Buying car, how do i do this without being a pest?

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

06/28/2007 10:41:59 PM · #1

Ok ill explain a little more. Theres a car im buying, i really like it. The guy asked for 4 days to line up a replacement car for himself (should have done this before but w/e), that was on saturday. Day 4 was wednesday (yesterday). I already emailed him last night and he said hes looking at something today, but today i got no phone call. Now, im wondering, is it a bad idea to ask him again or would that make me seem like a pest? Should i wait one more day to contact him again? Its the kinda car id be willing to wait along time for, but i really dont want to lol :P

sabphoto

Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+

06/28/2007 11:34:29 PM · #2

tell him you understand his situation but you really need the car (not sure if you do or not) and tell him you feel like the price should go down with every so many miles more he adds to it. If you were the only one offering on the car you may just set a deadline and say, "you know what, after this day count me out".

personnally it's gonna be hard not to be a pest because it all depends on what HE considers one. you may have already been one to him when you emailed last night, and again you may never bother him at all. Hard to say really.

good luck with it.

swankFoto

Fujifilm X-E1

06/29/2007 12:16:20 AM · #3

what the hell is he offering it for sale if it's not for sale?
if he wants to sell it he will.
pest him all you want until your patience runs out.
finding a buyer isn't the easiest thing to do and he shouldn't push his luck with you.

when/if he finally says he's ready to sell offer him 10% less for the hassle.
since he finally found his new car he'd be in a bind to risk not selling the one you want and you may save more.

sounds like this guy sux

trevytrev

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

06/29/2007 12:27:42 AM · #4

Call him and tell him that you have another car that you found and that you would rather have his but if you can't buy it soon you will have to take the other. Tell him your in a crucnh and you really need the wheels now and that's why you need to make a dicision, if he continues to beat around the bush then he probably is bullshitting. Good luck!

Creature

Nikon D70s

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

06/29/2007 09:03:26 AM · #5

yeah, keep in mind you're the one doing him a favor by buying the car! The way I see it, he's the one being the pest for dragging you along.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

06/29/2007 01:59:01 PM · #6

Hmm good points, the thing is its a fairly "rare" car around here, the condition its in and the price is almost unheard of for this car so i dont think ill offer less as its already a steal lol. His situation is that he is a racecar driver and just bought a dragcar and is selling this car to me to afford a tow vehicle to haul around the dragcar. Im gunna call him this afternoon if i dont hear from him.

NVPhoto

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

06/29/2007 02:42:04 PM · #7

I sell cars as a hobby, I get very good cars for a lot less than most can get them. I will drive it for maybe a month and sell it. In my experience, I have sold around 25 cars. USED car sales are one of the most misunderstood acts of commerce. People treat it like its a major life changing purchase. Not the case, Ive had days where I have sold and bought 2 cars. thats 2 cars purchased adn 2 cars sold all in 24 hours. By the way I have a real 40 hr a week job and I still do this in my free time.

First thing is pester him all you want. A seller doesn't care if you keep calling trying to give them money. He will give you the car when he is ready, but until then he at least knows your still interested.

If you already agreed on a price thats the price. If you think you can use this as leverage your crazy. Unless he puts thousands of miles and it takes months you have no leverage.

You are not doing him any favors by buying that car. When I deal w/ my car people, we have a saying. It is, "there is an ass for every seat." NOt that profound, but there is a person willing to buy any car out there. If its not you it will be someone else. This theory is why I don't negociate with buyers, if they want it for the price I quote they can have it. There is no need ot negociate becuase I can just wait a day and get another call from another person who wants it. I have never been unable to sell a car, ever.

If he put the car up for sale he probably isn't bullshitting he is just having trouble finding another that he wants/can afford.

If I was you I would keep this guy on the line and keep looking. I can't imagine this is a one of a kind deal. Look around and you probably can find the same car for the same price.

Telling him you have another car your interested when you don't isn't getting you anything. He will just say OK and now if you call him back because you don't have another car lined up you just lost all negociating power because he knows you have nothing else.

Also, when checking book values to begin your pricing, Kelly Blue Book is for all intents and purposes absolute crap. there is not a single redeeming quality to that price guide/website. Here is why. KBB bases its prices off AUCTION sales. Who goes to aucions? Dealers. All KBB does is lower the price the public feels is fair market value. NADA on the other hand is based on dealer sales. Who buys at dealerships? Everyone. NADA is what the banks use to determine loan amounts, what dealers use to determine trade in value. NADA is what the industry uses. KBB is not a reasonable price.

I have had arguments with people over this when they want to buy my cars. It usually goes like this.
Me: $3500 is what it books for.
Them: KBB says $3000.
Me: NADA says $4200, im giving you a deal.
Them: I don't use NADA I use KBB.
Me: (long pause to calm myself) I own the car and if you don't want to meet my price I don't think this will work out.

Any other specific questions about car sales you can ask and Ill answer. that was a long winded response, sorry I get carried away sometimes.

DrAchoo

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

06/29/2007 02:59:22 PM · #8

If it's a hard to find car at a steal of a price, well, you are at his mercy. He has the power because there aren't alternatives. If you want it, wait for it.

06/29/2007 03:07:23 PM · #9

Originally posted by Jmnuggy:

I agree with everything you said :P I just sent the guy an email asking whats up and 5 min later i got a phone call from him, gunna get it later tonight or early tomorrow. He agreed to meet closer to me so my Mechanic friend can give it a look see. Ill post pictures when i get it ;)

BTW the car is an 87 Pontiac Fiero GT in mint condition. 135k km's on the odo, records going back to 87, original owner, no claims over $500 (3 total). Asking $3500 CAD, seen on ebay for as much as $8000 in similar condition. Just getting my friend the mechanic/auto body guy to give it a look over to make sure its legit, but all seems good. Will know better tomorrow, but this has been my dream car for like 6 years lol :P (PS if you dont like this car, dont say anything lol, its not for everyone :P )

Message edited by author 2007-06-29 15:30:55.

NVPhoto

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

06/29/2007 03:20:49 PM · #10

what is it?
Last piece of advice... When a mechanic looks it over, this is your only true bit of leverage to get the cost down. I have walked away from buyers at this point because they tried to do exactly what Im going to tell you.

No matter what the car is unless its fresh off the assembly line floor and never driven a mile, a mechanic is going to find something they can fix. They are going to say stuff like, "youre going to need new....sometime soon." No shit. They can say that about every car and still be right. Use any minor thing to get the price down. New brake pads, ask for a couple hundred off, fluids changed few bucks more etc...

Take these minor fixes as bargaining power. Don't take them as signs to not buy the car because every car needs maintenece. Outside of the truly disasterous problems of course.

I have literally walked from a sale because of a mechanic. Some elderly woman brought me to "her Mechanic" and they tried to screw me and her over so I walked. The mechanic nit picked the entire car. Told her it needed $500 worth of work that I should take off the purchase price. The things that needed work were and I quote the mechanic. "eventually your going to want to change the brakes and flush all the fluids. You will need a new serpentine belt in about 6 months."

What he wanted was for me to sell the car for $500 less and have her dump that $500 into work at his shop. I walked. I actually left this person at the shop because she got a ride and was planning on buying my car. Tough break for her. I sold the car later that day to the first person who called me for more than I was selling it to the other lady. Again, "ass for every seat."

Good luck, hopefull you will get it soon.