Selling my car and hagglers

[JordanB21]

Well I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but damn am I irritated with hagglers.

People keep offering my crap deals thinking I'm going to go for it. I'm asking 2500 for my car, right?
Runs and drives, searched all of the Austin area for another in that price range and in as good as condition and there aren't any!

Well this guy texts me offering his 4 banger foxbody that looks terrible but drives okay, and some gt40 heads. I made the mistake of telling him I'm 18 (I was explaining why I couldn't take his foxbody in a trade). So he goes and sells his foxbody.

He comes back to me with 800 dollars, and the gt40 heads and gives me a bull crap story about his 'fresh' heads being worth 550 dollars. He goes on about how they aren't Ps and don't require special headers, and says something about Xs. Literally trying to 'confuse' me into thinking I don't know what I'm talking about.

He was saying that he had a grand total of 1350 dollars worth of stuff. Over a grand below my asking. And truthfully he didn't even have 1350 with the cash and heads since they're only worth 300.

These heads were regular gt40 heads, no valve job, no work, no porting, nothing. Just heads fresh off a ford explorer with who knows how many miles.
I think my electrical work, parts scavenging, time, and effort is worth 2500 for this

People keep asking if I will take 2000, and pay the 300 for the title, ultimately selling the car for 1700. I would have to be an idiot to take that deal, and for whatever reason, they think I am.
-___-

Being an honest person, letting people test drive the car and having good communications skills just isn't enough for them, I swear.




Sorry this post is a bit unorganized. But, maybe I'll get better offers going into tax season. and I'm not trying to sell the thing through here or anything, just wanted to vent.

 

[JordanB21]

Look at this. I mean;
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/pts/3456765249.html Gt40 heads off a Cobra for 500. Mostly cause of Cobraness
http://austin.craigslist.org/pts/3509363156.html Gt40p haeds for 300 obo
and finally, the crown jewl
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/pts/3439563644.html gt40 heads for 220 dollars.

and he was trying to BS me they were 550. Never tell people your age if you're young, or they will treat you like a child.

 

[hoopty5.0]

Just hold your ground. Mine sold today for full asking price. Took a while, but I got it

 

[ratio411]

Stand firm.
You will run into all sorts of people when making private sales.
Yes, many are joy riders, have no intention of buying, or are trying to fast talk you.
Stand firm.
Don't let them test drive if you even have a gut feeling they are not serious.
Don't show them the title until they show you the cash. Don't even have the title anywhere close when you are dealing, I had a guy distract me once while his friend snatched the title off the table while we were haggling. They wouldn't fess up to it, but I told them I was just going to call the state and declare a lost title, and sure enough, one of the guys suddenly found the title laying on the ground at his feet, claiming I must have dropped it there.
Don't take anything but cold, hard, cash. No holding check, taking payments, etc... It is YOUR car, and you don't let anyone bully you into doing things their way. It's your way or the highway.

Believe it or not, the serious buyers respect a seller in a position of strength, and serious buyers are sometimes spooked by a seller that is wishy-washy, or unsure.

Good luck!
You have the price set right.

 

[ratio411]

Look at this. I mean;
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/pts/3456765249.html Gt40 heads off a Cobra for 500. Mostly cause of Cobraness
http://austin.craigslist.org/pts/3509363156.html Gt40p haeds for 300 obo
and finally, the crown jewl
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/pts/3439563644.html gt40 heads for 220 dollars.

and he was trying to BS me they were 550. Never tell people your age if you're young, or they will treat you like a child.

Another bit of advice:
When you look at sales ads to try and make out the market value of an item, always remember that the asking prices you see for a given item are almost never the amount that the seller gets when he finally sells an item!

 

[JordanB21]

Just hold your ground. Mine sold today for full asking price. Took a while, but I got it

Thanks, I plan to, before I was going to drop down to 2200 at lowest. But man, I'm so pissed off I changed it to 2500 firm!

Stand firm.
You will run into all sorts of people when making private sales.
Yes, many are joy riders, have no intention of buying, or are trying to fast talk you.
Stand firm.
Don't let them test drive if you even have a gut feeling they are not serious.
Don't show them the title until they show you the cash. Don't even have the title anywhere close when you are dealing, I had a guy distract me once while his friend snatched the title off the table while we were haggling. They wouldn't fess up to it, but I told them I was just going to call the state and declare a lost title, and sure enough, one of the guys suddenly found the title laying on the ground at his feet, claiming I must have dropped it there.
Don't take anything but cold, hard, cash. No holding check, taking payments, etc... It is YOUR car, and you don't let anyone bully you into doing things their way. It's your way or the highway.

Believe it or not, the serious buyers respect a seller in a position of strength, and serious buyers are sometimes spooked by a seller that is wishy-washy, or unsure.

Good luck!
You have the price set right.

A lot of it is spam from dating services
There's this one guy who wants it and it coming down around the 20th all the way from dallas (3 hour drive) to look at it. So if he's that serious then hopefully he'll buy it.
Any joy riders won't have too much fun since it's on a quarter mile road by my house (enough room to only get up to 50 before breaking and upto 4th gear).

People are just way too shady, believe me when I say I will have a gun on me if someone comes to look at the car.
I said I would only accept trades for partial like 5.0 parts and such. That same guy offered me foxbody shorty headers used, talking like they were gold. First I want longtubes for my sn95, second I love to research "EVERYTHING" before making a purchase

Cash talks most though!

Another bit of advice:
When you look at sales ads to try and make out the market value of an item, always remember that the asking prices you see for a given item are almost never the amount that the seller gets when he finally sells an item!

Yeah I like to haggle too.
But I feel like I made a mistake if the guy wants 300, I say 200, and he says okay shortly after. As if I could've gone lower D:

I was just referencing these in comparison to what that idiot was talking.
I want a good set of aftermarket heads, there's gt40x heads for 950 asking locally, and Elderbrock performer 170cc w/1.6 rockers locally for 900.
Of course I can't make an offer or think about buying them until I sell this car :/

 

[JordanB21]

Here's some good ole' spam and my response to it​

AUTOBOT:​

Thanks for the mail,i would want you to get back to me with some pics​

to have a better look from here cos am not around to take a look at​

it as am currently out of town for a project and would take me few​

months to be back but i will arrange for it to be picked up by a pick​

up agent who will be coming for it once the payment clears,due to​

security protocol of my job phone conversation is limited but i will​

appreciate you send me close up pics any time you are less busy as​

for me to have a better look here and make my decision about buying it​

so all i need from you now is for you to get back to me with your​

PayPal email address for me to make the payment once you have gotten​

back to me with the details about it and also with the pics as well​

and please answer this questions​

Are you the first owner of it?​

Why are you selling it?​

When have you been using it?​

still in a good condition?​

ME:​

CAR. IT GO FAST. SPEED O LIGHT. 2,000,000 AND DIS ONE O KIND CUH IZ 4 TU.​

I LUV YU FO BUYIN IT.​

Wuh Shoe MEET SUN.​

IZ guh VROOM VROOM! BOOM ​

ENGINE IN PIECES NOW. YOU BUY NOW. CASH​

His auto response to me:​

As for the payment..i will be paying you via the fastest, safe and secure way to pay online(PayPal.com)If you have an account with PayPal kindly get back to me with your full details like(Home address,full name, Email address, So that i can make the payment Asap. I have a Pick up agent that will come for the pick up after the payment have been made, So all signing of necessary document,changing of ownership as they will also be coming with all the information needed and my details will be done by my pick up agent, so you don't need to worry about that... So you can now send me your PayPal email address,full name and the total cost of it to pay in right away.If you don't have a PayPal account, you can easily set up one...log on towww.PayPal.comAwait Your Reply,​

 

[ratio411]

You really shouldn't even reply to those.
They are just programs that check to see if your email addy actually gets to a human, which you give them verification by responding, and then they can sell your info to marketers as one that has been verified, making it more valueable to them. Then if you continue on, as mentioned in the second email, you will end up giving them more info. They will ask for as much as you will give them. They are just farming info on you to sell to marketers.

 

[JordanB21]

It was just something to do since it was late at night Today I had a guy come by and look at it with his girlfriend, he was surprised I was selling it so cheap, but liked it and said I shouldn't wait on him if another person comes but he does want it. So that's good.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Lowballers. Man I love to play with lowballers. I like to tell them "yeah man i'm all about this deal, but I need you to meet me ____" and make the location and time something really crappy, and then just not show up, not call, nothing.

I also love when people offer trades and tell me what it's worth. I usually reply with "well that's cool, let me know when you sell it and have the cash".

 

[mikestang63]

Jordan, if I can give you some "fatherly" advice.

1. When selling anything, always start out at a higher price than what you intend to settle for. People are instinctively going to want to haggle, regardless of your asking price. You can always go down in price but never up. Do YOU buy items at retail or like to buy things at the lowest price? Put yourself in the buyers shoes. Lowballing is very common. Just tell them what your bottom price is and if they can't get there, you aren't selling the car.
2. When selling on CL, be very specific in your ads. If you don't want any trades, say so. If you only want cash, say so. If you don't want lowballers, say so. Same for tirekickers or anything else. Also, set up a free email account with gmail or yahoo just for selling items on CL or other sites. I would not use your primary email, as many spammers and scammers troll CL.
3. ALWAYS meet at a neutral, public location. Bring a friend or family member. DO NOT BRING A GUN. That is simply inviting danger. We are talking about a $2500 car here, not a million dollar Cobra. If anything bad happens, let them have the damn car. DO NOT PULL A GUN OUT. What if they have a gun as well? If you went to buy a car and noticed the seller had a gun, I bet your first impression was he was going to rob you.
4. After you get the cash, count it out in front of the buyer and your friend. Put the money away and do not take it out again until you are gone from that location. Bring 2 copies of your title ( make sure it is in your name only- if there are others on the title they need to be present and sign both the title and BOS), and draw up 2 bills of sale for both you and the buyer to date and sign- The Bill of Sale should include the VIN, make, model, miles, sale amount, your and the buyers names, stating they are buying the car AS IS WHERE IS. Both sign and date it. Do not show the title until you have the CASH in hand. NO personal or bank checks. If they do not have the CASH, tell them thanks and to come back when they do. PERIOD. Once you are paid then you take the original title and the 2 bills of sale out and complete them. The buyer may ask you to put down a lower sale price on the title or bill of sale so they pay less to register the car- do not do it. Put down the exact amount you are selling the car for.
5. If at any time you do not feel comfortable, leave. Simply and politely tell the buyer that you are keeping the car, thank them for coming, get in your car, and drive away.
6. Do not tell people your age or any other personal information. It is none of their business and has nothing to do with the sale. You do want to be truthful about the car and do not lie. If the car needs a head gasket, disclose it. You do not want to go through life looking over your shoulder for the guy you screwed over.

Regarding those spam emails, do not respond to them. Most are from Nigeria or other countries in Africa. They are some pretty nasty people and you do not want to play around with them. The best thing to do is block their email address, delete the email before opening them.

 

[JordanB21]

Lowballers. Man I love to play with lowballers. I like to tell them "yeah man i'm all about this deal, but I need you to meet me ____" and make the location and time something really crappy, and then just not show up, not call, nothing.

I also love when people offer trades and tell me what it's worth. I usually reply with "well that's cool, let me know when you sell it and have the cash".

lmao, that's great. If it were parts, I would. If someone starts to low ball me I don't even offer to come out.

I got an email from someone and they were like "2000 in february, and i'll TAKE IT OFF YOUR HANDS FOR YOU" like he was doing me a favor? Another guy offered a Yamaha V1100 Classic, very clean, nice guy, but it was clear my car had more potential than his bike. Besides I still prefer cash.

 

[JordanB21]

Jordan, if I can give you some "fatherly" advice.

1. When selling anything, always start out at a higher price than what you intend to settle for. People are instinctively going to want to haggle, regardless of your asking price. You can always go down in price but never up. Do YOU buy items at retail or like to buy things at the lowest price? Put yourself in the buyers shoes. Lowballing is very common. Just tell them what your bottom price is and if they can't get there, you aren't selling the car.

I did! put it at 2700firm and people are now offering 2500 thinking they're getting a deal

2. When selling on CL, be very specific in your ads. If you don't want any trades, say so. If you only want cash, say so. If you don't want lowballers, say so. Same for tirekickers or anything else. Also, set up a free email account with gmail or yahoo just for selling items on CL or other sites. I would not use your primary email, as many spammers and scammers troll CL.

I've seen the troll side, just got another. I was pretty specfic, here's the ad: http://killeen.craigslist.org/cto/3525720580.html
but people seem to not read it at all. They text me asking if it's standard? Though it's in the title.

3. ALWAYS meet at a neutral, public location. Bring a friend or family member. DO NOT BRING A GUN. That is simply inviting danger. We are talking about a $2500 car here, not a million dollar Cobra. If anything bad happens, let them have the damn car. DO NOT PULL A GUN OUT. What if they have a gun as well? If you went to buy a car and noticed the seller had a gun, I bet your first impression was he was going to rob you.

The car not being registered, insured, and all I can't meet at a neutral place. But typically I do. I meant keep a gun close by. I wouldn't think someone was going to rob me if they were selling it. Maybe if it were 2 or 3 guys. But I always have a friend with me.

4. After you get the cash, count it out in front of the buyer and your friend. Put the money away and do not take it out again until you are gone from that location. Bring 2 copies of your title ( make sure it is in your name only- if there are others on the title they need to be present and sign both the title and BOS), and draw up 2 bills of sale for both you and the buyer to date and sign- The Bill of Sale should include the VIN, make, model, miles, sale amount, your and the buyers names, stating they are buying the car AS IS WHERE IS. Both sign and date it. Do not show the title until you have the CASH in hand. NO personal or bank checks. If they do not have the CASH, tell them thanks and to come back when they do. PERIOD. Once you are paid then you take the original title and the 2 bills of sale out and complete them. The buyer may ask you to put down a lower sale price on the title or bill of sale so they pay less to register the car- do not do it. Put down the exact amount you are selling the car for.

That actually is great advice. Didn't even consider doing a bill of sale. My friend who owns a salvage yard well telling me about when he was a young gun and these two guys took the Title he had on the desk thinking they could just take the car and be done. He just said he would file for a lost title and then the title 'magically' turned up. I plan to keep it out of sight and out of reach at all times, till after I have cash in hand.

5. If at any time you do not feel comfortable, leave. Simply and politely tell the buyer that you are keeping the car, thank them for coming, get in your car, and drive away.

6. Do not tell people your age or any other personal information. It is none of their business and has nothing to do with the sale. You do want to be truthful about the car and do not lie. If the car needs a head gasket, disclose it. You do not want to go through life looking over your shoulder for the guy you screwed over.

I'm a truthful guy, and I already see the issue with telling people my age.

Regarding those spam emails, do not respond to them. Most are from Nigeria or other countries in Africa. They are some pretty nasty people and you do not want to play around with them. The best thing to do is block their email address, delete the email before opening them.

I don't take them seriously, I've gotten texts from an Oceanographer wanting to do paypal. I'm not one of 'those' people who sees or hears cash and thinks it's real

There some good advice, I appreciate it, and some of it I've already done.
Thank yah sir

 

[billison]

The best thing to do is just stick to a price... I usally set my price a tag high and let it come down...

but I had mine listed for a bit and people kept wanting to offer me crappy 89 s-10's...

 

[JordanB21]

The best thing to do is just stick to a price... I usally set my price a tag high and let it come down...

but I had mine listed for a bit and people kept wanting to offer me crappy 89 s-10's...

S10s are like the Foxbody of Chevy (in the manner of price, s10s suck).
Except Foxbodys are actually going up in price and s10s are still a dime a dozen.
I have a friend who buys em cheap, parts them out on CL, and crushes them. They're worth more that way....

 

[ratio411]

Not really in the case of selling your car, but in many cases of dealing with large amounts of money between strangers, a good place to swap cash is in a bank lobby. There are lots of witnesses and cameras both in and out of the building.

 

[JordanB21]

Not really in the case of selling your car, but in many cases of dealing with large amounts of money between strangers, a good place to swap cash is in a bank lobby. There are lots of witnesses and cameras both in and out of the building.

Plus the police are always always at my bank.

 

[JordanB21]

An update, had a couple come by today.
It was awful, never before have I ever wanted to yell at somebody to get off my property.

They came in nice enough, looked at the car, pointed out what was wrong with it of course. I didn't talk it up or break it down, I explained anything I could think of.
The guy out of the couple was respectful, he was examining it but had a low price in mind of 1000 because of the negative offset on the front left wheel from hitting a curb but otherwise was interested still and said he 'might' have a friend look at it so he knows what he's dealing with.

His awful awful puerto rican wife made me want to kill babies.

She basically insulted me at my home and told me it was worth nothing and tried to assert her superiority over me as an adult and having of 'sold tons of cars before.'
She start off with "It honestly has a lot wrong with it, its nice here and there one or two small things, it's a lot of little things" which I listed in the ad -___-

She goes on to say it's worth about 700 or 800 dollars. 700 or 800 is what these cars sell for in non-running 4 eyed condition (nothing wrong with 4 eyes, but they go for less) older condition that sat for 5 years.
I snidely remark, that's the joy of a 20 year old car at my price, there's going to be a few things wrong with it.

The guy was nice enough to say he wasn't mechanically inclined and then questioned me about the 02 sensors hanging down from the exhaust...He pointed out small oil leak from the pan at the front of the engine and I said okay for the most part. He didn't ask many questions and I didn't mind, but I like it more when they ask questions. It clearly says the car wasn't in DD condition but that's what he came out to ask for.

The wife tastefully finished off saying I would be lucky to get more than 1100 for it.
I then turn around and say to her "I'm going to get more than 2000 for this easy, I'm just waiting on another guy to call me back when his taxes get in for 2500." She was like "oh, uhm, yeah, tax returns." She's an idiot who looked at me like I was clueless and would hand them the title for the dirt they were standing on.

That guy was in love with the car (the one who is willing to pay 2500), respectful, and he said he thought more would be wrong with the car since it was going for so cheap. I really hope I sell it to that guy, just because I know it would get a nice home and I get the cash without the trouble.

Here are some lovely cars in that terrible woman's price range:

90 4 cylinder 800:
http://dallas.craigslist.org/sdf/ctd/3566653486.html
85 v6 1100:
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/3561636651.html
85 GT roller no eng no trans 1000:
http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/3577490608.html
85 GT eng in pieces car in pieces 1000:
http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/3548149964.html
93 LX 4 cylinder 1400 very clean outside:
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/3586203168.html

I could do this all day in her price range.

 

[Mr. Snrub]

If you spend 5 minutes and clean that interior up a tad... get all the crap off the floor and wipe the dash down.. you may get a few more people interested. Looks neglected.

Not trying to be rude.. just a suggestion

 

[JordanB21]

If you spend 5 minutes and clean that interior up a tad... get all the crap off the floor and wipe the dash down.. you may get a few more people interested. Looks neglected.

Not trying to be rude.. just a suggestion

I actually did, that was an older picture I hadn't changed. Everything in that picture was how the original owner left(neglected) it.

The wires coming from under the dash are no longer visible, papers gones, cleaned up. It could use a vacuum and wiping down on the center console. But otherwise I did clean it, the people who came saw it like that, cleaned up.