Hauled a motor 200 miles & haggeled about price

Put a 54 Ford 223 motor on Craigs list. I live in the middle of Wi. and a guy calls me from Mn. and says he'll meet me half way. Had a couple of other tire kickers and was getting anoyed with them. The motor only had 63,000 miles on it & ran great. I only wanted 250 bucks for it, anyhow I drive 200 miles & the guy says he'll give me 200 bucks for it. I said I burned up 50 bucks in gas to bring it to him. So out of the kindness of his heart he gave me 220 bucks. I took it & left, some people just don't appreciate someone elses willingness to help them out. He said over the phone he really needed that motor. Oh, I should have looked at a map before I left because his halfway was like 75 miles. Pissed at myself.

 

That's bs!!!! Good guys get treated like shit it's life!!!

 

Sucks but lesson learned. I never move anything unless the price is firm and I have a non-refundable deposit.

 

shoulda called me... i'd have bought it from you for the 250 you wanted

as far as good guys getting treated like shit, no. its a circle... it comes around

 

Personally I would have just got back in the truck and left. I had a d-ck pull that on me when I sold a '65 Mustang convert about 10 years ago. He asked me to drive it over to his house on a work day I had to take off because he couldn't miss the time himself. I did reluctantly and when I got over there about 1/2 hour late because of sh-t bay area weekday traffic, he said he was going to deduct his hourly rate off the total to cover his missed time. I told him, don't bother, the deal's off, scoped up the paperwork and as I just walked out the door and got in the car he ran out begging me to change my mind. Never even looked back at him as I left. Sold it to a cool guy a couple days later for even less money, but still glad that a-hole never ended up with the car and the other guy got it.

 

I just say "pick up only" in the ad and if they want me to deliver or whatever it's extra money up front, or I just say no.

 

I don't mind offers, but if someone tries to knock me down with subterfuge the price doubles, I would have driven home with it , and told him it's 500 now if you want it, pick it up at my place.

 

Stories like this make me smile

 

The last two times I sold Harley parts the same stuff happened. First time a CV carburetor off of a new bike that had 20 miles on it. I had 75 bucks in it and decided at the time not to modify my bike to use it. Told the guy 75 bucks firm, same thing I paid for it. He agreed to the sale price, on the day he came to pick it up he tried to beat me down 25 bucks. Take it or leave it was my answer, 75 bucks. He paid up.

Last time was for a set of saddlebags for a Shovelhead. Priced to sell as I stripped the bike down and didn't plan to use them again. The guy wanted the bad, could not wait until the next day to get them, so I had my daughter's boyfriend pick them up and bring them to me at work.

Bags show up, guy wants them now after agreeing to the price (he saw them a month before when they were on the bike) originally, now wants to give me HALF of what we agreed on.

I told him that I would smash them and toss them before I would sell them at that price. Still have them up in the garage, that was eight years ago.

 

x 2

 

After selling my share of odd ball things in life, I always get the most guff outa the car guys... For some reason its always a negotiation when it comes to car parts/cars. For me, it's gotten to the point where I usualy just call a friend and give away the extra parts/pieces I have. Don't get me wrong, lots of good respectable car guys out there too but the turds eventualy ruined it for me.

 

My partner and I had a booth set up at a swap meet. A guy picks up a part and finds fault with the piece. I agreed with him and told my partner that the part was faulty so we could not sell it to anyone. The guy started backpedaling as it was a fairly rare part but I held my ground and refused to sell the part to him no matter how much he begged. The guy came back several times that weekend wanting the part but I still refused to sell it to him.

We sold the part at the next swap meet for the original asking price and that guy was happy as could be.

Sometimes it can be fun to totally screw up an a--holes day.

 

I like this thread

 

Let's see how does that go: "NICE GUYS ..............."
Any how that just ain't right........

 

What a tool.

 

exactly.... he's lucky the guy even showed.

 

a craigslist flake....alway trying to beat you down on the price after you help him out....sorry to hear that....

 

Your a better man than I am. I would have turnd arround not said a word and gone home.

 

i have hauled stuff and got stuff hauled half way more or less and have had good times doing it haggeled and price that is the fun part of the deal to me .thanks

 

Times are tough....you probably did the right thing in these times.....If gas were cheaper where it belongs, and it was a sellers market, then the finger and walk away would have been just fine.....
It is annoying though....maybe he will drop the motor on the floor when he unloads it..

 

I would have respected you if you had just not said a word, got in the car and drove back home with your motor. But no, you softened and sold the Douche Bag the motor, reinforcing his jag bag ethic. Now the Sally Wanksalot is going to think that this is how you do business. You should have looked at him as if he had a hat made of cow crap on his head, turned around and let the Betsy Wetsy chase you down the highway begging, no whining for you to stop, pulled over and told him, Sweetie, Honey, Little sister, now you owe me another half a benny for a pissed off and need beers to forget your sorry ass fee. I would have liked your story then, and you would have been laughing all the way home singing the f$ck him song. I bet he thought he was mannin up with that 20, I woulda turned that into a fart prohibitor for him.

 

I figure when I'm haggling a price , I'm being a smart consumer. But when somebody tires to haggle me, I figure they are being a cheap bastard...
But considering the OP already had a deal...the buyer was indeed a douche bag.....

 

very amusing phrasing Francisco.........and I agree completely!

Ray

 

A guy loads up the motor and meets you half way is a friend and a gentleman, you pay the guy his price and offer to buy him lunch or a bit of fuel and shake his hand and treat him like the decent guy he is. It's ass hats like this that wreck a good thing in the brotherhood of car guys, lucky if this guy ever does a good favor again after this turd encounter. I would have sang the F him song and still been hummin it. A lot of guys would have given him a little tap for measure.

 

Dicks like that get the crabs from public toilets.....

 

to bad you gave him a heck of a deal on the engine , id have had to pay you gas money just out of decency , a friend hauled an old stude mill for me 50 miles didnt want any money for doing it , gave him $25 for gas anyways , bought breakfast , and gave him $25 in scratch tickets ,, for helping me out ,

 

don't feel bad, it's just money. you were/are a good stand up guy! you did what you said you would, he didn't. he was wrong! he is not a good person,[somebody should smack his parents]. be proud of the fact that you did the right thing, stop thinking you did anything wrong. the guy's a penis.

 

Good point about the economy. I doubt the OP would have taken the trip if he was rolling in dough. I assume he may have needed the sale on that particular day.


many of us may be in the same spot in the not too distant future

 

I agreed to buy a posi rear end- a checy 12 bolt and the guy said he would start driving the same time as me and we'd meet in the middle. . . . never fall for that one! He "got a late start" then "got a flat" . . I ended up meeting him ten miles from his house and 80 from mine.

Then he was surprised when I grabbed a wrench to pull the cover on the rear. When I saw it was an open diff. he started to tell me that no it was not a posi but it was a rare "limited-slip" rear. . . no springs or clutches just 4 spider gears. . . i didn't even hear the end of that sentence just started driving home.

The funny thing is that he advertises as the "impala king" near san diego but can't tell the difference between a posi and open diff . . or none of his customers can.

 

Knew a Old Gentleman in Ks . He had a lifetime of old rare hit and miss engines and rare tractors. He started selling off some things . He would quote a price and that was it . If the would be buyer started to haggle the deal was off and not for sale to that buyer ever again. His prices were fair to begin with .