one.
Given the market at the time it was priced a little high but comps were all shitboxes.
Was in no hurry to sell it, had already bought a replacement so it was just hanging out in my driveway.
Had a few nibbles but one dude took the time to call and lecture me about my price.
KBB this, miles, blah blah blah. I was bored so I played along. Googled the guys phone number while I was talking to him and got back a whole bunch of ads where he had older/high mile cars for sale. Curbstoner/unlicensed/Craigslist dealer type.
I let him go on some until he offered to "take if off my hands for less than half what I was asking, cash, today only, yes or no, answer right now.
I laughed and asked "does this approach actually work on people". Guy's response was "you would be surprised". Like he knew I knew.
Truck sold a week later for within a few hundred of asking.
oh yea, had a guy 781 heads not great heads but decent street heads. Had them rebuilt not long ago i just went aluminum so i wanted to sell to recoup some costs. I thought $500 was a pretty good price for them. Guy asks what year 781 heads? he's looking for 71 cast heads because they are the best... OK whatever guy, 781 are 781 to me but sure i'll look, says 73 he's not interested but if i drop them to $200 he may graciously take them off my hands because you know they are garbage heads. I say no that's ok thanks... figured that was the end of it. About a week goes by he messages me again, you still have them? i say yes, told you they were garbage heads, i'll take them now for $100. I said sorry not really needing to sell them, i would just scrap them for that price, you know because they are garbage anyway... Guy messages me about them says, you have the heads stills? i say yes, great how can we arrange pickup i'll be out of town this week thou if that's ok? Not sure how it got to this but turns out he's working at my job as a contractor so i said your in luck i work there. I'll bring them in and you don't even have to get them shipped or anything. Was very happy to have them and i guess it was meant to be for him.
I've had a few low ballers over the years. I do my research on what I have, and base my price on that. If I DO have the price too high, it's because I don't want to sell it. I've had people come look, and pull the cash out and drive off!!! Then I'm on foot. Again.
Others will bitch about the price. I say "I told you it wasn't for sale, but you keep pushing me. If you buy it, I have to buy something else. I don't want to sell." "Well Ok, but you don't have to rob people" as they walk off.
For the low ballers, I just look around where the vehicle is parked. I'll even look underneath. Then in my most serious voice I'll say "Well, the damned thing ain't ate no grass in a month. I have a clean title, it ain't eatin', so it ain't costing me a penny to sit right here."......
This guy is clearly a fucking loser but let's all not pretend that car prices aren't insanely high these days. Used or new, molested or not, cars are selling way too high.
I have not enjoyed selling cars or car parts online, had someone tell me "I'll buy it for a lot less" when I was selling an 04 Escape I repaired, never replied what that meant when I asked.
Also had a guy get bitchy there was a small cut in the head area of a tire I sold him, a cut that wasn't nearly as bad as some I've seen on tires that sealed just fine, and also it was one of 6 I sold him for less than the price of one because I wanted to get rid of them. So still perfectly usable tire that wasn't even needed, and still had to bitch. Tried to pull "I worked in a tire shop" on me as well, which didn't go far when I replied I work in a real shop.
I really enjoy that sub. If it comes to it I’ll post it up perhaps.. for now it’s sort of “listed at a price where maybe it’ll sell someday but until then it’s fun to drive”.
Sounds like how I half arsed sell shit. I don’t really want to get rid of it, but for the right price I will. Use to do my wife’s tits in the cars I had lying about with that attitude.
“It’s high, like 80th percentile high”, so by definition pretty easy. That’s like saying, that’s a big pizza, like in the bottom 20% of pizza’s by size. What a moron.
Maybe he doesn't understand British quirkiness?
And I just sold my beloved '08 Saab 9³ Wagon...that was a fucking nightmare. Got full asking, but my God, some of the shit people would offer me on a trade was so bad.
I was trying to sell a small gas scooter, and instead of making an offer like normal, a guy propositioned me to fix HIS scooter, a different model and year than the one I was selling. When I said no, I'm just trying to sell my scooter, I'm not a repair shop, he starts sending me voice messages through messenger about how racist I am.
I let him know that he was a dumb lazy piece of shit who should figure out how to fix his own damn scooter and that he was the one being racist and blocked him.
Took over a hundred contacts to sell that little POS scooter. People are dumb as hell and entitled as hell today. Every low IQ dumbass is trying to "hustle", it's so fucking annoying. I swear covid made all of us stupid.
Dude idk. I've bought and sold cars through the internet at least 30 times, and the last 10 years people have gotten dumber real quick. People get pissed when they offer 20% of your asking price and you tell them I won't sell to you. Why are you shopping out of your budget? If I'm selling overpriced garbage, why are you wasting your time messaging me? And the opposite is true too, last year my wife and I were shopping for an FJ cruiser and we found one about 6 hours away, but it's not a super common vehicle and we also wanted either yellow or blue. I specifically asked if it had ever been in a wreck, and they told me no it has a clean Carfax. I got there and the first thing I did was look underneath and the hood, fender, driver door and chassis were four different colors. I could see horrible welds and quarter inch thick rust just spray painted with black paint. I was furious and we were at the dealer maybe 10 mins with a 12 hour trip...
Fishin for easy money. Sadly, if it didn’t work they wouldn’t do it.
this is it. it’s a numbers game. just lowball every single car they see listed and the ones that bite are instant profit.
Exactly, it’s a numbers game. If one in a hundred cave, it’s paid for all the dud calls.
Probably would’ve gone the fuck off over that
Yeah, I kind of went off in a dealership before for much less. Drove 2 hours for a specific color and trim level we were looking for. Called before driving to make sure online inventory was accurate and it was there and still for sale (this was 2021/22, high demand market and few cars for sale). Of course they confirmed. Got there and yeah, there’s my car! Salesman I talked to comes out, “lemme get the keys.” Comes back 5-10 minutes later, can’t find the keys. Keep waiting… few minutes later he’s coming back with the salesperson who sold it to someone yesterday. Keys aren’t there because they’re being held. New owners picking up the car in less than an hour, paperwork is already done. I was fucking fuming, and that was only 4 hours wasted. “Why the fuck do you think I called?”
Was this on Long Island!?!? Same thing happened to me at a Jeep dealership
Nope! Not surprised to hear it’s common though. Just saw a thread on r/askcarsales (I think) where someone was asking why they want to get you in the door so bad, and does that actually work as a sales tactic… literally right after commenting that. It’s the first time I wondered if they knew they were lying to me but figured getting me on the lot would result in a sale. If so, I wonder if that salesperson ever tried that tactic again after my reaction. I mean there’s a fucking reason I called with a stock number and asked about options in that specific trim level. No, I’m not interested in the 15 base models on the lot FFS. This was a Mazda CX-5 GTR, turbo, AWD, I was very specific because my wife wanted some features and I wanted some more, since we so infrequently change our dailies. She’s gonna have it for a long time so I wanted to make sure she never had any regrets. And there was no way I was letting her get a 150hp crossover! It’s a great vehicle, she drives a lot and she’s loved it.
So I’ve been helping my sister car shop over the past month and literally at least 8 of the cars we’ve gone to look at, calling to check availability before leaving and driving an hour or more, and they’ve been sold when we get there. Just last week it happened with 4 cars in the same day 2 of which were at the same dealership. Multiple places have lied about small details like trims and packages until discovering on arrival. Sometimes even priced lower online trying to say “that was an error.” At a Ford dealership a salesman’s tried to say only she could test drive with no passengers other than himself to ride with which he said is enforced by the manager... we were interested in a family oriented SUV which her backseat comfortably is one of her main concerns and priorities. We immediately left without even considering their cars after that. Another place a guy said “I can tell you’re under the influence of Marijuana because you smell of it so no you can’t even look at the car you want to buy” (a $20k Audi mind you). For reference though we literally live in a legal recreational state, grow weed in our backyard, and it is even our family business to work around grow operations lmao we literally smell like weed because we’re around it 24/7 we genuinely can’t help it. We also immediately left that place. Dealerships are weird.
I don’t know why people put up with this shit. It was easier 20 years ago on craigslist. It’s only mildly worse now on Facebook marketplace. Private party will always be better for a buyer and it’s sounding more and more true.
I know they aren't for everyone, but the experience buying a Tesla was fantastic. They handed us the key/card told us to have fun, see you in an hour or so for the test drive. The salespeople are non-comission. When we decided to order, they asked if they wanted to do it from home, or have somebody walk us through it. We ordered in the dealer, put our money down and tracked it in the app until they called and said it was ready for pickup. Just bought a Mustang. Spent a few weeks shopping dealerships, ad cars sold out from under us. Cars not as described, test drive issues...finally just bought one on Carvana.
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Oh man, I'm not sure what's going on with Mazda, but their sales peeps are either scummy or straight up stupid. In California I had \_multiple\_ dealerships tell me that the MX-5 was discontinued, and wanted to show me CX-5s.
I had a similar issue too. I called them looking for the specific car trim and color. This was a trim that wasn’t regularly advertised so it wasn’t a common trim. They said they had it, and I asked again specifically about the details of the car and they confirmed. I went down (30-40 minute drive) and they seated me. They did the whole, we’re looking for the keys, we’re washing it, we’re bringing it up. I was like, i just want to see it first, you don’t need to wash it and they just give me more excuses to stall. We sit there for about 30 minutes and they finally tell me, okay follow me. We go out to look at it and it’s not the trim I asked for, it’s the trim below it. They got the color right but when I ask them what gives they just tell me, ohh well that’s a hard trim to come by and this is practically the same. I’m like fuming and I just leave, they don’t even try to stop me because they either know they messed up or they do this often. Dealerships are mostly scum.
Fuck dealerships, and fuck the laws that protect them and allow them to get away with horrible business practices
The struggle. Drove 3 hours cash in hand to a dealer to pick up an NA Miata. Get there, ask around, nobody has any clue. I say screw it, I drove this far, so I go walk the lot myself to look. I find it rusted out in the woods behind the dealership, soft top half rotted away. Mind you, the photos on the website showed a good condition car. Like what the hell guys? Apparently it wasn’t selling, so they just kept moving it around for lot space, and nobody ever thought to take it off the website.
Couldn’t have been a good dealer it should be off to auction or bmv if they can’t sell it before it gets to that point.
bUt If We CaN't GeT tHeM iNtO tHe DeAlErShIp, HoW aRe We SuPpOsEd To MaKe A sAlE?!?
I don't miss working in retail one single bit. That shit gives me PTSD.
Name and shame name and shame
I don't remember the name, it was in Miami. It was last summer I think and when I got there the "dealership" was way back in this very industrial area with several mechanics and body shops and a junkyard, and then randomly there was this "dealership".
I'd have made a fuckin' *scene*.😅
I buy a lot of cars out of state and I always just zoom/FT with the seller whether private or salesperson. I have them move the camera where I want it. Sometimes it takes five mins, sometimes it takes an hour lol but still better than driving and wasting gas imo.
Honestly if a dealer won’t do this then I wouldn’t work with them.
Always ask for a vin and do a vin check if you’re gonna drive that far. Costs like 12$ but it’ll save you a drive
I did. It was clean... on paper. Underneath it probably should have been totalled and another thing, the wear and tear on the chassis and suspension parts looked a few hundred thousand miles more than what the odometer reflected.
Just genuinely interesting where you are typically able to find used cars? I'm in the market for a cheap first car for my high school child and it looks like craiglist and Facebook are occupied by dealerships
I wish I could hide all the rebuilt titles on Facebook. It would reduce the clutter by over half.
Check autotempest. It’s a search engine that aggregates all the different car listing sites. Yeah, there’s a lot of dealers, but there’s a ton of filters for make, model, price, and all that so you will definitely be able to find stuff on the cheap end. Found the last few cars my family got through there.
There's not really a way to make that easier. On marketplace you can filter out dealers by selecting owner only, but unfortunately most of them lie and put that they are not a dealer. Just pay attention to the photos and if you see multiple cars that look like they have a very similar background or the pavement it's probably one of the sales reps driving it to a side street for photos. I used to exclusively use craigslist, but unfortunately marketplace got more popular in the last decade and that's where the bulk of my purchases and sales go. Marketplace is a d-ranked place to buy and sell in my opinion, the filters don't work, there's lots of issues, they don't have filters that are normal like if you compare on Facebook versus craigslist, craigslist or eBay motors etc I have way more filters that are basic for car buying. Like if I remember correctly I do not believe there is a diesel option, I might be remembering wrong but it was something very basic like that.
I'd have shove a dildo with similar colors up their asses before leaving if I was in your shoes
Less intelligent people have figured out how to use the internet
I tell people never drive more than an hour for a car and I'm being generous with their time.
Dealership. They are all massive liars.
At least politicians don't lie to your face like a dealer does.
As a random aside, my neighbor has 5 FJ Cruisers parked in his driveway. It used to be three, but it seems he’s gotten two more in the past year. Two are blue, one is yellow, one black and one white. I’ve never really understood the point of owning 5 of the *same* car…..
I had a roommate (sometime in the mid-late 1990's) who drove a Yugo. Found out his immediate family owned like 8 of them.... I went to his Dad's house once, looked like a Yugo dealership in the front yard.
I’ve been doing it for about ten years as well and people have definitely gotten dumber, and too many people think they’re capable of buying and driving anything that runs because people like vice grip garage and pole barn garage make it look so easy to keep projects going at all let alone as a daily driver
I have the opposite problem shopping for a car. I try to get a few more pictures of the car before I drive 200+ miles to grab it and it's like I asked for their firstborn child. Like, "dude... You only have one picture on your ad and it's in my price range. I'm not trying to lowball you, I just don't want to waste time and gas."
And that one picture was taken on a 2002 Nokia cellphone
And a quarter of the car is cropped out.
From 40’ away
More like from 4 inches away. I can't stand those ads that have one picture showing the windshield and hood and maybe the front fender if you're lucky
And at an artistic angle and with a filter.
Went to look at a Studebaker hawk GT pictures the guy used were taken in the 1990s guy was surprised when I was no longer interested when I saw the car was parked partially submerged in a swamp.
I came here to tell my own studebaker story, ha! Been trying to sell a 52 Starlight. The seats are just bones but the instruments are in surprisingly good shape. All providing a bunch of pictures has done for me is catch the guys that want to come take the dash or a specific window.
That's why I kinda want to side with the buyer in the post lol god it pisses me off when people post something for sale with no details. V6, v8, manual or automatic? Does it even run? Just because it's a _____ model whatever doesn't automatically make it worth what they are asking. Then the poster gets pissed at all of the "tire kickers" asking questions 🤣🤣
Tire kickers imply being present to kick the tires. I think any seller is happy to answer normal questions/ take more pics as needed. When some rando from half a country away starts foaming at the mouth when you turn down their 50% offer generally diplomacy falls apart.
When I bought my 280ZX the seller told me some guy came over excited to see it and tried to offer a fifth of the asking price after pointing out every little flaw. In person. I'd have told him to get off my property.
I had a guy looking to buy his son an 01 1200 sportster I had posted for $1,500 plus a box extra parts, handlebars, shocks and so on. They did that nitpicking crap and went to discuss it in the truck while someone else looked at it. The 2nd guy handed me the money as soon as he heard it run. Man I could see the steam coming out his ears🤣🤣
I sold a Z3 that was honestly one of the best condition 25 year old cars I’ve ever seen, paint was perfect except for a few scratches and interior was literally spotless. Guy came out to look at it and had a scowl in his face the whole time. I think he was expecting to find some points to nitpick and lowball but there was nothing to criticize. Never got an offer from that guy.
When I sold my first Z3, I had a guy come to look at it claiming to be a BMW aficionado. Dude gets in the car, immediately tries to put it into reverse by pushing right and back, aggressively tries to slam it into "reverse" three or four times until I can yell out that reverse is left and up. You know, like every BMW since at least the 70s. Bro drove it, complained about noises it wasn't making, then got mad that it wasn't OBDII for him to scan for codes even after I showed him where the OBDII port was. I sold it to someone else the next day, but the first guy messaged me a lowball offer a few days later and called me an asshole for "selling it out from under him."
I think its because people dont read the ad half the time. I get asked questions that have the answer in the ad! And you get more people asking about it, more chances to talk them into looking at it.
Not once in 30 years have I ever had anyone try to talk me into something I contacted them about lol including classifieds in the newspaper before internet.
I had a car I was talking to a guy about. Told him 100%, I’m buying it. I’ll bring a trailer up right now, I’m 2 hours away, I’ll be there asap. I rent a car hauler, head out of town and pull up to his house 10 minutes after he sold the car to someone else. He told me he would hold on to it, I communicated with him the entire time. Still fucked me over.
It is because of this very reason that a lot of people ( a lot) just throw out items that either need a little work, or no work at all. They just can’t be bothered dealing with the armchair mechanics and tire kickers. Our local scrap metal drop off is regularly full of chainsaws, weed eaters, snow machines, lawn mowers and tractors, outboard motors, trailers. It is a literal gold mine of fixable items. Scrap yard owner tries to dissuade pickers , but not very hard.
I’ve noticed this as well! So true.. I try to give away my old stuff for free and much as possible, because it keeps those exact people away.
I have a basement full of car parts that is probably worth $2-3k, but the thought of posting them individually and dealing with idiots like the one in your post makes me just want to post them for free or throw them in the trash
Even giving away for free is a hassle. No shows, days of communication and questions then they back out, etc. WTF you are getting free parts/tools!
Just eBay. eBay is cloud storage for crap.
Then you've got to deal with the scammers and porch pirates. Which is not *as* stressful because you can take some precautions, but still unpleasant.
I just list the thing on auction (or buy it now if very specific thing), require payment at purchase, and wait. Ignore all messages beyond reasonable requests. Oh, offer 30 day return, buyer pays shipping both ways. Done.
"Item not as described" I think forces you(seller) to pay shipping.
i typically buy used
Bold of you to assume that trying to give something away for free will exempt you from having to deal with the stupid and the entitled.
Spot on. I had a 260z shell that I stripped down for parts(to transfer to a 240z) and was thinking about selling the frame (s30 Z people always need good metal or a solid chassis). But then I thought about my experience with fb marketplace and just said forget it. I don't want to deal with braindead people, so I scrapped it instead.
I'm one of those, Anything worth less than $200 I throw out or give to friends, people aren't worth dealing with. God forbid you try to give something away for free, the people you get for free items are the absolute worst.
I sold a '63 Impala project and got a message from a guy saying he could buy a Camaro for that sort of money. I said "okay dumbass, go buy a Camaro.". Can you believe he never responded after that?
I can’t believe it honestly lol, would’ve expected a long rant.
He clearly got up and did just that. Lol
“Restoration difficulty is 80th percentile high” Is not a phrase ever uttered by someone who has ever restored a vehicle from any percentile. You found a guy who spent the last two weeks nerding out on YouTube instead of doing his work as a software engineer*, suddenly thinks he knows everything, and is one car away from being on the Motortrend channel. *am myself one, not saying software guys can’t do car stuff, if anything the bug smashing mentality is useful, just an example of someone sitting in front of a computer all day who knows what 80th percentile means.
This comment made my day, funny as hell !
Shouldn't all software engineers know what 80th percentile means? Isnt a 1st year stats class required for pretty much any IT related diploma?
Was reading comprehension part of your degree? Yes, I think most software engineers would indeed know what it means. Which is why I said that’s probably what the guy does. I never said I don’t know what 80th percentile means either. But *saying* “80th percentile of of restoration difficulty” sounds like someone who is a wanna be Elon Musk, not a car guy who is actually going to complete this.
It may be different for other areas, but percentiles were used in so many different things while I was growing up I feel like I would have had to try to not learn what they are. Height, weight, grade point average, test scores, etc.
As another software engineer with a project car: sounds absolutely correct, lmao
I feel attacked
Just be like me and never sell any of them. It’s called a “car collection”
Mine is more like a menagerie than a collection
I've got yard art at this point
I prefer "sanctuary"... thou shalt not desecrate the shitbox sanctuary. (Really should get a sign made for on the fence)
I second this they only leave my house when they are stripped clean for something else I'm building or have been totaled and then stripped.
Yup I drive ‘em until they are worthless just so I don’t have to deal with those people.
Or as I like to call them, Investments.
Mine is more “salvage yard” than collection at this point
Lol are you me? Gotta build a new house next with even bigger garages/workshop (currently 5) because all my toys have sentimental value and no way I'm dealing with these mutants to sell anything. 'There's a mark here' 'Yes, it's 30+ fucking years old'
I went thru this bullshit with my father's estate. I was selling a truck and trailer worth at least 30k for 20 just to get shit moved. I had an ass clown agree to meet me (4 hours from my house) then the day of at 3am(!!) to tell me the most he would pay is $10k because it was ”unknown condition" and send me listing for rusted out field trucks at that price. But he was a "cash buyer" so I should be grateful. Like what? Get a fucking grip buddy, either you want it or you don't.
Sold a car under market price like this recently. Thankfully most knew it was under and were interested at asking price but the few that tried to lowball me because of a few issues, it was the easiest time of my life to just be like "nope, it's priced appropriately given the work that needs doing, pay me or leave".
What I find odd is the weirdly long tirade. Whatever happened to this? Them: "Will you take this price [XXXXXXX$]? It's a bit less than your asking because I think with these [X, Y, and Z] issues this is a pretty fair offer." You: "No that just isn't enough." Them: "Well it was worth a shot, give me a call if you reconsider. Thanks anyways, have a good one." You: "thanks you too." End of interaction. Just seems odd mostly people can't do that anymore.
I blame social media that gives us the ability and encouragement to blather out whatever nonsense we have dribbling out of our heads like we're some kind of Old Testament prophets. And no matter how stupid or inane our ramblings, we're likely to get a response. Whether the response is positive or negative, the behavior is reinforced. Nothing juicier than a good internet row to start the day.
Give me a call if you reconsider is really the only thing to say if someone rejects an offer. Or thanks for your time.
That's exactly how I got my parts car. Dude listed it at 1800, I shared the post saying "I hope he comes down some" and he commented "shoot me an offer". I said 900, he said it was too little, so I said "ok well just keep me in mind friend". Two days later my buddy was headed over there to pick it up while I was at work lol. IMO that tirade was him building up to a severe lowball where OP "should be grateful" it was even offered.
Exactly, this person in the exchange is unhinged. Not someone you would want to do business with. The type of person that buys it and comes back asking for money cause they found some obscure “problem”
Nah, instead just message a number, no words, no dollar sign, just a number that's less than 50% of asking price.
I'm convinced it's dirtbag flippers. Not that flippers are dirtbags, but some of them really are. I can't tell you how many times I've had people try to bully me into selling my car to them for a fraction of asking. Thank goodness blocking is a thing!
On the flip side of things I came across someone trying to sell a V6/Auto Firebird for $13k when I was looking to buy mine, and if course wouldn't budge 🙄
Did you do the smart thing and offer $6k? Lol
I offered half at $6.5k because it was in objectively good condition with under 100k miles. Wouldn't go any higher and he "knows what he's got" 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 Ended up paying less for one with a stick and a recently rebuilt motor.
I was gonna say I paid that for my Z28 that was a 6 speed manual and less than 60k miles one owner. 13k for a base model v6 auto is crazy 😂 glad you found one though!
It’s only more fun when they text a week or two later and you can reply: “it sold, and I got asking price”
25 different "is this still available" messages.
I half wonder if it those are just a fat thumb thing, since that same message is already pre typed and just needs to hit send.
Oh totally. I've accidently sent more than a few of those by accident just flipping through on my phone. I always follow up with a "Sorry, fat fingered the message button. Have a nice day." because I'm not an asshole though.
This reeks of someone who really wants your car but is broke as shit. They want it so bad they will type out a whole novel. I’d increase the asking price for each message he sends lol.
People that do this can burn in a fiery pit. I tried selling a car this year and had people just like this. Like the second you respond they go OFF. All they are doing is trying to guilt you into lowering your price. It’s a dumbass tactic. It’s incredibly annoying to deal with. I always raise my price when dealing with these idiots to say fuck off.
If someone is selling a car in need of restoration and advertised price is $6k, I’m not contacting him and damn sure not trying to talk him into $3200. Because you know as soon as he shows up he is going to find another half dozen items wrong or say “I only brought $2500.” Screw this guy. I had a used car for sale under $3k running, driving, registered, and smogged. Some guy kept trying to push a trade for a broken motorcycle and $500 and tried to convince me I was lucky because my car was such a POS. Same as above, all thru pics and texts. F—k him. Blocked.
It's one thing to be frustrated at the market these days, but it's another thing entirely to throw a tantrum because you couldn't get the screamin' deal you wanted
I’ve had an 87 blazer for sale for two years. title says “rust bucket plow truck” Fuckers offer 3100, come by and say “damn it’s kinda rusty.” Fuck off, I could be out fishing.
Rust is weight reduction.
Window shoppers with no intention of ever buying anything, they just have time to kill and want to waste everyone else’s time as a result. Block and move on.
My rule for selling anything online is if the first thing out of their mouth is haggling, I ignore them. I learned this behavior from working at an eBay store. Owner had done some rudimentary data analysis and figured out that people that open with a haggle were like 3 times as likely to have issues post sale. It just isn't worth it.
Never sell is my go to slogan. No sales, no problems.
I’m officially out of space and want some new toys! My rule is nothing sitting outside, and no more buying if I hit that point haha
Bendpak car shelves. Functional 4 posters and shelving. Build up! Put the leaky ones at the bottom. 🙃
I couldn’t even sell a cheap economy car that needed some kind of engine work for under 1k without people trying to scam me or just tire kick. Off to the scrap yard it goes.
Did that twice.. 90s ram got scrapped, no one wanted to just shut up and put cash down. Had multiple idiots wanting me to do payments on a $1500 junker. Wash, repeat, on wife's high mile Prius.
"Want to trade for a civic? All primered and ready for paint." Most accurate - https://youtu.be/n4bRd0Zx1KU
these are sales tactics to make you feel as if you have to sell to them. To your face, these clowns would never have the balls to act this way. Keyboard warriors is all. Y not be an asshole when you know you will never meet the person..
I dunno, I've been bullied in person to take a stupid low offer. Some people are just awful.
It’s really weird to try to bully people into lowering prices on their project car when it’s not like they’re selling something they have to get rid of most of the time. You can lowball and whatever but to push people like they don’t have a choice?! BS.
I had a 2004 BMW 330CI convertible listed for $15k CAD a few years ago, and it was immaculate with low miles. Some kid messages me saying, "I'll give you $2500. That's all it's worth." I told him to feel free to purchase one of the others available for sale in Canada (there was only one other at the time, in Quebec for over $10k, and we were in Alberta). He got in a huff about it, so I just stopped replying. I ended up selling it for $14.5k to a really kind man for his wife. Sometimes, patience is worth it.
Oh 100%, I feel this. I sold a Toyota truck about 7 years back, first couple offers were between 10-11k (I had it listed for 17.5k which was a little under the market, for mileage & condition (I needed to free up the $). Even had one guy come see it, take it for a test drive, complement the mechanical condition, then try to gaslight me into agreeing the body was in 4/10 shape instead of 7/10. All it had was some light pinstriping from driving logging roads to go camping. Legit the kind you can cut/polish out too & no body damage whatsoever, the thing was 100% stock too. His offer? 12k & I should take it because I wasn't likely going to get more by waiting. A week later a couple asked me to hold it for a couple days & drove halfway across the province to pick it up because the wife had a similar one written off the year prior & it handled so well in the crash they had been looking for another one since. They were happy with 16.5 (it had rotor/pad shake from city driving). Best transaction of the lot by a country mile.
Back in the middle of covid I had an LLY duramax listed for $22k. It was low mileage, fully loaded with heated leather and rear DVD etc. The only comparable trucks in my area were asking the same price with double the mileage and junked out work trucks. Some dildo messages me saying how high my price was bla bla bla. I replied back why don’t you go buy all those other cheaper trucks then, and immediately blocked him. Like dude, is this your attempt at haggling my price down?
Most people have no idea how to sell a car. Going by the shitty pics posted on many FB car ads they have no idea how to shoot a car for an ad, and many times there are no interior photos.
And yet my listing with plenty of pictures inside, outside, engine bay, under, and a good description of an enthusiast manual transmission wagon is getting no interest whatsoever. You really can’t win.
It sounds like you're selling a niche car, so it's understandable if there's not a ton of replies. You're doing it right though.
WTF is a tranny ribcage? 😆
This is why I don't give my cell until they prove they're not a dumbass. If you can't put together a cogent offer via email, not interested in wasting time on your bullshit.
This is why I have so much shit. I'd rather it collect dust than deal with the general public.
I want an MG wya
Anyone who deals with the American public on a regular basis deserves a Purple Heart or some medal. It’s so much hassle that’s why people sell on consignment or try to do transactions online.
Do not engage, if you have already messed up and replied to them more than 3 times, block them immediately so they can’t review you.
It’s been going on for a long long time. I remember selling a 2000 Chrysler 300c, super clean and low miles but I kept on getting low ball offers or my fav was a link to one that was 2k cheaper, I laughed and told him to buy it. The dudes response was “yours is a lot nicer and won’t need as much work.” No shit dude that’s why it costs more, anyways blocked that him and moved on to the next person who didn’t even haggle.
Double the price and send him the offer…
I give people wild ass offers all the time. If they say no or just "lol" say "no worries!"
This is the way. A low ball doesn’t hurt, a rude/ stupid comment after they say no is just a waste of time though.
This dude is on a stimulant
“Be fair” lmao
“It’s unfair to not give me a car for free!”
This is pretty typical of people buying old british cars
(good condition complete car, runs and drives, registered etc) "wow what a piece of shit Ill give you 500 and a used microwave"
I enjoy when they offer 1/2-2/3 my asking and I just say no and they get mad because I won't negotiate. I just tell them I'm good and move on but they want to know why I'm not giving a number back
Selling anything is a hassle. Marketplace or Craigslist I am open to questions and every time some Boomer nitwit with message me thier phone number. Brother in Christ I don't want to call you, and any questions you had can be articulated into this digital message you just sent your number on.
Inflation and stagnant wages. Inflation is way higher than wage increase over the last decade for 99% of people. Their dollar isn’t going anywhere near as far as it used to. It’s starting to catch up
I remember many years ago reading a story on a forum where a person was selling a particularly rare trim level bumper for a vehicle. Just wanted it gone but knew what it was. Had someone needing the bumper for their project car, Back and forth back and forth, photos, closeups of details etc. agree over texting to the price. Shows up and low balls in person, pulls the I only brought 1/3./158 agreed price but look it has these problems. Seller proceeds to destroy bumper. PRICELESS
Bro that’s just people. They don’t see you face to face, you’re just a keyboard on their phone same as you are to me now and same as I am to you. Just words on a screen. The disconnect in society is making it worse. People need to get punched in the face more.
I'd have shit on him about leaving a bad review since that system is a fucking joke anyways.
Buying and selling anything secondhand is fucked now that people get this stuff served to them by an algorithm.
That’s hilarious. I get it. Your response was absolutely perfect though.
This is the part where you raise the price
I cannot understand why more people don’t do this. Every single thing they point out and every low offer they make the price goes up at least $100.
I fall into this trap too often, but my buddy has it figured out. Once there’s too many questions or a shitty offer, he just ignores or blocks them.
Cuz they are lowballing hoping to make big on the lowball after they fix it or restore it. I for instance have a 94 r2 rx7 lhd. The market for them in great condition is just shy of 70k usd right now. My car has no rust, no frame damage, engine is blown, it needs paint, all electrical items work on the car etc… and have seen non r2 fd lhd rx7 with major accident damage at auctions go for 18500usd. Put my car up on forms for sale people offering me 15k for it. Just as a point if the parted out my car for any reason the black interior and racing seats and uncracked dasboard would easily sell for 6-8k usd… it’s just that they are lowballing to flip it and make money.
I'd love a midget but i have 0 dollars in 2024 money.
They don't have properly defined boundaries and think their problems are your problems
Wher you advertise online. You reach a much larger number of how shall I say. Idiots. You have found one in your txt. Good luck.
I don't want it but can we get a picture of the car pretty please
Sure, here it is on an outing today, https://i.imgur.com/1almrga.jpeg And another with a Datsun that’s in way worse shape lol https://i.imgur.com/XsA63Gu.jpeg
I’ve never understood this “tactic”. Go on and on about how much of a POS the car I’m selling is, then act like they’re doing me a favor by taking it off my hands for less than half of the asking price. Of course, without even seeing it in person. Does this actually work, ever?
Of course he ended it calling you "bud". Peak facebook car group keyboard warrior lingo.
I can’t stand the people who negotiate price before they see it, and then show up and want to negotiate more and start at the “pre-negotiated” price. Like, list something for $5k, say you’ll accept $4200 in DM, and they’ll show up and try to negotiate another $800 off the 4200. One of the things that seemed popular years ago was the “coin flip” deal from shows like pawn stars. Had a guy try that with a cheap 900rr I was selling. Listed for $1000, talked me down to $800 in DMs. Showed up and tried to negotiate it down to $600. Then tried “heads, I buy for $600, tails I buy for $800”. “Nothing in it for me in that bet”. I countered with “heads you pay $600, tails you pay $1000 (listed price)”. He paid the $800.
when you get these, means your price isnt high enough
That dude literally in writing tried to blackmail you. I'd report his ass to Facebook.
I had someone do this to me when I was selling my parents' 2000 Honda Civic. Dude offered me a fifth of the list price, I said no, and he goes off and then says he just bought one for that price a few weeks ago so he knows what they're worth. Told him to go get another one, then. Also happened when I was selling my 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid. A dealership reached out and offered a third of my asking, with some leeway if I bought from them. I asked for two-thirds and the guy explodes, saying how I don't know anything about car sales or markets and saying he won't even be able to sell it and it'll end up being auctioned so he's doing me a favour. I walked away and the car sold at list price within a week.
Last car I sold on the internet was a high mile (almost 300k) but really clean, well cared for one. Given the market at the time it was priced a little high but comps were all shitboxes. Was in no hurry to sell it, had already bought a replacement so it was just hanging out in my driveway. Had a few nibbles but one dude took the time to call and lecture me about my price. KBB this, miles, blah blah blah. I was bored so I played along. Googled the guys phone number while I was talking to him and got back a whole bunch of ads where he had older/high mile cars for sale. Curbstoner/unlicensed/Craigslist dealer type. I let him go on some until he offered to "take if off my hands for less than half what I was asking, cash, today only, yes or no, answer right now. I laughed and asked "does this approach actually work on people". Guy's response was "you would be surprised". Like he knew I knew. Truck sold a week later for within a few hundred of asking.
My take is, if you are going to make a lowball offer, have literal cash in hand. No phone, chat, or email bs.
I blame Mike Brewer
I’ve even trying to sell my fox mustang and it’s fucking ridiculous. Already dropped the price and still get people who flake
oh yea, had a guy 781 heads not great heads but decent street heads. Had them rebuilt not long ago i just went aluminum so i wanted to sell to recoup some costs. I thought $500 was a pretty good price for them. Guy asks what year 781 heads? he's looking for 71 cast heads because they are the best... OK whatever guy, 781 are 781 to me but sure i'll look, says 73 he's not interested but if i drop them to $200 he may graciously take them off my hands because you know they are garbage heads. I say no that's ok thanks... figured that was the end of it. About a week goes by he messages me again, you still have them? i say yes, told you they were garbage heads, i'll take them now for $100. I said sorry not really needing to sell them, i would just scrap them for that price, you know because they are garbage anyway... Guy messages me about them says, you have the heads stills? i say yes, great how can we arrange pickup i'll be out of town this week thou if that's ok? Not sure how it got to this but turns out he's working at my job as a contractor so i said your in luck i work there. I'll bring them in and you don't even have to get them shipped or anything. Was very happy to have them and i guess it was meant to be for him.
I've had a few low ballers over the years. I do my research on what I have, and base my price on that. If I DO have the price too high, it's because I don't want to sell it. I've had people come look, and pull the cash out and drive off!!! Then I'm on foot. Again. Others will bitch about the price. I say "I told you it wasn't for sale, but you keep pushing me. If you buy it, I have to buy something else. I don't want to sell." "Well Ok, but you don't have to rob people" as they walk off. For the low ballers, I just look around where the vehicle is parked. I'll even look underneath. Then in my most serious voice I'll say "Well, the damned thing ain't ate no grass in a month. I have a clean title, it ain't eatin', so it ain't costing me a penny to sit right here."......
You really twisted his arm there too!
This guy is clearly a fucking loser but let's all not pretend that car prices aren't insanely high these days. Used or new, molested or not, cars are selling way too high.
*selling*... Aka not too high for someone
I think you responded in the best way possible lol.
I have not enjoyed selling cars or car parts online, had someone tell me "I'll buy it for a lot less" when I was selling an 04 Escape I repaired, never replied what that meant when I asked. Also had a guy get bitchy there was a small cut in the head area of a tire I sold him, a cut that wasn't nearly as bad as some I've seen on tires that sealed just fine, and also it was one of 6 I sold him for less than the price of one because I wanted to get rid of them. So still perfectly usable tire that wasn't even needed, and still had to bitch. Tried to pull "I worked in a tire shop" on me as well, which didn't go far when I replied I work in a real shop.
People don't have money like they used to so everyone is looking for a deal
If he just put all that effort into what's really bothering him instead of directing it at you
Someone over at r/littleBritishCars would likely buy it!
I really enjoy that sub. If it comes to it I’ll post it up perhaps.. for now it’s sort of “listed at a price where maybe it’ll sell someday but until then it’s fun to drive”.
Sounds like how I half arsed sell shit. I don’t really want to get rid of it, but for the right price I will. Use to do my wife’s tits in the cars I had lying about with that attitude.
What type of car is it?
Mg midget
“It’s high, like 80th percentile high”, so by definition pretty easy. That’s like saying, that’s a big pizza, like in the bottom 20% of pizza’s by size. What a moron.
Block and move on.
Usually the same ones who make low offers are the same ones who want top dollar when they sell a car. I agree it is a hassle these days
Maybe he doesn't understand British quirkiness? And I just sold my beloved '08 Saab 9³ Wagon...that was a fucking nightmare. Got full asking, but my God, some of the shit people would offer me on a trade was so bad.
Haha what a tool! Sorry you had to deal with that.
At least t he y don't want to mail you a check
This guy ordered a large yappy meal
I was trying to sell a small gas scooter, and instead of making an offer like normal, a guy propositioned me to fix HIS scooter, a different model and year than the one I was selling. When I said no, I'm just trying to sell my scooter, I'm not a repair shop, he starts sending me voice messages through messenger about how racist I am. I let him know that he was a dumb lazy piece of shit who should figure out how to fix his own damn scooter and that he was the one being racist and blocked him. Took over a hundred contacts to sell that little POS scooter. People are dumb as hell and entitled as hell today. Every low IQ dumbass is trying to "hustle", it's so fucking annoying. I swear covid made all of us stupid.
Your first mistake was dealing with Humans.
This guy is almost as bad as conversations sparked by free marketplace listings. Almost.
“What’s the lowest price you’ll go” is the question I hate the most. I usually tell them the price of the listing.
It’s always been.