The G6 Showdown

  You have read about a bunch of my phone and text interactions with “buyers”. Today I will tell a tale of a face to face interaction with a potential buyer.  The vehicle was a Metallic Blue 2007 Pontiac G6 with 30k original miles. This car was perfect. I was selling it for one of my BMW club members. I did my research on what the realistic price for this car would be comparing to real world comps. This is the best way to gauge a true value and I listed it at what I thought was a very reasonable price, especially since it was the lowest mileage one on the market.

  I list the car and several hours later I get a phone call from a very interested party. He said "this sounds like the exact car I'm looking for and I'll come around tomorrow lunch time to see it”. I had high hopes. He sounded serious with money burning a hole in his pocket. Noon arrives, as well as my buyer. The first thing out of his mouth is "What are all of these cars? Are you a flipper?” I said, these are my personal cars, they are not for sale (admittedly, it does look like a car lot with all the cars Sandy and I have collected). He says "Is that a Mercedes under that cover? What are you asking for that" Yes it’s a Mercedes; no it’s not for sale, that my wife's SLK. Then he's pointing to the other cars and asked what was under the other car cover. I said that’s our Alfa Romeo. He then goes on how those were horrible cars, always breaking down, and the usual Italian car put downs. This is starting out smashingly, with insults. This was an indication for things to come.

  I quickly direct him to the G6 in the other driveway. Immediately he tells me all the problems these GM products have and how he guarantees this car is ripe with issues because he has had a few G6’s & Malibu’s. I said if you owned so many of these cars and they are so problematic, why do you still want to buy another one? That doesn’t make any sense does it? I basically called his bluff. I know his game. Shoot down the car so you can come in at a low ball offer. This guy doesn't realize I am a professional in this game.

  I open the door, pop the hood for him and fire the car up. He starts checking under the hood and the first thing out of his mouth was "This isn't a garage kept car like you said, I can see it stayed outside. What else aren't you telling me right?" What is this guy talking about? The engine compartment was super clean and had ZERO signs of being left outside. (see picture).We live in NJ, there’s snow and rain, it’s not going to be perfectly showroom but it was pretty damn close to it. The thing that really got me was he was basically calling me a liar. That doesn't sit well with me at all. I know the owner personally and I picked up the car from the garage. He proceeds with his inspection and tells me the tires are worn, which they weren't, and they need immediate replacement. They did not. Then he makes up all these other mythological issues the car had. I thought to myself: Wow, you must be some kind of savant mechanic because you didn't even sit in the car or drive it yet and you are telling me it’s going to need thousands of dollars of work, on a mint condition car with 30,100 miles. The worst part of it all was he did it with an attitude that he seemed to have starting the moment he arrived to see the car. I don’t mind someone doing their due diligence when buying a car but don’t be an ass. My patience was quickly running thin.

  Next he asks me how I got the car. I tell him I am selling the Pontiac for one of my fellow BMW club members, because he is tired of dealing with people from Craigslist, like you. He just ignored my little dig at him. He then says "well whose name is it in?" I said the owner’s name, I am selling it for him as a favor and he just explodes with all kinds of gibberish like I’m jumping title, what if the DMV questions who he bought it from, I’m illegally selling the car, etc. I ignore him because I have a legal contract with the buyer to sell the vehicle on his behalf. 

  Then he said "what I think is going on is you bought this car for very cheap and you are trying to sell the car for a big profit and that's wrong." I quickly cut him off. My voice became more strict and my volume started to increase as I reiterated the truth again to him. DO NOT unjustly call me a liar because this conversation is going to end quickly. He then asks me "Who came up with this price?" I say the seller and I came up with a fair price for the car in comparison to similar cars currently on the market. He says "Well KBB private party says its worth much less and needing tires, I want a $500 deduction, and that's before I drive it, and find more issues the car has." Kelly Blue Book isn’t going to be anywhere near what this car is worth simply because they take an average of prices. With no other cars that were comparable, it’s going to give a false value.  I inform him that guides are not realistic with cars like this. I did an analysis of real world cars currently on the market within this region at the moment. His response was "Yeah, but they are dealers and do financing and offer warranties. I don't buy from dealers; I buy from private parties so I avoid all the bullshit". The only shit I smelled at the time was the crap coming out of his mouth. This car was priced below any dealers closest comparable, which had 25,000 more miles. I encouraged him to find a G6 in the price range he wanted to be in because those cars have triple the mileage. I knew he wouldn’t find another one equal within a 1,500 mile radius. I already looked.

  He continues on his almost tirade when I said I had enough. I closed the hood, shut the car off, locked the door, I reached out and shook his hand that he wasn't even offering to me, and said thank you for coming to see the car, I am sorry we can't make a deal. You are going to have to leave. I started walking away and he responds with "that's it, you're not going to even negotiate with me?" and that starts him off spewing that I'm a flipper, illegally selling, not following the law, I'm flagging you on Craigslist, and a bunch of other stuff I wasn't even paying attention too.

  I never turned around, I didn't even respond. I just walked away and let him ramble on until he left. What a nutcase. My blood pressure must have been sky high because this jerkoff had me to the boiling point. This guy needed Prozac or something, and I needed a stiff drink. I really feel sorry for the next people he meets when car shopping. "I only buy from individuals." That's because you want to wear them down with your constant barrage of defilement so YOU can steal the car at a bargain basement price. I’ve been in this business for 17 years and I don’t think I ever had to deal with someone like this before. I pride myself in offering quality cars at the right price and sell them honestly. I refuse to let a buyer call me an unscrupulous seller when everything I told him was the truth.  I know what I had and I wasn’t going to take shit from this guy.

  Luckily three days later, I wound up selling it to my neighbor, who thought it was an excellent deal and loves the car. It goes to show you that one mans tirade is another woman’s treasure.