Railroadman

As others have said, since people are different what works like a charm on one guy would be the wrong approach for another. OP will have to trust his gut on what will work.

Someone touched on the point of getting to know the seller's interests. Don't overlook that. For example, say the guy is into guns and has always wanted a ....whatever. And let's say the gun goes for $1000. If you have that much wiggle room in your wallet, maybe suggest that if he'll sell the car at the price you already both have in mind, you'll also give him that Winchester he wishes he had.

Or whatever else - think outside the box. If he bellyaches about mowing the lawn, offer to pay for a summer's worth of a lawn mowing service above and beyond the purchase price.

Good luck!

Frankie the Fink

YES! That's the other end of the spectrum from the never-gonna-sell, never-gonna-restore owner.

A loud mouth, "...everything is for sale, buddy", kinda guy who just goads you into a conversation about selling based on his moon-shot, money offer and then when he realizes you are serious he gets cold feet and starts back-peddaling.

I've had that happen too...

nrbc7

I think your approach is correct . The honest respectful one is the best . This man knows what he has and has probably been offered more for the car in times past than its worth now . Eventually he will price the car but for now he's hating to sell knowing he'll probably never have another one . I hate to see these situations develop for people but it will eventually come around to each of us . I think you've already read into his situation. Stay your course he's thinking this out now and hopefully your patience will pay off . A friendly reminder from time to time lets him know you're still interested and just keep in mind this is a corvette and most of us have a passion for theses cars and hes probably no different ........ I've developed some of the best friendships over the years from purchasing old cars off individuals most being many years my elder . Good luck nrbc7

Faslane

Become a friend, show up one day with cash, If you are ok caring large amounts, you can carry 20k on your person, over 20 you will need a bank bag. they see that money and relies it can be over in 5 minutes is a major plus. This has worked for me, this guy did not want to give the vin to bank, wait 1 day, the main reason he did not want to sale was because he did not want to go through all the red tape. like the band-aid trick, quick, easy, done, cash is king!
Lane

tmarko

Lots of great advice. Thought the front page would think so too...
https://www.corvetteforum.com/articl...hats-not-sale/

driver9

I thought it was especially interesting that you felt perfectly comfortable calling a member of this forum a slimeball: "Or, if you’re a slimeball, you could go this route:"

Way to go, Tony. Classy.

jasonsamara

Now we are all famous.

Frankie the Fink

Oooooo.....that '67 GTO triple-black project car from across the street tops the article. I didn't see that coming!

Roger Walling

[QUOTE=Frankie the Fink;1592246703]Does a pile of cash really impress anybody these days ??

Maybe some older, reclusive folks. I was offered a cash deal on my '61 from a guy with swarthy skin and a foreign accent. The first thing I thought was how would I guarantee it wasn't a stack of counterfeit bills ? Take every 20th bill to the bank to verify it ?

The best way to verify that the cash is good legal tender is to make the transaction at the bank, have the buyer hand the cash to the teller with your deposit slip. The teller will then count the bills in a machine that will spot counterfeit bills.

If all goes well, hand the buyer the bill of sale.

Ps, the guy waiting in the street will not come to your door after the buyer leaves and rob you of the cash!

phil2302

Well maybe "unethical" or "underhanded" would have been a better word choice than slimeball but bottom line is I dont know anyone who would like a stranger trying to negotiate the sale price of their car behind their back with their spouse. If someone did that to me I would raise the price 10K.

Roger Walling

[QUOTE=Frankie the Fink;1592246703]Does a pile of cash really impress anybody these days ??

Maybe some older, reclusive folks. I was offered a cash deal on my '61 from a guy with swarthy skin and a foreign accent. The first thing I thought was how would I guarantee it wasn't a stack of counterfeit bills ? Take every 20th bill to the bank to verify it ?

The best way to verify that the cash is good legal tender is to make the transaction at the bank, have the buyer hand the cash to the teller with your deposit slip. The teller will then count the bills in a machine that will spot counterfeit bills.

If all goes well, hand the buyer the bill of sale.

Ps, the guy waiting in the street will not come to your door after the buyer leaves and rob you of the cash!

Roger Walling

[QUOTE=Frankie the Fink;1592246703]Does a pile of cash really impress anybody these days ??

"Maybe some older, reclusive folks. I was offered a cash deal on my '61 from a guy with swarthy skin and a foreign accent. The first thing I thought was how would I guarantee it wasn't a stack of counterfeit bills ? Take every 20th bill to the bank to verify it ?"

The best way to verify that the cash is good legal tender is to make the transaction at the bank, have the buyer hand the cash to the teller with your deposit slip. The teller will then count the bills in a machine that will spot counterfeit bills.

If all goes well, hand the buyer the bill of sale.

Ps, the guy waiting in the street will not come to your door after the buyer leaves and rob you of the cash!

jasonsamara

Well I talked to the guy today, and I feel I'm heading in the right direction. The car still hasn't moved and the wife has caught wind of my interest, but not from me so I'm not a slime ball. He said he would keep it when I got there and by the time I left he said don't be surprised if I sell it to you one of these times u stop. Lots of mixed signals but I asked him if he minds me stopping and he said no so I don't feel I'm pushing to hard. The chase continues.

phil2302

Sounds like you have a shot at it. This is something I have done before and maybe you did this. Let him know that you although you dig his car alot and would surely like to buy it but that in addition to his you are also actively looking at other Corvettes.
If it were me and even if I thought it was a phenomenal value /car, I could only tolerate the cat and mouse game he seems to want to play for maybe a month or two.
GLWT search.

emccomas

I am helping a friend sell her late husband's 53 Corvette. He passed away over 7 years ago.

His widow started getting offers on many of the 60 plus project cars he had laying around within a week of his passing.

The husband asked me (just prior to his passing, during our last conversation together) if I would help his wife. He said I knew what the cars were, what they were worth, and he trusted me to act in her best interest.

I agreed, with the condition that I would not accept any payment, or make any offers on any of the cars or parts. I knew there were some family members that were not happy about my involvement, and they were looking for something to use as an argument.

The widow called me one Saturday morning when there were five or six prospective buyers wandering around her property, and throwing out offers left and right.

I took her aside and asked her what she wanted to do. She said she just wasn't ready to sell anything. It wasn't about the money (she had plenty) it was an emotional thing.

I informed all of the wandering prospective buyers that nothing was for sale at that time, and gently prodded them off of the property.

Most of then "offers" were clearly ridiculous. One guy offered $500 for a complete 57 Nomad that needed restoration. He told her he felt like that was a bit high, but he wanted to be fair to her.

I told him that the car would be on Ebay in the coming months. He really didn't like that. Car eventually sold for $6300, and went to upstate New York.

Eventually the vultures stopped coming around when it became clear that they had to get the deal approved by the widow, and with my concurrence that it was fair to her.

One guy even had the nerve to say that we "had to leave a little meat on the bone". I made it clear to him that while we were not picking the bone clean, we didn't have to leave anyone anything. We were not selling these projects so someone could resell them for a profit.

OK, back to the 53.

One of the first offers came from someone that was willing to work some sort of trade for a brand new 2009 Corvette. She didn't want a new Corvette.

After that the offers trickled down to just one persistent player. I told him to be patient, let her make up her own mind, and when she was ready, we would be in touch.

He contacted me about every 6 months after that. He did get a bit frustrated at one point, since he had serious money ready for the car.

I told him it was not about the money, it was an emotional issue that she had to come to terms with.

Well, three weeks ago she did come to terms with it. She agreed to the sale, under the terms that we had previously outlined.

The buyer waited 7 years, and kept in touch, and kept trying, and probably most important, never made a low ball offer on the car.

I am gathering up the parts in the garage attic, and hope to have that effort complete this week. The buyer is planning to pick up the car and parts next week. All of then paperwork for the buyer to get a title is already done.

And yes, the widow is having seller's remorse. It isn't the money, the money is fine, but this was her late husband's baby.

She know it is time, but this is still an emotional issue for her. She will definitely get emotional when that car leaves.

jasonsamara

Well I didn't tell the wife she found out by the neighbor wondering why the electric company stops every few weeks. I asked again about the price I offered and he still seems happy. I feel I have covered all of my bases and now I just have to wait it out. Like I said before one car took me 5 years and the other 2. My gut tells me maybe by the late fall.

corvetteed

Holy Cow! I'm being called a "slimeball", underhanded, and whatever??!! Who ever said anything about going behind the Seller's back?? It wasn't me! Man oh man, some of the inputs here are just unbelievable. I never said anything about trying to be sneaky about doing something underhanded. Of course talk to the wife, but not behind the back of the seller. Yes, if that was done, it would be underhanded, but, I never said that. Scheesshh.

corvetteed

I never said, or implied, to talk to the wife behind the husband's back. Where does anyone get that impression??!! I was simply making the point that the wife is involved in the decision (typically) and has more influence than the prospective buyer.

phil2302

Fair enough.
To clarify.
My post wasnt meant to imply that you personally did or would do that. The slimeball comment was on the front page here and was not my description. However, I did use the term underhanded but only to describe someone who WOULD go around a seller and try to negotiate a sale with his spouse.

vettebuyer6369

close for review

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Guys, if you have had posts removed, its because some of you are making comments at unnamed members that appear to be a continuation of arguing about whatever. I am removing these posts to stop ongoing conflict and leave the thread open at this time.

Also, there is an ongoing conflict initiated by a writer from outside this thread that used an unfortunate term thats been discussed at length. Again, lets drop the misunderstanding it has generated and move on.

Please stay on topic. The conversation still has value.