I sold the heap!

"luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln!" (luvmesome142) 11/09/2015 at 09:05 • Filed to: None

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I can’t believe how much interest there was this past week. It’s been on CL for a month with no activity. Story below.

A couple weeks ago a guy contacted me about the car, but he lives 4 hours away. He was a little unsure of driving out that far, and had asked me to meet him halfway at one point. He contacted me again last week and I told him that I may have a local buyer and that I’d rather not transport the car if I didn’t have to. We have a little back and forth through text, but eventually he says he’ll make the drive and asks me if I would hold the car for him so he can look at it.

One of the other guys comes to look at the car this past Wednesday with the understanding that someone else has ‘first dibs’. We test drive it and I notice the front right brake is dragging a bit.

On Saturday, the first guy texts that he’ll be here at about 3 and that he’ll be driving the car back. I think, crap, I better check out that brake to see why it’s dragging. I’ve got an hour before he gets here. So I pop the caliper off and the damn brake pads fall apart!

I run to the auto parts store and discover that they don’t have any pads in stock for a 24 year old Volvo, but they can order them in by 5:30PM. After checking around at the other stores, I have them order the parts.

I get back to the house to find the guy and his friend looking at the car up on a jack with the wheel laying next to the car (how I left it). I give him the bad news. They check out the car.

The two guys are in their early 20’s I think. Both in school at a technical college for auto mechanics. I can see why the guy is not scared of the car now. He asks if I’ll come down from $1000. I say, if he doesn’t buy it, the guy from Wednesday would.

They leave and say they’ll be waiting at a friends house while I fix the car. Then he texts back asking how late the notaries are open (damn you PA and your screwy system). Crap, I didn’t think about that. Calling around I find ONE notary that stays open until 5. The pads won’t be here until 5:30!

I call the guy back and give him the bad news. He’s got a decision to make. Buy the car without a test drive, or pass on it. I say think about it and call me back.

He says he still wants the car! I meet him over at the notary. I ask the notary if there is any way he can notarize my signing the title without him making it final. Nope. We transfer the title, he gives me the cash.

Pads arrive, I put them in, I take a test drive, all is good. Guy and his friend show up. Let’s take a test drive just to get acquainted with the car. It’s actually his now, but I want to point out the quirks.

We get a block away from the house and it dies. That’s right. The engine just quits. It’s never done this before. I make a joke about how that’s what any CL seller would say. I’ve got a huge knot in my stomach. This sucks. I know he’s feeling the same way, but for other reasons.

It’s pitch black outside now. I run back to my house to grab tools and flashlights. I drive back in my car and point the headlights at the Volvo. We narrow it down to spark pretty quickly. As we mess with the coil it fires a couple times and then starts running. Ominous feelings all around. We drive back to my house and attempt another test drive, this time with me following. It dies again right in front of my house!

Oh boy. We troubleshoot a little more thoroughly and are sure it’s the coil. But it’s an intermittent issue and the car idles in the driveway without issue. I tell them I’m going to call the parts stores and see if I can find a new coil.

I find one. An aftermarket Accel coil. We put it in and the car starts right up again. Everyone is still pretty nervous and wary. The guys take it for an extended test drive and I wait for them to call me if something goes wrong.

They get back to the house without incident.

Despite all the problems, the guy seems happy. They set off on their 4 hour journey back home. I worry about them until the next morning. They answer my text asking about the trip with:

“Ya we made it back fone.”

“Fine.”

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! 11/09/2015 at 09:09

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Ah, the perils of buying/selling a car that’s supposed to run. I avoid that as much as possible.

Ash78, voting early and often > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! 11/09/2015 at 09:12

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That is a LOT of hassle for $1,000 purchase...congrats on closing the sale!

Patrick Nichols > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 11/09/2015 at 09:49

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You just sell them broken?

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Patrick Nichols 11/09/2015 at 09:59

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Buy. But if I were to sell, it makes a certain amount of sense. I’m currently in the “accumulate” phase of PCH.

duurtlang > Ash78, voting early and often 11/09/2015 at 10:27

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It depends on how rare the car is you’re looking for. I just bought a project car (‘87 Peugeot 205 CTI) for €1150, or basically nothing, last Friday. It took me 3 hours by bus/train, 1 hour for the paperwork and whatnot and then a 2 hour drive home. Still worth it, imho.

I wouldn’t invest that must effort in a 2003 Focus, just to name an example.

Ash78, voting early and often > duurtlang 11/09/2015 at 10:31

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No doubt...I was speaking more from the seller’s perspective. At some point in dealing with finicky buyers, you have to gently remind them that it’s a thousand-dollar middle market Volvo. The capital expense should be very much in proportion with the fastidiousness of the buyer’s expectations :D

I used to sell used cars and it was always hard to ultimately say “Look, this is a 5-year-old Land Rover Discovery that originally went for $50k, now it’s $18k. It’s going to have a few scratches here and there.”

LongbowMkII > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! 11/09/2015 at 10:40

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congrats. If I was dealing with that situation I’d think that you handled it very well and trust the car more.

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > Ash78, voting early and often 11/09/2015 at 10:43

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Yes it was. And, thanks!

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > duurtlang 11/09/2015 at 10:43

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Nice!

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > Ash78, voting early and often 11/09/2015 at 10:46

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I had one guy wanting me to pay for a carfax before he came out to look at it. Really?

I tried to be as up front as possible with the CL ad and the two guys that came out to look at it were basically like, “yup, that’s what you said it was.”

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > LongbowMkII 11/09/2015 at 10:54

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Thanks. I tried to be as up-front as possible. I don’t know about trusting the car, but the guy seemed to trust me.

LongbowMkII > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! 11/09/2015 at 10:56

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eh, I’d be more comfortable since the needs have been somewhat taken care of rather than just ignored.

yitznewton > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! 11/09/2015 at 11:21

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Man, stressballs. Nice perseverance! Revel in the done-ness of it.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! 11/09/2015 at 11:25

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Idk if you experienced it, but the pickiness of car buyers in the ~$1000 price range is surprising. You would think any car that runs is immediately good to go but apparently getting that extra $50 off the sale price is paramount to the sale.

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 11/09/2015 at 12:03

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I’ve experienced it. Also the really poor negotiating skills, i.e. “how low are you willing to go on this?”

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! 11/09/2015 at 13:18

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I like to answer that one "the asking price". Sure it is definitely good to negotiate down, but I definitely at least need a real offer.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! 11/09/2015 at 13:21

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I just bought a 240 manual with a friend, I would have got this instead in a heartbeat. The 240 didn’t have brakes coincidentally, so we rented a dolly (ps a full trailer is better).