Am I a rude buyer?

[tmarx]

I was interested in a car listed on the cars for sale forum of this site. I emailed the seller, told him I was interested, and asked the following questions in my email:

-Are you the original owner? If not, how many others, and when did you get the car (date/mileage)?

-What maintenance have you performed on the car?

-When did the car last have clutch and/or transmission work?

-Do you have maintenance records? How far back?

-Any modifications to the car?

-Does the car smoke on startup or otherwise?

-Any oil leaks?

-Any oil consumption?

-Any other problems with the car?

-How much does the top leak?

-Does the A/C work? How well?

-Any cracks in the dash?

-What is the condition of the paint - other than minor rock chips, any issues?

- Does anything not work?

The seller emailed me back and said:

"Hey nate, thanks for your interest. Too many questions."

It shocked me, so I asked:

"Wait - you're saying that I asked too many questions about the car for you to sell it to me?"

And he replied:

"Yes I did, you heard it correctly. good luck to you."

It's not a big deal - there are lots of cars out there for sale. But it made me wonder whether it is bad form for me to ask what I thought were basic questions up front. This is my first foray into the used Porsche market - is there an etiquette I need to learn?

Thanks!

[MikeD930]

Welcome to the forum Nate. No, you were not rude at all. If I was the seller I would answer all of your questions. The seller may be hiding something. I'd pass.

[bpu699]

Thats was an odd reply from a seller...

But, I guess it depends on what you are buying...

When buying cars that are higher priced, you want lots of details, because of the larger expenditure...

If its something pretty inexpensive (Less than $10,000-12,000?), my expectations re-adjust. Its pretty much expected that everything won't be perfect, and it will need "something."

I suspect that lots of sellers don't feel comfortable answering detailed questions in writing... they don't want to imply a warranty or guarantee...

Perhaps the buyer is getting frustrated with calls, leading to no sale...

Who knows...

[Capote59]

All of the questions are reasonable unless this is a barn find sale. In fact, there are others that could be asked, particularly for a running car. You were totally in the right. A true seller would have in preparation written up the answers to these questions and others in order to quickly reply to inquiries.

Chris Johnson

[WPOZZZ]

I asked similar questions via e-mail the other night and haven't gotten a response yet. I do not think it is rude, but more inquisitive as I do not like to waste my time looking at a POS.

[racer]

Sometimes a sale is a relationship.. In a first email I ask only 2-3 simple questions.. to get a feel for the type of seller I would be dealing with. If those are answered I might respond with more questions or reach out and call the seller. I could see how opening up with 10-15 questions can be seen as obnoxious. It may also be the seller has had 10 or more of these same types of emails and feels under pressure to know more about the car than maybe he does know. Maybe he's provided those answers to 10 other folks and never heard back and wonders WTH is with these picky Porsche buying pricks .

Also, depending on how good the seller is and if they know the market they've pitched the car to, questions like the ones you asked would have been answered in a detailed original ad posting.

[Robert Adams]

I to have experienced this phenomenon and I must say it perplexes me no end. I think Racer has probably hit the nail on the head. Maybe folks just look at all the writing they need to do and say, forgetaboutit! As a business owner and sales oriented I find this really an odd situation. At first I thought maybe I was asking to many questions also and then thought well maybe the sellers were just lazy. Then thought, well maybe they never have sold anything before and don't know how to? I'm still baffled. But I finally started just hitting a couple key questions as Racer suggests and asked to follow up with them by phone. Once on the phone I get the 20 questions answered. That seems to work a bit better, but even then it doesn't always guarantee a forthright seller willing to provide enough information to make a decision one way or the other. A lot of times I just give up in frustration. It's no wonder it takes a year or two to find a good car!
Anyway, I'm with you 100% and wish if people are going to sell something, anything really, be prepared to answer questions, become part of the process for cryin out loud! They're the ones inviting us to contact them not the other way around.
Anyway, as you can tell you hit a raw nerve!

[Rot 911]

If I was selling the car I would have posted the answer to all of those questions as part of the information in the ad.

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by Kurt V

If I was selling the car I would have posted the answer to all of those questions as part of the information in the ad.

That's what I was thinking. And if I didn't include it and got a PM asking for it all, after I had responded to the inquiry, I would copy and paste my reply into the ad as a "bump". My only complaint about the policy here regarding no posts in the FS cars is that the listing doesn't get more fleshed out with information over time. But I understand the reasoning behind the policy and respect it.

As for the initial question of this thread, no the buyer was not rude. This assumes that he wasn't asking questions already covered in the ad. If I get questions that are in the listing and the buyer didn't read the whole thing, I usually reply with a "did you read my ad before contacting me?" It doesn't happen here as often as it does on Ebay and CL. I think craiglisters are idiots.

[fluque]

Not rude at all. I had a seller say something similar with actually fewer questions. He emailed back saying he was not willing to respond and if interested come a look at the car. I replied that I would not look at the car with out this basic info.

If a seller does not answer (in writing or by phone) such basic questions then why even bother. Most likely there is a reason behind it and you wouldn't want to find out.

[car-reras]

I always ask questions like yours. If the seller gets defensive, doesn't answer them, or doesn't answer the email at all...questions answered, loud and clear!

[tmarx]

Thanks everyone - that is all helpful. I'm definitely taking the advice of starting with just a couple basic questions (rather than my laundry list, which will need to be answered at some point, but perhaps not in the first email/call) as it seems like a reasonable action to keep everyone feeling comfortable.

Again, thanks for the help - this is clearly a great resource.

[joeym]

IMHO these are all legit question from a potential buyer, i appreciate a customer asking these questions before he views the car that i'm selling, at least before we set-up an appointment everything is out in the open and we won't be wasting each others time.

Good luck in your search....

[Jeff Burger]

No not rude, you can infer that the answers he would have to give you (if he was honest ) would result in no further discussion and therefore a waste of his time and yours

good luck !

[nine11speedster]

its good to know that i m not the only one getting these responses.
I saw a car on the sales forum, i emailed the seller. And because i am from out of town, I need to schedule everything carefully so i can see the car.
The seller just didn't seems to be very motivated to sell, and in the end, he flaked out on me. Didn't call back or what not. Luckily, i had other cars to check out; Can you imagine if i flew in town just to see that 1 car?

Sorry for the rant...

[adrian034]

2 weeks ago, i saw an ad for a car. Seller didn't put milage, 4 door or 2 door, v4 or v6 and no image. Of course I emailed and asked those questions. He then replied saying:
"...if it was a coupe 2 door...then I would put that in the ad....if it was a v 6 then it would be in the ad...if I had a camera etc...then there would be a photo...please do not waste your time...if you want a good car at a good price make an appt. to drive it."
I was shocked and replied him saying i will pass. Then I got this:
"Your an *&%$#@@...My car is so good it is a great car at a great price. YOU LOSE."

Some people are just not very nice and don't know how to sell a car. Don't be offended and just move on. Just thought I share my story....

[frank edwards]

hi,just my humble opinion,these people that sell their cars on the net are dealing with prospective buyers that will have to commit some kind of cost in travel and inspection of the advertised vehicle,and professional and armature dealers have invaded the pelican forums,my questions are simple,how long have you owned the vehicle any accident damage ever,if they answer the questions and they have owned the car personally for three plus years or more and no accident damage and leave a phone #, thats a go to proceed further for me,if they just give a phone#,i don't bother.this is when the initial ad has no phone #listed. i always look at length of ownership then body then mechanics, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask,best,frank

[Sunroof]

great display of arrogance.........

move on to the next seller

[NewfieMZ3]

I concur with the above...............I have asked these questions and many more, if the seller does not know , or is not willing to provide the answer, I figure he treated his "beloved" , "mint" car with the same enthusiam and respect............and quickly move on. A real enthusiast would be more than happy to have a discussion with you about their car, either by e-mail or phone.

All good questions from tmarx and I'm not defending the seller of the car, but, I had my 993 for sale a while back. I included a detailed description of what I thought were the good and bad ponts of the car. I was constantly asked questions that were plainly addressed in the ad and asked many subjective questions that I tried answering as honestly as I knew how. After spending lots of time replying, most of the enquirers disappeared without as much as thanks but no thanks. I got tired of the process and pulled the car off the market. Possible the seller of this car has had the same experience and just didn't take the enquiry seriously.