Anyone still using Craigslist , is it still a good source for buyers looking for good deals on older vehicles? I see alot of newer car on craigslist like dealers use it Kind of a rant, but , Im fed up with facebook marketplace. Maybe its just my area , way way way over priced, junkers and id say over 75% of vehicles the sellers have NO ***le
They are the same in my opinion and Offerup also. You're dealing with the general public, they're like a toilet at the beach, use it only in an emergency....
If you like a particular type of car, join a club dedicated to that vehicle, even if you don't have one (yet). You'll likely find the car, the parts, and the know-how.
Craigslist, like the other mentioned sites, is a ****shoot. Other avenues, such as word of mouth, friends, etc. may yield some results. I bought my 53 on Craigslist by doing months of multi-state searches until I found one meeting my criteria, but that requires ***ling research (never buy one without a ***le) and shipping which adds to the cost. Buying from a HAMB member is another option. I did that with one of my Buicks, the other off of E-Bay. Beware of sales taxes buying off of E-Bay.
It doesn't cost anything to look, so go ahead and check Craigslist - you never know what may turn up. Try different search words and different spellings when you look to save time from paging through a million pages of ads, also adjust the area radius to look in a wider area than just your immediate town.
I found my Model A roadster pickup project by posting a "wanted" ad on Kijiji, our version of Craigslist. The car was stored at the seller's friends house and he didn't want to deal with the logistics of that and invite a bunch of people to someone else's property. The price was much cheaper and the car was much more solid than those that were being publicly advertised for sale at the time, so I won there. My 46 GMC I found the body at a local estate auction for a car restorer who had p***ed, and got lucky on the price. My 62 Bel Air I found for sale at a small town car show. Of course, those ranged from 11 to 22 years ago. Things have changed, and some deals do exist on marketplace but if you want the good stuff I still think you need to put some effort into other avenues as well.
I used to look at craiglist alot years ago. Looking at it again it is about same as fakespook mp Boy are you right on . Ive been looking for a older project vehicle..... I just went and looked at a over priced older project vehicle few days ago..... Young guy just bought it and was trying to get rid of it all ready for what ever BS reason. ....Long story short .... I sure did feel like I enter a "toilet at the beach" twighlight zone.... wow ,, geeze !
If I was shopping, I'd join the mailing list of all of your local auctioneers. Most of what gets auctioned off is household **** and businesses clearing out, but every once in a while an old car auction comes up, we see them in my area easily once or twice a year, and there is often deals on cars. Craigslist is pretty dead here, and Marketplace is, as aptly mentioned above, a toilet at the beach. If I had real money and was willing to travel, and I needed another car (currently 0 out of 3 on that list) I'd be watching BringATrailer. Seems like they're getting super premium money for late model sports cars and high end pro touring type ****, but old hot rods and 50's cars regularly sell pretty cheap on there. They rarely seem to be selling projects, but when they do, they often go for pennies.
I still use Craigslist, but not many do anymore. It seems that Fakebook has most of the market, but I refuse...Zuckerburg is a creep. If you click on " by owner" it wipes out the fools that put up the same add 30 times
I get frustrated every time I try to use Craigslist, Marketplace, etc. whether it be buying or selling. I pretty much only shop here in the cl***ifieds or ask around a****st my friends when I need stuff.
I now where there is a older '60s truck been sitting, starting to get engulfed in berry vines Ive been eyeballing along the road to Lewiston (the local big city 75 miles away) . I need to slow down and pull in there "carefully" and try and ask if they want to sell it.
Marketplace has a lot bigger of a selection than Craigslist since CL charges fees to list cars now. The problem is sifting through all the overpriced junk. It's really a waiting game and you have to be ready to jump on something and be the first guy to reply to a listing. Same with any hobby now. I collect vinyl LP records from the 70s and earlier, and all of my best deals are gotten just by checking eBay listings often, and being ready to jump on a new listing. When I found my '57 in 2017, the guy responded to my wanted post on Craigslist. It's different now, but you could try posting a wanted ad on marketplace and just wait for someone to contact you. List a price you are willing to pay and it will deter delusional people who think they're sitting on a gold mine, but it's really a rust mine. Often, people will check markeplace or craigslist to get an idea of what they are wanting to sell is worth. If they see a photo of the same car they are selling, and a price listed with a willing buyer, they are somewhat likely to contact you, just to not deal with the other fools on marketplace wasting their time.
We got Kijiji up here same as Craigslist , it’s become trash recently due to the popularity of marketplace . There are multiple places to look . my ‘56 was off marketplace . Sellers are frustrated as buyers are liars . I just sold my 383 and was inundated with probably 50 messages in the first 24 hours !! A guy came next day and put cash in my hand . Same as I did when buying my 56 . I find using any online forum to search for things is a ****shoot , but having the seller call you or you call him on an actual phone number , not chats , not text but a real voice call weeds out the 97% that are just dreaming and time wasters .
They both generally contain bs, but every now and then there's a unicorn post of a good car. For me, I keep my eyes open on everything if I'm hunting, and have the cash ready. If something good pops up at a fair price, I don't make an offer, I email immediately saying I'll take it and head to pick it up. That's how I got my shoebox. I had been on the lookout for years, saw it, talked to the guy and knew it was a good car. Got there and he started it up. I said I'll take it and handed him a wad of cash, and he said don't you even wanna take a ride in the damn thing?!? I said you told me it's good. Were you lying? He says no. I said alright then..... Haven't been sorry one second.
Seems like people on Marketplace are really good at the part where they email and say they'll take it, but exceptionally bad at the part where they actually come to get it.
I’ve been looking for a “project” Hotrod for years. Stopped using kijiji years ago and mostly search FB. Overall, prices to are ridiculous, and honestly I think there are better deals in the USA even with the exch rate. Been to Hershey a few times, and of course prices at those events are ridiculous. Sold my OT truck a couple weeks ago on FB. Within a few hrs, I had over 20 messages. Most were from folks with names I can’t even pronounce making “cash” offers. In the end, a women who just happened to be in the local village at the time wanted to see it right away. Thought it was BS, but she showed up. She was a mechanic to boot. lol! She had her kids with, went for a test drive, and she made an offer. Gave her a good deal. Haha!
I listed a Jeep I had for sale on Craigslist and several other places about this time last year. It sold from the Craigslist ad. All the other places (social media BS included) I had no legitimate interest, only scammers. So I say it's worth a shot
I found my Corvette on craigslist 3 years ago. But it seems like it's also dried up a lot since then. And I had to drive 500 miles to get it, but the guy selling it was good about talking on the phone and dealing with me honestly. I've sold several on FB, you get flakes at both ends of the deal, you know. Last few cars I bought were word of mouth. It's still the best way to go. But it requires knowing lots of people and being sociable. That's not easy for everyone.
This is exactly what I tell people. The last several cars I have bought came to me through word of mouth. Every time I try to chase something another way, it never seems to work out.
Sometimes its worth looking on Facebook. Certain people like my elderly parents dont have or want Facebook yet they know of Craig's list from years ago. And you n never know what they decide to sell . I have bought and sold cars on FB and you learn to ignore the scams and the still avaliable BS. When I respond to a add I say who I am and were I live by town so they know im a real person. If I really think its a legit ad ill give my phone number. When selling im sometimes surprised when a inquiry i think is **** turns into a sale. Now if that Chrysler Hemi intake ad would pop up thats 5 minutes away when im off work and have cash it would be great.
This is one of the reasons I’ve thought of bringing something new here to the Hamb. Obviously I have no say what happens here but “we” (royal) could create somewhat of a database of vehicles all around the country. Big dream but with members from almost anywhere there is actually data that we could all provide for finding projects. With higher approval and a little trial/error this could be helpful and keep these cl***ic/antique/whatever vehicles from getting crushed or worse… LS swapped!
You made me think about just how well that has worked. All these vehicles came to me now that I really consider. I didn’t search for any of them. 56 Ford 61 GMC 51 Ford 37 Chevy 40 Mercs times 2 and maybe 3 54 Panhead O/T pickup I’m working on And, those are just the ones I own right now. Oh, and that 50 Buick I had, and my 66 C10, and…
They're ALL a **** shoot, but that's life dealing with general public. I've used Craigslist, Offer up, even Fakebook (My moms account of course) but haven't even looked at Instagram. It really seems to depend on the area you're in, bigger towns/cities = more stuff (good or bad). If you're looking for a specific type or era of vehicle you're going to have to HUNT....meaning dig and drive, possibly far.
FB has speciality social groups, including ones for the stuff we're interested in. By make, year ranges and regions. Some allow selling, some do not. Example: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590721028042028/
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