You Suck at Craigslist

YSaC, Vol. 269: Why can’t I sell my car? (Parts A and B) …

Written by

drmk

in

,

You gotta work for this one a little bit, like the covergirl you are …

89 honda civix – $1000

good running car call 682-53-xxxx

Okay, the x is right next to the c on the keyboard. That’s a small mistake. There were, as far as I can tell from the Kelley Blue Book, eleven models of Civics manufactured in 1989 (and no models of Civix), so the lack of detail about which one is for sale here is somewhat of a problem. Not to mention that there’s no mention of trim packages, transmission, air conditioning, mileage, accident history, etc. Again, somewhat of an impediment to selling the car.

But the biggest problem is that this person appears to have posted his social security number instead of his phone number. I re-checked the ad a couple of days later, and it was still like that. Sigh.

[Yes, I’m aware they probably just missed a digit of the phone number. It still doesn’t help people who want to call about the car, does it? I can type those nine numbers into my Team Mobile phone all I want to, but it’s not going to accomplish anything other than irritating Catherine Zeta-Jones. On second thought, that might be worth it.]

Even when people DO post the right details, there can still be problems:

2003 Pontiac Grand Am SE1 V6 Sedan – $4500

$4,500

97,500 Miles

Body Style Sedan

Exterior Color Gold

Interior Color Beige

Engine 6 Cylinder Gasoline

Transmission Automatic with Overdrive

VIN #: 1G2NF52E13M516072

Trying to sell my 2003 Pontiac Grand Am. Well kept and in good condition. Always garaged, Highway miles, New tires, No accidents, Non-smoker, Runs & drives great, Very clean interior, Well maintained,
pleas give me a call if you have ani questions. my cell xxx-xxx-xxxx

269a

Besides the obvious problems — i.e., that’s not a Grand Am in the picture, it’s not gold, and the car has been bisected to allow it to carry a motorcycle (in the rain!) — there’s also the fact that this was posted in Furniture.

Comments

26 responses to “YSaC, Vol. 269: Why can’t I sell my car? (Parts A and B) …”

  1. Zoe Avatar
    Zoe

    I suspect the car being sold is the one the picture was taken from. Not that that helps potential buyers, unless you buy cars based on the look of the side mirrors.

    1. Zoe Avatar
      Zoe

      …except I just noticed the car that that side mirror belongs to is red too. (There’s a reflection in the mirror.) Now I’m just bewildered.

      1. drmk Avatar
        drmk

        Yup, there’s a complete lack of gold Grand Ams in the picture.

      2. Jerod Poore Avatar
        Jerod Poore

        The picture was taken from a pickup truck.

        Which begs the question: if you have a buddy with a pickup truck, why did you dangerously damage your sedan in order to transport your dirtbike between points A and B?

        1. SilvaNoir Avatar
          SilvaNoir

          Sparky is as Sparky does

        2. Spaceman.Spiff Avatar
          Spaceman.Spiff

          And is like a picked-over box of chocolates–
          Great expectations on the outside, on the inside, disappointment and failure (and little empty crinkly cups that not even the catulator will play with).

  2. El Kev Avatar
    El Kev

    Jerod, I don’t know you, and probably never will know you. However, I must correct you. I think the person is actually taking a picture of some fool who damaged his car. Yeah, I know, Kev’s a mood killer.

    1. Jerod Poore Avatar
      Jerod Poore

      Kev,
      Either way the person who placed the ad is an idiot. Just how stoned does one have to be to use such a non-sequitur of an image?

  3. Maureen Avatar
    Maureen

    Say what you like, it’s good that the car is a non-smoker. That’s probably why it can run so well.

  4. Cheryl Avatar
    Cheryl

    I have lots of Ani questions. What was the point of “Hat Shaped Hat”? Did she mean for Living In Clip to eclipse the original album versions of those songs? It’s nice to know an expert is available.

    1. kate Avatar
      kate

      I was wondering if I was the only one that caught that. He he. Yes, I have many Ani questions, but I don’t think this person can answer them.

  5. JayP71 Avatar
    JayP71

    Other than the spelling goof and the phone goof I don’t have an issue with the Civic post. A Civic that runs halfway decent is worth $1k with the kind of resale value most of Honda’s stuff has.

    It’s a thousand dollar beater. Seller information is darn near irrelevant at that price point. I don’t care what they say about the car’s condition. I check under the seats and under the trunk lining for water damage, check the fluids, crawl under the car to check suspension parts and drive line, and pull plugs out to get an idea of possible engine issues.

    1. drmk Avatar
      drmk

      The condition of the car isn’t the point of the ad, JayP71.

      The point was that there was no email address with this ad (the seller wanted the people to contact him by phone) and he didn’t post his phone number properly!

      1. JayP71 Avatar
        JayP71

        Ah, I see. Just now noticed he was a number short. Oops.

        I was just thinking of some of the low priced cars I’ve looked at. The add hyped ’em to the max…and I find something two steps from Pull A Part.

  6. 2006 Victory Jackpot « THNIK

    […] YSaC, Vol. 269: Why can’t I sell my car? (Parts A and B) … […]

  7. Dave and Ferret Tribe Avatar
    Dave and Ferret Tribe

    Dear Sparky:

    I am inquiring about your not.red not.a.Grand.Am. Please contact me at ericthehalfabee@_____.com to let me know when I can see it.

    1. Dave and Ferret Tribe Avatar
      Dave and Ferret Tribe

      Drat, that should be not.gold. Proofreading, how does it work?

      1. Spaceman.Spiff Avatar
        Spaceman.Spiff

        You have to use the salmon kibble or the proofkitthen tends to sulk in the warm window and bat at whatever is near with just-beyond-razor-sharp toenails.

    2. CoffDrop Avatar
      CoffDrop

      Sorry Dave, you can not see it – Sparky………

  8. Windrose Avatar
    Windrose

    Here in my car,
    I feel safest of all
    I can lock all my doors
    I can post to Craigslist in cars.

    Here in my car,
    I can only receive
    Replies to the ad
    If you guess my phone number
    In cars.

    1. SilvaNoir Avatar
      SilvaNoir

      Here in your car
      is a motorocycle
      you car’s sawed in half
      to fit it in the rain

  9. LimeLolly Avatar
    LimeLolly

    You know… that is the most unusual car seat I’ve ever seen. It needs a hole cut in the car just to accomodate it!

    Ooohhh… I get it. It’s for those people that need more protein in their diet. *snerk*

  10. Grampdaddy Avatar
    Grampdaddy

    I think I know what really happened – Sparky’s wife/girlfriend/significant other told him the Civix had to go, as in “Get rid of that car or I’m out of here.” Sparky, being loving and caring, agreed to sell the car as quickly as possible and proved it by advertising it as soon as he could. There was just a little problem with the phone number, but he did what he said he would do. She couldn’t blame him if no one wanted buy the car and no one called about it…..

    I had a Corvair station wagon just like this…… I do miss that car.

  11. Spaceman.Spiff Avatar
    Spaceman.Spiff

    Randomly:

    1. The motorcycle-in-sedan picture was on one of the cheezbugr sites, along with being passed around the web like pron at an all-boys middle school. Please feel free to presume–as I did–what that says about Spark’s ability to save, name, and sort photos on his information devices.

    2. Civix is a fun word. It really is. A potential portmanteau to intrigue for entire minutes. If civil+cervix; then a public doorway; if civet+plex a mall for african cats, or, basely, civet+cervix, then the delivery point for extra-large catulators.

    3. I’m now distracted by the elegancies requisite in database searching phone numbers rendered in SSN format (already ciphered how to recursively code to check SSN validity–egads, I’m too much the code-geek . . . )

  12. Windrose Avatar
    Windrose

    Taco, I hope you weren’t up all night waiting for your Punchity Punch Punch!

    G’Morning, Detroit!

  13. bitbot Avatar
    bitbot

    * Something (not somewhat)

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