It is with amusement that I observe the national penchant for demonstrating bad attitude has spilled into online selling.
I am aware of this because in the past year and change I’ve bought three cars that I first saw listed online (all three on Facebook Marketplace although I also check Craigslist religiously). While my experience with these three sellers has been good, I’ve also had a run of inquiries regarding other cars that produced bizarre results.
And while I haven’t contacted directly some of the other, most moronic posters that I’ve seen, I can deduce from their listings that they would be trouble with a capital T.
A common ad from those with attitude cramps runs something like this: I’m selling the car, but don’t ask for specifics. I know what it’s worth (despite reputable online pricing sites such as Kelley Blue Book quoting a much lower price) and won’t give it away. To repeat, don’t ask me a lot of questions (Such intrusive inquires as service records, ownership history, any known problems are out of bounds.) If you message me, I might get back to you. Or I might just ignore you. But if you show up and force the money into my face, I might be willing to sell you the car.
Another variation goes like this: Yes, I’m listing the vehicle for sale, but I’m just testing the waters to see if anyone is interested and what they will pay. I don’t need to sell the vehicle. I’m just curious. Don’t lowball me. Don’t waste my time asking a lot of questions about the car. If you show up with cash and ask pretty please, I might let you sniff the exhaust. Or I might slam the door in your face. You have to take your chances.
And then there is this variation: No joy rides. Won’t even talk to you unless you have money in hand. I know what I have and what it is worth, so bring stacks of hundreds and we might talk. Did I mention you need to bring piles of cash?
I wonder, and perhaps you do, too, about someone who proposes a potential sales situation with such attitudes.
Asking questions about the car’s history and usage is perfectly reasonable in an arms-length transaction such as buying a used car. Also, insisting on someone showing up with thousands of dollars in cash to meet a total stranger demands trust from them that you are obviously not willing to reciprocate.
There also is the matter of routinely withdrawing and possibly redepositing large amounts of cash in one’s bank accounts raising the antenna of our friends at the federal government and flagging you as a potential criminal.
I missed some warning signs in trekking to the extreme southwest part of West Virginia (Nitro) to look at a Mustang. The car was listed by a female for her older parents.
The give and take over the phone with the parents was difficult, but eventually I made arrangements, rounded up my son and we drove down to look at the car. It had charging codes in the electrical system that the owner had understated, making it a coin flip as to whether we’d be able to drive it home successfully.
But the kicker was, when I eventually decided the risk was not worth taking, the guy celebrated because he hadn’t wanted to sell the car anyway and was only listing it to keep peace with his wife.
That hadn’t come up in our conversations, or I might have saved myself a considerable trip,
I’ve also inquired about car listings and had people tell me they were busy so I couldn’t come and look at the car that day, only to check back the next day and find they’d sold it the previous night.
Me being me, I found myself obliged to point out what poor form they had displayed.
I’ve also had people blatantly misrepresent the car’s history, which sometimes can be checked for free online and otherwise can be confirmed with paid services.
There have been times I’ve driven to look at cars only to find them in much worse condition than represented. I’ve also arrived only to have the seller refuse to let me drive the car.
I bought one of my Mustangs from such a guy, but only after I told him no dice on the no drive and he decided I could drive the car after all.
Only once in my life have I bought a car, new or used, without first driving it. And that was because I trusted by brother to look at and purchase a 1967 Mustang fastback for me in 1979 because I needed to work that night.
At that time, the car was listed in a newspaper classified, which meant the owner had paid to advertise it and wasn’t just checking the market or looking to placate his spouse, but not really looking to sell the car.
With each fresh search of the online ads, I find myself getting a tad nostalgic for those days.
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