I've left deposits, and had stuff sold from under me. I've taken deposits and had to hand them back. I've called and been told it's still for sale, and driven out to see an empty space. I've learned. Buying: Bring all the money and get it outta there. Selling: Don't make promises, take deposits or the even full amount until someone is ready to complete the deal. That means full payment and taking posession, period. Now, buyer's etiquette should also include not calling at strange hours, showing up when promised, and respecting the seller and his property. Seller's etiquette should also include returning phone calls or emails within 12 hours (preferably less), having all the paperwork necessary ready, having the item ready to deliver, and a reasonably safe environment to conduct business. They should also be able to direct you to the location. Sure, it stinks if you haul the truck and trailer for hours with a big wad in your pocket just to see a dirty spot in the driveway, but in this day, trust is not what it once was. You can't store something for "just until the weekend", you can't trust that the other guy will complete his sale so he can pay you, you can't hold your item just because someone says they will be over in 2 hours. All of these can and have ended in failure. In short, cash and carry.
you buy and sell enough cars to know how it goes. sorry you got shafted and I don't blame you for being pissed, but you have enough experience to know better. Bring the cash and complete the deal. Drive or haul it away. Been there, done that. Sorry, but there are too many out there that have no respect for a man's word or handshake and it will only get worse as times get tougher
It sucks when a dude pulls crap like that.something similiar happened to my uncle in n.y. Bought a heap from a guy. Paid full price and the guy said he'd deliver it the next morning. The guy signs the title over and uncle bo leaves. Next day no delivery. Makes a call and the dude says he had to take the heap offa the trailer and help out a bud. Someone called the cops and they impounded the thing. It was sitting in a no parking zone in the street. Well, 4 days and about another $300 crispys and we ended up getting the car back. Now comes the karma part! Uncle bo gets a call to deliver a bunch of fuel oil to a house last minute on the evening before thanksgiving cause the guy is freezing his butt off. Guess who it was. Uncle bo showed up , smiled ,waved and drove off.
Most of the time when you buy an item (whatever the item is) there are other things that go with it, I'll usually grab some of these before leaving, if I'm going to take the whatever later. This way the seller feels more obligated to keep the deal intact. Most of my experience has been with people that honor there deals. Before going to look, you'll usually get a feel for how honest the seller is.
I have learned to push the deal through as fast as you can. I have lost deals in the past because i drag my feet, even by hours. I told myself if I see something I want to get it done ASAP.
This is an awesome story!! Shows a lot of character on your part also for not flipping out on him right away
The guy is a dick indeed! To anyone buying a car (or anything for that matter) always make out a receipt and have him sign it. The back of a business card is big enough. I once bought a piece of equipment and paid the guy with a check and handshake to pick it up the next day. As I was leaving another buyer came in, I told him the equipment was sold. He said he just wanted to look at it, my brother and I left. When I got home an hour later the guy backed out of the deal. I threatened to contact a lawyer, he said he would burn the check and fight it. I agreed to not fight it in court only if he personally returned the check the next day. He did return the check personally but I kept the $120 service manual he gave me when we agreed on the sale. IF you have witnesses you have a better chance in court but a signature is your best protection.
I started this thread a while back over some of the same shit. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=294792 No idea why it was moved to the questions and suggestions area.
The day I met slddnmatt,I went out to his house to look at a chopped,4dr Carson topped,Mercury,with plenty of cash in my pockets. It was sunday and a guy came and left him a deposit on saturday. I told him I would give him what he was asking,right then. He said the guy was gonna come bring him the money on monday,but if it fell through,I had first dibs on it. He's about 10 years younger than me and I was really surprised by his character and values,since it's rare for someone these days,of any age!!! That's why I consider Matt one of my good friends... I took out a loan to buy a 49 Ford truck once,without my wife knowing(yea,I know...stupid!). I picked up the check,took a shower,and called the guy to tell him I was on my way. He tells me " I sold it yesterday...". This was after I told him I would be there tomorrow with the cash! I had no money on me so we shook hands on the deal. That used to mean something! He took the For Sale signs out of the window after we shook hands! What a piece of shit! My word is gold! My dad always told me "A man is only as good as his word!". More dads should have shared that with their sons...
I can agree, the seller was a dick for cutting you out. But what about the biggest prick of them all that tried to best your deal. I have not and would not try to get a seller to take my money instead, to me thats as bad as selling it out from under you. Both of them are pricks, remember it took two people to make that deal. Jeff
That's just chicken shit................. Happen to a buddy of mind he put down a $500. on a very fair sale. Guy get a very larger offer sells it to the second guy. The seller refunded my friends $500. plus give him another $500. for his trouble. A $1000. dollars to the good but no car.... CRUISER
I love this story. That's the Karma I spoke of earlier in this thread. Treat people like shit and it will eventually come back to you triple-fold. I can visualize that knucklhead eating his turkey next day, shivering his ass off.
This is great advice! What ever you thow out into the universe, comes back to you the same way.... Joel
I have had more dealings on both sides of this issue then I care to admit. Had people come back with buyers remorse(or a pissed off wife) and want money back. Shook many peoples hands who were "good as their word" only to find out that meant they were worthless. Had one guy leave me a deposit and come back to steal the car when he thought nobody was home(claimed he paid $200 for the chopped 49 Ford). On the other hand I would look at it that it does suck but at least he called to tell you. Alot of folks now wouldn't have said a word and played dumb about the deposit. I drove 6 and a half hours south (with my trailer)to pick up a car that I had paid for at a local show the week prior. The guys employee comes out to tell me it was sold a few days ago. Took a bit of a "discussion" with the shops owner to have his wife go pull the money I had paid out of the bank and bring it to the shop. The good thing about going through this kinda crap is it makes you appreciate the people who are honest.
people who take deposits and sell to someone else are jerks so are people who want to sue someone over something where there is no real loss other than 1/2 hour of thier time. buying and selling cars is always a crapshoot. get used to it.
I took a deposit on a box chevy one time, and then the dude calls me and says "hey man, I found another car I want more, so I need to come by and get my deposit", to which I say "Deposits are non-refundable. I turned down another buyer because you left a deposit, so I'm keeping your money whether you buy it or not." Then he tries to scare me and tell me he's going to kick my ass, and I tell him "come on down and kick it little boy, I'll stay late and wait for you". And he hangs up, only to call back in 5 minutes apologizing and asking me to "be cool". Once again, sorry dude, I'm keeping the money. And then he says he's buying another car "so whatever, you're an asshole". So I sell the car to someone else, and sure enough, the kid shows up 2 weeks later out of nowhere to pay the balance and get the car, acting like none of the aforementioned events ever took place. Some people are just fucking idiots.
Another day and still no deposit returned...the vehicle in question though has popped up on craigslist today for $1200 more then I was supposed to pay for it...and I wanted it to drive.
had this 'style-of-event' happen to me! scooter was 300 miles away, i agreed to his price, he refused my deposit, agreed to my pickup the coming weekend. I'M-A-MAN-OF-MY-WORD HE SEZ! WE'VE GOT A DEAL! he called me next day, "i've been offered $500 more"---my response...YOU DO WHAT EVER YOUR CONSCIENCE WILL ALLOW YOU TO DO..."BUT REMEMBER EVERY WHORE HAS A PRICE, AND NOW I KNOW WHAT YOUR PRICE IS!...i got tired of his whining, about the $500 and hung up! THANK GOODNESS i did not drive 5 plus hours to PICK-UP the scooter, and the scooter was not there! I WOULD HAVE LOST MY RELIGION! thanx red ryder
My dad taught me the same thing....a MAN is only as good as his word. On a Saturday, I drove an hour and a half to look at a truck that was pretty decently priced. Took it for a ride with the guy and liked it enough to buy it. I brought the cash with me and we struck a deal. Then we went and made a receipt with the VIN #, price, etc. Made a copy so both of us had one. One problem...he had never registered the truck in his name. He says he'll do it on Monday and I can come back out and pick up the truck and the title then. I say not a chance, I'm taking it with me today or there's no deal. He just looked at me like WTF. I asked if he wanted to give me the money back and he says no and that he'll get the title transferred on Monday. Monday, no call.....Tuesday, no call.....Weds, I call him; sorry, haven't been able to get it done yet. I tell him he better get it done by Friday. Gives me a call Friday afternoon so we can meet and he gives me the title. Goes to show that my dad didn't raise a fool! Use your head for more than just looks and always cover your ass.
My neighbor had matching Ford trucks for sale. Neighbor number two's wife buys the trucks for her husband. Turns out husband number two doesn't really like matching Ford trucks. Wife Number two calls wife number one looking for the check back, meanwhile husband number two stops to see husband number one and says make sure you don't give my wife the money back she needs to learn a lesson. I see the trucks are for sale in yard number two. Brad
More than once. First time was with a Ebay P'up. The guy and me reach a agreed price and I went directly to the post office and next dayed him a deposit. Before I got back to the house (1/2 mile drive) he had called me and told me flat out he got a better offer. After a few choice words with him I decided to just let it go and accept my deposit back. I figured there must have been a reason and decided to let Karma take its course. The other time was a little more involved and heartbreaking. I ran across a '52 Chevy Panel 90% finished in the Truck Roundup Magazine located in Metarie , La. Now I love AD Panels and 'Burbs, got 4 of them, and this one seemed very nice. Talked with the lady and found out that her husband had passed and she didn't want to keep it. She gave me info on the builder and other people involved. We came to a agreed price and she also allowed me two weeks to pick it up as I told her I needed 14 days advance to get a decent price on a flight to La. A few days before my departure she called and said the vehicle was stolen. I made calls to all the contacts she provided and learned just what I expected, she found a few dollars more. Pissed me even more that I didn't negotiate futher after she made me her best price. I also got a lot of help from local police to verify that there was not report filed on the vehicle. Now this is the first time I ever thought of litigation but I wasn't about to let this just ride. I didn't want to gain a monetarily but only to try to in some way complete the deal. Well off to small claims court. You guess it. She lied on each and every issue. The judge saw right through the whole mess. I didn't get the vehicle, and I knew I couldn't throughn the court, but I had hopes that she might still have the vehicle or it was still obtainable. No such luck. The judge did award me my deposit back, my initial airline tickets, my airline tickets to the hearing, the hotel,and the cab fares. That has been over nine years ago and to this day I still wonder every time a see a Chevy Panel if that is the one that got away........
So now it's back up for sale???!!! Go pound on his door and get your dough back. I wouldn't want the car anyways after all this. If he handles his dealings like that, the car may have been a bigger turd than you thought underneath it all.
The way I look at it is...........when something like this happens? It's for a reason and I'm most likely better off without the car. There's something better down the road. Oh yeah, get your money back, or your money's worth.
If I say I'm going to buy something and don't have the money right away , I tell them if they get an offer to just sell it. My loss for not having cash in hand. If I have cash in hand, I expect the item.
Hey Jim , sorry to hear about the raw deal. I think I have to go with Joel on this one as KARMA is something that is very real. EVERYONE gets what is coming to them in the end. Who knows, the car might have turned out to be something other than what you really thought it was, maybe someone up there was looking out for your best interests!!! By the way, it wasnt that 56 Lincoln Premire for $2095 was it , cause that one looks sweet. Mike
tell him that you were buying it for a VERY important colombian collector and that he's putting yours, and his lives at stake by shirking on the deal. he wont believe you but it might be good for a larf... the only thing you can really do is go get your money back, and then let the insults fly, and try to get him to attack you physically. whats the purpose of the deposit anyway? id ask him that
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