dicer

Found another craigslist ad it says "Body and paint is in excellent condition".
So what does that mean?

Then it say paint wearing on top near moon roof. Come on people. And of course he's asking top dollar for the car. The photo shows the clear coat is gone from the windshield to the back of the moon roof.
Would we call that "in excellent condition"?

Fizzboy7

Comes with the territory. It's the same thing as when people come on here and describe their brand new car as "fully loaded." Which in reality usually means, "has some or many options, but not every single possible option." Fully loaded would mean "every single possible option the factory offers." A term that's loosely used but rarely means what it sounds like.
To a lesser extent, it's in the same family as other lingo used only online or when describing a car. Some other very annoying examples: "I am about to pull the trigger on a..." "Man, that car is fugly." None of these terms are used in real life and they should not be used online. They both sound ridiculous and create no new ground with their meanings. It's just a dumb trend that one monkey does because the other does. My motto is, if you don't say it that way in real life, you shouldn't say it that way online. Just be real and be yourself. It's not that hard.
I guess I got off topic, but I needed to vent. Thanks.

dicer

I with you on that "Fully loaded" stuff, they say that in the ad and then start listing all the standard stuff, and have zero idea what options were offered.

Aron9000

I'm generally not that picky on convenience options, just as long as the car is in the color combo I want with the engine/trans combo I want.

Oh and I've about wanted to punch a couple of sellers in the face for flat out misrepresenting the condition of the car over the phone and through pictures. Car looks nothing like the pictures from 4 years ago when it was last detailed, interior was disgusting, grimey, and smelled like a bowling alley. That one really pissed me off.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

"Never driven hard"

Aron9000

You can get a good feel of that by chatting up the owner and looking at the overall condition of the car IMO.

Sometimes that can be a problem, never being driven hard. I know elderly owned Cadillacs with the Northstar tend to get carbon buildup in the combustion chamber and run slightly rough because they are never properly exercised(old codger only drives in town at 30mph with the blinker on) Flogging the car for a few miles, lots of runs up to redline at higher speeds is a proven solution to that problem, the combustion chamber gets hot enough to burn off the deposits.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

new upholstery!

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

lots of wear left on tires

chikoo

Paint is excellent. The clearcoat on the other hand...eh

chikoo

I never do the former. The latter is what I rely upon. People lie. And asking probing questions creates the effect of boxing one in a corner and the only reaction is to come out lashing, which in this case could be lying through the teeth with confidence unseen, or a get lost - I don't want to sell my car to you.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

My favorite phrase that sellers use to sell POS 10+ year old cars is when they say the car is in "like new" condition with over 200k miles and clear signs of owner abuse and neglect.

Are there cars in good shape at that age and miles, sure. But the vast majority are not even close.

We recently got rid of out 1gen Sienna (that was in the family for over 12 years and over 250k miles) to get a 2gen...while looking for a new vehicle, I found one that looks great in the pics. Description said " runs great, no mechanical issues". Come to see the car, guy says he has only had the car for a week, the speedometer or odometer doesn't work which puts those cars into a limp mode (harsh shifting trans, cant rev above 4k, etc, always looking for right gear). I just made a U-turn and didn't waste a minute more of that guy's or my own time.

People are crazy.

jimbosr1

it took a year to find a sc400 that i would own,i looked at some mint(pos) ones a few times.
as soon as i got out of my car i said to the seller,i guess your idea of mint is light years form mine.
found one 7 hours away and i had the seller send me detailed pictures before i headed out and it was as described.i hate when sellers puff the description.

LexBob2

As mentioned, "fully loaded" is often overused. "I just bought a XXXX fully loaded, except for, or just missing, XXXX". Well equipped or nicely equipped would be more accurate..

SW17LS

I use the term "pull the trigger", and know many others that do in real life. I don't use the term "fugly" but I know plenty of people that do...

dseag2

Here in TX I hear people use "pull the trigger" all the time, but it's usually not associated with buying anything. "Fugly" is typically used by 13 year-olds.