"newton" (newton)
05/01/2014 at 14:09 • Filed to: used car hunting
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"newton" (newton)
05/01/2014 at 14:09 • Filed to: used car hunting | 2
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Reading !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! blog really reminded me that good deal cars should be more of a no brainer especially given if you have the aptitude to fix them up. Too often I'll find a car that's enthusiast friendly, needs work but is commanding a deal of price and then pass it up because even if I had the ability to fix them up, I didn't think I can make it perfect enough...for myself to keep.
Anyway, I'm sure we're all more than familiar with the good 'ole eBay and Craigslist as the primary mediums for shopping great deals for cars. But here's another tool that takes advantage of sites such as Craigslist that will make life much easier if you know what you want and are waiting for the right example to come through.
Enter !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . IFTTT is a free service that automates things for you. Go ahead, look around and see if you can figure things out yourself. With IFTTT, I can keep tabs on any used BMW M3 that pops up in my state within an hour or two that the listing goes live on Craigslist. It's the ideal tool if you're waiting for the right car. Explore it a bit and you'll realize it can make life much better in many other ways as well.
Disclaimers: This is not a plug for either APiDA or IFTTT. I don't have anything to do with either one of them. I'm simply sharing sites I enjoy reading and using. Yes, that picture is credit of APiDA taken from their 944 article.
Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
> newton
05/01/2014 at 14:13 |
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One trick that I've heard some acquaintances use is finding cars with very poorly made ads where either the pictures aren't there, the pictures are awful, or the best, the pictures include trash in the car. Where literally, much of what you'll do to sell it for a profit is remove mcdonalds bags, discarded clothing and receipts. I would however advise you use gloves while doing this, lol.
In the end what I'm getting at is writing a good craigslist ad with clear pictures of a clean car can probably yield you a few hundred dollars alone. My friend actually has made 1500 dollars on an Audi wagon from doing what I described above and nothing more, he re-listed that car the same day and made that much, haha.
jkm7680
> newton
05/01/2014 at 14:16 |
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Look for "Urgent Sales" on Craigslist. Show up on the last day, and throw a lowball offer in.
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Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
> newton
05/01/2014 at 14:18 |
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Another trick I thought of: Buy a car on craigslist you already have, a guy at my work is currently doing this, he has a jellybean-era F-150 and he just bought another one, because he already knows it inside out he'll be better at diagnosing, fixing it and flipping it. He bought it recently for a very good price and is already well on his way to having it in good running order (new manifolds, plugs and coilpacks) and should be able to sell it for a healthy profit.
camaroboy68ss
> Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
05/01/2014 at 14:29 |
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I agree, I personally look for cars that I really know the trouble spots to look for on car to try and get the price down. It help to bring along a fridge magnet and a little mirror as well when looking over a project car to give a good idea if the metal.
davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> newton
05/01/2014 at 14:36 |
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This comment is a plug for APiDA and IFTTT.
promoted by the color red
> newton
05/01/2014 at 14:51 |
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Be friends with (or marry into a family of) mechanics. My uncle runs a shop in a rather posh part of an already wealthy city so he occasionally sells cars on behalf of clients who are either bored or want something different. We're talking German/Swedish stuff here.
Through my dad's friend I was able to get a low-mileage (113K when the title transferred) Integra GS-R sedan with clean history without any serious dumbshit antics - other than the ones I put it through.
Seat Safety Switch
> davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
05/01/2014 at 15:22 |
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ifttt got me a pretty sweet Miata hardtop for half of the going rate recently. It has a broken Frankenstein bolt holder but I think I can live with that.
RW53104
> Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
05/03/2014 at 10:17 |
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That's a good idea, and can be applied in another way too: The guy I sold my 2001 Buick too bought it for his sister because he had the same exact car and wanted something he was familiar with to fix, etc.