So during my daily ritual of looking at craigslist, I saw this post locally.
"Great car, ridiculously good price.
*great mechanical condition
*5 speed manual
*4-Cyl, 1.5L 16V, VTEC
*136,900 miles
*The gas mileage is amazing
*I recently bought two new tires (front)
*Stereo is less than a year old- removable face, iPod connector
*I just had it detailed
I'm listing it as FAIR CONDITION but its flaws are cosmetic. When I took the Kelley Blue Book test, it came out as a GOOD rating. Nevertheless, I'm leaving town at the end of this week and I need to sell the car ASAP. These are problems:
*hard to open glove compartment,
*cup holder needs to be fixed,
*gas tank door needs to be jimmied open (I do it easily but I have to use my key),
*antenna missing,
*small dent on front.
I'd be happy to give you any other information and show you the car, but get in touch with me soon. December 9th is my last day in SF.
In FAIR condition on Kelley Blue Book, it was listed for $2,480. The quote for a GOOD rating was $2,940"
She was listing it for $2200 and I saw the post 20 minutes after she posted it. I emailed her and she emailed me back with her phone number. I told her I was really interested in the car and so she said to come by tomorrow to look at it. I said ok, and when would be the earliest I could come? She said 8 and I agreed. Knowing how deals like this can fall through, I wanted to call her back and say I want to look at it tonight (even though it would be an hour drive). The problem was, was that my gf was getting all dressed up cause it was my company holiday party. She somehow looked disappointed when I said "is it ok if we just go look at a car instead?" Who knows why she was a disappointed. But back to the story, so we ended up going to my company party and when we got back, I had gotten a message on my machine from the seller that someone offered her $2500 sight unseen, and she wanted to know if I could match that since I was the first person that called her. And so I called her back and asked her if $2500 was what I would be lookin at. But she then said no. She said that because she's gotten so many emails that shes setting it up by highest bidder and she would let everyone know who had the highest bid during the week. So I asked her, so if I had cash in hand, and drove over there, it wouldnt really mean much then since you're gonna hold out. She said yes. So then I told her I would pass. To which she asked why. I told her that I'm pretty cut and dry/no fuss about things. If I was there looking at a car, whether it be $2200, or $2500, or whatever the price, if I thought it was a good deal, I would pay for it then and there, and get it over with. To me, although I can't fault her for thinking so, she just wanted to get more and more and so I didn't want to get into the mix. I know many of you guys reading this are thinking, "he was butt hurt and didnt wanna play." And I don't think that is. When I looked at the big picture, here's what I saw:
Pros
- Was cheap at $2200
- White
Cons
- No A/C
- Two dents: Hood and front right
- Gas tank had to be jimmied?
- San Francisco Car, so the 136K might be a little bit more driven than a normal one. And although it looks good from the pic, she leaves the car outside (SF fog).
- various other little things broken on the car led me to think she didn't take care of it.
- She was the fifth owner
So, I just thought the Cons outweighed the sale for me. That and the principality factor of not even wanting to sell it outright anymore but go by a bidding system got to me. Well... good luck to whoever got it. The scary part is that she's moving out in a couple of days. If the highest bidder backed out on her at the last minute, she would be screwed.
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