I was so pumped. I had all but given up on finding a model A Coupe and moved on to doing an A truck project instead when I see an ad in the local paper. Of all places! "1931 Ford Coupe disassembled". This car was stripped down to repaint in 1967 and left in the garage ever since. The guy was asking a very reasonable amount. He not only has this car but another at another location that he is giving to his son. Next door in the barn he shows me the parts are all there for the coupe AND ABOUT 10 PERFECT VINTAGE HARLEYS!! I could have died. The old guy is sitting on a ton of quality rides. So I offer him a couple of hundred more than he is asking for the car and he says he wants to wait until the end of the week I wait until the end of the week and he says to come by on Friday with about 12 other guys who have made offers. I show up..... nobody there but me. ). Not so fast. Now he says the price is about 50% more and he wants to wait until the following week AND is having second thoughts about selling at all. He starts see $$$$$ and thinks he's gonna win the lottery. Don't get me wrong this car is clean, straight and worth a couple of bucks BUT this guy is pissing every body off. NOT COOL and I have about given up on the whole thing. I am going back next week cause he says that maybe NOW he'd sell the other A for a fair price because its a lot rougher. This guy is not going to sell any of it!! It sucks that every body is hot on model A's now. What's left for the average guy to build but rotted steel and field cars!!
damn he is teasing you ..go there one more time tell him you got cash if he says he wants to wait another week offer him a couple bucks less ...than leave hell always wish he took the 1st offer and let it rot there ..
He see's dollar signs because of all the attention it's been getting. Like someone said before, tons out there waiting to be found. You tried. Yay post #500 for me!
Craigslist. do yourself a favor don't go back wait for him to call. I am sure he got some calls from people telling him it is gold. the funny part will be when no one actually shows up and the smoke clears. he will still be sitting on that car. happens more then I care to say.
Had that happen to me once. Drove cross town money in hand, guy was ready to sell it then some joker calls him and tells him he'll pay him more than I was ( his asking price BTW) and wants to start a bidding war right there. Told him to forget it and I left. Funning thing is I still had the keys for the car in my hand ( shows you how close it was to being mine) So I tossed them out the window on the way home. The guy calls me next day looking for them asking me if I had them....haha, hard fucking cheese buddy!
Check your 'tude, dude. This is how it is. I can't tell you how many people I've met like that in my lifetime, starting from my teen years. It ain't about "fair" or "right", its about some old guy who either wants to yank your chain, or is genuinely indecisive. He can only yank your chain if you let it bother you...
Some people's integrity is only worth a few $$$. Screw him, find another coupe, they are not that rare. Check this guy out, he always seems to come up with cool "A" stuff plus he is a member on here too. He has 4 coupe's listed on the site right now. http://rufusranch.com/
You want it, he's got it, won't cost you anything to play along,If he wants a little more for it you might just want to pay it. It won't matter in a couple years when your driving it with a big smile on your face. Dave
yea....screw that...especially when you show up and offer more than he was asking. Apparently he is running his own private e-bay
Honestly I wouldn't even try to advertise an A coupe local, I'd put it on eBay in the first place. In fact, the last decent one I had, an AA truck with the factory steel top, I'd advertised around local and got no responses at all. I spent a couple days swapping it to an A frame and added a bed and it sold in about a month - via eBay, it still got no answers on Craigslist. But a guy had a decent one at Wampsville a couple years ago for around $3000 and it sold that day - they do turn up, that same guy goes to most of the swaps here with buildable Model A projects all the time, coupes, roadsters, trucks. Hell, a guy showed up with a decent chopped '32 coupe body at Long Branch a few years ago. I'd say screw this guy, leave him a card with your number and what you're willing to pay and forget it. Either he'll piss off everyone and end up having to call you, or someone else will get it, but that will be that. I still have to cob my "tub" together so I can sell that next, but with a little luck maybe the end of the summer I can get a couple more in.
i bought a 50 ford from a 90 year old codger,he sold it to me with just a bill of sale,he said he couldnt find the title.in illinois i had a hell of a time getting a title but finally did.so i dump a couple of grand and a years worth of labor in it.one day i get a phone call from the old fart and he says i found the title and i want another thousand dollars for it.i said go piss off i already got a title and then he says legally he was still the owner since he had the title.i told him do whatever you want but im not giving you any more money,so he called the police and said i stole his car,luckily i got a bonded title and kept the receipt.turns out the old guy was a multi millionaire and screwed with people as a hobby he just screwed with the wrong guy this time.he had about thirty cars in his pole barn and wonder how many people he did it to.he still screws with me about once a year and i just tell him to call the police and if he doesnt im going to call them on him for harrassing me.
Well, when 50 tire-kickers come and go, he'll give you a call. By then you may have found a better car. As for A's being desired, I think that's true, but there are still deals. These cars are plentiful. In the past month, I've seen three 30/31 sedan bodies for less than 2k that are all pretty decent. As well, I just came across a RUNNING stock rolling A chassis for $900 that I had the first shot at (unfortunately I don't have time to get it with family in town or I'd be making room for it) but I'm betting it'll be sold by mid week. If I didn't have a storage space filled with parts and bodies, I'd be snagging these up. When you find a deal, it's better than stock, in my opinion.
It would be great if all the potential buyers ,when all the BS is done would stick it in his F@#&^*> A$$ ,and no one take it .maybe the chump will relist with a real price then make a deal like a honest man would.If not we could ALLWAYS tie him to the bumper and DRAG him HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA !!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for all the consolations. Still would've like the car. I'll keep you posted if the Ahole calls me back trying to sell.
^^ This. You know you gotta kiss a lot of frogs, go on dry runs, wild goose chases- whatever you want to call it. I just did a 500+ mile dry run on an o.t. Trans Am with cash in hand and a trailer in tow. Asked all the right questions before I went, got a couple pics, but the car was just misrepresented- whaddya do? Happens a lot, but you don't know if you don't go look. Nobody likes being jerked around, but obviously you like and want the car. Have some patience with the old guy, you never know- might pay off in the end. I've waited out some of my finds for years before closing a deal. Glad I did, too. Persistence and patience, Hart!
I too saw this ad. The price is definately RIGHT ! ! ! I'm sure that the ol' Boy has gotten a bunch of calls. I shoulda taken the cash right over and bought it A.S.A.P. when the ad came out. I really don't need another car, but a day late was stupid for waiting. VR&C.
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