Tales of Craigslist: Trade Offers

"Jay Lauer" (thefaultinourcars) 03/29/2016 at 14:04 • Filed to: None

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In my years flipping cars on Craigslist, I like to think I’ve seen it all. However, each day proves to me again and again that I simply haven’t. With that, I’m going to start sharing some of the more absurd interactions and experiences I’ve had in this business in my new series: Tales of Craigslist . I hope you all enjoy because it only gets weirder from here.

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You can read this and more on our new site, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a site for car enthusiasts who actually do things with cars.

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Those who may peruse Craigslist as I do on a regular basis may notice the small addendum in each ad towards the bottom that almost every seller seems to add.

No trades.

This wasn’t always the case in the Craigslist atmosphere. In the beginning, those who were in the market that used Craigslist assumed, rightly so, that it was there because that person didn’t want to trade their vehicle in to a dealer. That person put their car on the private market because they wanted to sell it on the private market. Crazy concept. It wasn’t until selling a Honda S2000 two years ago that I began to see the emergence of the Craigslist Trade Offerer, shown below.

The trade for a Trans Am wasn’t absurd so much as the notion that forcing it down one’s throat is. However, I am adult so I know how to keep my cool and my emotion in check.

This is only one in many trade offers I had received during my time selling the S2000. To my memory, here are the other trade offers I had received within the span of three weeks.

-that Trans Am

-89 Formula Firebird

-2006 Chevy Monte Carlo SS

-2003 Dodge Durango SXT

-91 Nissan 300zx NA Automatic

-95 Chevy 1500

-2005 Cadillac CTS V6

-2000 Volkswagen Golf GTI

-2003 Dodge Neon STR-4

-3 Cobalt SS’s

-Many, many 350Z’s. Double digits, at least.

-My own Subaru Legacy GT (Which I traded for the S2000)

-and my favorite, 2005 Mustang V6 Auto

I’m sure I’m forgetting some, but you get the idea. The notion of paying for an vehicle with dollars is really quite foreign. Overall, I’ve been offered PayPal (a lot), trades, horses, land, motorcycles, some weird buggy, a mobile home, landscaping service and metal sculptures. Every once in a while I get that strange person that offers to buy a car with cash. But only sometimes.

This may sounds like I’m complaining; I’m really not. This is simply what I have to go through to reach the right person. Selling isn’t easy and these characters are just part of the game. But thanks to the weird, zany, eclectic people of Craigslist, I’ll always be text message entertainment.

The Dummy Gummy > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 14:09

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Craigslist and I have a love hate relationship because of instances like yours.

You may want to hide their number, just out of courtesy.

Dru > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 14:12

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F Bodys are great, but I would run from one that is "built." It's not until trying to sell something on the interwebs do you realize how strange the general populous is.

MonkeePuzzle > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 14:12

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I’ll trade you my Civic for the s2k!

I’ll throw my marriage in on top to sweeten the deal. As I’m confident I won’t be with her anymore if she finds out I got a car with no room for our kids :P

BobintheMtns > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 14:14

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I was selling a KLR650 motorcycle a few years ago on CL... For those who don’t know, a KLR is a good enduro- nothing spectacular, but very reliable, good fuel economy, will go anywhere, 650cc’s... etc etc... Anyway, a decent bike.

One kid emailed and was trying to convince me to trade it for his 50cc scooter...

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 14:16

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Would you take a well-loved 2009 Pontiac Vibe GT?

I won’t even ask for much cash back from you.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 14:17

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I’ll never forget the poor kid who really wanted my old Audi 200. He wanted to make payments on it even though I had it listed for 1000$. I had to tell him straight up “If you buy this car you won’t be consistently at your job and able to make the money to make payments.” He then tried to buy my old slammed jetta with payments.....actually like 8 punkass teens thought they could make payments on a very cheap, used, tuned car.......I had it listed for nothing because that’s all it was worth - nothing. But hey, keep dreaming....

ceanderson920 > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 14:22

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I have the greatest deal ever for you, I will trade you a half a pack of cigarettes, my PS2 And N64 plus a couple games, a 1974 Harley golf cart, and a slightly used mattress for your s2000. This is a hot deal man I wouldn’t pass it up! The PS2 comes with a copy of NCAA football 2002, you can’t buy NCAA football games anymore so it has to be worth at least $500

6Cylinder > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 14:22

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“ur loss bud peace”

There is something about the word “bud” used in these situations that fill me with rage.

Don’t call me bud, don’t even attempt to talk down to me. I don’t want your shitty car, no one wants your shitty car.

Jay Lauer > MonkeePuzzle 03/29/2016 at 14:22

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Haha it’s already gone! Tempting offer though.

Jay Lauer > ceanderson920 03/29/2016 at 14:23

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Winner winner chicken dinner. This guy right here.

Jay Lauer > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 03/29/2016 at 14:23

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I only will trade for a Toyota Matrix.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 14:24

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You sure, cuz this thing will wax a Matrix?

Jay Lauer > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 03/29/2016 at 14:26

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I accept payments.

They can come pick up the car once they’ve made their final payment.

ceanderson920 > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 14:27

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Alright give me your address and I will have a couple guys come get it. I just need you to wire me a couple grand for shipping costs, I swear I will send you the remaining balance back ;)

Jay Lauer > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 03/29/2016 at 14:27

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If you had a Matrix, I’d pay you $250k on top.

Too bad it’s a Vibe.

Jay Lauer > ceanderson920 03/29/2016 at 14:31

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But I have a guy who says he’ll pay for shipping too through PayPal. He seems life the safe bet.

Jay Lauer > The Dummy Gummy 03/29/2016 at 14:33

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I really should. I probably will in the future. But this was over two years ago. And screw this guy.

I mean, it’s entertaining. I don’t have to talk to these people face to face.

Jay Lauer > BobintheMtns 03/29/2016 at 14:34

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Ah, the DUI special.

It seems everyone who’s sold on Craigslist has a trade story or two.

The Dummy Gummy > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 14:36

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Haha, no worries. I don’t care. Was just a suggestion.

Jay Lauer > The Dummy Gummy 03/29/2016 at 14:40

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I will in the future. It’s real easy to add a box in Preview.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 15:00

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The thing I hate most that people do on Craigslist: ask me to deliver items.

Cars, tractors, an Xbox360. “Hey, can u deliver to Hartford CT?” No I can’t deliver to fucking Hartford, it’s 75 miles away from me and you’re buying a $60 tractor part.

People are genuinely awful.

Party-vi > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 15:09

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Trying to sell my stroker 4.6L engine for a Jeep wasn’t a fun experience. Jeep used a Renix injection system from ‘87-90 that had a different head, exhaust, intake, sensors, pretty much everything was different from the ‘91-up 4.0l engines except the block and pistons. I had to turn away at least two dozen prospective buyers because they didn’t understand “for 1987 - 1990 Jeep 4.0L replacements only”. Also, the market for a replacement 4.0L engine in a 1987-1990 Jeep XJ/MJ is just about slim to none.

Birddog > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 15:12

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I’ve been getting offers to trade for Tattoo work a lot this last year or so (3 different vehicles). It’s always someone new too. I’m pretty sure Tats aren’t cheap so if these guys don’t have the cash they must not be that good!

Jay Lauer > Party-vi 03/29/2016 at 15:16

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Phew, that must be way difficult.I feel for ya.

I’m having a hard enough time selling my 98 Wrangler.

TractorPillow > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 15:26

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Haha, you say that in jest, but I had a guy send me 4k, then 1k every week until it reached my 10k selling price (he was buying it sight unseen and shipping it to himself, was trying to hide from his wife he was buying another car). Once I got the final 1k and the check cleared, I signed the title and he had a truck pick it up. Definitely one of the weirder sales I’ve had.

ThatGuyToolingAroundInTheShitbox > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 16:27

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I don’t know about other places, but out here in Alabama, the trade thing is as common as selling. I’ve sold two vehicles since I moved out here and I get as many trade offers as cash offers. And usually, it’s something interesting (at least enough to ask a couple questions about)...
Kinda cool. People just seem to swap around projects more out here and I like it.

Diavel in Hawaii > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 16:33

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Numerous paypal scams, the dreaded lowballer (because it’s craigslist so it MUST be a hardship sell) and ridiculous people in general. I tried to sell my Ducati for about 6 months. I undercut the 2 others for sale by $1500. Mine has significantly lower mileage and better accessories (not modifications but stuff like helmets) and I still constantly got txts from people telling me I was asking “WAY TOO MUCH”. Yeah ok... There was never a counter offer either.

(Just for reference, I was asking $12,500 last year for my 2013 Diavel Chromo with less than 3k miles and some nice riding gear. It also came with the OBD2 computer, adapter, cruise control program and 3 different seats. Maybe that was too much but it was still the cheapest one for sale in the area by far.)

But the best was trying to sell my classic vette. I had a guy show up claiming to be a corvette specialist and he knew EVERYTHING about them. He felt under the fenders, looked under the hood and proceeded to tell me the body was the wrong color, the front end had been completely destroyed and replaced and the engine didn’t match. He was more than happy to offer me about half what I was asking. Now, I’m only half retarded so I had already checked the VIN and engine code to make sure it was a matching numbers car and the colors were correct. There was no evidence anywhere of damage or repair. The “repairs” he showed me were merely the fiberglass seam join lines that are on every car.

The lesson here is that people are thieves, liars and assholes until proven otherwise. (Not everyone obviously but with that thought in mind, I have significantly better times dealing with craig and his list.)

ranwhenparked > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 19:20

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I love when you list a motorcycle, and literally the first day the ad posts, someone offers 80% off of what you were asking.

That’s not how this works. Yes, it’s priced a bit higher than I will take, because I expect that we will negotiate down to my minimum, but you don’t start out like that, especially on something that hasn’t been on the market long.

Bowtie_Guy > Jay Lauer 03/29/2016 at 23:03

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I bought a 1978 Chevy C10 off Craigslist back home while I was out of state& was going to send my dad pick it up. I had called and talked to the seller a couple of times and I was earnest that if the truck was actually how it looked in the ad id buy it for his asking price if he could hold it for a few days, he was skeptical (obviously) and told me that he had somebody coming to look at it in the morning and itd probably be gone before my dad could get it...

The next morning I get a phone call... “you still want the truck?” “Yeah, of course” “You have cash Right??” “yeah, how else would I pay for it...?” “Cool, it’s yours if you can get it this afternoon” *click*

So I send my dad and little sister out to pick it up and the guy told my dad he was so glad I had cash because the last guy that looked at it offered him $400 & half a pound of pot for it!!! Gotta love craigslist!

Bowtie_Guy > Bowtie_Guy 03/29/2016 at 23:12

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Here is a picture of that truck... I’m pretty happy with it for $1500 but I won’t actually lay my eyes on it until I get home this weekend! It’s going to get a write up on Oppo sometime next week