Am I the Jerk in this situation?

You are definitely grinding way too hard! If it’s the car you want make him and offer he can refuse or walk away. If I was the seller I would throw my phone in the river and run.

Dennis Williams wrote:

I’m surprised the guy wrote that you used “too much text”.

LOL, well played!

Some good responses here, appreciate the responses. I don’t want to disclose the car type or anything cause it’s too small of a world and my luck somebody knows this guy and it turns into a poopstorm situation.

Honestly, I probably am being a bit of a hard-A on the deal, but all the ball-busting about an inspection(especially since it proved to be a worthwhile move) and the comment about my Dad pushed my buttons a bit too much.

Had he listed the car ‘as-is’ it would be a different story for me. But he advertised as 100% clean, no issues. Of course I expect there to be something to work on with 150k miles on it, but it was not advertised that way, which changes my feelings and how I handle the situation.

I’ve told him a couple times he has every right to tell me to take a hike and find another buyer and there will be no hard feelings. If he’s looking for a fast sale, sell it to his dealership, but he and I both know the easy route to selling a used car is gonna bring him about half the cash.

Appreciate the responses though, once I hear back from him today I’ll send a final take it or walk away offer so we can both move on.

anyone recognize the font?

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Phil, I feel there’s something relevant to the discussion that we really need to know.

Do you drink a lot of coffee and/or energy drinks?

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Phil, I feel there’s something relevant to the discussion that we really need to know.

Do you drink a lot of coffee and/or energy drinks?

Grouse

haha, nope! I do drink tea on occasion and allot myself ONE coca-cola per day.

Phil, I drove a 1996 Toyota Corolla to work right up to when I retired in 2016, so, a 20 year old car. I got it used with about 90,000 miles and think it had about 140,000 on it when I sold it. It was a great commuter car. I also like what was said in one of the replies about spending $1,000 to $1,500 on the car after you get it, barely 3 months worth of a new car payment. After that, it’s just tires and oil changes.

philtickelson wrote:

Some good responses here, appreciate the responses. I don’t want to disclose the car type or anything cause it’s too small of a world and my luck somebody knows this guy and it turns into a poopstorm situation.

Now Phil, let’s be fair about this. At this point, all the IDO community has had to work with is YOUR side of the story, with no description of the vehicle, asking price, listing to review, etc. We should be given an opportunity to talk to the seller, and get his view of his experience with you.

He deserves his day in court. Hahaha, HRG

Haha fair enough HRG.

I’ll say this, overall the car is in great shape, it was also priced within $50 of the top of the KBB range for the car, using the Excellent rating.

It was priced $900 over the median private party value for this car, again, given ‘excellent’ condition.

He’d probably have a different view of the experience, since I brought my professional sumo wrestler dad along on the test drive to break his springs.

Guy is old school and just wants to sell his damm car LOL. Just make him a fair cash offer and you take care of any problems. Done……

2 different test drives, a mechanical inspection, and then an utterly confusing offer after all that. Agree with the other comments that you are not technically “wrong” but I’d be highly annoyed if I was the seller.

I’m highly annoyed by you and not even attempting to sell you anything! Ha!

Hmm a little zippy car with a manual transmission and AWD. Must be a Subaru. Hot/cold? Guys name start with a B, T or K?

get a somewhat objective opinion on whether I’m being a jerk here.
Phil asked for opinions, so he’s getting what he asked for. I don’t think anyone is chastising him. I’ve had a few people over the years be honest and tell me they don’t know crap about cars and wanted their mechanic buddy to look at it. Had no issue with that. From there, I’ve had it go both ways. They came back with a list of bS, and another come back with legit items. As the seller, I took the proactive approach. Car on blue book was valued about $6k in excellent condition. I put a value on the known repairs and deducted it from the 6k and told the to basically take or leave it. When they wanted more off, I said no and walked away.

Phil I agree you need to be cautious, and the seller probably wanted to have a quick sale. My gut says you should have walked away much sooner

I would walk away.It sounds like the guy has not been completely honest on the condition of the car.It does’nt sound as if he wants to lower the price either.I would get my cash and run.

The sellers ad said perfect condition and wanted premium price. You new something was fishy when he didn’t want it inspected. Sounds to me from him working at a dealership he is as trustworthy as any used car salesman. If you shake hands on a deal with this guy you better count your fingers afterwards. Id walk away fast. Just my 2 cents.

Don’t haggle over a used car period. Give them one offer that it’s worth to you and be done. I’ve both sold and purchased used vehicles privately in the past.

I always offer them what it is worth to ME as a buyer. If it’s worth more than that to them I tell them “best of luck with your sale” and walk away.

If I’m selling, I either put my best price up or something slightly over it. I don’t debate, argue, negotiate over parts or labor, etc.

To me the overlooked factor here is to never put yourself in a position where you either NEED to buy or NEED to sell a vehicle. I cannot begin to recall the number of times I’ve calmly walked away from a purchase or a sale without thinking twice about it.

For me I would have been it a simple deal, the car needs x$ amount of repairs, make an offer minus the x$ amount. See if really wants to sell, if not walk.

blackbay wrote:

Guys name start with a B, T or K?

If this guy goes by “BTK” Phil get outta there!

definitely not a jerk but I think you both kind of complicated the process. Both seem desperate to either be rid of or gain the thing and did some things i don’t think i’d of ever done and the path out of those things (check and written agreement) became complicated.

take it to your mechanic, they say XYZ needs to be fixed. if thats already been disclosed thats fine and if the asking price already has that in mind, you make a decision. If he didn’t disclose that and didn’t really consider it the price, you offer the difference and say thats that. and walk away.

The reality is that if someone is selling a car on CL or facebook or whatever, its a pretty good chance that they want to get rid of it. especially one that is old.

Walk away. He said Oh, BTW the springs might be bad. That would be enough for me. Tranny could be full of metal and he just changed the fluid to make it last enough time for you to be gone. Say good bye.

Well? How is the car handling? LOL Update?

bigcrappie wrote:

Well? How is the car handling? LOL Update?

Yeah you straight pipe out that Corolla yet? Did you throw a couple 18’s in the trunk?

BigWerm wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bigcrappie wrote:</div>
Well? How is the car handling? LOL Update?

Yeah you straight pipe out that Corolla yet? Did you throw a couple 18’s in the trunk?

I think blackbay nailed it. It’s a Subaru, and Phil’s too embarrassed to admit it,,,,,

HRG

Hey man don’t knock it. I’ve got a 2007 5-speed Forester with 180XXX on her and she’s been through plenty of places that my buddies’ larger SUVs and pickups couldn’t go. That little boxer engine just keeps on going and I’ve never been stuck either. Make fun if you want but I’ll take good gas mileage, low cost of ownership, and reliability all day

That explains the $1500 springs LOL

Hot Runr Guy wrote:

I think blackbay nailed it. It’s a Subaru, and Phil’s too embarrassed to admit it,,,,,

moustachesteve wrote:

Hey man don’t knock it. I’ve got a 2007 5-speed Forester with 180XXX on her and she’s been through plenty of places that my buddies’ larger SUVs and pickups couldn’t go. That little boxer engine just keeps on going and I’ve never been stuck either. Make fun if you want but I’ll take good gas mileage, low cost of ownership, and reliability all day

embrace it phil.

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Hot Runr Guy wrote:

I think blackbay nailed it. It’s a Subaru, and Phil’s too embarrassed to admit it,,,,,

Sadly, I fear the inevitable has occurred.

Gentlemen, we will gather next week for a funeral to mourn the death of Phil’s manhood. There will be a ceremony with the official “burning of the man card” ritual. The title of the eulogy will be, “Phil. He was a god#@mn tree-hugging SOB, but we loved him.”

Then there will be a fellowship hour. Herbal tea and granola will be served.

Please wear your best wooly sweaters, zip-off “hiking” pants, and Birkenstocks with black socks.

Grouse

tangler wrote:

embrace it phil.

Everyone knows Subies are supposed to have a Wenonah Kevlar Canoe on top, not some aluminum contraption.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

The title of the eulogy will be, “Phil. He was a god#@mn tree-hugging SOB, but we loved him.”

That’s funny right there!! Cheers to a good laugh on a Friday

Putting myself in the sellers shoes, I’d be annoyed also. Should I have disclosed the issues when you first asked, yes.

I sell all my used vehicles to private parties on Craigslist or Facebook. Sold two within the last 2 years. One leaked tranny fluid, the other was is decent condition with 230,000 miles.

I personally didn’t disclose the tranny leak in my post, why would I? I would have immediately turned most away. If someone asked if there were issues, I’d tell them. I had the leak checked out by my mechanic, he said it’s a slow leak which doesn’t need to be fixed immediately but should eventually. When people asked about the condition or came to look at the car I disclosed the leak and repeated what my mechanic said. Two different groups came to look at it, both had it checked out by “their” mechanic and the second purchased the car. I had priced the tranny leak into my listing.

Anyways, both vehicles sold quickly. The buyer took the vehicle for a test drive and had the mechanic check it out at the same time. This was very helpful and reduced a lot of back and forth.