Recently one of my nieces turned 16 and as a birthday present I gave her my car, because every teen girl wants a 2000lb piece of metal for her Sweet 16.
Artist's rendition of me with 16 year old girl.
I work from home and don't drive very often, so no biggie, right?
However, after a few weeks I realized that having a car to run errands was probably not a bad idea. So I set out to buy a new vehicle and turned to my old friend Craigslist. ItWhat I found was some shining examples of how not to sell your car.
The No Information Guy
The first few of these ads that I had found... seemed like jokes to me. These people actually put the make, model, and year of the car - followed by the price they want for the car and no other information. No contact information. No email, no phone, no nothing. It's like they are bragging about having car, and don't actually want to sell it. Way to go dummy.
The Bad Picture Guy
If you are trying to sell something you would think one would try to take a really good picture of that item... this guy decided to go the other way. A nice shady pic so you can't see any of the scratches or dents I suppose. This isn't a singles bar... I don't need an sense of mystery to be interested.
After seeing a few bad pictures I thought the phenomenon could not get any worse, that was until I saw this guy's picture.
The Really Bad Picture Guy
This guy decides to take his pictures at night and in his garage, I cannot think of what would lead him to think this was a good idea... or worse yet... what is he trying to hide? Is he a vampire?
The Webcam Guy
This guy puts a new twist on the idea of taking a really bad picture. I can explain the quality of this photo in any other way then he took his laptop out to his garage and took a picture of his car with it. I guess he doesn't have a cellphone.
The Tiny Picture Guy
After going out to see a few of the cars are on Craigslist I now realize why someone would take a picture from 50 feet away. The only thing this photo shows is that he does indeed have a car to sell but you can't see the car at all.
The Medical Bills Guy
I always ask the seller why they are selling the car. I usually get the response of "I need a bigger car," or "I have too many cars," but it seems that some sellers are paying off medical bills. I find it odd that almost every car that I looked at that was being sold because the owner needed to pay off medical bills... had major mechanical or cosmetic issues. Related? You be the judge.
The Salvaged Title/the Airbag Went Off Guy
I was not aware of this but apparently the majority of cars that are being sold with salvaged titles have salvaged titles because the airbag in that car went off at one point or another. Needless to say I do not purchase any of these cars.
For the record, I settled on a mid-90s BMW as it was cheap and I have years of experience preparing BMWs. I must say that my foray into the Craigslist automotive section was interesting and amusing.
Have you ever purchased a car off of Craigslist? What was your experience? Tell me in the comments below.
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