Selling cheap used vehicles

[charby]

I've been trying to sell my '91 S-10 pickup for the past couple weeks for $800. Its 16 years old and runs well. I can't believe the questions people have asked about the rust, body, mechanicals and so forth on a 16 year old truck for $800. They ask the type of questions in deatil one would ask on something under 5 years of age.

I even advertised it as it would make someone a rusty beater truck, people think they are going to get some new looking vehicle for $800?

Well here is my ad on craigslist, am I misleading anyone?

http://desmoines.craigslist.org/car/293918729.html

-Charby

[Gewehr98]

Wow!

That thing has got some cancer, no two ways about it!

[charby]

Any S-10 of that body style has cancer here in Iowa because of all the salt in the winter months.

-C

[Brad Johnson]

Stupid knows no boundaries.

Your ad is fine.  Anyone who questions a cheap beater vehicle with such visually obvious issues is someone who doesn't have a clue to begin with.  Oddly enough, these are the people who will call anyway.  I'd be tempted to put a statement at the bottom of the listing that went something like:

"Look, folks, enough with the stupid phone calls and dumb questions about what shape the truck is in.  This is a rust-bucket, a beater, a cheap truck to slap around and use up.  Look at the pictures for cryin' out loud!  If you think this thing is somehow going to transform into a showroom-condition vehicle when you see it in real life, then just don't call, okay?"

Brad

[charby]

I like your disclaimer Brad!

[Gewehr98]

Really?

Any S-10 of that body style has cancer here in Iowa because of all the salt in the winter months.

You're saying that to a Wisconsin resident with his own S-10.  Mine's cancer free, knock on wood, but I rinse the road salt off once or twice a week religiously.  I don't want it to end up looking like yours.  I've seen (and purchased) better-looking $400 vehicles. If the exterior is so poorly maintained, why would a potential buyer want to go any further?

[Perd Hapley]

Check your PMs, man.

[theCZ]

I can TOTALLY relate!  I've put two ads in a free classified publication.  Here's what I said:
"'64 GMC 5000 Dumptruck.  $200"
"'88 Dodge 150 6cyl 2wd.  $400"

I honestly wonder about people calling up and expecting a real treasure for $200.  Some people were suprised to hear the hydralic system leaks like crazy and it never really ran that great.  Some guy came over this weekend and spent an hour getting it running and such and then said he couldn't buy it because he said there's a bad rod.  I believe him, it's a well used truck.  He drove 3 hours round trip and I even offered to sell it to him for $100, but he was finished.  The Dodge is beat up, but was a ranch truck that never went on the highway and was maintained well, there isn't much interest though. 

[The Rabbi]

You got a rebuilt engine and transmission in that thing? 

I've put guns on gun broker with painstaking descriptions and extensive photos.  And I still get emails asking about its condition.

[Monkeyleg]

For $800, why not park it on a major thoroughfare with a sign?

I put my old beater Ford pickup out on the street, and it sold in 45 minutes. I've done that many times.

[Gewehr98]

I put my old beater Ford pickup out on the street, and it sold in 45 minutes. I've done that many times.

Ok, I'll bite.  How many times can one sell the same Ford pickup, at the rate of 45 minutes per sale?

"I once shot an elephant in my pajamas. How the elephant got into my pajamas I'll never know..."

[Perd Hapley]

When I bought my (now defunct) truck back in 2, we tried to sell my 87 Chevy Celebrity.  I had just driven back from Texas, a trip it had made several times, so it could run all day long (the Iron Duke).  But the paint had delaminated and flaked off, and the windshield was cracked.  Despite an asking price of $200, everyone wanted to know if we'd take off a hundred for the windshield.  We already did that, you idiots! 

Eventually, my dad loaned $200 dollars to one of my uncles, so he could buy it.  In other words, we gave it away. 


Lesson learned:  We should have listed it at $1000 and let someone talk us down to $600.

[Monkeyleg]

Gewehr98:

[Bogie]

Describe it as "This is a great truck to haul manure in, and you won't feel bad if you don't immediately wash it. If it gets scratched in a parking lot, you probably won't notice. In fact, you'll always have plenty of room around it, as the other drivers will generally be scared that it might be contagious."
 
If it doesn't sell soon, spray-bomb it camoflage (the stuff they sell at Home Depot works great!), and price it at $1000.
 

[charby]

Bogie is funny.. Yeah $30 in paint could fetch me another $300 bucks.

-C

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Your asking price is way too low.  If the listed market value is $1650 and you're only asking $800, people worry that there is something is seriously wrong with the truck that you're not telling them.  Why else would you discount it so heavily? 

State that the list value is $1650 and that you're knocking off $250 on account of the rust, so your asking price is $1400.  Allow buyers to dicker you down a few hundred dollars and they'll be happy to pay you $1200 or $1000 for your $800 truck.

[James Odom]

I agree w/ HTG, nobody wants an $800 truck for $800, but everybody wants a $1400 truck for $1000.  Especially if you camo it...
RT

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

Hope you sell it, CC.

Used car salesmen will sell even clunkers if they're "real clean!" (big deal, so run it through the car wash and have detailed.  Why does THAT matter when I'm buying a car?) or the paint looks good.

The eye is hard to overcome.  Some paint might help ya.  Before doing that though, I'd park it in a high traffic area for a week and see what happens.  Print out the KBB report and tape it in the window, advertise the replaced engine/tranny, and put "Great work truck" and you'll probably get a grand out of it.

Regards,
BD/Fig

[Parker Dean]

I must be weird because I won't even call on a vehicle that has a ridiculously high price on a heap of junk. If the price is close, then I figure the owner is reasonable and open to negotiation.

Plus I won't even ask much beyond where is it, when can we get together, and do you have a clear title? Most everything else I expect to see/hear/feel for myself.

[armchair warrior]

Man,around here some "imported labor" type would scoop
that up and throw a lawnmower in the back.Instant landscaper!
Here in California theres no such thing as a cheap car/truck.
They get snapped up like crazy.

[charby]

gotta love scammers.. This is my latest email received.

Hello ,
I realy appreciate your response to my earlier mail.like i said i will like to buy this item so pls do withdraw the advert from Craigslist. I will also like you to know that i will be paying via check due to the distance as i am located in Florida.I will need you to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the check.
 
1.Your full name
2.Your mailing address be it residential or postal address
3.Your phonenumber.
 
**I will like you to know that you will not be responsible for shipping i will have my mover come over as soon as you have cashed the check**
 
Have a nice day.

[charby]

Man,around here some "imported labor" type would scoop
that up and throw a lawnmower in the back.Instant landscaper!
Here in California theres no such thing as a cheap car/truck.
They get snapped up like crazy.

We have a ton of those guys too, but they all seem to drive nicer vehicles than I do.

-C

[charby]

Sold it finally only took 2 months!  I sold it to a nice guy who paid in cash and is going to use for lawncare work this summer.

-Charby

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

How much did you get for it?

[charby]

$650

I didn't care I just wanted it gone before I had to pay registration and more insurance

-C