Here's my craigslist bitch. this was in 2010. I had listed an Optimax 225 extra long shaft, 300 hrs, all controls and accesseries, it was a 2007, included 2 more yrs of factory warrantee. $10,000. Guy calls asks to come and see motor, and can he bring his mechamic to check it out, run a comp test and download computer. I tell him sure but he needs to bring a battery. Calls he's on his way, already 2 hrs late. He and his mechanic show up, mechanic runs all the tests, everthing is as good as new. Mechanic tells him its a good buy. He then proceeded to offer me 1500 cash..WTF.he wasted 4 hrs of my time and then that pittiful offer. his mechanic kind of looked at him in shock. I almost bodily threw him out of my garage. what a D--bag. eventually sold it for 9500 cash.
-
This site contains eBay affiliate links for which Sea-Doo Forum may be compensated.
Craigslist at it's best
- Thread starter Jetskigoodies
- Start date
- Status
I sure hope that his mechanic "let him have it " for wasting his time.
lamajama
Well-Known Member
Another little rant....(this is therapeutic!)
I'm located just outside of Vancouver. Vancouver Island is, well an Island off the coast that is accessible by
ferry only. It's not cheap. It's about a $125 bill each way - without a trailer that is. Add a trailer of any kind and ouch!
My friend and I had a seadoo for sale and we got more than a few inquiries from the Island.
Yes you guessed it. Almost all of them wanted an immediate discount due to the fact they had to take the ferry
over to the Mainland. This was before they wanted to even negotiate on the price of the machine. One wanted
us to drive to the ferry terminal (about an hour away from us) and meet him. Sorry never going to do that. That
was validated by the fact he changed the appointment time 3 times and has still not made it over.
And one last one...there's a local guy advertising a Battery Tender Junior on C/L. No problem - but he wants
$35 for the thing that retails here for...$35. I've bought a few (diff manufacturer) over the years from Wal-Mart
for $22.
It's just annoying to me only because he's been trying to sell this for the last 3 - THREE - years! When you check
C/L daily....
I'm located just outside of Vancouver. Vancouver Island is, well an Island off the coast that is accessible by
ferry only. It's not cheap. It's about a $125 bill each way - without a trailer that is. Add a trailer of any kind and ouch!
My friend and I had a seadoo for sale and we got more than a few inquiries from the Island.
Yes you guessed it. Almost all of them wanted an immediate discount due to the fact they had to take the ferry
over to the Mainland. This was before they wanted to even negotiate on the price of the machine. One wanted
us to drive to the ferry terminal (about an hour away from us) and meet him. Sorry never going to do that. That
was validated by the fact he changed the appointment time 3 times and has still not made it over.
And one last one...there's a local guy advertising a Battery Tender Junior on C/L. No problem - but he wants
$35 for the thing that retails here for...$35. I've bought a few (diff manufacturer) over the years from Wal-Mart
for $22.
It's just annoying to me only because he's been trying to sell this for the last 3 - THREE - years! When you check
C/L daily....
YouCanDooIt
New Member
Well, I have a CL story for almost everything I have sold unfortunately, however one really stands out at the moment.
I had an 86 stingray SS bowrider, that I bought as a project and spent way too much on. I lost interest and never finished but had a good used 4.3 mercruiser and new mercuiser carb as well as a ton of other new stuff.
I decided to try and sell it just to get some of my money back out of it, I think I was asking like $800. Some clown calls and tells me he wants the boat. I told him everything about it, that it was a project that does not run sent him pictures and he still insisted he really wanted the boat. His only problem was he worked long hours over night and slept most of the day. His only time he could meet was like 7:30 in the morning. He lived about about an hour and a half away from me and he asked if I would meet in a town half way between both of us, but he would have the cash there waiting. Stupid ass me agreed to it!
The day before I went to meet the guy I looked the trailer over to make sure it was fit for the ride. One of the trailer tires was shot, I went to go get a used tire put on and it turned out the wheel was rusted. :facepalm: I spend all evening looking in a junkyard for a 14 inch wheel with a odd bolt pattern. Got the tire put on that night and was ready for the trip in the morning. I am not a morning person at all, I get up at 5 am walk outside, and kiss my ass if the other tire was not flat! Off to walmart for fix a flat.
Finally I meet the guy 50 minutes away and he looks the boat over and ask if the motor turns over. I told him it did, but nothing was hooked up and the motor was just sitting in the boat crooked on only two of the motor mounts. His buddy the boat "mechanic" jumps in the boat and tried to half ass turn it over by hand for about two or three seconds and says "oh yeah, she's locked up good". I told him there was no way the engine was locked up, and if anything it was not set in the housing correctly. The guy buying it kept looking it over and shaking his head. I finally asked where the cash was at he promised and he said, well its just not what I thought it was, would you take $350 for it. Are you f-ing serious?! I blew a gasket at that point and explained to him, how I had told him everything about the boat sent pictures etc. and spent about $60 in gas pulling the boat to him and back, all for him to low ball me. He told me "it's just not what i'm looking for" I stared at him for about 30 seconds didn't say a word, got in the jeep and floored the thing the whole way out of the parking lot.
Your right Lamajama, it feels good to vent. Even though this happened four or five years ago, it still got my blood boiling when I was typing it lol. I learned a lesson that day though, and now I wouldn't drive to the end of my driveway to sell something to someone.
I had an 86 stingray SS bowrider, that I bought as a project and spent way too much on. I lost interest and never finished but had a good used 4.3 mercruiser and new mercuiser carb as well as a ton of other new stuff.
I decided to try and sell it just to get some of my money back out of it, I think I was asking like $800. Some clown calls and tells me he wants the boat. I told him everything about it, that it was a project that does not run sent him pictures and he still insisted he really wanted the boat. His only problem was he worked long hours over night and slept most of the day. His only time he could meet was like 7:30 in the morning. He lived about about an hour and a half away from me and he asked if I would meet in a town half way between both of us, but he would have the cash there waiting. Stupid ass me agreed to it!
The day before I went to meet the guy I looked the trailer over to make sure it was fit for the ride. One of the trailer tires was shot, I went to go get a used tire put on and it turned out the wheel was rusted. :facepalm: I spend all evening looking in a junkyard for a 14 inch wheel with a odd bolt pattern. Got the tire put on that night and was ready for the trip in the morning. I am not a morning person at all, I get up at 5 am walk outside, and kiss my ass if the other tire was not flat! Off to walmart for fix a flat.
Finally I meet the guy 50 minutes away and he looks the boat over and ask if the motor turns over. I told him it did, but nothing was hooked up and the motor was just sitting in the boat crooked on only two of the motor mounts. His buddy the boat "mechanic" jumps in the boat and tried to half ass turn it over by hand for about two or three seconds and says "oh yeah, she's locked up good". I told him there was no way the engine was locked up, and if anything it was not set in the housing correctly. The guy buying it kept looking it over and shaking his head. I finally asked where the cash was at he promised and he said, well its just not what I thought it was, would you take $350 for it. Are you f-ing serious?! I blew a gasket at that point and explained to him, how I had told him everything about the boat sent pictures etc. and spent about $60 in gas pulling the boat to him and back, all for him to low ball me. He told me "it's just not what i'm looking for" I stared at him for about 30 seconds didn't say a word, got in the jeep and floored the thing the whole way out of the parking lot.
Your right Lamajama, it feels good to vent. Even though this happened four or five years ago, it still got my blood boiling when I was typing it lol. I learned a lesson that day though, and now I wouldn't drive to the end of my driveway to sell something to someone.
Brian J
New Member
Wow, I've heard of lowball offers but $1,500 on a $10k item that is in perfect order AND under warranty.....that takes the cake!
LOL read my thread...at least the guy didnt show up and give the ridiculous offer...
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?59001-OMG-seriously-who-are-these-people-on-Craigslist
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?59001-OMG-seriously-who-are-these-people-on-Craigslist
nammer
Well-Known Member
best i'm willing to do is drive to the interstate exit for someone who is coming from afar, and that wouldn't even be for anything i would have to trailer, it's easier for them to come to you, and if they don't want it, no loss there
Jetskigoodies
Well-Known Member
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/3756972869.html
This guy is nuts, he wants $3000 for a 96 xp that currently does not have a motor in it. He bought a supposed good one, but does not want to install it.
This guy is nuts, he wants $3000 for a 96 xp that currently does not have a motor in it. He bought a supposed good one, but does not want to install it.
68ragtop
Well-Known Member
Just some negotiation room, right? ask high, & hope to get 15-20% of that price:facepalm:
Theres a hard to find R&D steering on that. Supposedly it had the steepest angle...
Those are the guys that deserve 3 days of back and forth emails then a ridiculous low ball offer.
Those are the guys that deserve 3 days of back and forth emails then a ridiculous low ball offer.
CReynoldsMIZ
Well-Known Member
http://springfield.craigslist.org/rvs/3734562138.html
I dont think that this guy understands what the lanyard is for LOL this would be quite the sight to see if he flipped or got tossed off
I dont think that this guy understands what the lanyard is for LOL this would be quite the sight to see if he flipped or got tossed off
Brian J
New Member
No lanyard and no title, neither of those fly in my state.
Last Saturday I went to look at a '95 XP that "runs but had a few quirks". When I asked the lady what the quirks were she just said "that it hasn't ran in a while". But she was only asking $800 (willing to negotiate), the hull was clean, had title and it had a recent rebuilt so I thought I'd roll the dice. I drove the 30 minutes over there with a good battery and compression tester knowing that the thing probably wouldn't run but that just meant I could get it cheap. When I pulled up she said the battery was dead and the mechanic told her it won't start but "just needs a starter". I politely explained to her that it could be a lot more than just that since it sat for so long (registration was from '09). In talking I find out that the "mechanic" is a local farmers son who did the rebuild without changing out the gray fuel lines. All the while she just keeps say "it only needs a starter....it only needs a starter"
Me - "OK well the price was $800 running and now it doesn't run and and AT LEAST will need a $100 battery, and a new starter which is a minimum of $100 plus labor so what is the price now?"
"I'll come down to $650 and that is my absolute bottom line"
OK I'm no math genius but she actually just raised the price on me after she got me to drive all the way out to her house. At this point I think we're about to hit the 1 millionth time a seadoo seller has said "it just needs a starter" and balloons with drop followed by Ed McMann doing a live interview. I've had enough of this lady trying to jerk me around and I tell her "You knew I had a 30 minute drive out here and you knew this morning that it didn't run you should have called me and told me that before you wasted my time". I shouldn't complain because I know what I was getting into but geez who would have thought a nice older lady living in the country could be so shady.
So, did you buy it for $650?
Brian J
New Member
No I just turned and walked away after I told her she should have called me. The way it sat, no trailer, without being able to do a compression test I can't imagine it was worth more than 2-300.
I'm pretty sure the motor was locked up from the gray fuel lines and non rebuilt carbs.
I'm pretty sure the motor was locked up from the gray fuel lines and non rebuilt carbs.
Last edited by a moderator:
Jetskigoodies
Well-Known Member
http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/boa/3977787782.html
Gave the guy an offer and he said he was firm on $500. I asked him on the phone if I could pull the head and check the cylinders, he said not a problem. So we pull up and the jetski looks worse than in the pictures. We pull off the seat and the rear electrical box was open and looked like there was alot of water in it. I pulled the front electrical box and every wire had masking tape around it and writing on the tape. So on to pulling the head, we pull the head and it is pitted really bad. The jugs are scored and rusty and the pto piston is shot. We move the pto and the crank sounded horrible and you could feel vibration from the grinding. The hull has a crack on the side and the vts had water in it. So as we are looking everything over the owner starts to tell us how a few years back he had sunk it, but never said if or how he got the water out. He also starts to tell us how they rerouted and bypassed the mpem. The gages where burnt, just everything was a mess. The manifold even has a nasty weld job done to it.
We put everything back togethor an left without even making an offer.
Someone is going to buy that turd for sure and have a huge headache.
Gave the guy an offer and he said he was firm on $500. I asked him on the phone if I could pull the head and check the cylinders, he said not a problem. So we pull up and the jetski looks worse than in the pictures. We pull off the seat and the rear electrical box was open and looked like there was alot of water in it. I pulled the front electrical box and every wire had masking tape around it and writing on the tape. So on to pulling the head, we pull the head and it is pitted really bad. The jugs are scored and rusty and the pto piston is shot. We move the pto and the crank sounded horrible and you could feel vibration from the grinding. The hull has a crack on the side and the vts had water in it. So as we are looking everything over the owner starts to tell us how a few years back he had sunk it, but never said if or how he got the water out. He also starts to tell us how they rerouted and bypassed the mpem. The gages where burnt, just everything was a mess. The manifold even has a nasty weld job done to it.
We put everything back togethor an left without even making an offer.
Someone is going to buy that turd for sure and have a huge headache.
Last edited by a moderator:
That one would be hard to break even on even by parting it out.
Lets see, I have no known good parts for sale, how can I help you?
Lets see, I have no known good parts for sale, how can I help you?
just another rant.. i put a 1970 something o day 22 sailboat with a new main sail on e bay for 4,000. i also posted a 1972 Honda CB 750 k-four motorcycle for 650. had two guys come look at them the one guy told me he worked on million dollar yachts and could not show up to a client on that p.o.s. the other guy offered 600 for the bike and the boat.
My long CL rant:
When I decided that I was going to buy another ski, I told my son the only one I wanted was a 96/97 GSX or a GSXL. He had been looking all over for days but pointed out a CL ad that seemed attractive. A 98 GSXL, with picture and description that the ski was super clean and a strong runner. Asking price was 1600 without trailer. The guy also stated in the ad tgat not to bother unless you were willing to pay the 1600. That he was in no hurry to sell it.
So I get there and the guy already has a story. He just bought this GSXL, but he damaged his ski boat and needs the money to repair it right away. This after claiming he was in no hurry.
Then he told me that he took it on a "hot run" just to try it out and that it was the only time he has rode it, but that it ran strong. The ski looks very clean on the exterior, but when I pulled the seat, I saw a nasty, oil and soot covered bilge (so much for Super Clean) and a battery that wasnt even close to being able to turn that 951.
Thinking project, I asked him to start it and he sounded surprised that I would want that LOL. Obviously the battery wouldn't budge the engine, but our intelligent seller now claims that even though he just rode it that the battery needs to just be charged.
Explaining that I wont buy it without hearing it run and that there is already an issue with the bilge appearance, he grabs his charger and hooks it up at the risk of frying his MPEM. Its not mine, so I let him while I break out my compression tester and 13/16 sparkplug socket.
The charger turns the engine enough for me to see around 134 compression on both holes. OK, now I ask him to start it, but he hits the start button without choking or primer. Just holds the throttle open. Red flags are flying, this guy doesn't know how to start the ski. No way am I buying this thing. I decide to help the guy and prime the machine and get it to fire, only the bilge is filling up with smoke as it spews from the resonator. However, I hear the engine run and dont hear any bad noises.
So I tell the guy that the boat needs a lot of work and that I can't buy it. That he needs to change his ad, his story and sell it to someone that doesn't know any better. So the guy gets desperate and asks me what is it worth to me. I told him no more than 700 dollars, knowing the engine was at least repairable by me along with the other stuff.
I should have said less, because he took it right away. The story doesn't stop here though, because he advertised the cover with it, which was at his GFs place. That he would give it to me and worded it in the Bill of Sale. Fine, we load it in the truck and I get it home, get a battery, by pass the resonator and poured Super Clean in the bilge, scrubbed and rinsed to make it appear acceptable. Before I took it to the lake, I called "Adam" back and told him that no matter what the situation, that I just wanted to know if there was anything else I should know about his "hot ride" he claimed he had before I rode it. He swore that he rode it and that it was fine when he did.
Sure enough, at the lake it ran like crap, didnt steer to the right and leaked like crazy.
No problem, I knew it was going to be ugly and was really more interested in the exterior condition because I could handle the mechanical stuff. I got to work, went to clean the carbs and pulled the reeds only to see that the pistons looked new, this SBT engine had hardly been run at all. The machine was never setup correctly enough to do so.
So I spent about 300 dollars and a lot of labor but got the thing working normally, something Adam would have had to have done if he really were to have rode it. So when I picked up the cover, I explained to him all the work I did to get it going at all, including the steering and the fact that the engine looked like it had never been run. He STILL insisted that he rode this thing even after giving him assurance that I had no hard feelings about it. His kine was "When I rode it, none of those problems were happening." Insisting that I was offending him for questioning it.
I just wanted the straight story so that I could save myself some wasted time, but this CL predator would not flinch.
When I decided that I was going to buy another ski, I told my son the only one I wanted was a 96/97 GSX or a GSXL. He had been looking all over for days but pointed out a CL ad that seemed attractive. A 98 GSXL, with picture and description that the ski was super clean and a strong runner. Asking price was 1600 without trailer. The guy also stated in the ad tgat not to bother unless you were willing to pay the 1600. That he was in no hurry to sell it.
So I get there and the guy already has a story. He just bought this GSXL, but he damaged his ski boat and needs the money to repair it right away. This after claiming he was in no hurry.
Then he told me that he took it on a "hot run" just to try it out and that it was the only time he has rode it, but that it ran strong. The ski looks very clean on the exterior, but when I pulled the seat, I saw a nasty, oil and soot covered bilge (so much for Super Clean) and a battery that wasnt even close to being able to turn that 951.
Thinking project, I asked him to start it and he sounded surprised that I would want that LOL. Obviously the battery wouldn't budge the engine, but our intelligent seller now claims that even though he just rode it that the battery needs to just be charged.
Explaining that I wont buy it without hearing it run and that there is already an issue with the bilge appearance, he grabs his charger and hooks it up at the risk of frying his MPEM. Its not mine, so I let him while I break out my compression tester and 13/16 sparkplug socket.
The charger turns the engine enough for me to see around 134 compression on both holes. OK, now I ask him to start it, but he hits the start button without choking or primer. Just holds the throttle open. Red flags are flying, this guy doesn't know how to start the ski. No way am I buying this thing. I decide to help the guy and prime the machine and get it to fire, only the bilge is filling up with smoke as it spews from the resonator. However, I hear the engine run and dont hear any bad noises.
So I tell the guy that the boat needs a lot of work and that I can't buy it. That he needs to change his ad, his story and sell it to someone that doesn't know any better. So the guy gets desperate and asks me what is it worth to me. I told him no more than 700 dollars, knowing the engine was at least repairable by me along with the other stuff.
I should have said less, because he took it right away. The story doesn't stop here though, because he advertised the cover with it, which was at his GFs place. That he would give it to me and worded it in the Bill of Sale. Fine, we load it in the truck and I get it home, get a battery, by pass the resonator and poured Super Clean in the bilge, scrubbed and rinsed to make it appear acceptable. Before I took it to the lake, I called "Adam" back and told him that no matter what the situation, that I just wanted to know if there was anything else I should know about his "hot ride" he claimed he had before I rode it. He swore that he rode it and that it was fine when he did.
Sure enough, at the lake it ran like crap, didnt steer to the right and leaked like crazy.
No problem, I knew it was going to be ugly and was really more interested in the exterior condition because I could handle the mechanical stuff. I got to work, went to clean the carbs and pulled the reeds only to see that the pistons looked new, this SBT engine had hardly been run at all. The machine was never setup correctly enough to do so.
So I spent about 300 dollars and a lot of labor but got the thing working normally, something Adam would have had to have done if he really were to have rode it. So when I picked up the cover, I explained to him all the work I did to get it going at all, including the steering and the fact that the engine looked like it had never been run. He STILL insisted that he rode this thing even after giving him assurance that I had no hard feelings about it. His kine was "When I rode it, none of those problems were happening." Insisting that I was offending him for questioning it.
I just wanted the straight story so that I could save myself some wasted time, but this CL predator would not flinch.
Crofoot50
New Member
I have plenty of bad stories but I think I'll give you a good one, my son wanted to upgrade his ATV because he was riding a little Kawasaki KLF220 bayou and at 19 years old could handle a lot more power than that. so we cleaned up the Kawasaki put it on craigslist and A guy showed up at my house 34 minutes later and bought it for the full asking price and I gave him a title that wasn't in my name because I never titled it . He told me it was the 2nd Atv he purchased that day ( it was 10 am) he was buying them for a farm he purchased so his guests could ride them , super nice guy. I sold one of my snowmobiles to a guy whose bro in law called me less than two minutes after the ad was placed, he did call me and we worked out a deal he wanted me to deliver the snowmobile an hour away so I told them I would do that no problem just as soon as he drove up to my house to check it out and ride it and pay me in cash. He was offended that I did not trust him but he really wanted it so he drove up , did as I asked and I held up my end of the deal and drove an hour my gas and my tolls to deliver it to him but one we got to his house his wife came outside gave me many dirty looks as I was backing the snowmobile into his garage it barely fit because it was stuffed with all of his wife's arts and crafts and his kids toys it was a two-stroke snowmobile so it filled up the whole garage with smoke I just wanted to get the heck outa there bcuz I was already paid. She was the Breadwinner the guy told me she made twice what he did.
I have hade great success selling on CL, most stuff is just gone. Put my Mustang up there and it was out of the driveway in less than an hour. Buying stuff for the most part has worked out OK, met some really cool people. In fact, my SeaDoo seller is the only real "Bad" experience I have had with CL.
- Status
