Hot Rods People not showing up.

Hate to say...... Today isn't 45 years ago....... Neither was 30...... When I was younger, and didn't know any better, i'de take a man's word......
Today- You call on your way, you call when your in town, then we'll meet up. Been this way with me for years....
This Kid doesn't play that way anymore...... Too many flakes!

 

Went to buy a transmission a few years back that was about 60 miles from me. Guy gave me his number, said call when I get to the state line, so I did, no answer. Kept going, kept calling, never got an answer. Wife and I enjoyed a nice lunch, called once more, still no answer, we went home. Never knew what happened to him, he kept it listed a month longer.

Sold a 26-27 T sedan for $100 to a guy, he paid me and said he’d be back to get it. It was a rusty body and frame with a locked up running gear, but too much work for my skills at the time. A year goes by, never seen or heard from him again. Sold it to another guy, $100 again, same deal, sat on it another year and never seen or heard from him again. Sold it the third time for $200, this time the guy loaded it up right then.

Felt a little bad the first time, second time was more aggravated than anything else, didn’t figure I was getting anything for storing it. Third guy made up for it, made twice what I had already made and it left the same day.

 

I've had it go in the opposite direction. Willys parts have always been very hard to buy. I see an ad in the club newsletter and I call. Mind you this is probably 15 or so years ago. Complete '34 original steel front end. Agree on the price. I tell him he's a 7 1/2- 8 hour drive so I'm going to bed shortly and I'll see him in the morning. I also did not have a cell phone at the time. I couldn't sleep anyway so I got up and hit the road even earlier. I'm in his driveway by 8 am truck is running so it must have woke him up. He comes out and says too bad you don't have a cell phone because someone came the night before after we hung up and he sold it to them. Needless to say I was really pissed off. He could have called me and woke me up before I drove from Illinois to the Pennsylvania border the night before at the very least.

 

Back when I lived in the country, free storage wasn't a big deal, but I learned the storage had to have a time limit on it, usually 30 days max, and they would get one call from me the week before the time limit was up. Not responsible for the vehicles condition during that free storage, you bought it the day you paid for it, I was just letting you leave it here for 30 days. After the 30 days, I would sell it to someone else. Now that I live in town, its cash and carry.

There is a Walgreens a couple blocks from my house, its very easy to find, and has easy access, and an ATM machine. We will set a time to meet up, you call me when you get into the parking lot. I want to know which street your facing, and what your driving. I'll be there in less then 5 minutes, and will tell you what vehicle I'll be driving. Works for both buying and selling small things.

As for selling, the price is negotiable, depending on your attitude, after you see and can touch the item, but don't even consider near 1/2 the asking price. If you are a dick, its no longer for sale to you. I price my stuff at what I think its worth. The best price over the phone is the asking price, if you want to push it, the price increases.

My son lives along a State highway with a lot of traffic. Vehicles usually sell pretty quickly there. When I want to sell a vehicle, it will be parked there. I have the title, and the vehicle is ready to go. He is there a lot, and I'm retired, I can usually be there in a few minutes or we will set a time more convenient for both of us. The vehicle is still for sale during the time between, unless the delay is on me, but then the time between is very short. If we set a time and you are "on the way" I'll hold it for you until 10 minutes after you tell me you will be there, but you better be in communication with me as the time approaches. Buying and selling has always been about being at the right place at the right time. The price and info is posted in the windows along with phone numbers. The paragraph above still applies.

I can't ever remember being in a position I have to sell something fast. When I'm buying, I come prepared to buy. It bugs me when I travel a distance to meet someone and they stand me up, I expect others would want to be treated the same way.

Guess that makes me old fashioned too.

 

When I bought my Tudor T, I viewed ( with my wife ) it in the owners garage heard the story of ownership and time enjoying it.
I said I would need to secure a garage, handed over 2 bill$ deposit.
A handshake, no receipt. I'll call ya when.
My wife went bananas...

 

I have sold and bought a few off topic items on Craigslist and FBmarketplace. They sold!! That is what I wanted. Yes there was a bunch of things to bitch about and rude people- no shows- fights and I got chewed out, etc, but- They sold!! Mission accomplished, certainly a lot easier and faster than the old classified ads.... but I enjoy the stories on this thread- keep 'em comin'.

 

Selling parts or vehicles is always a pain in the ass, but try renting an apartment. You get all the no shows, the low ballers and then the outright liars who cannot pass a basic background check. The CT judicial websight is online,
a quick check of the name will show evictions, pending or closed criminal cases.

 

Folks today ain't had no fetchin' up !

 

Probably most of us have delt with flakey buyers. It strengthens my resolve to ''not be that guy''. Recently bought a '55 Chevy. 4 hour ride, seller was honest and helpful. I showed up on time, kept him updated on my journey. Had the agreed upon cash in hand, no issue. Seller was happy and even found more parts for the car. It pays to be straight up.
Many thanks to @Valentines Speed Shop , a man of his word. Also his dad. Both good dudes.

 

I've been buying and selling old cars and parts for about 47+ years now and not much has changed . I have the most trouble with people that are 30 minutes or less away from me no showing . A couple of years ago I had a 383 mopar block , crank and rods for sale ,and ended up selling them to a couple that drove over 650 miles to my place , didn't Hagle on the price , were nice to deal with , I think they just wanted an adventure !

 

My buddy owns a repair shop and he was selling some good OT used cars that his kids have driven. I'm talking about good brakes, tires, no CEL, good inspection. Not for big bucks, under $3000. He told me he has been hung out to dry multiple times. He eventually did sell them.

 

The one's that make me want to grab by the throat and squeeze ....the guy that wants what your selling real bad , tells you all about what he wants to do with it, keeps going over and over with questions and stories, takes up a lot of your time , you even give them a break in the price ...possibly just to get them out of there..and when you think and hope the deal is made .......the guy says ,looks good I'm sure I want it ...but I need to talk to the wife first ...then I will get back to ya buddy. God I just want to choke every ounce of life out of them......sorry...thanks for stirring up them memories.

 

I get no shows from time to time using Facebook market place or Craig's list.

I only sell on a day I'll be home any way so if they don't show no big deal. I'll have it out side and my shop and garage closed .
I'll hold it if the guys aways away but make it clear if you not here by the specified time no guarantee .
I avoid the first come gets it .
Had 4 guys ready to fight over a $1200 car as they pulled up from two different directions at the same time. Had to call the sheriff on that one . I look at and two pairs of guys arguing at the end of the drive way . Sheriff rolled up and neither was backing off.
I didn't see who got there first.
As that's happening another two guys show up . I told them I'm pretty sure it's sold but hold on a minute.
Told the first 4 ( two pair) I'll flip a coin and if they don't like the suggestion they both can go.

I was ready to tell everyone to leave and resist it for $1800 at that as the phone kept ringing and beeping .
Did the coin toss sold the car for cash.
I had 72 messages on the phone by the time they left .

After that I try to do first guy calls get a chance for xxx amount of time and I'll call / message the next guy back .

I buy on Facebook market place a lot . When I message I say we're I live and how far away I am and say thank you with my full name that matches my face book account name and page. Then the seller knows I'm A real person . Works well on them replying.
I don't respond to is it still available or I'll take it with no other info . Guys do this as a place holder in line .

 

This is a bit long but a dang funny story... at least it seems so to me.
A 1936 Ford 3 window is advertised in StreetScene some distance away... I'm in VA and he's on Long Island, NY. I called him and had a great conversation about the car and he seemed like a really solid guy and his car sounded pretty much as advertised. Price was reasonable, too. But, we were talking on a Tuesday and he said he already had a buyer in Michigan, I think, that was coming to see it Saturday and he thought the guy was serious. I told him I'd call on Monday to see how it went.
Monday, he is pissed that the guy never showed or called until Sunday evening and said that he got busy doing something else but he would definitely be there this coming Saturday. I told him I would be there Friday to get it with cash if it was still available. He said he'd decided he wanted me to have it anyway so come get it.
I asked if he was going to call the guy and tell him it was sold? He said, "No... I'll wait and tell him when he gets here Saturday."
I got the car that Friday and it was all he said and maybe a bit more. It was a good one.


It came with a painted red grille but I found a great replacement very quickly.

 

That's always how I try to be as well. If I say I'm coming, I'll be there ten minutes early with the cash in my pocket. The guy I bought my ot sports car from said when I arrived "I didn't think you were actually coming! So many flakes these days.". The car was exactly what he said and exactly what I wanted, and I didn't haggle a bit. Tossed him the cash, shook hands and left a trail of smoke down the road while he gave me the thumbs up, lol.

I was selling an expensive guitar at a good deal last summer, and a guy called and said can't be there till Saturday, please hold it, and I said I would. Another guy got at me and did the old upping the bid a hundred bucks at a time trying to get me to sell it, but I said sorry, gave another man my word it would be here. If he don't buy it you can...

Gotta do business right and treat people right imho. It all comes back in karma when it's your turn to buy. Has for me anyway.

 

I'd purchased four Studebakers to build one and ended up with lots of parts and extra bodies, I'd got all of the bodies sold except for the last Hawk, it had a dented roof and trunk, rusty hood and two pairs of rusty fenders but...it had a title I had a couple of people interested but "no room to store it" folks. Finally got a message from a guy three or more hours away that was interested. He said he'd be there at 9 AM on Saturday. My thought was "sure you will, you are three plus hours away...". At almost exactly 9 AM in pulls a pickup and trailer. We load it, he gives my wife the envelope with the money and I hand over the title. I wasn't sure what they were going to do with the car, turns out it was going to be a roundy round racer, he measured inside to insure that the frame/roll cage would fit and it would be powered with a 600 horse engine. He sent pictures of past cars they had built. I wish I could sell the rest of my small parts to the same kind of guy

 

I have learned over the years to not “ hold” anything with out a cash down payment and a time! You don’t show at that time, the down in mine and the item sells to next in line! Just had too many folks ask me to hold something and never hear from them again and miss out on sakes in between! Just my way!

Edit: like I mentioned in an earlier post, I will hold if the guy is on his way and verifies.







Bones

 

Had an OT car for sale 30 years ago advertised in the local auto trader for $600. It was fairly solid and mechanically sound, just needed some TLC. I got a call from a guy who told me his father was interested, but I had to call HIM. What the heck, so I did. Ended up agreeing to meet him halfway (an hour), drove to the meeting place. Guy was a BS artist; stalled the car and claimed the motor was shot, hit a pothole and said the suspension was shot, stabbed the brakes and said the brakes were shot. Then he tried to give me a greasy $100 bill for my "parts car", which I refused. Then he tried to lay a guilt trip on me; my response wasn't very diplomatic, basically told him to go #$&! himself. A week later I did sell the car for my asking price, and the last I heard the owner did some work to it and made it a nice car.

 

Pulled a '31 model A body on a trailer to Turlock swap meet 40 years ago. Guy looked at it and said he would buy it next week for agreed price. Sure enough, he shows up with a trailer and tries to chisel me down on the price. No way, sorry. Hops in his truck and heads for home. Minimum 2 hour round trip.

 

I recall listing a something on CL (not vehicle related) maybe 15 years ago.
Fella showed up at agreed upon time, let me know he ran short of money and couldn’t buy it. He went on to say “I came because I’m not a flake”. I thanked him, but was thinking “you could have called and saved a drive”. Seemed like a nice guy though, didn’t wad my panties up at all.

 

He was hoping you would come down on the price! There are tons of tricks out there!



Bones

 

Naw, he flat out told me he didn’t have any money to spend. Well heck, maybe he thought I’d just give it to him?

 

I wonder if he shows up at a whorehouse broke?

 

I’ll pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today

 

I drink beer every Wednesday night with several retired cops! We call it “ cops and robbers “ night! One of them told me this story! He caught a guy red handed! Actually saw him commit the crime with his own eyes! After the arrest and while they were interrogating him, because he claimed his innocence, my friend told me the guy almost convinced him of his innocence…..and he saw him do it!
My point is …..there are some silver tongue devils out there!




Bones

 

Interesting reading. If you are buying something, treat the seller the way you would like to be treated.firstly, read the whole damn ad. If it says no trades, firm , not negotiable or will not part out, how about not pissing the seller off and wasting his time.show up on time and be respectful.Don’t be a loud mouth, blowhard expert.the price always depends on the sellers attitude. Finally if the ad doesn’t say firm on the price, I am negotiable, but only after you make an effort to come look at the car, not over the phone or internet. I really do hate selling cars, it either brings out all the tire kickers or you occasionally met a genuine guy.

 

Sometimes you just get those people.
Years ago, I had an old Dodge wagon. It was a beater, but had some really good valuable parts on it. It was one of those cars I would drive until it needed something, then I'd park it and buy something else. When that one died, I'd patch up the old wagon and run it until something else needed to be fixed. Then I'd go buy something else, and when it died, I patch up the old wagon and run it again. This cycle carried on for 4 or 5 rounds before I bought a decent ride.
At the time, I was parting out a lot of cars, so I knew the value of the parts on the wagon. I listed it for sale under the value of its parts, $200 (yea, that long ago). The car still ran and drove, I thought maybe some one might need a decent beater.
So this guy calls me, we talk for 20 minutes, he is grilling me about the car and what parts are there. He doesn't like my price, but no offers. We hang up.
The next week he calls me again, acts like we have never spoken before. Grill me again, doesn't like my price, hangs up without an offer.
The next week, he call again, acts like we have never talked before. Wants to grill me again, but I'm not wasting my time. He still doesn't like my $200 price for a running driving car. I ask him what he would give me for the car. He offers me $75! I told him I could get that much running it across the scales. He tells me I'm full of crap, if I think I can get that much for the car, I should just scrap it. He hung up.
The next week, he calls me back, wants to know if I'm ready to sell the car? Now its my turn, I act like we have never talked. I tell him I no longer have the car. He asked what I did with it. I told him some azzhole told me I should scrap it out, so I did! He wanted to know where I took the car. I told him it didn't matter, I watched them crush it. Then he wanted to know if I kept any parts off of it. Nope, scrapped the whole car! Now he was mad! I told him he should have bought it for the $200 the first time he called me. He called me an azzhole. I laughed at him.

I did part the old wagon out, made $500+ on parts and still got my $75 for scrap weight. I did watch them crush the remains of the old wagon, wagons were not very valuable back then.

 

"Had 4 guys ready to fight over a $1200 car as they pulled up from two different directions at the same time. "

I would let all 4 look at it and then started an auction.