i know a guy who went to look at a 64 imp advertised for $1900 and walked away with it for $300! i would like to have been there to see that !
I've sold cars for a living for 37 years before I retired in June this year. Made a Very good living. The thing that you have to understand is that the world is full of idiots. If you have a car to sell you're going to run into more then your share of them. It's just part of the process.
If you are selling a car, be prepared to answers some questions about it. About 2 years ago, I called a guy about a funnycar, that he had for sale. The add on the internet had VERY little info about the car, and there was no price listed. I called and found that the price was reasonable, but the seller would get mad everytime that I asked a question. I asked if it had carbon fiber brakes. He replied "No, it has steel brakes. You dont need that ****". Is the clutch ***anium? "No. It is aluminum. You dont need that ****". Now I understand that you dont need the ***anium or carbon fiber parts, but if you dont include ANY info in the add, then you shouldn't get mad when people ask you about the car that you aare selling. When I asked for some pics, he sent me 3. 1 was the very same pic from the add. Pic 2 was of the car doing a burnout. Pic 3 was of the body up, from about 75 feet away, and with 3 crew guys standing in front the the ch***is. I cant imagine way this car is still for sale. Then, the guy wouldnt even tell me how big the engine was. He said "I will tell you that when you show up with the money for the car". Now I was a very serious buyer, and I had the money at the time, but it was not worth the h***le to deal with this guy. Next summer, when I have finished my current project, I may try again to buy this car. Brian
I was at a car show, My friend wanted $7500 for a 48 ford. A guy drove 2 hours to buy the car. Laid out $7000 cash on the hood at the show. 7 piles of 10 $100 dollar bills. Counted them out one at a time. By now there`s a crowd of people standing around watching. My buddy said the price was FIRM, Looks like your $500 dollars short. Didn`t care if he sold it or not. Really reasonable price. No sale. The next day, The guy that was with him drove 2 hours to gladly pay him $7500 for a car that he thought was a hell of a bargain.
Haha! He fell down the "Be-back Hole" , I have one of those at the end of my street. I have also caused a lot of deaths over the years! Whenever somebody leaves me a deposit, the next day they phone me with the "sudden death in the family" excuse. I took some very good advice from a lawyer 25 years ago "Do Nothing". especially with lawsuits, but it also works with negotiations and sales. The problem most people have with buying and selling is "emotional attachment" [ especially the attachment with "Time"] "emotional attachment" creates a battle of egos [ nobody wins a battle ] For example, if you buy a junker and part it out it is easier than selling some old valuable parts you've had stored for years. Any vehicle trader will agree that it is easier to sell "stock" than their own possessions Always try an get the other party to commit some time [ make them travel etc ],and never let them invade your own personal time. This way "doing nothing" does have [some] bargaining power I've had many people "pull the pin" on a deal with me, I just walk away and "Do Nothing", try again later [ most of these tactics to try to get you to chase after them ] It's just a numbers game [ keep playing and you will get there eventually ] To this day, I have never "not sold" anything, some take longer than others [ and some are less favorable moneywise than others ] If you're greedy [selling or buying] you might get lucky with a ****er. But if you know your **** [and are fair ] the success ratio is far greater I would rather have confidence and skills than luck anyday ps: I love "fleebay" , over the last 15 years the public have lost all their "people skills" . It gives people with trained negotiating skills an advantage [ people are getting pissed off with "fleebay" ] I have got a lot off great deals and rare parts from people, just by listening to their wants and needs [ I mean sincerely listening, it works ]
speaking of ebay... I have a truck listed on there now. Starting bid is $6500, reserve/buy it now is $7000. Im getting all sorts of calls from people all over the US, a number of people are asking me "why so cheap" I tell them cuz im sick of trying to sell the truck and $7k is my BOTTOM LINE. Its a hell of a deal, yet nobody will pull the trigger.. Today i got an email from a guy located about an hour from me. He says that he will give me $6k for it, AND wants ME to deliver it to him. I told him that the price for him is now $7500, and he can come pick it up. I HATE SELLING CARS! I know i dont act like this when i buy ****, i dont understand why people think they can?
I don't get it, either. When I look at a car for sale, be it a driver or a project, I'm not thinking "Okay... I'm going to berate this guy and his car, and try to screw him out of as many dollars as I possibly can!", but it seems 90% of the people who've checked out the cars I've sold in the past have that mentality. Just remember- if some potential buyer gives you more **** than you want to deal with, you are more than free to tell him to F-off into the sunset! He's on YOUR turf after all, right? Nobody forced him to stop and look at your car.
You are right on the money here, like I said in an earlier post in this thread I have sold cars for 37 years and that don't happen by having a short fuse, you have to go with the flow and be patient. About playing on emotions, I remember one of the best lines I've ever heard came out of a American Hot Rod episode where Boyd was looking to buy a T coupe from a guy he knew and when it came down to price, the guy said " This car has been in my family since March ". Cl***ic!!!
I deal with idiots all day long, Idiots are relatively easy to deal with, it's the hobbyist ***holes that cause the problems, some of these types make a hobby out of ******* people off. They are generally easy to spot because they get all nutso when you try to walk away from them, their whole intention is to be as big a dip wad as they can so you might give them a crack or get into a full blown with them. Most of these people have the education of a small door mouse, they are legal experts extra ordinare via the legendary day time colleges of law peoples court and night court and social moral philosophers such as Maury, you can spot them quickly as they want to put you on a detector same as on TV. There is one famous line that will absolutely shut them up as they are avid and rabid cliche junkies " Show Me The Money" for a bit of extra vigor you may choose to use the phrase "Beotch" but I find it unnecessary in most cir***stances. Usually a quick smart look down your nose at them when no crispies are produced is enough to send them back to the sofa for their midday dosing of Blatz with sweet and low in it.
A variation of this scenario has happened to several of my friends who were selling vehicles. The buyers were from out of town and the cash sale price agreed upon (in both cases the price was $10,500). Time to pull the trigger, both buyers were $500 short and had various weak excuses for the shortage. The buyer's strategy is to come up just short enough on a relatively high price that the seller doesn't want to risk losing the sale. In example A, the seller said "Fine, I'll start pulling off parts until I figure we're down to $10,000!" The buyer miraculously found a way to come up with the extra $500. In example B, the buyer claimed that he would send the shortage when he got back to Chicago. My friend was still waiting by the mailbox when he died a few years later. A lesson I learned from 36 years in sales: when buying or selling, make sure that the other party knows that you're prepared to walk if the deal doesn't work for you.
Years ago before the internet I had a race car listed in a large city newspaper cl***ifieds. I answer the phone and I can hear narcotic music blaring in the back ground. A rather 'high' sounding gentelman asks if I would "trade that race car for a motorcycle?" Well the gears kicked in and I thought if the bike was worth more and easier to sell, maybe. I asked him what kind of bike it was and he replied... "what kind you want". I was laughing like crazy as I hung up.
Earlier this year, I had a bunch of cl***ic experiences with sellers. I found myself in the possession of a 440 / 727 combo and nothing to put it in, so I decided to start looking around for a roller. After dealing with a plethora of standard Mopar psychos (let's not get offended, we all know they can be loopy), I also started looking at other makes. These are off several years later than H.A.M.B. stuff, but you will all no doubt be amused... 69 Roadrunner clone - Decent car, and it was up on Evilbay. Had a wicked 440 already in it, so I asked him if he'd separate and sell it as a roller. Guy said yes, and we agreed on 5k. But, he needed time to do it, and then kept changing his mind. I think I offended him when I asked him why the car had 68 quarters on it. 70 Challenger - Car was from Tejas, but had been taken apart ten years ago by a bunch of kids, and I mean COMPLETELY apart. Regardless, he ***ured me every single nut and bolt was there. His price was a little too Barrett Jackson influenced, and this seemed like a dude that should have known better. After seeing numerous pics, he starts telling me about all the parts that aren't there...right. 69 Roadrunner - Had been up on Fleabay for MONTHS...every time the guy kept lowering the price, and threatening to s**** it if it didn't go this time. I made him a decent offer for a roller with homemade lower quarters, and he tells me he can get several thousand just for the roof. I wonder how that worked out. 69 AMX - More bondo than i have ever seen on a car EVER. Before I came over, he told me it was clean as a whistle. Tells me it is worth an easy 8 grand (had a gas can on top of the carb, no interior, no floors), but that if he doesn't sell it, he'll "fix it up" for his daughter to take to high school. Good luck with that. (2) 67 Mustang Coupes - Also on ebay, but located in the same town as me. I called the number the guy had on the ebay listing and ask him if I can come see the cars before I bid, since they were ten minutes away. He tells me that for his own protection, I would have to bid on them first. I asked why, and he got REAL weird. Calls ME back later and says he wants to sell them desperately, but I would have to win the auction before he could let me see them...for his own protection. I told him he needed to not call me again, for his own protection. And on and on and on...I looked at a Mustang with new floorboards welded over the old rusty ones, cars held together with bondo, one guy after another that thought his car was worth a million dollars thanks to Me*** and B.J... I did end up getting a 68 Roadrunner clone for a killer price. Fresh paint, not a spec of rust, just needed a motor and a trans. Had to go to Pennsylvania for it, but it was the smoothest transaction I have ever been a part of. Guys name is Vince Jacob, and he owns a restoration shop in Beaver Falls called Muscle Car Pit Stop. After dealing with dozens of idiots trying to get me to drag some carc*** out of their yard for absurd money, this guy comes along like a breath of fresh air. A real handshake / look you in the eye kind of guy. Didn't even count the money, and took me out for breakfast after I got the car loaded up. There really needs to be more like him in the hobby. Turns out HE had the car sold several times already, for much more money than I offered him, but was so tired of dealing with flakes and jerks, he told me flat out he'd rather get less from someone he would enjoy dealing with. Tommy
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