Do you ever tell potential buyers no thanks?

[Will12785]

I have been clearing some stuff out lately including a couple project vehicles i just don't have time for. People are all idiots and ask tons of stupid questions and its a huge waste of time. I've gotten to the point where I just tell them the vehicles not for them. I'm trying to be less of an asshole (very difficult) and be polite about it but sometimes people still take it kinda hard. 🤣

Here's a couple examples.

Was selling an s10, it was old and in rough shape but ran fine. Had a kid interested and arranged for him to come look at it. He and his dad show up ask some pretty stupid. The dad asks if it will pass inspection and points out that the exhaust pipe doesn't come all the way out (dumps at the axle) and that he can smell exhaust. Well no shit its a tbi chevy not a fuckin prius. So at that point I say hey don't take this the wrong way but I don't think this is the truck for you. Lets not waste any more of each others time. They were very offended 🤣

Here's the latest from a mostly gutted 78 bronco I'm selling.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

I had a father son show up to look at a 77 toyota truck I had listed for $500. It was almost 40 years old at that point, but was actually a decent little truck. They go on a test drive and come back, the dad says something like "you could have told us the brakes don't work!"

I thought it was odd and I told him they worked fine the last time I drive it, but the age of the truck I wasn't ruling out something happened. He says "ya we went to stop and almost wrecked or some shit" we can do $200 :rolleyes: I said no, truck is easily worth $500. It's the only running toyota listed under $1000 on CL.

They left, I went down the block, slammed on the brakes and locked up the tires. Fuckin douche was trying to get the truck for nothing with a lie. I sold the thing a few days later for full price.

 

[det107]

...So at that point I say hey don't take this the wrong way but I don't think this is the truck for you. Lets not waste any more of each others time.

Proper response, time is a premium & worth money.

They were very offended

What happened? Did they cry or throw a 2 yr old temper tantrum Did you give them the Irate salute too-

 

[Will12785]

Proper response, time is a premium & worth money.



What happened? Did they cry or throw a 2 yr old temper tantrum Did you give them the Irate salute too-

They were huffing and puffing about how I lied in the ad and that the truck was junk and I was a scammer.

The kid didn't even know how to start the damn thing he hit the key like it was a new car not knowing you had to hold it so it could crank. They yanked the e brake without pressing the brake, and then when he tried to drive it told me the transmission was busted because when he pulled the e brake the brakes stuck a little so he had to give it a little gas to get it to move.

 

[Provience]

yup, "non running project for sale"

Well, what's wrong with it? How much work? what parts do i need to buy?

Fuck man, if i knew all that, i'd fix it myself. I don't want to work on it, buy it or don't

it seems odd to me because i've never really asked those questions unless they were only partially addressed in the advert. even then, there is no point in trusting what the seller says. "can it load itself onto a trailer?" <- reasonable question. "can i fix it in your driveway?" <- unreasonable question

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Funny how people expect a perfect vehicle at near scrap prices. Sure those deals are out there, but you can't be offended when it's got some issues.

 

[ev13wt]

I turn away certain customers nowdays. Used to grab anything and everything.

If they waste your time, you can certainly tell them exactly what you are.

 

[TRINDU]

I take the 5 minutes out of my day to write an ad that fully represents the vehicle/item to the best of my knowledge. If people ask dumb questions, I simply block them as I don't have the patience to deal with their stupidity.

FB is tricky, being an asshole will get you a time out.

Is this item still available? Or whatever it is in spanish is insta-block.

 

[gunracer1]

my favorite is when they offer about 1/2 of what its worth. i'm like hell, ill buy 2 more at that money.

 

[Deleted Member]

Will, I do this all the time. "This vehicle isn't for you... it's meant for someone willing to put some work into it, ergo the lower price".

Or,

"This vehicle is turn key, it's older and needs someone familiar with just life in general and a working knowledge of things like that... you may not be ready"

Or,

"The fawk out of my garage".

Etc... etc..

 

[woods]

I sold a one liter bike to a what I think was a teenager with less than 25 miles of experience and zero riding gear.

Price wise, I'm at the point I just want stuff gone. The kid that got my wife's old car before we were married got a decent deal. Kid came with his Dad, they looked it over, the shroud covering the cat was cocked off a little, did have under coating, and a small rust spot on the hatch. I really don't have the time any more to meet up with people, feel them out, dick around for 20m, then go home. Eventually I just say fuggit, and take the money.

 

[Deleted Member]

I take the 5 minutes out of my day to write an ad that fully represents the vehicle/item to the best of my knowledge. If people ask dumb questions, I simply block them as I don't have the patience to deal with their stupidity.

FB is tricky, being an asshole will get you a time out.

Is this item still available? Or whatever it is in spanish is insta-block.

This also... more often than not, I write a very detailed ad and don't respond to most buyers with dumbass questions.

Example. "I have diagnosed an issue with the brakes and they will need new rotors and calipers/ pads to be good".

Question from dumb ass "So do the brakes work now?".

Response "This isn't something for you, you are not smart and will kill a bus full of nuns".

 

[Johann]

I strongly discouraged a High School Senior from buying my collection of basket case Triumph Spitfires. Great kid who pet sat for us for years fell in love with it in my yard and fantasized about driving it. He wrote me a 3 page letter on how worthy he was and what he was going to name it. It was precious, really.

He had no idea what he was getting into. Had no garage at the family home and was on the way to college. If it had been a put a battery in it and kind of project sure but he was looking at a major project that at my age and experience was going to be a challenge. Set a high price and told him he had to take all three parts cars and everything I have for it or no deal. He tried to lowball me for a portion of it but he knew he really needed it all to make a single functioning vehicle (and a bunch of parts to sell on Ebay!). It helped let him down gently and he eventually realize that with him going to college soon he couldn't make it work. Thinking he is driving a very practical Honda now.

Still looking for the right buyer though...

 

[SanDiegoCJ]

I've told many people that called up about buying something I had listed when they gave a ridiculous low-ball offer without ever seeing the item. I tell them to fuck off and don't bother contacting me again.

 

[Deleted Member]

I've told many people that called up about buying something I had listed when they gave a ridiculous low-ball offer without ever seeing the item. I tell them to fuck off and don't bother contacting me again.

Somehow, I sense this is a standard response for anything and everything... Old Curmudgeon.

EDIT:

 

[dentedsub]

I had a neighbor kid want to buy a grand cherokee I had that had a long arm kit, rear spool and the v8. I called the dad and asked him what kind of a driver the kid was and how his mechanic skills were. Dad said he was new to both. I told him I wouldn't sell it to him then because he was garanteed to wreck it the first snow fall if not sooner. Dad was grateful.

 

[dnsfailure]

if the vehicle is running, it's probably a good idea to drive them around the block first, THEN let them drive it. That whey they know that it's derivable, and you can educate them a bit in the process.

I'll be honest, the first old vehicle I purchased (bone stock 46 Willys about 10 years ago), I had no clue what I was getting into. I just knew I wanted an early jeep. The guy told me "Look, the brakes work just fine, the steering works fine, everything works, but they don't work like on a brand new vehicle. You have to stand on the brakes, and it will stop. You can't shift it fast, and 1st gear isn't synchronized, so you basically have to be stopped to get into 1st. The shifter and steering have more play than you're used to, and it only goes 45mph".

He drove me around the block, pointed out a lot of the stuff that I probably wasn't aware of, proved to me that everything worked, locked the hubs put it in 4 wheel and climbed up a pile of dirt, then let me drive. Had he not done that, I might have passed on the vehicle, thinking it wasn't driving right. And indeed it was just fine, I drove the 46 as my daily driver for about a year after that before I started modifying it.

If I ever sell one of my vehicles, I'll probably do the same. Just because someone doesn't understand old vehicles, doesn't mean it's not right for them. You just have to educate them. I'm extremely grateful for the seller of the willys pointing everything out to me, because I told him up front "I've never driven a vehicle this old, so I'm not sure what to expect, and I want to learn."

 

[larboc]

Be honest about the issues and let the buyer learn a lesson if they should have gone to a dealer. I've sold several vehicles to people who shouldn't have bought them but I fully disclosed every issue I was aware of and answered any questions they had fully, and wrote "as-is" on the title by my signature.

 

[Yota Up]

Was selling a truck with blown head gasket. Had some asian couple come look at it and he didn't understand what a head gasket was. Told them "sorry, can't sell it to you".
Next day a guy showed up that planned on putting in a new engine and only cared if the 4 wheel drive shifted and worked. Easy sell.

 

[Void_of_Light]

I had a guy ask me what my "not for sale" price was, then offer me 50% of it.

 

[Grendel]

Yes. If anything gets out of band, I simply respond "Good luck with your XXX search" and leave.

 

[Will12785]

To clarify... I am not looking for "the right buyer" I'm just looking for A buyer. The people that ask dumb questions and obviously don't read the ads more than likely aren't going to buy. Sure they may think they want to buy it but once they actually look at it or see what it is I've got they will just tell me they'll think about it and never contact me again. If I had that kind of time to waste is spend it working on the junk I'm selling.

 

[Rerock]

I have been clearing some stuff out lately including a couple project vehicles i just don't have time for. People are all idiots and ask tons of stupid questions and its a huge waste of time. I've gotten to the point where I just tell them the vehicles not for them. I'm trying to be less of an asshole (very difficult) and be polite about it but sometimes people still take it kinda hard. 🤣

Here's a couple examples.

Was selling an s10, it was old and in rough shape but ran fine. Had a kid interested and arranged for him to come look at it. He and his dad show up ask some pretty stupid. The dad asks if it will pass inspection and points out that the exhaust pipe doesn't come all the way out (dumps at the axle) and that he can smell exhaust. Well no shit its a tbi chevy not a fuckin prius. So at that point I say hey don't take this the wrong way but I don't think this is the truck for you. Lets not waste any more of each others time. They were very offended 🤣

Here's the latest from a mostly gutted 78 bronco I'm selling.

In the end, there's an effective way to haggle/negotiate a price on something, then there's the approach 90% of people these days SEEM to take.

I'd be willing to bet that 8f dad had said "I'm looking for a cheap daily to build/fix with l my kid, but it's obviously gonna take some work. Could you go $X?"... might have yielded a different response from ya.

 

[crispins]

I have my Tow Rig (F350 DRW) for sale.

All I get is messages saying "Bottom Dollar?"

That that is it, sometimes that add a "What's" in front of it.

For the first few days I tried to explain that shopping for the cheapest diesel they could find was going to cost them much more than buying a more expensive one but gave that approach up.

 

[clodhopper]

Is this item still available? Or whatever it is in spanish is insta-block.

With so many douches not deleting their ads after the item was sold, this is usually how I start the communication. It gets tiring going into thinking up the downsides of a deal and deliberating on reasonable price and then get "sold it last week". So deleting your sale ad is that difficult?

 

[woods]

Yea, the whole "Is this item still available?" is the default message. I sometimes misclick that if I'm looking at something.

 

[Will12785]

I have my Tow Rig (F350 DRW) for sale.

All I get is messages saying "Bottom Dollar?"

That that is it, sometimes that add a "What's" in front of it.

For the first few days I tried to explain that shopping for the cheapest diesel they could find was going to cost them much more than buying a more expensive one but gave that approach up.

I always ask what their top dollar is and then they usually say pretty much scrap price.

I had a kid tell me he'd give me 1000 and a firm handshake for a truck... i told him he would need to shake something other than my hand to get it for that price. But I'm trying to be less off an asshole now so i just say no thanks to lowball offers now.

 

[Provience]

Yea, the whole "Is this item still available?" is the default message. I sometimes misclick that if I'm looking at something.

regularly and it sucks

 

[Poke]

Yes. And it can be smart to.

 

[booger]

I've had my share of bad buyers. No matter what price you put on things they come in at half offer. "Whats your best price?" The one I listed with the listing but if you'd rather negotiate lets start at x 2.

I've got a small utility trailer I've had for years listed up right now for $500. Guy offers $450 in a text message having not seen the trailer. I wasn't trying to play hard ball on this and said sure but you better hurry because there are 20 people asking about it, which they are. He comes back with a $400 offer because that all he could scrounge up. If that's all you have then why did you offer $450? Next!