Strangers offer for My Car

[bivenator]

I live on a cul de sac with very little traffic. Power washing my driveway yesterday with the garage doors open. I see a car drive by with two guys. The car stops at the drive way and the dude approaches me. He offers his hand and asks if I want to sell my Porche. I tell him that every thing has a price and I will pull it out so he can take a look.
He doesn't seem to know much about the brand, talks about his California cousins drive these cars so he want one also. He says they buy them all the time and pull out his phone to show some examples. The pictures are linked to Classic Cars Beverly Hills.

This is the second time this has happened in 4 months, different guys.

I am on some mailing lists evidently and receive offers to buy my car. Nothing targeted to me specifically but general glossy adverts for classic car buyers.

What do yall think is going on here? Are there mailing lists with classic cars that these guys are accessing in hopes of scoring a car to flip?

He took my number after I gave him a price and said he would talk to his cousin. He texted me about 20 minutes with and with an offer 10k less than my asking price. I said no and I had his number and would call him if needed.

Anyone else with this experience or knowledge of this business practice.

[996AE]

Same here.

Door open, cars under covers stranger stops and ask to see whats under the cover.

No way. Polite but a little scary. Guy was driving a 1980s Honda and looked like he was still making payments on it. Felt like I was being targeted.

I too live in on a cul de sac ast and one one in one way out coastal community.

[look 171]

Just low ballers trying to make a buck. some people sell some don't. They are shut looking, nothing wrong with that but, its a pain in the as having to deal with them. A friend has a very silver long hood that live near Bev. Hill CC. The know of his, so they drive by every so often and kept at the sale pitch. ts what they do. I dislike that the world get out that you have a cars that's worth lot od money and its in demand. I worry about thieves that will take your car and sell off the parts to BHCC

[look 171]

I often wonder is these resellers, like BHCC have an ad out for those that go looking for car and get a bonus in return.

[look 171]

BHCC has one of those buyer type guy that show up to some local Porsche only cars and coffee. I think they chased him outta there so fast before his can turn off his car.

[JacobS911]

Originally Posted by 996AE

Same here.

Door open, cars under covers stranger stops and ask to see whats under the cover.

No way. Polite but a little scary. Guy was driving a 1980s Honda and looked like he was still making payments on it. Felt like I was being targeted.

I too live in on a cul de sac ast and one one in one way out coastal community.

Get the same type of people here in Denver doing that too. Gives me an uneasy feeling after it happens. If I'm outside and the door is open they drive past the house and come back to inquire. Talked to a guy from CA about it at Rennsport that lives down a dead end road. He gets the same thing.. apparently "gypsy" types get their hands on a list of dmv registrations for certain types of cars and drive around inquiring about selling. True or not I don't know. Out of all the times everyone stops no one throws out a number for it..

[pwd72s]

There is an easy solution...

[stomachmonkey]

It's BHCC business.

They bought a Benz from my brother same way.

Made him a reasonable offer and the funds were in my brothers bank the next day.

They do need to make money on the deal so don't expect full top dollar, they will get close and they make the transaction about as painless as it can be.

[speeder]

I would treat anyone who approached me that way as though they were a thief. The world is full of sketchy people as well as good ones. I recently sold a non-running car to someone who is a little sketchy, (but I know where his shop is).

He expressed interest in another car on the property that he saw when looking at the one he bought. I called him 5 minutes after he left w the car and said, “hey, btw...don’t come back to this house.”

He knew exactly what I meant and just said, “ok.”

[speeder]

If something seems fishy, it probably is. Another friend was selling a motorcycle, an almost new Aprilia RSV. Someone called and was coming over to look at it but started sending texts that indicated that he wasn't the person my friend talked to on the phone.

Sure enough, when the "buyer" finally arrived, it was in a van w a really BIG guy in the passenger seat. It looked all wrong. My friend just stood in his driveway w his arms folded and his pistol in hand and told them to keep moving. They did not even put up a fight, they got the hell out of there.

I think he avoided a robbery.

[RANDY P]

I had some dude pull up to my house looking at my Pontiac- same deal wanted to buy it. Kept trying to get close to it, I quoted a stupid figure so he would go away, gave him a bogus tel # as well.

As he drove off, I noticed he didn't have plates on his car. I made sure to stare as he drove off.

****ing peasant thieves, hate them.

Also had others pull up and try to buy my stuff, I always quote stupid, I'm not trying to sell so why give a good deal? They can't make money that's fine I'm not here to subsidize their business.

rjp

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by speeder

I would treat anyone who approached me that way as though they were a thief. The world is full of sketchy people as well as good ones. I recently sold a non-running car to someone who is a little sketchy, (but I know where his shop is).

He expressed interest in another car on the property that he saw when looking at the one he bought. I called him 5 minutes after he left w the car and said, “hey, btw...don’t come back to this house.”

He knew exactly what I meant and just said, “ok.”

Yup. I hate leaving my door open for this reason, and I don’t have anything desirable. It’s really easy to break into a garage.

[911boost]

Have had this happen with my daughters Fox body Mustang. Never with the Porsche’s, but with my newer purchase I am definitely a tad bit more stressed about it.

In the end it’s insured....

[Tobra]

I have had them follow me to work or home before. Take a picture of them and their car with my phone, car is a family heirloom, would part with a kidney first, blah, blah

If I am selling a vehicle, I always meet them somewhere of my choosing, like in front of a sheriff's substation.

[Laneco]

As a counterpoint to this....

I've been the one stopping. Usually absolute curiosity and often wind up enjoying the company a fellow car nut for half an hour of a lazy weekend day.

If it comes to the point where I am asking for price, there are a couple things to think about.... First - I already know what it is worth. Second - I already have the money or access to it. I have never asked the price of a car that I wasn't very seriously considering buying right then and there.

angela

[bkreigsr]

If I'm outside with any of the P-cars or the garage doors are open, the answer is simply 'not for sale'. Period.
Leave me your card. "Sorry no cards right now."
Then I follow him to the street and copy down his plate number.
Might be a deterrent, or not.
Bill K

[Tobra]

It is never a 110 pound redhead that follows me home, maybe if I moved to Oregon.

[id10t]

I get people after my rusty, parked in the yard 356 all the time.

First, establish a realistic price you could sell for here on pelican (say $15k in my case - all there, all original except for clock in dash, including purchase documents, etc), add 50%, and then add a 0. Sometimes I'll fark with them if they start trying to negotiate to reasonable, and raise the price. $356k, $744k (trans part numbers), 3.56 million, etc.

For the real stubborn ones that keep coming back, on their 4th visit if you threaten to hold them at gun point until the cops show up if they aren't off your property in 30 seconds usually gets them motivating fairly fast.

Unless you want to actually sell you car.... in that case, name a price and be prepared to accept it.

[Zeke]

No one has ever asked to buy my wife's Boxster.

Long story made short: around 10 years ago a friend of mine mentioned selling his 73 T Sporto. So I called techweenie, met him at a PCA meeting and the deal was done right there. Friend starts to show some remorse and I feel guilty now making it happen so fast. That's always how I roll.

So I look here on Pelican FS and there's an '83 SC with 88,000 on the clock for $5999. I told you this was 10 years ago. It was a little rough but ran great so my friend bought it immediately before anyone else showed up. Fast forward to about 3-4 years ago and a German national drove by the friend's house, saw the car and walked up the drive with $18,000 cash. He got the car.

I had just sold my '88 Carrera a few months before, high mileage and needing at least a top end and chains for $12,000 to another German touring SoCal and buying cars.



I removed the bumpers and returned the car to stock before selling it.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I had just sold my '88 Carrera...to another German touring SoCal and buying cars.

This isn't a new thing by any means. Quite a few years ago, a friend sold his clapped-out Triumph TR4 to an English guy who was over here buying up old British sports cars to bring back to the homeland. He was only interested in West Coast or Southwest cars, saying that most older, low-to-medium priced cars in Britain were rusted beyond hope. About a week after the deal was struck, the guy showed up with a huge car hauler full of MGs, Triumphs & Austin Healeys and loaded up my friend's car. He was then heading off on a cross-country run to the Port of Newark in NJ so they could be shipped overseas.