Define Timewaster when buying / selling a car!

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by MrEL

So you would come to look at a car when it is listed as being worked , all the gear in it was listed and when you lifted the bonnet , it was very obvious it was not stock and expect it to have been driven like a baby?
He wanted to see what it went like and I showed him. He also saw evidence that it was service every 5000km and he even asked me what times it run on the quarter mile.
I had nothing to hide.
Why not be honest with someone instead of trying to sell the vehicle as to what its not?

Your looking at it as a seller with little interest other than to on sell it, a buyer will consider its life expectancy considering its possible abuse and their hard earned they are contemplating parting with.

I guess there are people out there who are lured by that sort of honesty, each to their own, but it wouldn't be my thing.

[T-Pak Addict]

Looking for a cheap 1st car for the lad and looking at piles of crap with heaps of problems I bought an Xcab on ebay... Figured he cant do any worse than whats being offered in his price range but a later model car... He had the AU 2 years and just bought a BA wagon 6 months ago... Yep another Xcab...

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by peteypete

As for subcitizen, dole-bludgers who spend their fortnightly pay on alcohol, cigarettes and tattlsotto tickets, that's another story. It's quite easy to tell them apart from normal people, and really, if you're stupid enough to let them get in your beloved vehicle to take it for a test drive well then, I hope to god that it's returned with it's roadworthy tyres and quiet uni joints.

I am really scruffy looking....Hair rarely done, scraggy goatie, unshaven for a few days and a great big scar over my face...

So would you class me as a dole bludging sub-citizen? Quite possibly....Which suits me fine as I have had people mis-judge me due to my looks and have missed out on thousands of dollars in cold hard earned for their car.....I make a point of opening my wallet when they mis-judge me too, just to rub salt into the wound....

[Crazy Dazz]

Timewaster = Idiot who negotiates a price and pays a deposit, subject to a mechanical inspection (which you agree to because the car is mechanically A1) takes it to mechanic mate who finds nothing wrong, but then reneges on deal because mechanic might have missed something.

Timewaster: When you explain upfront the known mechanical issues, buyer asks for an RAC inspection which you agree to after again explaining known mechanical issues, RAC inspection (surprisingly) manages to uncover known mechanical issues and buyer decides not to proceed because of them.

Timewaster: Makes a lowball offer and says call me back if you don’t get a better offer. After being unable to sell I actually get a half-decent offer from a DEALER, so I ring the lowballer back and tell him the car is going to the Dealer but he can have it for the same price. He declines, but contacts me a week after its gone to offer me $500 less.

[AU Mont]

Well trying to sell a car atm, and after yesterday i believe i can demonstrate an example of a "timewaster"

Calls and says like to come have a look, straight to the point........ great !! I pull the car out the garage, take the kids seats out & all my personal belongings, give it a quick vacuum inside as its driven daily, and give it a bath even though the roads are wet and i know its gonna be filthy after a drive, i like the car to look smick for any potential buyer.

When the old fella arrives, tells me to start the car ........he's got his head in the engine bay with confused look on his face, twisting his head on different angles. Obviously has sensed my late model low km car is a ticking time bomb and is ready to explode.

He gets in the car, adjusts my seat 10 different ways & every mirror to suit him. We go for a drive with him behind the wheel, and hes asking me why 5th gear isnt lit up on the dash lights. I tell him its because the shifter isnt in sports mode. Apprarently this was a big deal, because while were on the highway hes looking down fumbling around with the shifter trying to get it in sports mode to make the "5" light up on the dash just before we nearly have a fatal head-on with a landcruiser coming the other way.

I put the shifter aside, and "5" lights up, and he is happy. Then i put the shifter back into "D" quite obviously so he knows what ive done. On the way home we go around a corner and the engine is bouncing off the rev limiter, wtf. Look down, hes put the shifter into sports mode again and im not sure why.

Nearly home, and i cycle through the climate control & power windows to show him everything works and hes stopping me 'nah dont worry about that'

We get home, and he says its a great car, the exact colour hes looking for, 'so whats my bottom dollar'?

So I say i started it at 13.5k awhile back, and now its at 10k for a quick sale, so no bargaining at that price. And the fact its at nearly 2k under market value as it is.

He points to the old POS BMW he turned up in, and says he is looking to sell that car, and upgrade to something like mine. And that he will have a think about it.

Instead of punching him in the face, i say, "thank you for looking at my car" shake his hand and watch him drive off.

[K_Man]

I did encounter a bit of a timewaster when selling my wifes Daewoo. Guy showed up in a 5 door (we were selling a 3) otherwise identical in spec to ours. Told me his wife was jealous of his and wanted one for herself. Bit of a giggle inside at that one, but anyway...

Takes his time looking over it, being really quite thorough, no problem, we've got nothing to hide, and our asking price was quite reasonable. He seems really happy, go with him for what ends up being a 1/2 hour test driveh, all sweet. Gets back, starts poking around more, sticks his head riiight under the dash (behind all the stereo and that), comes up for air and tells me that he has found a reddish dust, the car must of beeninthe outback and the ks (which were low for the year) must have been wound back, but he will buy it for almost half what we were asking. Yeah, bugger off mate. No sale for you.

[Gadgetman]

Originally Posted by davistev

Geez - there is a lot of negativity here. I thought it was a reasonable question and not deserving of such bully answers.

I ask as I constantly see adds stating this. The message I get when I read such an add is I may be a timewaster if I do not buy which in turn reduces my willingness to even call. As a potential buyer, I would have thought that the seller would be putting their best image forward rather than draw their lines in the sand.

As a seller of a car, our family always offers a drink, have a chat, allow a test drive and thank them for taking the time to look at our car. Never are there hard feelings if the car is not for them.

This thread is about the terminology used when selling a car and how this may impact the number of responses one gets.

Why dont you tell me where it is you live and what you drive and i will come over, have a free drink, tell you my life story cause you like having a chat and then take your car for a flog. When i get back from the drive, I will tell you that i dont like the way your car drives but thank you for taking the time to spend with me and then drive home laughing at how much a you are and that now i know what a lincoln drives like.

[GREGL]

Originally Posted by Gadgetman

Why dont you tell me where it is you live and what you drive and i will come over, have a free drink, tell you my life story cause you like having a chat and then take your car for a flog. When i get back from the drive, I will tell you that i dont like the way your car drives but thank you for taking the time to spend with me and then drive home ****ing myself laughing at how much a wood duck you are and that now i know what a lincoln drives like.

You wouldn't be the first one, nice attitude. That's exactly why dealers have the mindset that some people are only LOOKING and put everyone thru the hoops regardless of their intentions.
Nothing wrong with the OPs way of doing things at all ,unless he was entertaining someone like you of course, in that case you would say his character judgement needed a bit of work.
The last car I sold was done pretty much the same (after the deal was done). you take people as they are and to be honest these days you get so few calls that as long as they turn up alls good .

[wrongwaynorris]

Work in a car yard and you'll soon learn that 99.9% of people who walk in are timewasters .

[chevypower]

Originally Posted by wrongwaynorris

Work in a car yard and you'll soon learn that 99.9% of people who walk in are timewasters .

I often go just for a look, but I tell the dealer about when I am thinking of actually making a purchase, and it's not for a while. They often let me take a drive anyway.

[wrongwaynorris]

Originally Posted by Hell Cat

Complete opposite of a time waster.


Mum put me in charge of selling her barina, the asking price was $6500, mum owned it from new & had full service history.
A teenage girl and her parents came to look at it... Here's an idea how the sale went.

They all look at the car in the driveway.
Girls mum. "Will you take $6000"
Me "mum wants $6500"
"Girls mum" okay, that's fine give me the bank details and I will pay this afternoon
Me "do you want a test drive?"
Girls mum "no its fine, ive seen the service history"


Money was transferred by the next day and the car was collected.

That person is both a fool and a ( long thought to be extinct ) .

[FalconXV]

Having just sold a car, I think this is a good thread, and a good question.
I think there's a few definitions:

- Someone who just wants to take the car for a thrash
- Someone who makes you an insulting offer
- I had about 10 people say "deal I'll buy it next week, or Saturday" and never heard from them again- after negotiating a price- These are the biggest ******** timewasters about. If you're not going to buy the car, have the courtesy to let the seller know because he might have made arrangements.

[jpd80]

Ah, the joys of dealing with members of the public.
Look if you're not up to investing your own time to complete sale, trade it in.
People will tell you all sorts of guff and then change thir mind, that what they do
but you know what?
Persistence pays of, especially when that one person comes along, sees the value in what you have
and negotiates a fair price and sticks by their word. That's why you're selling in the first place..

Sometimes we get a little peek into the world of car dealers and the stuff they have to
go through with sellers but in the end, the goal is money in your pocket, so get to it.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by wrongwaynorris

That person is both a fool and a Woodduck ( long thought to be extinct ) .

Some people are car salesmen while others are just car yard employees.

The easiest way to tell them apart is by their attitude to customers......

[DJR-351]

In my experience some of the worst people to buy a car from are the enthusiasts. They seemed to believe there car was as desirable as the latest offerings from Konigsberg or Bugatti and punters should be fighting amongst themselves to throw money at them, but when you say “thanks mate but no” to the sale they get all bent out of shape and start mumbling about wasting their time.

1 Eg: I flew return from Perth to Adelaide, hired a car and overnighted in a flea bag of a motel to go and look at a HG Monaro, wasn’t totally happy with what i saw so told the guy that day thanks but no thanks, then he starts carrying on about it being a waste of his time taking a couple of hours of work to show me the car...... i was out 2 days wages 1 return airfare 1 hire car and 1 night in the motel for the damned......i should have been slapping him around for making out the car to be more than it actually was.....

[Gadgetman]

Originally Posted by GREGL

You wouldn't be the first one, nice attitude. That's exactly why dealers have the mindset that some people are only LOOKING and put everyone thru the hoops regardless of their intentions.
Nothing wrong with the OPs way of doing things at all ,unless he was entertaining someone like you of course, in that case you would say his character judgement needed a bit of work.
The last car I sold was done pretty much the same (after the deal was done). you take people as they are and to be honest these days you get so few calls that as long as they turn up alls good .

only taking the **** mate. Relax

[Ford_The_Win]

Thank god for the internet, bugger buying/selling cars in the paper.
This is how it goes for me.

1. Find a car you like on the internet - ie. make, model, colour, km's
2. Go to dealership and look at car to determine what sort of condition it's in.
3. Talk to salesman and test drive car.
4. Go over car thoroughly again, have mechanical inspection.
5. Buy car, drive home.

[davistev]

Originally Posted by Gadgetman

Why dont you tell me where it is you live and what you drive and i will come over, have a free drink, tell you my life story cause you like having a chat and then take your car for a flog. When i get back from the drive, I will tell you that i dont like the way your car drives but thank you for taking the time to spend with me and then drive home ****ing myself laughing at how much a wood duck you are and that now i know what a lincoln drives like.

Dear Gadgetman. I see no point in your reply other than to gain a cheap laugh at my expense. I found it offensive.

[BPXR6T]

Definition of a time waster is a 14 yr old kid with an eBay account. I sell my XR8 on eBay, someone bids on it straight away, after a series of nonsensical questions I figure this guy has his hand on it. I try to get him around to look at the car. He gives me all manner of excuses and misses appointments to inspect he car. After getting stuffed around for a few more days I tell him if he doesn't view the car today I'm cancelling his bid. Later on that evening a kid on a BMX rocks up. I tell him I'm not selling the car to him unless he has an adult inspect it. He messages me later that night saying his mum won't let him buy it. Seems the dreamers come out every time I sell something with XR8 or GT attached to it.

[BPXR6T]

Another example of a time waster is a fellow forum member who wanted to buy my XB GT project which wasn't even up for sale. I hadn't touched it for a while so named a price which he jumped at. Being in Adelaide and me being in Victoria he wanted more pictures. No probs, after confirming he was serious I take the day off work and drive 8hrs return to take the pics of he car he requested. The car has zero rust and is dead straight. I send him the pics and hear nothing back. Eventually I get a pm back explaining he doesn't have the money and his parents won't let him have a V8 or some such BS. Some rubbish about his parents not putting in he extra for a V8 and how he's buying a fairmont 6cyl instead. Both times i nearly sold he GT I think I made the mistake of trying to offload it too cheap. It only seemed to attract all the dreamers whilst putting off serious buyers. My GT is still tucked away in the shed which is where it will stay for the rest of my life other than the occasional Sunday. Mostly because I'm sick of time wasters and dreamers.

[NorfyXR6]

Once brought a projectish car in person, agreed a price, on pick-up three days later, car has been sold to someone else.... :(
Although maybe thought I was the waster...

[GT]

you have enough now to work out what a time waster is and I cannot see this thread going anywhere good tonight. Closed.