sold a car on craigs list

[JC 97]

So I sold a car I had saved for my daughter. She did not want it because it was a 5spd. I listed it on craigs list. A buyer was interested, came and test drove it, hooked up his phone with torque app, and liked the car. I think it is sold, not quite. He wants to come back and see a cold start. The car is listed for $1700. Not a whole lot of money. Whatever. We set-up a time for the cold start. He comes back with tools,another code reader and a list of 10 things to check. He says "Can I pull a spark plug?" Whatever. He proceeds to pull all 4 in my driveway. At this point no money has changed hands and I am getting agitated. I said " you know, you usually do that in your in own driveway after you bought it" His wife is getting nervous but he proceeds to check things off his list and do a car fax in the driveway on a $1700 car. Nothing was wrong with the car, all checked good. Money changed hands and off they went. Anyway has anyone ever ran into this or done this before you bought a car?

I understand checking things over and bringing a code reader, but 2 visits and a list,tools and car fax in the owners driveway? before you buy it? Is this just what you run into on craigs list?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Don't take it personal. Maybe he has been ripped off before.

Sent from my XT1032

 

[adsm08]

He is an anal nutbag. Expect him to haunt you.

Frankly, when he went for a second plug after asking to pull one I would have put a stop to it right there and said no sale.

 

[RonD]

Always write sold AS IS on the bill of sale and keep a copy the buyer signed.

Yes, he seems to have been a little more thorough than most, but $1,700 has a different meaning/value for everyone.
"It is only $1,700"
"$1,700, well that's alot"

But this is exactly what makes life so interesting, glad I got a ticket to watch
And thanks for the story

 

[BLOODBANE]

Im trying to sell my Explorer right now, and if I ever get someone that is interested enough to buy it (lots of lowballers), I have a paper typed up with a list of things that I know are wrong with it (and I tell them what I know) and that it is a 20 yr old vehicle. It is stated that I cannot be held responsible for any problems that may come up. I will have the buyer sign this and give them a copy with the title. To many horror stories out there to just throw caution to the wind.

 

[JC 97]

Always write sold AS IS on the bill of sale and keep a copy the buyer signed.

Yes, he seems to have been a little more thorough than most, but $1,700 has a different meaning/value for everyone.
"It is only $1,700"
"$1,700, well that's alot"

But this is exactly what makes life so interesting, glad I got a ticket to watch
And thanks for the story

His summer car is a trans am. He was buying this for a winter beater. I don't think the price was to much of a concern.

 

[JC 97]

He is an anal nutbag. Expect him to haunt you.

Frankly, when he went for a second plug after asking to pull one I would have put a stop to it right there and said no sale.

My brother-in-law said the same thing. I sure hope he doesn't haunt me.

 

[naford]

What would have happened if he had broken one of the sparkplugs when he was pulling them out? Would he have bought the car or walked away? I guess you could have put in that he would buy the car if he damaged it.

On a side note. I know somebody that was helping buy a car for a friend. He hooked up a computer to read the OBDII and found out the car hadn't gone through a run cycle. Found out the battery had just been replaced. They took an extended test drive to complete a drive cycle. I don't know if the cheaper readers will show you if the car has been through a drive cycle?

 

[adsm08]

All readers will show you that, if you know what you are looking at. P1000 will be set if a drive cycle hasn't been completed.

 

[Doofy]

Sounds like a saavy buyer to me. Anal, yes. Either he has been screwed over in the past or his routine usually prevents the screwing. If you got the asking price that is what you wanted and he got what he wanted. Sounds like a Win/Win!

 

[Mark_88]

Is there a "cooling off" period for private sales? If so, and your bill of sale was dated, he's SOL once that is passed...

Selling as is is a good idea...it stands up in court in Canada anyways...I don't think the guy was being too cautious...who hasn't bought a vehicle they found out had something wrong with it???

I sure have...

 

[adsm08]

Mark, I think the better question here is "Who hasn't bought a used car in a private party sale and didn't expect there to be problems?"

 

[RonD]

Heck, I've bought new cars/trucks and had problems.

Warranty takes financial aspect away but not the inconvenience of it, and you really don't expect it with new,.............with your first one.
By the second or third you realize that people designed and built these vehicles, so.............I goof up and so do they, lol.

With used you expect it, but no reason not to check out the major parts

 

[Mark_88]

Mark, I think the better question here is "Who hasn't bought a used car in a private party sale and didn't expect there to be problems?"

Good point...there is always (usually) something...but I've had pretty good fortune with most...and the more you check the less likely you will be caught by surprise.

Heck, I've bought new cars/trucks and had problems.

Warranty takes financial aspect away but not the inconvenience of it, and you really don't expect it with new,.............with your first one.
By the second or third you realize that people designed and built these vehicles, so.............I goof up and so do they, lol.

With used you expect it, but no reason not to check out the major parts

Yes, I've had problems with some right off the bat. When I bought my Tempo it went through 5 fuel pumps in 14 years and most of those were under the first five years...which was nice because I bought the extended 5 year unlimited Kms...

Other than that the front end shook itself to death twice...all covered by the warranty.

Private sales are the ones you really need to take a good look at because there is little you can do once you drive it away...there is no cooling off period in Canada on a private sale...and even dealerships are not obligated to do anything for you once it's off their property...