Pet peeve of mine in CL car ads is where there's a long list of the features/plusses of the car and then casually at the end of the description is: "Needs engine".
To quote Iron Man 2: "How about next time you LEAD WITH THAT???"
It also annoys me a bit when it isn't clearly stated in the ad if the car doesn't run/isn't drivable.
I don't read ads that don't have any punctuation.
When they can't take the time to put more than two lines about the car they are selling but then list 500 other cars so it shows up on every search you can imagine.
In reply to tomtomgt356:
I've always thought about calling or emailing them about the extra terms. "I saw your Camry, and noticed that you mentioned an AMG. No? What about the Nissan? Wait! What about the Festiva?!"
Ad titles. Why is it so berkeleying hard to put the YEAR of the car in your ad? Its actually become a game with me that if the title says "Mustang" and nothing else I wager myself that it will be a SN95 model...bonus points if its a ratted out V6 ready for the scrapper or has chrome wheels and other 'enhancements'.
SN95s suck. Nobody wants them. Stop wasting my time.
I love reading ads for DSM's (turbo eclipse/talon/lasers) that have a seemingly well put together car in great shape for $2000. The ad is two pages long and you have to look really really closely to read that one bullet item under the bad that states "-spun bearing, doesn't run"
Another favorite of mine is "ran great until until the engine blew"
Scottah wrote: Another favorite of mine is "ran great until until the engine blew"
That one is great- I've yet to see an ad for a car that said, "Ran like E36 M3 until it threw a rod," EVERYTHING always runs great until it explodes for no explainable reason.
Mike wrote: Sometimes, the spelling problems help. There are some great deals to be had on a Camero or an Alpha Romeo.
I dunno, based on what I've seen Camero production was much higher than Camaro. Assuming there are many people searching for Cameros as there are selling Cameros, I think the deals might be on the Camaro.
In about 10 years, I predict Chevy will capitulate and change the spelling on the car.
I just searched "camero" in cl. It gave me plenty of ragged out 6 cyl 4th gens as i expected, but it also gave me a $45k 1st gen sporting a 496 with a blower. And he spelled it wrong like three times so it wasnt a misprint. You would think a guy who can afford to build the car would know how to spell it.
"Doesn't need much." Can you please tell me precisely what it needs? It may not need much, but chances are that it needs something major.
"Just spent $XXX on parts - just needs to be assembled."
Also, "just needs some TLC" is code for "run."
"Ran perfect, 10 years ago before I parked it outside with the hood open"
Maybe we should start a thread about things that make us jump on cars? Back when I had a lot more time to wrench and RX-7s were a bit thicker on the ground, I'd jump on any one that would idle but die when they tried to move it or any that got moved and then just wouldn't run any more.
In the first case, the MAF was often stuck. In the second case, it was usually flooded. Both cars could usually be gotten really cheap and then scavenged for parts or flipped.
The knowledge gap was a great benefit. Then the internet got really popular, a forum took the place of a mailing list and a bunch of people could easily search on how to fix what was wrong with their cars.
Have you guys ever run into a situation like this?
I was looking to buy an 8th gen civic Si (06-11). So right off the bat a majority of the ones on the street today are owned by morons. I find one that is in need of some work...whatever...I'm just looking for a DD that's fun I can deal with some work. Go to check out the car and indeed it needs work but it ran fine, had brand new RS-3s on it, and a used supercharger in the trunk (bonus, kid had no idea what it was). To the point, the taintschwipe was asking $7500 which for those is a great deal; but, he said he still had a lien on the car and he said after I paid him that plus $500 a month for the next few months I could have the title.....GTFOOH holy E36 M3, knife hands came out, I almost Walker Texas Rangered this kid for being so stupid. I made out with the supercharger for a couple hundred bucks and built a chumpcar with the earnings.
You'll need to log in to post.
