Craigslist time wasters

[Anduril]

"Like new" condition does not mean faded and peeling paint, rips in both front seats, broken dash trim and dirt EVERYWHERE. I watched one of his kids stuff up the paint on the hood with a toy truck while I was checking out the car. I drove 50 miles in traffic to look at it only to decide I didn't want it almost immediately, of course the low quality Craigslist pics didn't show any of this

Do people really think that just because I bothered to drive out there, I'll decide I want to buy their piece of crap they misrepresented?

 

[SZR48207]

Caveat Emptor

 

[dishdude]

Used car shopping isn't easy, it takes a while to find the right one.

 

[daves87rs]

Trying not to get hosed is tough....

 

[Chris142]

I looked at atleast 25 trucks before I bought mine. All were grossly misrepresented. One in particular had rusty mud for coolant ( most did anyway) and no oil on the dipstick.

I told the owner that it was low on oil. He went on into his garage and brought out 3 QTS of non detergent sae30. I left at that point.

When I stumbled across the truck I bought it had masking tape on every component with dates and milage. Radiator had a date when new coolant was put in it, air filter lid etc.

 

[FirstNissan]

In the past 4 years I bought 3 used cars on craigslist. All beaters, used them for under a year each and then sold them on. It was impressive how much people can lie

Examples
1. "all maintenance was done recently totaling $2500. I don't have receipts however take my word on it. " This is on a $1000 corolla. yea right!
2. "Good condition car, can drive it cross-country with no worries". Interior is torn, soiled, and smoked-in. Engine bay is a mess with leaking oil everywhere. Trunk has ripped wiring from a prior sub/amp setup.
3. "body is straight, no rust". I show up, frame is all kinds of rusted, dents everywhere, paint is abused all over.

I hate looking for cheap cars now. Way too much time wasted trying to find something decent.

 

[Nick1994]

People blow my mind sometimes.

My brother was looking for an older Camry a few years ago. We went to go look at a 96' and we popped the hood. I opened the radiator cap and it was empty. Then I pulled the dipstick and it was barely on the tip. The guy asked if I wanted to start it, I said "I'm not starting a car without oil and coolant" and he says "I will!" and starts it up, it sounded awful! I told him it sounded really bad and he says that it's normal. Uh, no, I just drove my 97' Camry here and it sounds nothing like that.

 

[gfh77665]

Originally Posted by Chris142


When I stumbled across the truck I bought it had masking tape on every component with dates and milage. Radiator had a date when new coolant was put in it, air filter lid etc.



I, along with everyone else in SE TX, was car and truck shopping after Hurricane Harvey.

https://www.caranddriver.com/featur...in-america-this-is-the-aftermath-feature

It was very difficult to find anything. Even going 100 miles north out of the flood area, the inventories were bare. I bought a new car after the dealerships refilled themselves two,months later, and finally found a used Silverado on CL. I was impressed with its condition. It was about the 10th truck I looked at. I saw lots of others that were total JUNK.

 

[CharBaby]

Yes, it is very difficult to buy used vehicles. I can see why reputible car dealers(the BIG BOYS in the business) charge so much more for their(same vehicle) cars. When we were recently looking for used cars('15 Civic in my sig), local dealers were changing $2000-$2500 more for the same car(apples/apples). Most of the cars we looked at on Craigslist were a gross misrepresentation of the vehicle. As where the local reputible dealer had everything out front including the price & CarFAX.

Not that I trust the BIG dealerships as far as I can throw'em but, they did have the vehicles detailed and painted if necessary. Scuff marks removed, dings repaired and the interior cleaned and presentable which is to say, DETAILED. Even better tires.

The LARGE car dealerships had nicer representation of the same vehicles that I was looking at from Craigslist. The dealerships put money in the vehicles before putting them out front. However, we were able to find a nice example at a small used car dealership advertising on Craigslist for that said $2K less money. We've done this twice now in the last 9 yrs. It's work but it's worth it!

 

[Andrew1972]

Out of curiousity what model year was this vehicle.

With Craigslist I expect the worst however get pleasantly surprised with people or goods.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted by madRiver
Out of curiousity what model year was this vehicle.

With Craigslist I expect the worst however get pleasantly surprised with people or goods.


Yeah this. What sort of mileage, too? It sounds like your objections are wholly cosmetic-- the car could have run and driven perfectly.

Dealers are better than most private users at waxing and cleaning until you get into Corvette territory.

Try Facebook Marketplace as well. The ads are still free but people might be less shifty if their name is attached to something.

 

[maxdustington]

I recently responded to a guy parting out his car. I needed a LH mirror. We set a time and I asked him to give me his address and he never responded. Then, at the time we are to meet (days later) he tells me he is sorry he didn't check his email and sends me his address like I am supposed to drop everything and drive across the city.

He also told me I would have to remove the mirror myself because he didn't have a T45 (who parts a car without a torx set), I wanted some other parts too, and I could tell that I was going to show up and have to pull everything from the car. With him expecting me to pay scrapyard prices for everything while I did all the hard work.

I didn't even respond to his last message, we had a six message conversation over a week and it took him a day to respond each time. Just got fed up with him being slow and wasting my time.

 

[Kira]

Those "message stiffs" are truly amazing. If someone wants to sell stuff you'd assume they'd man the phone (texter, smoke signals-whatever).

Pulling the stuff from any car yourself isn't the worst thing to happen. You are also merely assuming that he'd charge you high prices (just asking).

Not everyone is a good jack mechanic or communicator. I knocked on a door with a 1996 Volvo 850 wagon with a FOR SALE sign on it and the owner (seller) was a complete mumbling dolt. I wasn't sure what I was dealing with.

As mentioned above....resign yourself to the fact that car shopping is WORK....perhaps the dirtiest of 4 letter words.

After 2 years of peering about I bought my used car at a dealership. Yes, I am emasculated for ever but they do get good specimens because they're in the flow.

 

[Kira]

...and then there was that guy who, whilst smirking, produced 2 bald tires which he described as "75% good".

I wanted to call him every filthy, foul name in the book but decided that there may actually be laws which translate foul language into assault.

I kept my cool and said, "You're too cute for words and wasted my time you liar" and left.

I posted about it here and mentioned that it was the first time I answered a misrepresentative ad.

The members here said that if it indeed was "bad ad #1" I wasn't doing too bad Craigslist-wise.

I wanted to remove that guy's smirk with a hammer

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by Kira
.Pulling the stuff from any car yourself isn't the worst thing to happen. You are also merely assuming that he'd charge you high prices (just asking).
I asked for 2 mirrors and the rear door lock actuators. Originally, he just added all the parts together $50 for each mirror and $20 a piece for the actuators which is higher than what the scrapyard would charge. No discount for multiple parts was the first indication that this guy was going to try to take advantage. I told him I wanted the LH mirror and both actuators for $70 which he agreed, and then later on told me he could not remove the mirrors. If he did not have to tools to remove the mirror, there was no way those actuators were going to be outside of the car when I arrived. His ad did not mention that the buyer had to pull the parts, because he would have to sell things for less than u pic prices. Only after we had agreed on price did he mention that I would be pulling the parts, that's a classic bait and switch. He wasn't parting his car, he was allowing people to pay over market prices to pick over the carcass of his broken car.

I make assumptions and judge people based upon first impressions/questionable behavior because probably 75% of the time I am correct. It's not something I am proud of but that's how you protect yourself from scumbags. My dad is a contractor and I worked with him a lot over the years, and I can tell a sub contractor's character and professionalism very quickly. You have to or you will get ripped off.

I sold a hitch from my car and we agreed on the price over email, then the dude arrives and tries to talk me down. I had to say "look dude, we agreed on the price before you even arrived" probably three times. The hitch had never even been used (100% paint in receiver).

EDIT: My labour isn't free, why should I have to pay the same price and spend my time yanking the parts when I can go to the scrapyard and them for cheaper with a warranty?

 

[DoubleWasp]

Originally Posted by maxdustington
I recently responded to a guy parting out his car. I needed a LH mirror. We set a time and I asked him to give me his address and he never responded. Then, at the time we are to meet (days later) he tells me he is sorry he didn't check his email and sends me his address like I am supposed to drop everything and drive across the city.

He also told me I would have to remove the mirror myself because he didn't have a T45 (who parts a car without a torx set), I wanted some other parts too, and I could tell that I was going to show up and have to pull everything from the car. With him expecting me to pay scrapyard prices for everything while I did all the hard work.

I didn't even respond to his last message, we had a six message conversation over a week and it took him a day to respond each time. Just got fed up with him being slow and wasting my time.


My favorite people. I was looking for truck parts one time, and the dude I was talking to started quoting me prices based on "ebay prices". He became frustrated when I told him I would pay ebay prices so long as he removed the parts and boxed them up for me. Ebay prices should come with eBay service.

The sad thing is that these people totally ruin it for people selling decent products. Everyone just assumes that they're going to get shafted somehow and don't believe anything.

Recently sold a boat, and pretty much everyone who showed up was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Had a folder with photos, receipts, and everything on that boat. Guy who bought it almost seemed defeated when he finally came to the conclusion it was actually a good boat.

 

[SevenBizzos]

I'm trying to sell a car and other things now and it's either a terrible low ball offer or someone makes an appointment and no shows. People are slime balls.

 

[Kira]

Standard boundaries should be set up in a universally known paragraph, including such things as....

Sold AS IS, determine if the part(s) is (are) removed or not, cash only, no renegotiating of prices, don't show after a certain time etc.

My brother exploded when I reported to him by phone (he wasn't even inconvenienced) that a prospective buyer failed to show.

I had to explain to him that NO SHOWS are part of the process. That car, a 1993 Volvo 240, was a cared for gem. A Russian lady who had just had one smashed out from under her at a red light test drove it. She was the best. She offered X dollars and said she couldn't get the cash for 4 days and acknowledged that she couldn't reasonably expect anyone to hold a car for her. She called on the appointed day. I drove the 100 miles to deliver the car. She paid me without any guff and drove me home. ....a good lady.

 

[Anduril]

Originally Posted by eljefino
Originally Posted by madRiver
Out of curiousity what model year was this vehicle.

With Craigslist I expect the worst however get pleasantly surprised with people or goods.


Yeah this. What sort of mileage, too? It sounds like your objections are wholly cosmetic-- the car could have run and driven perfectly.

2000-2004 Mustang. It did run and drive just fine except for a squeaky front driver side wheel that went away when I hit the brakes, but it had more miles than he said it did (167,000 vs the 150,000 mentioned in his ad) and definitely was not "like new" condition. I've now been through every mustang currently on Craigslist that fits my criteria (GT convertible) and they have all been like this, I guess that's why they're still there. I've found two for more money with lower miles that both claim to be in good condition and I believe them because they've both already been sold while it's the crappy ones that are still up there for me to go look at.

And I'm sorry, I'm definitely not going to buy your car that's not registered (and I don't know how much you owe in back fees they're going to charge me when I try to register it) or that don't even have the title in your name (still registered to PO from a year+ ago, not a family member or something like that).