Selling a car, just venting

[wldgtx]

Okay so most know or recall I am selling (not too aggressively) my 1970 Challenger RTSE https://forum.e-bodies.org/cars-for-sale-or-wanted/8/fs-1970-challenger-rtse-fc7/13749/

So, I got a call last week, person said If the weather is nice I would like to come by and see it.  I agreed and we found a day that the weather was holding up and BTW, when I was on the phone I had asked him IF he was aware of the asking price.  He said Yes, no worries.  So he comes out to see the car, he makes a few really nice comments and tries to educate me on Mopars (I do not take the bait to argue with him) but I could tell he was getting frustrated as he became more and more interested in the littlest of things like the fact that I admitted that the front disc rotors will need to be replaced as they are original to the car (they are not horrible) but to someone who will drive the car and put some miles on it will want to replace them and I may do so anyway.  Or he commented about how the tires were not original style.  The previous owner bought some and immediately got rid of them in favor of a steel belted BF Goodrich.  Well they are brand new tires and I am not replacing brand new tires.

I could tell that he was starting to nit pick because he was having trouble finding anything that he would use as leverage to reduce the asking price.  What really pissed me off was the fact that he even suggested that engine didn't appear original... mind you he is saying this upon popping the hood and looking into the engine bay.  So I tried to remain calm, I simply told him "I 100% guarantee it is" 

So at this point I am already fed up with this person and then he says I would like to take it for a ride, is that okay?  I said of course, he says, "I will just drive it around the block, I will be right back.   I will leave my truck keys with you."  I started laughing.

So I tell him, I will go with you, no problem.  So we get back from a ride around the block (which is actually more like a few miles) we get back and we get out of the car and he says "Despite the fact that it has some things that are not quite there, I think you have a great car and I would like to make an offer to buy it".  "Okay great"  So then he proceeds to make the most ridiculous offer based on the fact that he is going to need to take care of the issues and get it 100% original and needs some room to make money.  I quickly reminded him that we are not on a TV show and that shit you see on Fast and Loud is not real.  He got a puzzled look on his face and said, I am in this to make money and I need to buy at prices that allow me to make money, you are selling a car and it's only worth what someone is willing to pay.  I said, you are partially correct.  You may need to buy a car, but I don't NEED to sell.  I told him that I appreciate his offer but I decline.  He shrugged his shoulders and walked away but looked back at me almost at his truck as if to look back and suggest "Are you sure".  I just waved.

I forgot how much I hate selling a car.  Sorry for the long rant

[chris NOS]

Thank you for sharing your experience , i think that's why a lot of cars are going through dealer or auctions ...Owner don't wnat to deal with the tire kickers...But , me i would never buy a car in Auction .

[anlauto]

I feel your pain...typically I don't go look at a car unless I'm willing to pay the asking price, then when there, I will try to negotiate a few bucks off..

I hate when you get the first phone call or email (these days) and they try and cut your asking price WAY DOWN without even seeing the car... I tell them to go buy one of the other ones advertised.....to which they reply....there are no other ones....and I say EXACTLY ! 

[72 Challenger]

It seems the only people that reply to my ads are flippers. It's annoying.

I had the same experience while selling my 72. Rotisserie restored blah blah blah all the good stuff.

However the buyers thought all kinds of stupid stuff "You are incorrect about motor is should be a 360" I can assure you it has the numbers matching 340 motor. You know that thing called a VIN? and the invoice for the car? yeah...those state you are actually the idiot here. 

Or a guy that came 350 miles to see the car. "But I brought a trailer" so?

[torredcuda]

Lowballers and flippers  I was selling a `74 road runner years ago that was nowhere near perfect, still needed plenty of things to be nice but had new paint and was a fun driver. I had a local guy and girl come by to check out the car. Since I knew they were flippers I already knew how it was going to go and yup, totally dissed the car stopping just short of calling it a POS and made a ridiculous offer. I just smirked at then  and so no thanks I`ll get what I want which just pissed them off. That experrience just confirmed what I already knew about them and put that in the memory to never deal with them again.

[Rich G.]

 First thing I would do is delete that first paragraph on your add. If the brakes work and they are safe that's it. Tell them if it was perfect the price would be double! When you know right away the guys an ass just say the price if firm so you can stop telling me everything that you think is wrong.

[Katfish]

Out of curiosity, what did he offer?
Most people assume they can negotiate at least 10% off the asking price.

[RUNCHARGER]

Selling a nice cars is probably the most aggravating thing you can do in your life. When I go look at a car I generally look it over, usually say nothing and make an offer or tell the guy I'm going to pass. If a car has shortcomings generally the seller knows anyway and things like radial tires are pretty easy to note in a pnotograph so that is just another used car salesman's game to bring them up. When a flipper says he needs room to make money on a deal it's time to kick his butt outta your yard.

[wldgtx]

Out of curiosity, what did he offer?
Most people assume they can negotiate at least 10% off the asking price.

The longer story is that he initially said low $30's.  I responded with reminding him that we had previously discussed price on the car, he agreed.  But like I said, I think he was not expecting the car to show as well as it does.  So he was quick to come back and offer $35k.  To be completely honest, I was not as offended by the offer as I was for his reasoning (telling me the motor is not original when he did not look at the VIN or look under the car to verify, the tires, etc... plus "he needs to make a profit").

[RUNCHARGER]

I'm a lot crankier than you. I would have ended the conversation and asked him to leave. I'm too old to put up with BS like that.

[Flatdad]

I don't understand his mindset that stating he "needed to make a profit" would be a bargaining chip. That's fully admitting the car is worth more than his offer.

[anlauto]

I don't understand his mindset that stating he "needed to make a profit" would be a bargaining chip. That's fully admitting the car is worth more than his offer.

Yea...that's the part I don't get....Who says that other than Richard Rolings ?

[Dakota]

I absolutely HATE all the BS and posturing that goes with selling a car.   We tend to keep vehicles until there's almost no life left in them, so the difference between selling it pain-free to an organization like CarMax or even donating it instead of doing the Craigslist dance is typically a few hundred dollars.   The extra money is always nice, but the hassle and time involved getting it isn't worth it to me.

[torredcuda]

I don't understand his mindset that stating he "needed to make a profit" would be a bargaining chip. That's fully admitting the car is worth more than his offer.

And if I know the buyer is a flipper my bottom dollar goes up! I`ll give a better deal on parts or a car if I know the owner will be keeping  and enjoying them than trying to lowball me to overcharge someone else. 

[Katfish]

In that situation I would have used the line I picked up from the movie, A Few Good Men.

"That's an interesting offer, I'll give it the consideration it deserves and let you know"

Most aren't bright enough to get the insult.