Buying and Selling Vehicles is THE WORST.

SORRY FOR THE UPCOMING WORD FORTRESS...

As you've probably seen by the massive amount of "LERN ME" threads I've been posting for the past few months, I've been looking to shake up my fleet of vehicles for a while. I've been researching anything and everything, from Chevy Colorados to Volvo S60's, and everything in between, in the quest to absorb as much knowledge as possible. Right now, I have the following:

2012 Mazda 3: My DD

2010 Mazda 3: SWMBO's DD

1979 Trans Am: Never ending project hell

1997 Dodge Dakota: Weekend dump runner

(And yes, still have my crushed, encased in ice Saab, which is being parted and scrapped presently, but that doesn't really count.)

After talking with the wife, she wants us to hang onto the daily drivers for a bit. They are both paid off, and they have been good cars, although they are getting up there mileage-wise. The T/A is my never ending burden in life, so that stays. So that leaves the Dakota. 

I like it, and I've had it for 5-6 years now, but I am bored and want something else. It's a 2WD V6 truck with no A/C, and I have been looking for a 4WD V8-powered truck with A/C. I've had a hankering for a 1994-01 Ram 1500 4x4 single cab short bed with a V8 for the past few months, and last weekend I finally found one that was in my price range. So, I went to check it out. 

I liked the truck, we struck a "handshake deal" (he wouldn't take a deposit), agreed on a price and when I'd pick it up, and off I went. I messaged him when I got home to make sure he knew I was buying the truck for real, and he de-listed it. I secured a trailer, and started getting excited!

With that in mind, I listed the Dakota for sale. A friend of a friend checks it out, and likes the truck and I agree to sell it. We agreed to let me reach out to the guy with the new-to-me truck to make sure I'm 100% getting if before we finalize the deal, as I still need to do truck-related things no matter what. 

Turns out I'm 0% getting it. He sold it to someone else. Didn't even let me get a first stab at it or counter-offer. Remember, I offered a deposit and he declined. What. The. BERK. 

So that leaves me with egg on my face with the buyer of my current truck, as I can't sell it yet. I feel awful. If I find something else soon, he will still buy it, but that's not the point here. I feel like a complete, used-up sack of crap. 

Lessons learned here: 

-ALWAYS buy immediately, or if you can't, insist on getting a deposit, bill of sale, and registration. That way you can report your new vehicle stolen when Captain Sleazebag sells it from underneath you. 

-The integrity of "your word and a handshake" mean absolutely zero in 2018. 

-TRUST NO ONE. EVERYBODY SUCKS. 

What little faith I had left in humanity has left the building. 

So, anyone have a decent 1994-2001 Ram for sale for under $2k? I'm still on the hunt. 

I never sell my cars. I have traded two in and sold ONE in my entire 30 years of driving. All the rest went to the crusher after either being wrecked, rotted and parted out, or just worn and parted out. It's not worth the effort to sell a car

I always buy on the spot, I have been burned this way a few times and wont happen agian. 

Every car I've ever tried to sell has gotten totaled or bricked before I could.

Sucks getting scrap value or dealing with something clogging the work area for months on end, but I can't say I feel like I'm missing out on the whole selling experience, judging by how annoying the buying experience can be. 

I just happened to stumble across this locally to me after reading your thread.  I’m about 5 hours from you, but this certainly looks rust free and is a rare combo that is what you want. 

https://reading.craigslist.org/cto/d/dodge-ram-4x4-new-inspection/6525299793.html. 

Jerry Maguire.  My word is stronger than oak.   

https://youtu.be/90BdnenVxvo

Another pro tip is to restrict your craigslist search so that you only have to drive 10 miles to be disappointed instead of 50.

I have given up on Craigslist. That's why I am looking for rallycross cars from dealers only.

Have you considered selling the old truck and selling one of the 3's and then using a better truck as a DD? Less registrations, insurance, inspections, and regular maintenance/upkeep by having less vehicles on the road. Could put time and money saved into the TA project.

This comes from a guy who's down to 6 vehicles (1 registered currently) & an enclosed trailer while slowly thinning the fleet from 15 with at least 6 registered at any given point.

Your truck seller was a flake. It sucks, but one flake shouldn't hurt your faith in humanity. He's always been there, and always been a flake. Write him off and move on. There are plenty of people and plenty of trucks out there.

Sonic's link looks great - that truck is shinier and less rusty than any I've seen around here in a long time.

Got burned much the same way by a seller of a 997 Turbo.  It was listed for a very good price, I called and talked to him and offered him a deposit multiple times.  Went to set up shipping but luckily hadn't paid for the shipping yet because, yup, he sold it to somebody else.

Turns out he'd strung along several other guys along with me...

In reply to Sonic :

That green truck would be perfect, but the price is too high for me right now. Add to that transportation costs, and it's way out of the question right now. Maybe in a few months I can scrounge up enough to do that sort of deal. I did find a similar 2WD one closer to my budget the next town over, but the posting is 29 days old and I doubt it's still around. 

On driving a truck every day: 

I have put a lot of thought into it. Here's the problem: I drive A LOT. I put about 25k a year on my daily driver. Driving something that gets 17mpg at best every day will bankrupt me. If I were to go that route, it would have to be something midsize and newer, like a Colorado or Tacoma. 

That guy was a jerk, plain and simple, not everyone is.

Every car or auto part or complete drivetrain I've ever sold, I don't take deposits. However, I'm up front with the potential buyer that I don't take deposits and I don't won't hold the car/part for you. 

In reply to Tony Sestito :

Those don't get any better gas mileage than the bigger trucks most of the time.

z31maniac said:

Every car or auto part or complete drivetrain I've ever sold, I don't take deposits. However, I'm up front with the potential buyer that I don't take deposits and I don't won't hold the car/part for you. 

 

I'm with z31. I'm always upfront by saying "the first person to show up cash in hand gets it."  If the buyer says "I will run to ATM right now, back in 20min" and I think they're honest, then I will hold the thing for that short time period, not a minute more.

In reply to Tony Sestito :

Might be worth a call to see if you can get them down to $2k.  PA has easy to get temp tags to be able to drive it home, or use it to tow dolly your Mazda home behind you if you don’t want to take 2 cars.  You’re welcome to crash in an extra bedroom here for a night if needed, GRM/Lemons hospitality. 

I just had the complete opposite experience selling my Cobalt SS Turbo. I had a guy from 8 hours away contact me to buy it. After sending numerous pictures and videos to confirm it's condition, he agreed to buy it at my listing price. I then drove the car to him. He was completely true to his word, didn't try to negotiate last minute, or pull any other b.s. There are still decent people out there; you just got unlucky catching a dip.

In reply to FooBag :

I always wondered how that turned out. Excellent!

I used to enjoy buying and selling cars. In the 1980s. Hate it now.

When I had my Spec E30 for sale I had surprising difficulty in finding a buyer. Price was okay, it just isn't easy to sell a track-only race car. When a guy way-down-south expressed real interest I tossed in meeting him halfway to sweeten the deal. The arrangement was that I would have a certain amount as a deposit before I'd leave the following morning.

Buyer dude is 'too busy' to get the deposit to me. 6am the day I'm supposed to leave there is nothing. I figured a scammer. Unhooked the trailer, unloaded all the spares from the truck and took off on the motorcycle for the day.

He sends the deposit at 8am, which would have been 2 hrs after I'd have hit the road. What. The. Berkely? Then proceeds to blow up my phone half the day asking where we are going to meet. I simply texted him back with an explanation that the deal was off because he couldn't keep his promise and I was no longer interested in dealing with him. Numerous begging apologies followed. IDGAF.

Another guy had expressed interest in the car after I had agreed to deal #1. I emailed him and he agreed to pick the car up that weekend for full asking price. Moral of the story:  be patient.

Sold my Miata last summer.  Sitting on the deck with a friend drinking beer and discussing autocross.  I mention that I'm considering selling it because of "over-improvement" had left me with a pretty good autocross car that I no longer wanted to daily.  He mentions that he had been considering buying a dedicated autocross car to avoid doing the same to his daily.  He asks a price, I consider for about a beer and name my price.  We agree and a couple days later he shows up with a wad of cash and a truck to haul the spares in.  And I got to co-drive my old car for the rest of the autocross season, win!

Sold my Suburban the same week.  I put it up on FB with an honest explanation of it's pros and cons and 10 minutes later a friend messages me wanting it.  He shows up the next day with a check for my full asking price and is still driving it today.

Maybe my reputation for being a decent human is finally paying off.  Probably just had a lucky week.

Tony Sestito said:

In reply to Sonic :

On driving a truck every day: 

I have put a lot of thought into it. Here's the problem: I drive A LOT. I put about 25k a year on my daily driver. Driving something that gets 17mpg at best every day will bankrupt me. 

 

Have you sat down and done the math on this? When I bought my gas hog silverado I had a dd Taurus that got good mileage, and was paid off, but not worth much because taurus. I figured the same as you, keep it for fuel savings. But when I did the math on fuel savings minus tags and insurance, and considered that selling it meant freeing up limited parking space and having one less car to take care of I realized it wasn't worth keeping. I sold it and used the money to buy a nice riding mower. I'm happy with my decision.

In reply to gearheadmb :

Yes, I did some loose math. If I get a truck for DD duty, it's going to be something near new. I want something with low mileage to start (again, I put 25k/year on a vehicle) and something with modern creature comforts and utility. Most modern trucks, even V8 ones, can get 20-23mpg highway. That is significantly better than 12-15mpg highway. Even my current Dakota with the 3.9L V6 and 2WD gets 14-15mpg per tank. When it's a 2nd vehicle, that's fine, but as a DD? Not a good idea. 

The plus side: getting a DD truck consolidates my current truck and car into one vehicle. I will gain a payment, of course, but will save on maintenance and insurance costs. Yes, fuel will go up, but that is ok to a point. 

Ideally, I'd rather get a cool, older truck and a more fuel efficient daily driver. 

Then there's my idea of replacing my DD and my Trans Am with a newer Challenger R/T...