Saturday, January 14, 2012

Craigslist

Wariness reigns.

We finally took care of the hauling job that's been on hold until after the holidays. So the van is now expendable. We cleaned both the van and the old car. I posted them on Craigslist. And now I have to wonder.

Several people offered to buy the van, sight unseen. Suspicious? Yes. Some of them were from other states, and not even neighboring states. Even more suspicious? Yes.

Because people often wonder why a car is being sold, I mentioned that we bought a newer vehicle because our two were very old, and now one of the old ones has to go. I had three offers to buy both my Camry and my van. "Excuse me. Did you people read what I wrote?"

The van was totaled four years ago. We bought it back from the insurance company. I made sure to state clearly that the van had a salvage title, and why. I had people from Illinois interested in the van, even though you can't license a salvaged vehicle in that state. Fishy? Yes.

I feel rude, but I haven't responded to most of these people who claim to be interested in my cars. I don't want to give them my email address; I don't want to give them my phone number. I called one from my tracfone which is nearly always turned off and which has no voice-mail. I set up a new hotmail account which I used to respond to another inquirer. I hope my suspicions don't prevent me from recognizing when a normal person from around our normal area is looking for a car for normal reasons. This fishy stuff gives me the creeps.

4 comments:

  1. I have heard that people are salvaging old cars for the metal and getting good + prices...

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  2. That's what we did with our last two cars. But they weren't drivable. I hate to sell these just for scrap metal, but we may eventually do that.

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  3. Running minivans carry a premium price in the used car market, it seems. People like them for work "trucks" and there are lots of lower-income folk with families who need more than 4 seats but cannot afford a Suburban.

    But people who offer to buy sight unseens are either scrappers or flippers looking to buy, then resell higher. If you get too many of those kind of calls, list your vehicle at a higher price and then be willing to deal down for the right buyer when they offer you a lower price.

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    Replies
    1. I'll have to second that minivans are a hot item. I was looking a while back and it seemed harder to find a good used minivan than a car.

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