Do people on craigslist NOT want to sell cars?

I get that to. Leave phone number to get a responce of a phone number that no-one answers or returns calls

Been there too, asking a bunch a questions and 2 days later,"yes, still have it" etc. and nothing else. Some more questions and days later response is "who is this?"!? It was a Civic so I just figured it was stolen.

Craigslist is full of adds like that, after trying to contact a few of them, I save alot of time (and arrive at the same result) by clicking the back button in the web browser.

stupid people.. best to leave them be and hope they do not breed

I always leave stupid people alone. If it doesn't have a picture and a description, I'm not interested.

I was tempted to ask about a neon i found the other day, "96, 4 door, white with black stripes, needs trany, 130K"

For a second i had thought it could have been an R/T if it had factory stripes, but R/Ts didnt come out till '98. Not worth it for a parts car

Datsun1500 wrote: Why does it seem like people on craigslist make it hard to buy a car they are selling? I am not talking about the ones that never respond, I am talking about the ones that don't post information or photos, then when you ask, they respond, but don't answer what you asked. Ex: 1999 Audi A4 - $4500/BO That was the entire ad. I happen to be looking for one so I ask: Do you still have the car? How many miles? Quattro or FWD? Stick or Automatic? What shape is it in? Color? I even sent him my cell number. 2 days later I get. I still have the car. No number, no info, nothing. Does the guy just not want to sell it?

A lot of the people selling cars on CL are not enthusiasts. And these days, they're just in a panic. I can kind of understand it, since I've lived in `working class poor' neighborhoods since my divorce (I actually pay my child support). A lot of those people scored a "big name" item when they stumbled across a big tax refund or something. To them, even something as large as an automobile is no different than the jewelry or HD TV sets they take to the pawn shop. It is simply an asset that can be turned into cash. I'll bet your guy doesn't give a E36 M3 whether it's Quattro or 2wd, or if it's manual or auto. All he cares about is that it says "Audi" on it's ass, and that might be worth enough money to pay the rent for the next couple of months.

I once discovered that a Mk.2 VW Golf on CL Atlanta belonged to a neighbor of mine. I recognized the phone number (he was my roommate's dope dealer), walked over to his house, and asked him if it was a "manual" transmission. He said yes. When I pointed out that it was an auto, he replied "..well, they said it was automatic, but you have to move this stick in the floor to get it moving.."

Some people intentionally do not post pics or information in hopes of "filtering out the time-wasters." The idea is that anyone who's seriously interested will drive over and take a look at the car.

But those people are shiny happy people and are just reducing the chances of getting the car sold.

Time-wasters are annoying though. A guy called me one time asking to see some tires I have for sale. I told him everything he wanted to know but I said that if he wants to come and look on a weekday, it'll have to be after 10PM since I'm busy. He tried to ring me again afterwards but I was in class so I sent him a text telling him to text me any questions and repeating that I'm busy 8AM-10PM. The next day he calls me back at 7PM, in class. I ask if he got my text message and go through the whole time thing again. He says "OK" and never calls back.

friedgreencorrado wrote: I once discovered that a Mk.2 VW Golf on CL Atlanta ... and asked him if it was a "manual" transmission. He said yes. When I pointed out that it was an auto, he replied "..well, they said it was automatic, but you have to move this stick in the floor to get it moving.."

I love that story, it has everything, nouns, verbs and morons.

I pretty much avoid any add that doesnt either have an interior pic of the car, or say in the add whether its automatic or manual. I also avoid any add that uses the words "no lowballers (translation: this car is a POS and im asking twice what its worth), "FIRM" (means the same thing), and "serious buyers only" (translation: this car looks nice but has something wrong with it you will figure out if you test drive it so just come buy it and figure it out after you already gave me the money).

gotta love how the shade tree dealers tell you how long they've had/loved a particular car, listed alongside 4 other cars they have for sale, or within a day of selling another car that blah, blah, blah...

Do you guys think I could sell a Z3 on CL pretty easily? I'm looking for like $6,500, but obviously that leaves haggle room. I can spell, I'll give lots of info, and I have pictures. If these shiny happy people can sell something, surely I could too.

Travis_K wrote: I also avoid any add that uses the words "no lowballers (translation: this car is a POS and im asking twice what its worth), "FIRM" (means the same thing), and "serious buyers only" (translation: this car looks nice but has something wrong with it you will figure out if you test drive it so just come buy it and figure it out after you already gave me the money).

While I agree that the "please don't waste my time" type statements are a big turn-off, from my viewpoint as a buyer, I'll often use "Firm" if it's something that I truly want to get the price I'm asking for. It saves time with haggling. If somone sees it and realizes it's a fair price...great. Folks won't look at it (like I would if I was a potential buyer) and think, "Maybe this guy is desperate, I'll look at it an offer him half."

One of my favorites is "Priced to sell," or "Won't last" on ads for overpriced cars. I can typically make that judgment WITHOUT a picture.

Clem

confuzion3 wrote: Do you guys think I could sell a Z3 on CL pretty easily? If these shiny happy people can sell something, surely I could too.

"i no ur axing 65 for ur beemer but i need a car mine just got broke in to and i alwasy wanted a z3 i can offer u 3000 CASH today and 2000 next week when my taxreturn check comes back hit me up if ur intersted"

As long as you're prepared to deal with the lowest common denominator of humanity during the course of the sale, you should be fine. Remember, the delete button in your email is your friend. You'll waste a lot of time, energy and blood pressure spikes that could be used for better activities if you spend too much time trying to set straight every idiot who crawls out of the woodwork to waste your time.

Yeah I used the "firm" thing before for a set of springs, and that was after I'd dropped the price to the point that I was basically taking a loss after painting them. And one dude, after seeing the big bold letters, was absolutely determined to get those springs for less than I was asking. Like at least $50 less. Wasted a lot of my time.

Got what I was asking for them a few months later.

Not that I am a member of the grammar squad, but....if you are trying to sell the car that you own, please try to spell it correctly. Maybe take a look at the Title for a clue....or go out and look at the side of the car.Google it.Whatever.

Ex: Camero

What do you expect for nothing? A professional ad?

I sell more items than I buy. After listing something, I personally hate the question: "What's the lowest you're willing to go on this?" They always freaking open with that. I should just make a blanket form that states: "My asking price is reasonable. You are free to make a counter offer. I will inform you if your offer is acceptable or not."

Salanis wrote: "What's the lowest you're willing to go on this?" They always freaking *open* with that.

Not surprisingly, the fine art of negotiation seems to be lost on the idiots who lurk in the dark corners of Craigslist.

I always counter with, 'What's the most you're willing to pay?' It either brings the conversation to a grinding halt, or effectively returns it to square one.

My most recent CL purchase is a '63 Boat, motor, and trailer that was listed at $800.

I look it over then think on it a few days.

For $300, I'd brag about the deal. $400 is fair, and $500 is more than I'm willing to pay.

So, I call the guy, tell him I've looked at it and I'm genuinely interested, but I don't have that much cash and wonder if he's flexible on the price (I played at the heartstrings a bit and told the truth, that I wanted something for my daughters and I to enjoy). I tell him, again, I'm genuinely interested but I don't want to offend him with an offer that's significantly lower than his bottom dollar. He cuts to the chase and says he'll sell it to me, if I bring cash (like there's any other way I'd pay...), for $500.

I say I certainly feel like that's not an unfair price, and I do have cash, but only $400. I tell him I'll think about it and see what I can do. He volunteers that he'll think about my price. The deal was sealed right there. Time to "let it brew." This was on a thursday. Tuesday I got a call (from his wife ) accepting my offer. Wednesday, the boat was in my possession.

Fun with negotiation. I love it!

JFX001 wrote: Not that I am a member of the grammar squad, but....if you are trying to sell the car that you own, please try to spell it correctly. Maybe take a look at the Title for a clue....or go out and look at the side of the car.Google it.Whatever. Ex: Camero

Camery!

On a "let's complain about morons on craigslist note:"

I seem to get the guys that take my offer as a personal insult. If you're asking $3500 for your clapped out EF honda with a rod knock, i'm still going to offer what it's really worth, i.e $200-$500 depending on condition/how much rice so on and so forth.

If you won't take it, then just say "No thanks." or don't reply at all.

DO NOT reply back to me telling me why i'm an idiot for offering that, how many different sets of altezza lights come with it at eleventy billion dollars apiece, and how your car can tear down corvettes during your mad tyte y0 street races even WITH the rod knock, which should only cost $20 to replace because your cousin's uncle said he could do it with a hammer.

At the same time, if i refuse your offer of $500 for my Celica that i have well over 6x that in the last 6 months in suspension and brakes ALONE, with a 100% rust free chassis and a set of Momo Corsas? DO NOT sit there and tell me what my car is worth nothing because i don't have Altezzas or a huge coffee can exhaust, so it can't possibly be a good performing car.

There's a lot of argumentative morons in this area.

alex wrote:

Salanis wrote: "What's the lowest you're willing to go on this?" They always freaking *open* with that.

Not surprisingly, the fine art of negotiation seems to be lost on the idiots who lurk in the dark corners of Craigslist. I always counter with, 'What's the most you're willing to pay?' It either brings the conversation to a grinding halt, or effectively returns it to square one.

I am stealing this tactic from you...

I see craigslist as a "I can lay my hands on the product before I purchase" site.

I have been face to face with some odd ads and found the gamut from "steal" to "laugh in their face ridiculous". Looked at a van the other day..."Not running" because the majority of the engine was on the porch. Thunderbird also "not running" was a tripped inertia switch!

Can't find the nugget unless you are willing to dig!

Bruce

I can always walk away with the money still in my pocket.

nutherjrfan wrote: gotta love how the shade tree dealers tell you how long they've had/loved a particular car, listed alongside 4 other cars they have for sale, or within a day of selling another car that blah, blah, blah...

Well, when i was selling my V8 RX7 and my 911, I had had the RX7 for 5 years, andthe 911 for two, but the two custom Bugs I was selling at the same time I had just finished and only had for a couple weeks., so I was that guy your'e complaining about. Iv'e had over a hundred cars and sold all but 5 of them (the 5 I currently have). Some were around for a week or two, some were gotten in trade for other cars and some were around for years before selling them, with overlap amongst all of them (so that tehre were always about 3-5 cars in my possession, and at leas to one or two long termers at any given time).

So yeah, I could say how long I've had and loved a particular car and still be wanting to sell it to move on to the next project.

When I see several adds from the same person listed under "for sale by owner" I flag them. Sometimes you can even see the other cars lined up in a makeshift car lot in the background of the pics. At least spread the adds out so they don't stick out when someone searches. No offense to those individuals who sell lots of cars, but I consider them dealers (as does the state). I posted a warning about this on CL to help others avoid such covert dealers, but it got flagged down pretty quickly.

Speaking of Craigslist gold. I missed this deal by 6 hours on Sunday. http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/cto/1025796867.html If it had been a weekday there is a much better chance I would have seen it early. I offered $2500, but by then he had promised it to someone and was regretting that decision big time based on the responses he got.