Selling a car, just venting

[HP2]

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.

Exactly. I'm not selling this to make you money. I'm selling it to make me money. 

[Scooter]

I feel for ya. I put my 67 Fairlane up on Craigslist last year, very detailed description and a walk around video with the engine running. Half the folks that actually showed up were looking for a reason not to buy.. none brought up anything that was not already disclosed in the detailed CL listing. How many times did I hear.. "are you sure. . . looks like. . . etc." I've owned the car 25 years. Tell me something about it I do not already know and I'll sign the pink over to ya. Tire kickers.. sketchy people wanting you to ship to destinations unknown, etc. And as you state, nearly all seem to think you are selling because you need to. Took the ad down and am splitting driving time between my Challenger. Might try again this summer when the Rona passes.

I feel for ya.

[wldgtx]

Thanks everyone... I have not sold a car in the last few years, and this experience has reminded me of the BS that goes with selling a car.

Bottom line, I don't really NEED to sell it, and I am not trying to "make" money per se, I was just listing it for what I thought the market would bear.  It's the wannabe asshats that think they are on a tv show that drive me nuts.  Like I said, I was just venting.

[Matt13]

I feel for ya. I put my 67 Fairlane up on Craigslist last year, very detailed description and a walk around video with the engine running. Half the folks that actually showed up were looking for a reason not to buy.. none brought up anything that was not already disclosed in the detailed CL listing. How many times did I hear.. "are you sure. . . looks like. . . etc." I've owned the car 25 years. Tell me something about it I do not already know and I'll sign the pink over to ya. Tire kickers.. sketchy people wanting you to ship to destinations unknown, etc. And as you state, nearly all seem to think you are selling because you need to. Took the ad down and am splitting driving time between my Challenger. Might try again this summer when the Rona passes.

I feel for ya.
  @Scooter    Was  yours the Emberglo 4dr I saw on CL?

[Scooter]

I feel for ya. I put my 67 Fairlane up on Craigslist last year, very detailed description and a walk around video with the engine running. Half the folks that actually showed up were looking for a reason not to buy.. none brought up anything that was not already disclosed in the detailed CL listing. How many times did I hear.. "are you sure. . . looks like. . . etc." I've owned the car 25 years. Tell me something about it I do not already know and I'll sign the pink over to ya. Tire kickers.. sketchy people wanting you to ship to destinations unknown, etc. And as you state, nearly all seem to think you are selling because you need to. Took the ad down and am splitting driving time between my Challenger. Might try again this summer when the Rona passes.

I feel for ya.
  @Scooter    Was  yours the Emberglo 4dr I saw on CL?

Nope. 2dr hardtop GTA. I'm led to believe it's the rundown POS parked next to my Challenger in the driveway here..




It's healthy to vent.. don't let the a-holes get you down. 

[CudaA39]

Hands down my #1 material interest in life is automobiles.  On the other end of that spectrum, my #1 hatred is buying or selling vehicles.  Whether it be a brand new car at a dealer or private party, I'd rather have teeth pulled.

[kawahonda]

You can largely avoid selling hassles. Be honest and firm in your ads. Saying things like "I know how much it's worth", "have appraisal on hand" are things that really dissaude certain types of people. Be straight up in that you're not interested in "flippers".

Also, don't be afraid to be contacted by text. People that will "lowball" will often times do it through text rather than on the spot. Easy way to weed them out.

I sold my last car on craigslist to the first seller that showed up. My advertisement sounded firm and fully researched, and gave all the details. I posted the KBB value. I looked like I've done all my research as a seller. He offered me a very fair price and I immediately shook hands. Was the easiest time selling a car ever. Before he even came over, he already decided to by the car. That is your goal as a seller and as a buyer.  You don't want tire kickers.

Your goal as the seller for limited hassle is to nearly sell the car before the buyer arrives. All the seller is doing when he arrives is doing a final check-over to make sure the pictures you sent him via email (notice that tip there) are correct, go over and last details, and to shake hands.

Another tip, when you get a text, don't just invite the person over right away. Ask if there's any questions/pictures/etc that you can answer/share. Again, you want to do all of this up front.

[Matt M]

Sorry you had to deal with that.
I guess it comes with the territory of selling these type of cars.
I actually have a pretty nice V-Code FC-7 RR for sale so I feel your pain.
It kind of bugs me when a guy will call ask all kind of questions and request a lot of detailed photos of everything. I send them out and
and they don't even acknowledge the receipt of them...Oh well

I have sold a few of these cars over the years and I hate the negotiation process. I make it clear that I think the price is fair and this
is about what it will take to buy it. I have that conversation several times.
Some get it some don't. I had a guy fly from NY to FL to look at a car. He liked it and offered me 5K less than what I told him it would take to buy the car before he flew down.?? I said we were done here and he acted like he couldn't believe I turned him down. I called him Uber and he left.....

Good luck with your sale, looks like a solid car. When my RR sells I will check back to see if you still have it.
I really like it.

[js27]

Sorry to hear but selling our cars is hard. Since you stated you do not need to sell the car then you hold all the cards. When I sold my cars I had a few assholes also. When the conversations starts off with " Whats the Lowest you will Take" I know it will be a NO SALE so I do not waste my time with them and counter with the asking price. Saved me a lot of time weeding them out. As Alan stated if someone takes the time to come look at the car and know the asking price then they are serious or they just need something to do on a Sunday afternoon and spend most of the time telling you about the one that they used to own. I sold both of my cars to buyers who never came to look at them. I talked to both on several occasions for over an hour so I knew they were serious. The Guy who bought my GTX never ever even mentioned the price. When he decided he wanted it he sent me full asking price in a bank check. The guy who bought my R/T mentioned the asking price in the second conversation and not again. A few conversation later he said he wanted it and would I take 55 and I thought about it and said sorry I need 60 and he said okay. I had a check a few days later. The thing was during these conversations with both buyers I new they were not flippers. I had a few of those calls and that is when you low balled. Your car is beautiful and there is a buyer out there who WANTS YOUR CAR the way it is to keep and enjoy it. Be patience and have faith.
JS27

[chris NOS]

not always the buyer wrong ...i m going to share what happen when i was looking for my car , i m in France ,IN 2013 i came a first time in Washington to inspect the  first prospect , when i got the pictures and info's before to come ,it looked like a good car , but when the car was on the lift ,it shows to much old rust in the panel area's welding , that car would have issue in the long term. So went back home . ( i paid an inspector to come with me too).
Few months later , another one showed up, decided to come check it , Oklahoma this time , a friend from SAAC fly-ed from Texas , picked him up in airport , go check the car , i liked it , not dealing even one dollars from the asking price  , shaking hand , asking to send info for wiring money ,went back home .( France ,remember !)

Waiting ,one day , one week , no news , sending an email .. and surfing on internet on all the well known seller i was following , and boom on Canepa ( sure you know them) The car i had supposedly bought  in Oklahoma 8 days before !!!!   What a surprise , i called them right away , tell them my story , ask them , well i m still interested in this car , OK no problem 75 000,00 more !!   Thank you ,but no thanks !!!
And after ,thinking about it,  i m sure ,the seller ( a pro ) knew before i come , that he sold the car to Canepa , so i came from Europe , asked my inspector to come , all of this for nothing ! Do you think i was not mad !!!!!

At least when you have somebody coming to check your car ,you're losing some time but no money ! hey ,i had to tell to my wife too ,i m taking my holiday time to go to USA to inspect ,one , two and then Third one in Iowa ! this one was D good one !

I just hope that when i ll'be ready for my E-Body it will be better !

[JH27N0B]

Over the years, I always sold my cars by owner when I was buying something new, or needed to get something out of my way.  I'm batting zero for three on the most recent attempts though, two daily drivers and one collector car.  The two daily drivers I gave up trying to sell myself and put myself at the mercy of the stealership I was buying my new vehicle at, and traded them in.  The collector car (my no excuses no rust ever JS23V1B car) I've basically gave up on selling, other than toyed with thoughts of putting in an auction, though I'm wary of that idea due to the games the auctions play.
It makes me wonder if the market has changed since in the last 10 years or so compared to previous times.  No one has money and needs to deal with sellers who offer financing?  People lazy and don't want to travel to see a car, only travel to an auction or dealer with lots of cars to look at?
It also makes me wary to ever buy something again, as I feel like anything I buy will end up being a lifelong commitment as I would never be able to find a buyer if I wanted to sell!

[Matt13]

I feel for ya. I put my 67 Fairlane up on Craigslist last year, very detailed description and a walk around video with the engine running. Half the folks that actually showed up were looking for a reason not to buy.. none brought up anything that was not already disclosed in the detailed CL listing. How many times did I hear.. "are you sure. . . looks like. . . etc." I've owned the car 25 years. Tell me something about it I do not already know and I'll sign the pink over to ya. Tire kickers.. sketchy people wanting you to ship to destinations unknown, etc. And as you state, nearly all seem to think you are selling because you need to. Took the ad down and am splitting driving time between my Challenger. Might try again this summer when the Rona passes.

I feel for ya.
  @Scooter    Was  yours the Emberglo 4dr I saw on CL?

Nope. 2dr hardtop GTA. I'm led to believe it's the rundown POS parked next to my Challenger in the driveway here..



Very nice! I had a 66 Fairlane 500 dark green. Great style those 66-67's.

[Joegrapes]

A bunch of years ago my insurance company said I needed to have the appraised so I took it to the guy they deal with. He went over the car and wrote a report saying the car was worth 36k. I was thinking who would ever pay that for the car so I told him "I'll tell you what, give me 28k right now and I'll walk home" of coarse he didn't. I guess my point is these cars have gotten so expensive that it's become a rich mans hobby. Young kids just can't get into it. The parts cost so much that with what you have into these cars you just can't sell them and even come close to getting any of that money back. I'll just keep the car for ever.

[Matt13]

A bunch of years ago my insurance company said I needed to have the appraised so I took it to the guy they deal with. He went over the car and wrote a report saying the car was worth 36k. I was thinking who would ever pay that for the car so I told him "I'll tell you what, give me 28k right now and I'll walk home" of coarse he didn't. I guess my point is these cars have gotten so expensive that it's become a rich mans hobby. Young kids just can't get into it. The parts cost so much that with what you have into these cars you just can't sell them and even come close to getting any of that money back. I'll just keep the car for ever.

Totally agree. Almost makes me want to get back into a classic Mustang where resto parts are cheap and plentiful. Why are Mopars so expensive?

[Joegrapes]

Probably because there's just not that many E bodies compared to Mustangs and Camaros. It's expensive to reproduce the parts and the volume is to low to make your back so you need to charge more. When I dragged my car home back in 1997 everyone wanted 70 or 71 with big blocks. You could pick up 72-74 cars really cheap. Now you take what you can get and make it into what you want.