I really like the ads with pictures that show, beer cans and pop bottles on the floor, then theres one I saw of wires sticking out of the carpet in the truck with bare ends just wagging out.
I really enjoy the pictures of butchered up shock towers, yeah! what a good selling point.
And you got to love the "Its got a small dent" most of us would think its the size of a pencil eraser not the whole quarter panel smashed in. And then of course a nice lowered one with the fenders all bent up, yeah that just adds to that high price they want. I just wonder how many of the folks that do that to their cars would buy a new car at a dealer with that same damage? I really can't figure out whats going on in the car world now. In the old days people took great care not to damage the body work and paint.

 

I'm amazed at the number of sellers that cant be bothered to run a vacuum or even clear out all the Monster cans and mc donalds garbage. I even occasionally see one with a gross sticky child or an ash tray overflowing with butts and covering the console. I have to deduce that many people are just plain nasty but thankfully it shows up in the pics.

It's definitely good to be selective when buying from private sellers, many of whom have the same poor ethics that car lots are known for. In this region there are a lot of very well used cars or decent ones way above book. The treasures are out there but ya gotta look for them. Demand a service history, that will weed out teh vast majority of the flakes.

 

I never understood putting a car up for sale and not taking the time to clean it, have the title ready to go and remove all the things that do not come with the car. Nothing bothers me more than to see a car, go thru the pictures and then hear that the wheels or stereo or other aftermarket accessories do not come with it. Remove the stuff then put it up for sale. I want to see what I'm getting for your asking price.

Now to play devils advocate. Buyers can be a real PITA some times. If a vehicle is listed at a certain price then offering half is really a insult. Also, people that expect a off the showroom floor car for $1000. I currently have a truck for sale. Nothing fancy, a '07 work truck. Fleet maintained and not beat up at all. I spent 5 hours cleaning it. I got all the stuff out of all the nooks and crannies and gave it a good buff, polish and wax. The title is in the cabinet and I have both keys along with the key for the top. User manual in the glove box along with spare fuses and bulbs. I have some of the service history ready as well. I had a flipper come by the house today and played all the games and lowballed me. I guess I have to give him credit, at least he showed up.

So, it goes both ways. Personally even if I was selling a $500 car I'd spend a little time to have everything in order or make it very clear in the ad what it is and what you are getting. In the end, people are people.

 

After looking at many cars, trucks and motorcycles over the years I've gotten pretty good at being able to weed out most of the above cars. You guys are spot on though. My current LS was the only one I looked at but I'll bet I went through a couple hundred ads to find it. A persons house, garage and other vehicles will tell you a lot about the owners also.

I think most people are just looking for an appliance to get them from point A to point B and really don't care about their vehicles in the way an enthusiast does.

 

unfortunately very true. especially among all these millennials and other younger people. all that people seem to want in a car anymore is an automatic (cvt, 6 speed, 9 speed, doesn't matter as long as people don't have to manually shift), some sort of music streaming capability to play their god awful music where lots of bass is the most important thing, and low fuel costs. especially in america compared to europe or something people here don't want to bother with maintenance and would rather just get something new every few years. an LS 400 isnt as desirable as a new Sentra or something because the Sentra has bluetooth built in and it's puny 4 cylinder sips away fuel. my friend would rather drive his parents prius over their manual trans subaru cuz he doesn't wanna have to shift. 21 year olds these days... i say f **k the prius and often insist on driving us instead lol...

 

Really how many can drive a manual nowadays? I looked at a really nice LS this last summer, it had spilled sticky crap on the floors, huge dent on passenger rear door. No dents any place else, it was a hand me down from grand parents, trunk was full of crap, child seats in it. I told them they should have sold it the day they got it, I would have given top dollar for that car when they got it as it had less miles and was in perfect condition.
Everyone seems to use and abuse their cars then they think its worth collector prices.

 

When I sell I prepare the car I sell it clean. The exception was an 88 Samurai rust bucket that I picked up from a local car lot for $200, drove it home, parked it, took a few pics and sold it where it sat for $800 and a subwoofer. It was dirty and in poor repair but a great platform for a rock crawler and that's what the buyer wanted. I did remove all the garbage that was inside but no cleaning on that one. If someone is out of line on their price and you tactfully point out why he may come around or may not.

When I sell I deal with lowballers often, if their offers are insulting I simply throw out my bottom line take it or leave it price, otherwise I'm not afraid to negotiate some, I expect it. When I buy I always get the lowest price I can but if the asking price is so high that I need to lowball then I just pass it by. If I see a problem not disclosed I let a buyer know that "because it's due for this service and needs ______ repaired I can only pay XXX to keep the total cost inline with fair market value" Accept or decline it's imperative to be polite and end with a handshake.

Here is what I do when I sell, and want from sellers.
* pics, engine, interior and all angles of exterior, so really 6 or so total and focus on damage areas. Have the car clean and ready to go if I buy.
* pertinent information in the title, mileage, engine, trans, year, any glaring issues,EVEN THE PRICE, "call for price" or "make offer" is something I never dignify. When I have a car for sale I know what I want for it and I dont want to play car lot games. I'm buying privately for several reasons, that being one of the main ones.
* If you live in CA, don't advertise your crap here in SD. CL is local. If I want to buy out of state I will look on CL pages from other states, as I often do.
* don't put a 99 at the end of your price, it's off putting, like shopping at Walmart. Maybe break it down to $50 increments.
*If your buying, don't bother sellers when you don't have the money, don't call asking them to take payments or sell their $5000 car for $2200 before you have even bothered to go see it. Never finance a car to ANY buyer unless their down payment covers what your willing to take for the car. Dont shop the $5000 price range if you only have $2000 in your pocket.
*listen to your gut, observe red flags, always pack your piece and abort if your gut feeling tells you to. I have never had any safety issues but have met some real flakes.

In my experience $5000 gets me a whole lot more car privately than going to car lots. I have actually met a few cool people by buying and selling on CL, and I buy/sell all sorts of things besides automotive.

 

'Sigh' This is a touchy topic for me personally because while I'm not sure if being 27 lumps me into the same boat as the demographic you accurately, and rather embarrassingly, described but regrettably you would be accurate in about 99.9998% of cases. Many kids (and there is a difference between "kids" and "young adults") today don't care to know how something works or doing something to the best of their abilities, instead they focus on how to skirt by with minimal effort but I know a 22 year old would also be an exception.

However, the parents of these kids should not get a free pass. My father immigrated here, started his construction company while still living in a suburban, and had a net worth of over $1m USD when I was born in 1988. He was also very strict and definitely didn't care about trying to be my friend, because he's already my father which is something I think more parents should try. I say that because my upbringing taught me discipline, the 6 P's (proper prior planning prevents poor performance)...If I wanted something I earned it, I'm in grad school on my own dime, if I broke something it was up to me to fix it, and the actions I take can have consequences for which I am ultimately responsible.

That being said, I do know what that extra pedal does, I know how most things work, I'm learning how to program even though I'm an accounting major, I've even rebuilt a classic VW by myself, why do I want another LS? because an old piece of gold is more desirable to me than a new piece of ****.

So while I won't pretend that the vast majority of people currently in their 20's have their priorities almost if not completely backward, some of us still have a strong moral fiber and I encourage you to keep an open mind.

 

being born in 88 i think you miss the cutoff lol... unfortunately those who i'm describing are my own age group and younger (i was born in 94) and i know that not EVERYONE is like this but i just don't fully get why people love being in a loud, packed room with epilepsy inducing flashing lights and 'watch me whip' blasting... well if you're super hammered its honestly not so bad lol but i generally don't feel like taking the time and money to do that multiple times a week, i have an aging lexus that will keep needing money haha

but i generally find that my interests are somewhat a minority compared to most. i'm much more happy in a quieter, 15-20 person scenario than some huge loud rager where you can't hear anyone anyway so you can hardly talk to someone to get to know them. i'm also proud to say that i can drive stick and do much of my own maintenance as well

well we seem to have diverged from the original thread topic but the ever-opinionated dicer is bound to induce such an occurrence lol...

 

I didn't know how old you were (obviously) but I get lumped in with that crowd as well...as far as raves and techno/house/trance are concerned, I can't really explain the interest that some people, including myself have or had I should say in going to them, but at one point in time I can honestly say it wasn't always about taking drugs to music with a beat that can't be danced to...they used to be the fringe that stood on the side while the rest of us were dancing. I've met more girls just by dancing my 4ss off like no one was watching than my bike, or in my brothers case buying a 5 year old 328i, ever did.

Also, I can't tell you what to you with your car, but those you have stress out the rear diff and transmission even if the overall diameter is the same. Metal weighs more than rubber (duh) and every pound of unsprung weight (weight not supported by the suspension) is like keeping a 10 pound weight in the trunk for no reason.

getting off topic is what forums are all about (kidding...kinda) but do you watch South Park?

 

lol yeah i certainly don't think the LS has made me any more attractive to girls haha... also i definitely think you had better music to work with back in 05 or whenever you graduated high school, not this bs thats coming out now...

i know the wheels are probably worse for the car in every way, including the narrower profile tires probably transmitting more force from bumps into the suspension but i'll live with it because it's not a HUGE difference and i like how it looks and effects handling. i have blizzaks on my original wheels that i put on during the winter so that's 2-3 months when they're not used lol...

and duh i do south park is like one of the awesomest shows haha, even if that's not good grammer

 

I started hitting "raves" in my tweens and stopped at around 14 because then the drugs became the focus not the dancing...now there's **** like EDC, Coachella, Bonaroo, and Wakarusa but I quickly figured out that scene not for me; never been into camping or being grimey as **** for days...

Ya the music was better because it was really meant to dance to; I remember Jocelyn Enriquez and Planet Soul were being played on the radio but that music accentuated an ecstasy high as a side effect...now that's the main demographic and (where I live) it's even turned into a constant cat and mouse game between the dancers and druggies; as soon as the druggies figure out a new place that isn't infiltrated with police, so they can be stupidly high, it's ruined...and it shuts down because none of us want to deal with the bullsh1t that invariably ensues.

Like I said, it's your car, so if you're happy with it and all who am I to say "you must do x,y, and z"...I just mentioned it in case you weren't aware of the differences that aren't aesthetic. I admit they look good though.

One of the recent episodes about the PC frat and that scene where they play "watch me whip" still makes me laugh my 4ss off...hell I've done it on my bike at speed just because lol.