Buying Woes

[asp integra]

I apologize in advance for the short rant.

Went and looked at an 08 GTS over the weekend, great colour, 2 sets of wheels, drove and sounded great. Had the tow package which I want and I've had my heart set on a GTS for a while now. Its hard to beat the handling and feel of those suv's. I asked if the owner would be ok with me getting a pre purchase inspection and he said that would be no problem. Long story short he got a low ball offer from someone else and accepted it instead of taking my higher offer. He couldn't be bothered to take an hour out of his day for me to have the pepper inspected.

Hopefully another one will come around

[ExtraSlow]

well, would you be comfortable paying that lower price without an inspection? Always possible to give the seller two options, a with inspection price and a without inspection quick sale price.

Some folks just want cash in hand asap.

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by asp integra
I apologize in advance for the short rant.

Went and looked at an 08 GTS over the weekend, great colour, 2 sets of wheels, drove and sounded great. Had the tow package which I want and I've had my heart set on a GTS for a while now. Its hard to beat the handling and feel of those suv's. I asked if the owner would be ok with me getting a pre purchase inspection and he said that would be no problem. Long story short he got a low ball offer from someone else and accepted it instead of taking my higher offer. He couldn't be bothered to take an hour out of his day for me to have the pepper inspected.

Hopefully another one will come around

A lot of people are heading that route, cash and carry type of deal.

I had a guy refuse to take a $100 deposit on a $1700 car for 10 min while I ran to the bank down the street to get the rest of the cash. Said I wasting his time

[NoPulp]

After trying to sell my grandpa's D150, I don't entirely blame him. "Cash in hand, ready to take it away" is a hard thing to turn down after screwing around with potential buyers. There was no guarantee you would actually end up buying it... what if the inspection turned up something and/or you just ended up low balling at the end after all that time?

I lost count of the interested parties I had. Everyone was willing to pay full price, felt my description was fair upon viewing and I even took a couple deposits. People are so flaky. Ended up just giving it away to the first person that actually put some cash in my hand and brought a trailer to take it away.



It does suck. I'm the same way when I'm trying to buy. I want to do my homework and I just want a fair deal with the seller.
As the seller though I totally understand just taking any cash offer that you can live with if it means less time.

[HiTempguy1]

Inspections are practically meaningless anyways. Unless there are parts completely damaged
(and noticeable to the naked eye) and requiring immediate repair, they don't turn up anything, or if they do, its a whole bunch of ridiculously minor things (the brakes are worn! tires are bald!) and the buyer thinks this gives them more room to negotiate.

If people ask me to get a car inspected, I tell them sure, on their own dollar and time.

Now, I can understand for a larger $$$ purchase why you would want an inspection. But if its that big of a purchase, spend a couple hundred to have it flat decked to the shop and back. Problem solved.

[Mitsu3000gt]

If I had a dollar for every time someone on Kijiji offered me a fraction of the asking price "cash in hand" as if they were going to pay me some other convoluted way....haha. I guess it worked on this guy.

Or maybe the owner knew a problem would come up or was worried, so he jumped at the chance to sell it sans inspection.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by HiTempguy1
If people ask me to get a car inspected, I tell them sure, on their own dollar and time.

How do you do it on their time? Do you give them the car to take to the mechanic?

[Rocket1k78]

Selling a vehicle is a horrible process no doubt so he could very well be done with dealing with all the flakes or he might know the vehicle has some issues and at first pretended he was ok with the inspection in hopes youd think you didnt need it because he was ok with it.

Originally posted by HiTempguy1
Inspections are practically meaningless anyways. Unless there are parts completely damaged
(and noticeable to the naked eye) and requiring immediate repair, they don't turn up anything, or if they do, its a whole bunch of ridiculously minor things (the brakes are worn! tires are bald!) and the buyer thinks this gives them more room to negotiate.

I could see if you had knowledge about motors but to the average joe they wouldnt be able to tell whats good and whats not just by looking. When you have a vehicle inspected at the particular makes dealer they know what to look for in terms of common issues(thats only if you happen to have a good tech lol)

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by Rocket1k78
Selling a vehicle is a horrible process no doubt so he could very well be done with dealing with all the flakes or he might know the vehicle has some issues and at first pretended he was ok with the inspection in hopes youd think you didnt need it because he was ok with it.


Meh, every car I've taken for inspection was just a basic safety. brakes, shocks, windshield, lights etc etc



I could see if you had knowledge about motors but to the average joe they wouldnt be able to tell whats good and whats not just by looking. When you have a vehicle inspected at the particular makes dealer they know what to look for in terms of common issues(thats only if you happen to have a good tech lol)

[asp integra]

Main reason for the inspection is I wanted to make sure there was no scoring on the cylinder walls. This can be very troublesome in Porsche V8s. I wouldn't want to spend them money on a new vehicle just to find out a little later on it needs a brand new motor.

[J-hop]

Originally posted by asp integra
Main reason for the inspection is I wanted to make sure there was no scoring on the cylinder walls. This can be very troublesome in Porsche V8s. I wouldn't want to spend them money on a new vehicle just to find out a little later on it needs a brand new motor.

What was the shop going to do? Pull the plugs and run a camera?

I agree though. If you buy a lemon without an inspection that is on you. You may think you're mechanically inclined but you can't tell much without getting under a car, especially new ones which are purposely covered from above. Never buy without an inspection unless it's a beater or a project that doesn't matter either way.

It's like not carproofing or CPIC'ing before you buy if you buy a stolen car or one with a lien on it that's your fault don't come crying.

[realazy]

I agree on the pre-purchase inspection being useless. My old 335i's engine had a problem 3 days after BMW inspected it and said there's nothing wrong. Good thing it was still under warranty because they had to replace the engine which took 3 months.

[HiTempguy1]

Originally posted by Rocket1k78
I could see if you had knowledge about motors but to the average joe they wouldnt be able to tell whats good and whats not just by looking.

WTF do you think a tech at a dealership/shop does? Pull the motor and transmission apart to inspect the bearings??

Seriously. That cv axle? You think they pull it apart to look at it? How about the driveshaft ujoints?

At the end of the day, the only thing an inspection will tell you are things that are readily apparent. YES, this can be useful if parts are damaged. But it really doesn't give any piece of mind, because a 99.99999999999999999% worn part still looks the same as a normal part (except for say things like bushings).

Point is that a PPI on a private vehicle is nothing more than a feel good. It could save you from MAJOR blatantly obvious issues. Not arguing against that. But those should be readily apparent.

Probably the biggest thing a PPI is good for is accident damage and repairs that haven't been noted.

[revelations]

I was looking at a Ranger some years ago. Appeared in good mechanical shape, but as soon as I crawled on the ground to look under, I saw the rear main seal was blown and was pissing oil all over the under carriage.

I walked away pretty quick. The seller also failed to disclose massive hail damage on the ad.

A compression test should also be a part of the process.

[revelations]

Originally posted by J-hop


What was the shop going to do? Pull the plugs and run a camera?

Compression or leak down.

[J-hop]

Originally posted by revelations


Compression or leak down.

Sure that will tell you condition of the cylinder/valve/gasket overall sealing potential in general but pinpoint cylinder scoring specifically no. Just seemed very specific

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Xtrema]

Everything I throw something on Kijiji, I have a little less respect on humanity.

So getting a bit less cash in hand just so I don't have to deal with multiple people is definitely in my favor.

People who want inspection probably want to low ball with the report anyway. So it's totally find to get a low ball offer without report since I saved time and the whole song and dance.

[Thaco]

so many flaky ass people on kijiji, i list shit FIRM PRICE and ignore anybody who tries to make an offer, also nothing is on hold unless you give me a minimum 10% non-refundable deposit.

Nobody got time fo that shit


(also why i never change vehicles, drive er in to the ground and buy another one, i hate hate hate selling stuff with value, especially vehicles.(but i hate even more giving it away to the dealer as a "trade in"))

[Disoblige]

Fuck, if someone actually offered me a deposit, I would love that. I would just say in writing that the conditions are that once the deposit is given, no refunds or anything. It also gives me some time to prepare the item to be sold.

And if they bail, then free money, lol.