Seems like all I get is attitude, if I had a dollar for every guy I'd told to pound sand I wouldn't have to sell anything ever again. On the other hand, I took payments from a guy on SSI and he paid off the car, it took about six months, but I got my price for a car that a few months earlier some asshole told me was junk and would never sell because ... either he tried to lowball me or he wanted to buy parts off it, I forget which, but either way I told him to stuff it.
the guy i bought my "34 pickup from had refused to sell to buyers that said they were going to hot rod it or asked him to sell it with out the flathead, i bought it because it still had the flathead in it, the ad line (great for parades) was so true, it would not go over 30 mph (bad rearend) with out screaming. rich
I throw people out of my garage on a regular basis. $200 firm means i might take $190. DONT put a hundred in my hand and say its all you got, Sorry you wasted the gas to get here, BYE! And why is it so hard to understand the concept of "10% non refundable deposit holds the car/part for 48 hours"?
LOL...there's so many variants of that going around! I know a guy who is sitting on a treasure trove of parts...not all are worth a lot, but they are very good quality basic pieces at least. Some are very rare and worth a buttload. However, since the owner has the idea that their 78 year old homebound father may *eventually* get to work on it, there it sits...rusting away. I've had promises of being able to buy it, but never any action.....it breaks my heart so much to look at it that I don't even go over there any more. Cash in the face gets me the palm.
I am like you, I price stuff without adding in a cushion for negotiation. But you have to understand, most people do that, and most buyers know it. Even when a price is firm, sellers often end up taking less than they wanted to get. That being the case you shouldn't be surprised or upset when someone makes a lower offer. No one likes having their time wasted, or having someone try to manipulate them, but people are going to make offers, and you are free to accept or reject them. Just take a deep breath and remind yourself that in the big picture it's no big deal.
San Diego and calling yourself a slumlord, you didn't happen to be in Sturgis a few years back waiting out a rainstorm at the full throttle saloon? In a kilt?
I've once been the "preferred" buyer even though I was acting as an agent for my older brother! OT '67 Mustang. I got it a bit lower than asking ( less by what was approximate taxes I'd have to pay on it) over a young kid that wanted to DUB it up. He made the mistake of telling his plans whereas I made it quite clear to the owner ( a young lady) just how much I knew about Mustangs and that it was very cherry coupe from Georgia. It still even had grease pencil marks from the factory on the front frame.
had a kid one time....kept coming by to look at a 50's project....kept slaming the not so tight doors....told him more than once - STOP - the glass is all good....the day he came with the money....and slammed the door again....I said NO....
I recently sold a truck I had bought 8 years ago and totally redid and learned a lot on, I completely stripped and did all the work on it inside and out, new everything. It was the classic "I am keeping this forever so money isn't a problem" and my first frame off restoration. Well, after moving several times and just totally losing interest in it I decided to cut my losses. I was selective on who I was going to sell it to, because some people are retarded. One guy wanted to buy it for something for his wife to drive in the winter. (It was a 450 HP 2WD Ford F-100. Um, OK!) One was a kid who was clueless but had the bug and wanted it bad. I explained that I was selling it for a very reasonable price and would not budge. His dad showed no interest in the truck and knew it was too much for him. Finally I had a guy and his son come and look at it. He had explained that he wanted it for the body to put on a 4WD chassis, and would use the engine and title it as it was. I hated to see it taken apart as it needed very little to take to the track. His son was very enthusiastic and he showed me a photo album of all of his previous projects back in the early 1980s. I thought it would be cool to see my truck on the road in 4WD form, and he had made a very reasonable offer. I can't wait to see it on the road. On the other hand I found my first car (1965 TBird) on a Flickr website. I sold it 10 years ago and still looks great!
I still regret selling my 1st car to a girl friends sister. A 70 Chevell Malibu. I just had a bad feeling about it and I was right. A week later she rear ended a guy and totaled it. UGGG !! Still bugs me and this was back in the mid 80s.
Letting emotion dictate actions can cause a person to sell too cheap, not sell when you should, pay too much, land you in jail, or do any number of things you may regret later. Like I said in post #5 of this discussion, "Sometimes it's hard to separate emotion from business. On the other hand, if you can't stand to see someone trash you stuff you sold it too cheap". No matter how cool it is, when it's all said in done it's just machinery. Anything more than that is coming from you, not the car.
I've bought and sold a bunch of cars over the years. The biggest problem I have is that I find a car that I have to have and wind up paying more then I should have. No matter how bad I wanted it originally I eventually get tired of it, sell it and move on in a different direction. I put my heart and soul in some of these cars and really loved some of them but once they are sold I could care less what someone does to them. I usually hope I never see them again. At this years NSRA Nats I ran across a 40 Willys P/U I sold about 15 years ago for sale at twice the price I got for it. Inflation?. One bad experience was a 67 GTO I sold to my brother and watched it slowly deteriorate as he abused it.
I had a wild hair and sold my flathead..and regret it to this day. I got a reasonable price for it..but when the guy came over to haul it away, he commenced to look my basement over to see what else he could throw in the back of his truck...I was pissed. I should have denied that guy.
YES! you have the right. if it is important to you,thats what matters. i had a 53 chevy that was close to becoming a really awesome show car. i told the guy i didnt want to sell it if he just wanted a rat rod,this was'nt the car, some finesse,paint and interior and he could have tripled the value. i saw it on craigslist all busted up and in unsealed primer and he wanted 4,000.00 more than i sold it for. it's heartbreaking. do they just want the latest fad in their life,or are they going to take it to the next level,or just enjoy as is. its a hard thing, but that guy will never know what its like to have someone practically give you a really rare or awesome car because they know it will be in loving hands.
Lots of good aanswers above. But, I don't see that anyone has mentioned the "deposit" thing. THe worst thing you can do is accept a deposit. From that point on you cannot sell the car to anyone else. The only answer is to state in a written agreement that he deposit is only valid for 30 days (or whatever). After that, the deposit is released and becomes yours. This means you keep the depoist and you are free to sell to someone else. Give no extensions. Whatever the time period may be is firm. Oh, yeah, you get one copy of the agreement and he gets one copy. Also helps to have a witness overhear the entire chat about the entire sale.
Yes I have a few times . One guy wanted to put a BBC into my 54 Olds, I said go buy a damn chevy if you want one . Story TO back up our instincts, sold my clean 76 grand prix to a kid , ( refused to sell them my 78 grand am too) , well 2 weeks later wrecked the whole front end. botched it back together, candy orange and 22" wires on what was a clean original butter nut yellow w white top /interior car : ( . I think they wrecked it again
Your car is an extension of yourself...send it to a good home. Besides, you never know, at some point the car might come back to ya.
O/T, but years ago when I got my 1961 Wheel Horse Lawn Tractor at a show. I wanted it and the price was $300, but I could have it for $250. And as soon as someguy with the wheel horse club found out about it and the seller told him $1200 because he wanted me to have it. It's restored, and now taking it to a show this weekend. Maybe becasue I was only 9 and he liked me? I don't know.
I had A long loved favorite 1967 Nova Wagon I put a 350 in, she was all original except for the 350 I planted in her. I got married and needed cash. Long story short I made the mistake of selling it to a crazy kid for the asking price and a week later he wrapped her into a telephone pole. The kid was ok but I regret selling the grocery getter ever sence. One day I'll get one like her back and never let her go! Still...getting married was worth it, I believe in reinCARnation for old cars!!! I will find another to save.
Yep..I used to sell and build houses..if they came in complaining and telling me what they were going to do if I did this or that..I just told them I didn't think I could satisfy them..they would usually get mad and confirm my thoughts...
I was denied.Early 60"s & it was a 1932 ford pickup with 1940 ford pickup rear fenders,57 Cad wheel disks,dummy spots and a modified flathead,sat high. I made the mistake of saying i was going to lower it and chop the top.End of deal another lesson learned.Shut up until it is yours. I doubt I could have made it look any worse than it was.
Well my buddy had just gotten his 50 Buick on the road and someone wanted to buy it and he said no then the Guy kept goin on about name your price I can afford it blah blah blah and my buddy eventually said dude YOU do not have enough money to buy this car and you never will I'd rather give the car to someone else
I have had someone that I know very well wanting to buy my 53 Chevy sedan I dont actively have it up for sale but he knows that everythings for sale, if the stars line up right. I think I have been holding him off, knowing he doesnt have the place to keep it, and work on it, and money to maintain it, he would lose interest and car would go to shit. guess time or money may show, I aint holdin my breath
Ive never denied selling a car, but i really wish i did. I saw my chrysler 400 powered '28 model A 5 window at a car show a month later, the guy had one of those plexiglass signs saying how HE built it. He parotted off what i said and even got some wrong. Said it was a 440 engine and "torkflite"....
I've never denied a buyer. There must be something wrong with me. As far as I'm concerned, as soon as the vehicle is paid for and signed over, I let the buyer do with it whatever he/she chooses. They could torch it for all I care. They paid for it, it's theirs to do whatever they choose. I don't get attached to material things.
had a 60 stude lark 8 2 door about a year ago fresh out of the field. It was a project and a half but all there and in pretty good shape. had a guy come up to look at it and said he would take it so that made me happy but then we started talking about what he was going to do with it his reply was it will be going onto a lifted 4x4 bronco frame and if it doesnt fit then it will be this years demo car. at that moment I was out. lucky me a guy bought it about 2 weeks later and keeps me up to date about once a month on the progress. Im happy she is saved.
Yup, I sold my 58' Edsel to some yokal in Kentucky through E-Bay. After the deal was done he told me is stink bugging the thing, putting big rims on it and giving it to his wife. I just rolled my eyes. I e mailed him a few months later to find out the car doesn't run anymore and it's is siting outside rotting away cuz he doesn't have any intentions on figuring out the problem. Thanx buddy.
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