I agree with the others here. Without paying the seller at least a down payment to hold the car, you never completed the sale. Don't blame the seller for where you screwed up. Neal
Man, give me a break. I've sold a lot of cars to a lot of people, and if I honored all the deals where some bozo showed up and promised he'd "be back tomorrow with the cash", I'd probably still have half of those cars in my back yard. It is just plain naive to think that some stranger would "hold" a car for you with no deposit. Don't get emotional about it. You didn't get "screwed over", you just learned a valuable lesson the hard way. Unless it's a "bro deal" and you're dealing with a good friend that has earned your trust, you pay cash on the spot and leave with the car, otherwise it's fair game, always, period. And now you're going to post his name here on the net? That's pretty weak.
Its unfortunate but in todays world money talks and bullshit walks. I've lost track of how many times someone has made a "deal" with me, only to be never heard from again.
Too bad you lost out, a tough lesson to learn. Bottom line, As a seller - First with the money is first served. And after I get paid I don't care what happens to something I've sold. I hold nothing for nobody unless they pay in full, or they provide a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit and agree to pick the item up within a specified period. If they don't get it as agreed, tough to them. I still have a boat I "sold" (paid in full) 4 years ago that was never picked up. As a buyer, if I'm serious I make sure I can deal with something if I get it. Won't be like a dog chasing a car, what happens when he catches it? Yes, I have to agree with most here. Finding someone honest and who's word you can take these days is about as rare as a duck with teeth. I've been on both sides of this issue. As a buyer I bring $$$ and a trailer. As a seller, if someone makes an offer, money is the ONLY language I understand. Nobody wants to be an "Alpha-Hotel", just honest and no "Bravo-Sierra".
If you don't at least make a deposit when you agree on an offer, you can't blame the seller for taking someone else's cash that gets waved at him. If I had a dollar for every deal I made where the buyer just vanished into the night, I could take the rest of the year off and sleep in.
There are exceptions to this "bring cash" rule. What if the OP had only spoke with the seller by phone? I've made a lot of deals to buy a car after leaving a note and the owner calls me, tells me what he wants for the car and I tell him I'll take it and then go get it the next day. AND I've had the seller's back out that next day after talking to family, or calling that "one other guy" that was interested in the car. I also NEVER show up with a trailer even if I have to unhook it and leave it a few blocks away. It makes me look to desperate to buy the car and takes away some of my negotiation leverage.
i disagree. can't make a deal by phone in my opinion. and to unhitch your trailer and "leave it a few blocks away" seems beyond silly as well. i think it makes you look like you have your shit together and are serious, not desperate. makes the seller think "shit, he has cash and a trailer, he's not f-ing around" it doesn't take away your negotiation leverage, it adds to it. not to mention, what do you do if you strike a deal, say "ok, well i'm a giant weirdo and i unhooked my trailer a couple blocks away. be back in two minutes" ?
Yup. I lost a couple grand when I sold my car because someone was "ready to buy" then just ran their mouth for a few days while the next in line said "no thanks"... and then the first party bailed leaving me nothing. Ended up selling to a third party for even less. I'll never work that way again. All of this talk about a man's WORD is idealistic at best.
Money - it's like Truth Serum to one's true character. Sometimes that's good - other times it's not. Just the way it is - now a days.
Sadly- we must change with the times. Today- the deal isn't done until the cash changes hands. Years ago- a handshake was good enough. If you are buying a car- be prepared to buy it. I've bought alot of cars over the years. I usually have a budget in mind & some or all of the money with me (or the wife can can bring the balance). I bought a 40 once at Pomona swap- wasn't prepared. Had about $1500 on me & not much more at home. Had money in the bank which isn't much help on a Sunday. Car was 14k & I wanted it bad. I called everyone I knew & scraped up the cash in 3 hours. Paid everyone back on Monday. You weren't cheated- you just missed out on an oppertunity. There will be more, there always is. Be prepared.
Yep.. If you come from a culture/background/era where a handshake means something, make sure the hand you're shaking comes from the same culture/background/era.
You didn't get screwed if you didn't leave a deposit. I've had so many clowns come here, waste hours of my time wheeling and dealing, making me throw in all kinds of extras in the deal, and times I've even offered to deliver, shook on the deal for the next day and guess what??? Next day No money... No clown.. So many people talk out there ass and love to shop, deal and see what else ya got, with NO intention to buy or wife, friends, reality catches up with them. Even worse, they leave a small deposit and never come back, which totally screws you from making a sale. >>>>>>> If you are serious, bring a trailer and CA$H. If you don't buy, it's still worth the extra gas and tolls to be prepared and you won't cry later. If you can't bring a trailer, BRING CA$H, leave a deposit, get a receipt, and set an exact time /date that you WILL pay the balance and pick it up...STAY IN COMMUNICATION with the seller, and pick it up and pay as agreed. So Simple, yet So Difficult.....
+1, that's exactly what i keep telling one of my running buds. He is famous around here for "buying" cars that he never seems to pay for or go get. He is always telling me that " I bought this or that car". My now stock question is "did you pay for it and get it home?" "No" he says, " but I bought it from the guy two years ago". I decided a long time ago if I don't have the cash available or in my hand when I go to look at something I probably don't need to be going to look at it or trying to make a deal on it. I carry cash and a simple bill of sale on typing paper for both to sign with spaces for the necessary info on it. It worked well for one hand over a sizeable down payment and run to the bank to get the rest of the cash when I ran onto a deal that I wasn't planning on. These days it's unfortunate but if no cash changed hands you didn't buy the car. I just spent Sunday afternoon waiting for some mouthbreather who was going to be right down and pick up a hundred dollar parts car from me. "Ya I want it and I'll be right down with a tow dolly to pick it up!" Still no show and this was a deal where it didn't matter how much cash he pulled out of his pocket and stuck in my hand he was going home with the car. I think that too many of these sellers now seem to have the concept that when they post an add for 2500 or best offer they mean best offer over the 2500 instead of lets make a deal now. I had one tell me that he couldn't accept my cash in hand offer because he was waiting to see if anyone else came along and offered more than his posted price for the rig. Last I saw it was still for sale.
Bingo, and that's how I expect things to work when I buy a car. Bring cash and another driver. If you want it, buy it. I have never gone back to look at a car, I either bought it or didn't. If I bought it, cash was exchanged and I took possession of the car immediately. As for an impromptu auction for something, I'd more than likely just leave. I hate auctions, and who knows if it's the guy's buddy sent over to shill bid against you.
There is NO deal until some cash has been exchanged. Saying you'll "take it" does not put food on the seller's table. I've only been buying selling cars for about 50yrs, so maybe I haven't experienced everything, but the successful buyer goes over prepared to consummate the deal. If you don't happen to haul $50,000 around in your pocket and drive all over with a car trailer hooked up - I understand. But the suggestion previously made that you give the seller some EARNEST money and write up a bill of sale for EACH PARTY and signed by each party with a witness (drag the pool boy over and have him watch the transaction) is an excellent way to ensure that you're going to be able to obtain your dream machine. Then go to the bank and make a withdrawal - do NOT make this deal and THEN go ask your wife, or your mean banker. I get tired of people that make a deal...then don't have their financing in order...can you hold it? NO!! can I make payments? YES - payments of 100% are gleefully accepted. I'm going to bring my dad over. FINE...perhaps you'll get lucky and I won't sell it in the interim. I'm sorry you lost out - but trust NOBODY....he's looking out for his own best interest - selling it to the first SERIOUS buyer. Serious buyers all have the same ID - oodles of cash. dj
It would be nice to assume a guys word is good enough but as it's been said...that doesn't seem to work much any more. Pretty recently I called about a damn rare car I found online...talked to the guy for a while and said "I'll take it and have a deposit for you tomorrow" (since I couldn't get a trailer for a couple days). I would have done the deal that day but it was over 3 hours away from me and I didn't have a good way to get there. So I call him up later that day and tell him not only will I bring him a deposit but I have a trailer to come pick it up and pay in full the next day and I ask if he would hold it for me until the next day. He says OK and the next day I leave to get the car...after getting the cash and driving more than an hour I get a call..."so someone else told me that body really goes with other parts I have and I'd like to keep it all together". After asking him if he's still going to sell it to me I wondered what the hell would happen when I get there. But long story short, I went and handed the cash over and brought home another project. Getting cash in the hands of the seller ASAP is always a good idea...
To all that say "these days you can't trust anyone" or "these days_______" Pay attention! It's the same as always. There are good people and there are bad people, fortunately more good. For a deal to be made it needs to be sealed in some manner besides verbal. To assume otherwise is naive. I am sorry your deal went away. It should have been sealed with earnest money and a written and signed agreement. Another hard lesson. Alden
If I buy or sell I get a reciept and bill of sale with all of the info. As a seller I want cash to hold a car, I never know if a guy who makes an offer without a cash deposit will actually call back and I don't want to miss a sale waiting. Buyers can be as flakey as sellers may seem to be. Sounds like you wanted the car, sorry for your experience.
funny how the same story can be told different ways depending on your experience. if this were my story I'd be talking about how I missed a deal because I didn't have the cash on me when I went to look. others feel they have been screwed over when no deal was made. the very first car I ever bought I brought the cash with me. $600 bucks... my life savings. the only reason I didn't take the car home with me right then was because I didn't have my license yet... had to go get my buddy to drive it home.
been there, done that, I take cash and a trailer every time now I sell the same way, first with the cash is the new owner
It is really too damn bad that a mans word is only worth about $1 these days. I have to want to try and be the kind of man who does what he says even if it is inconvenient or it costs me a dollar or two. I try to not put my foot in my mouth by saying things I ain't going to follow through with. Character is tested when we keep our word even when it seems that no one else does... I am well short of perfect, but I do have a goal... "for those who said the perspective buyer should have consumated the deal right then, you are right,,, BUT,,, I say if the seller had already AGREED to sell the car to the the OP, the seller was obliged to stand by his word for a reasonable period of time. PERIOD... A better offer does not void an agreement, unless this is discussed as part of the agreement."
Cash is golden nowdays...for some reason peoples "word" has tarnished over the years.. When my dad and I go to look at or purchase a car, tractor, or blow dryer we come prepared....Truck, trailer, cash, and tools to remove said car, tractor, or blow dryer from it's slumber. It sucks you lost out on the deal, but next time come ready for battle...and remember never leave home without a helmet, that's what my momma always says.
Ya, I'll take it, I'll be back tomorrow, don't cut it and never did. I'm sure that when Ogg told Mogg that he would be back tomorrow to pay him for his wheel that Mogg didn't hold his breath and the wheel was still for sale. When the cash changes hands it is sold. You weren't screwed, you failed to follow up and the car was sold just as the seller intended. If I had held my 61 pontiac for the first guy that said I will pay you tomorrow, I wouldn't have had the dubious pleasure of listening to 15 other guys saying the same thing. In short, when dealing on anything, bring cash.
When I was a teen I found what I thought was a decent deal on a 1959 Impala hardtop for $600 hidden away in a fenced in backyard. But I knew NOTHING about older cars or even about Chevies back then. I contacted someone who was the president of the local early Chevy club in Detroit where me and the car were located and asked him some questions about the car. He said it sounds like a decent car for the $$ but that I really should have someone who knew what he was talking about look the car over and he offered to do it. He told me about if I got it I could join the chevy club and what a great bunch of guys they were etc etc etc. I was pumped. The next evening we went and looked at the car together. After we left the guy told me that it looked "OK" and that it needed a lot of work (clean straight rust free body, running decent needing seats and carpet and tires). That night I deceided to buy it and went over first thing that next morning. When I got there the car was GONE. The seller told me that the guy that came with me had bought the car later that same night by coming back about 30 mintues after we had left and telling him that I decided I didn't want it and that I told him he could buy it! Now THAT'S being screwed! To this day I'm not a big fan of car clubs and especially Chevy clubs.
I asked for help in a O/T club when I was looking at an off brand project car a few years ago...a guy contacted me wanting to know where the car was, how much, etc etc because he needed a THIRD parts car. The ass not only wanted to turn a workable project into a pile of crap like he had done with numerous other cars, but he wanted to buy it right out from under me...even after I said how long I looked for a project like it. Sometimes it pays to be greedy and keep the location and price to yourself...as sad as that is.
That is true when we are talking about someone else, it is put to practice when we do what we say even when others don't. Integrity "happens" when we endeavor to make our word mean something even when others don't give a damn.
The Jalopy Journal
