How do you lowball without being a lowballer?

[spike98]

Originally posted by hampstor
Be direct with facts to back it up:

I believe your car is worth $XXXX. I believe this because of the market price as well as X, Y and Z which I noticed about your car. With that in mind, I am offering you $ZZZZ. Please let me know if you are interested in working to close a deal.

I also agree with this. Show him a vmrcanada.com report and comparable cars from the auto trader.

Spend some time on the email and word it in a professional manner so you dont come off as some douche wanting to lowball. If you can show him that his price really is inflated he might bite. Its also possible he will tell you to take off then after sleeping on it change his mind.

[dirtsniffer]

details on the car?
i would suggest showing him some info on why his car is worth what before you drive 3 hours to look at it

[ddduke]

Why aren't you showing us the car?

[hampstor]

I should also add, always give the other side the option to discuss why they think it's worth more. In addition to what I said earlier, add "I understand you believe the vehicle is worth more and I am open to discuss the reasons for that". You should usually know enough about what you're buying to prepare a rebuttal.

It goes a long way to making someone feel better about it when you are low balling them.

I do this all the time as part of my job.

[Kloubek]

As suggested in another post, I would first get in touch with him by phone. It is easy to press "delete" on an email you don't like, but harder to hang up on someone.

At that point, you can discuss your position, and it would be nice if you had examples you can offer to email him which show that his price is out of line - without actually having to say those words.

If he seems receptive to the fact it is worth far less than he is asking, then (and only then) might it be worth your time to go out and see it. At that point, having someone stand in front of you wish cash in his hand could be a persuasive sight, and he might be willing to let it go for less than he would have intended otherwise.

And my final tip: Always come in a couple hundred below what he ultimately wants, and be prepared to start walking back to your vehicle. Usually, people will cave or at the very least offer to meet you in the middle if it means the difference of only one or two hundred dollars.

[max_boost]

Most of the time I don't even make an offer.

I'll send an e-mail, establish some rapport i.e talk a bit about the vehicle, why I'm interested, ask for vehicle and service history etc. so buyer knows I'm serious. I'll just ask him how negotiable his price is or where he stands. I'll thank him for his time and move on.

I wanted to buy this SLK55 out of Ontario, mint, 06 with 16k but buyer wouldn't budge on his price so I just thanked him and moved along, no offer made.

[jdmXSI]

You could have a hand full of friends (3-4) call of the period of a few days and make lower offers than what you are prepared to pay, ie: offers in the $2000-2400 range. Then you call him back a few days later with a justified price as to why it is not worth what he is asking. Maybe logic will set in that he isnt going to quite get what he is asking.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
People that try to pull the "I've got cash on hand" game piss me off to no end... seriously, when somebody comes to complete a deal from Kijiji and instead of bringing the agreed amount they start waving around half the money spouting "I got cold hard cash for you right here right now" line, what are they thinking? Were we going to do the deal in bottle caps or something? Of course it is going to be a cash deal you fucking twit.

I tell them to either go get the rest of the money from a bank (which I usually choose a meeting spot where one is nearby) or go home.

I'd say just be polite in your response, offer the amount you are willing to pay and either the guy says yes or no.

I totally agree, when people play the "$XX CASH" line on me, lowballing by 50 or 60% or whatever, I am FAR less likely to move on my price. If I know it will sell anyways, I'll stick to my asking price even more firmly and the guy will have wasted his time driving over. Most of the time the rest of the money magically appears lol. Personally I find it insulting, that they think, say, $5000 cash is more appealing than a $10,000 bank draft (just for example). I do not want that much cash haha, I am not a drug dealer.

To the OP:

You don't need to feel bad about "low-balling" if you can show him multiple comparable ads of people selling for less. It's not low-balling if he's the one who is grossly overpriced. If I tried to sell my car for $10,000 more than it's worth and someone offered me market value, they aren't low-balling me by $10,000.

[codetrap]

Originally posted by ddduke
Why aren't you showing us the car?

Because Cos knows better than to trust in Beyond. 50% of the guys here would start harassing the seller to lower his price just because they're douchbags.

[freshprince1]

Just be honest. Do not trash talk his vehicle into a lower price...no one likes getting shit on.

Send over an email like this: "

Hi there, I am interested in your vehicle and have been shopping through comparable alternatives for a while. I can offer $2800. I understand this is below your asking price, but just wanted to see if you'd entertain an offer in that range from a serious buyer. Let me know if you'd like to meet."

[ercchry]

i think i found it

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ311994073

[Disoblige]

Originally posted by ercchry
i think i found it

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ311994073

LOL!

[jdmXSI]

Originally posted by ercchry
i think i found it

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ311994073

That one said it is a turbo. From the op's post, he said the one he was looking at was a non-turbo.

Originally posted by Cos

Well I know I am not being too bad because otherwise it would have been sold by now. It isnt worth the 5g's because it would have been snapped up already. 3 months is a long time. Also it is a non-turbo and a horrible colour. Both of those things would have to change. Nice colour turbo ones sell for $6000 or so.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Afrodeziak]

Have multiple examples of the same car that go for the price you want to pay. Tell him when he comes to the sense that it's not worth what he wants, that you'll pay him in that ballpark.

If you've done your homework and know why a car is worth less than asking. Then you're not douchin' the guy.

[Mibz]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak


I can't see COS getting behind the wheel of a RHD, so that leaves a pretty limited number of possible matches:

-Audi A6
-Toyota Supra

And of course:
-Toyota MR2

My money is on the MR2

My guess is Talon

[Kloubek]

That was my first thought too.

[Cos]

Holy crap guys. Go to the dentist and now I have to quote something like this! haha

Originally posted by pf0sh0


risky if the seller declines the offer, because now OP just drove 3 hours for no reason lol

Actually it would be 6 hours. It is 3 hours each way. Haha

Originally posted by hampstor
Be direct with facts to back it up:

I believe your car is worth $XXXX. I believe this because of the market price as well as X, Y and Z which I noticed about your car. With that in mind, I am offering you $ZZZZ. Please let me know if you are interested in working to close a deal.

Oh I am not 100% pulling the number out of my ass. I could probably justify $3500/$4000 but being that far away and some of the other issues with it I dont see it being worth that much of MY time.

Originally posted by blitz


This.

Don't go out and waste your time and his time without seeing if he's stuck on the higher price.

Exactly what I am hoping to do. Just want to be nice and fair to the guy while lowballing him. Haha

Originally posted by dirtsniffer
details on the car?
i would suggest showing him some info on why his car is worth what before you drive 3 hours to look at it

I may provide details.

Originally posted by ddduke
Why aren't you showing us the car?

Because there actually are lots of sales of this type of car and this one seems like a bit of a gem. I am worried about someone going in with $4000 and showing the seller this thread. Haha

Originally posted by hampstor
I should also add, always give the other side the option to discuss why they think it's worth more. In addition to what I said earlier, add "I understand you believe the vehicle is worth more and I am open to discuss the reasons for that". You should usually know enough about what you're buying to prepare a rebuttal.

It goes a long way to making someone feel better about it when you are low balling them.

I do this all the time as part of my job.

Hey if he can make it worth my while I would probably pay it. Just based on photos and the short history I dont think it is.

Originally posted by ercchry
i think i found it

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ311994073

DAMMIT!

Originally posted by Sugarphreak


I can't see COS getting behind the wheel of a RHD, so that leaves a pretty limited number of possible matches:

-Audi A6
-Toyota Supra

And of course:
-Toyota MR2

My money is on the MR2

Haha Yeah no RHD for me. Even the car that I love has RHD versions I wont even look at. Ill give you guys a hint. If you find the post your first car thread.... it is my first car. And for you lazy bastards it has NOTHING to do with my username.

Originally posted by Mibz
My guess is Talon

Nope. Hate those bastards.

[Mibz]

Search on this forum fucking sucks. Tried "first car", "first + car", "first AND car" and ""first car"" and they all bring up single instances of fucking 'car'. I'm not weeding through every thread with 'car' in the title.

EDIT: Apparently no threads exist with "first" in the title. Moved on to "1st" and there's nothing.

And of course you've got 250 pages worth of posts yourself.

Just tell us the godamn car, jackass.

[Cos]

Originally posted by Mibz


Just tell us the godamn car, jackass.

Lol angry bastard:

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ313295940

Edit: So the color sucks. The motor is rebuilt without receipts as far as I can tell. It is 1.5 from town (not sure where I got 3 hours, must have been all in trip), it has been for sale for a while, and overall appears to be good shape.