Rant: How are people (e.g. car sellers) so stupid?

Joined
Jul 23, 2021
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PA
Pardon my rant, but just pursuing ads for car sales, I am just staggered at how sellers are just so dense, oblivous, or outright lazy or stupid. A typical advert shows 1 or 2 really useless photos of the vehicle. The description provides almost nothing useful. It may as well just be a hand drawing and the words, "car." But I am interested, so I inquire politely.

I'll generally send an email saying something like, "Hi, I'm a cash buyer interested in your XYZ. Can you provide more information and pictures please? Thanks."

That often, like today, elicits their moronic follow up, "What would you like to know?"

Am I alone in thinking that humans have gotten to be almost too stupid to exist? Do I honestly, really need to give a litany of things that are relatively basic, that any prospective buyer would like to know? Is this where we are at as a society, that I need to say, "Hey look moron, how about the basics, such as mileage, maintenance records/history, any known issues, rust, etc. How about some useful pictures of the underbody, engine, interior, exterior on all sides, and please in the daylight not in darkness..."

Thanks for letting me rant. Dealing with people really sucks most of the time b/c the average person is just too stupid to breath the same air as me, it seems. There should be a stupid penalty, where I get to kick them in the groin.
 
Never say "cash buyer," if it's an individual selling, it's implied it's cash and they probably think you're just some jackwad that thinks they have a lot of negotiating power because they're a "cash buyer," and they rolled their eyes when they read that and they immediately have a negative opinion of you as a buyer which doesn't work in your favor, and from a dealer, a cash buyer is the last thing they really want.
 
Never say "cash buyer," if it's an individual selling, it's implied it's cash and they probably think you're just some jackwad that thinks they have a lot of negotiating power because they're a "cash buyer," and they rolled their eyes when they read that and they immediately have a negative opinion of you as a buyer which doesn't work in your favor, and from a dealer, a cash buyer is the last thing they really want.
Really?!

I'd think just the opposite, as in "I have the cash and am not a tire kicker or going to offer you some nonsense trade or need to get financing, or trying out a scam like a check mailed to you, etc."
 
Never say "CASH"!
As there are other commissions for the sales person to make if they get you to finance the vehicle(or when adding extra features to the vehicle). Telling them you want to pay cash may/will certainly hurt your final price on a vehicle. OK, maybe not in every situation and used vehicles/used vehicle car dealerships may be a different situation.

Make that statement about cash, the last thing you tell them. You may think differently however, it is always one of the 10(or more) things not to say when buying a vehicle in many articles about "how to buy a vehicle".

Another thing not to say(doesn't pertain to you) is, telling the sales person what you want your payment to be. They will certainly get it there when in fact, you may have done better/lower with some hard negotiating.
 
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.......... Am I alone in thinking that humans have gotten to be almost too stupid to exist?........

No, you're not. I'm amazed at how common sense has all but gone out of existence in much of today's society. You have businesses that succeed today, that wouldn't have lasted 10 minutes 60 years ago. Look at these insane check cashing establishments, like "Check Into Cash", that charge these absurd fees to cash a check, that banks do for free.

Or else all of these payday loan joints. Many of these places charge interest rates over and beyond what crime syndicate shy larks charge. It doesn't stop these complete financial morons from going there. These places would have been illegal 60 years ago. Today they're all but common place in most any strip mall across America.

Who in their right mind would buy a used car, sight unseen from "Carvana"? Or else buy it from one of their stupid gimmick, "Car Vending Machines". Yet they do it. "Carvana" has become a multi million dollar operation. Again, 60 years ago people would have simply laughed at the concept. Look at how many kids today get into financial hot water over all of these ridiculous student loans. I had an older high school friend who's eldest son ended up committing suicide over it.

He borrowed tens of thousands of dollars on a student loan program, (his father begged him not to do it), went to college, and couldn't find a job to save his life after he graduated. He got frustrated, couldn't make ends meet, became self destructive, and ended up killing himself. What happened to working your way through college? Or going to trade school?

Today unfortunately, common sense has become a quite rare commodity, that's anything but "common". Very sad.
 
Other members have made perfect sense on the dealers perspective.

In my experience from selling privately, someone that blurts the cash thing is more often than not, a low baller.

To expand on what billt460 stated, student loans is what has made a college education cost go to the stratosphere.
Quite frankly, too many people go to college and many of the ones that do aren't taking the majors to fill the jobs needed in the workplace.
When less people went to college, we had a society of people that would think and invent in order to survive and succeed.
 
Really?!

I'd think just the opposite, as in "I have the cash and am not a tire kicker or going to offer you some nonsense trade or need to get financing, or trying out a scam like a check mailed to you, etc."
When my brother sold his truck on FB, every single person who said some form of “cash” in their message was hilariously low balling him for 50% or more off his asking price, which was already really low at time time for a 2001 Dakota R/T. Every single one of those messages were met with silence and an eye roll from him.

But I agree… common sense seems more rare than microchips these days. And a lot of people need to go apologize to trees for creating the oxygen that allows them to live.

Who in their right mind would buy a used car, sight unseen from "Carvana"? Or else buy it from one of their stupid gimmick, "Car Vending Machines". Yet they do it. "Carvana" has become a multi million dollar operation. Again, 60 years ago people would have simply laughed at the concept.
People say the same thing about Carmax. Younger people just don’t like dealing with dealership antics. Carvana has their prices very clearly listed, a good return policy, excellent pictures, pretty clearly defined imperfection photos (something I’ve never seen a dealer post online), no “I need to go talk to the manager…”, etc etc. I’d still rather go to Carmax, but I digress. Pick a car, fill out your info, if approved they’ll drop it off at your house or go to their fancy vending machine. I’ve bought 2 used cars from dealerships and 2 from Carmax, both times at the dealer required 4+ hours EACH after test driving. I’ve spent less than 3 hours for the other 2 combined at Carmax including test driving and filing out paperwork. Just a matter of what you value more… money or time. I’ll pay a little bit more to spend less time dealing with the headache that is buying a vehicle.
 
As long as they drive in a manner that isn't met with your disapproval, enjoy your superior intellect and buy a car online to address your issue.

Carvana and Truecar come to mind. One even has a vending machine!

May even be available overseas.. you're welcome.
 
I'll generally send an email saying something like, "Hi, I'm a cash buyer interested in your XYZ. Can you provide more information and pictures please? Thanks."
Why not just ask directly?

Specifically what "more information" do you want? There have been many times I have posted a car for sale with 12+ HD photos and a detailed list of everything I know about the car and I still get this question. You make the perfect for sale ad and people still want "more information." Just come see the car.

I've even gone so far as to deliver a car to a local shop for a PPI at the request of the buyer, only to have him pay for the PPI, review it, and then continue to ask me questions.

I think I understand some of your frustration, but it is much more frustrating to sell a car. You want more info now, but you're still going to look at the car and ask questions in person, right?

So ask a few specific qualifying questions and then go see the car.

"Has it been involved in any accidents?"
"Has it been smoked in?"
"When was it last serviced?"

Stuff like that. Qualifying questions. Then go see the car and stop wasting time.
 
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More expensive cars typically have more photos. ;)

In all seriousness I've received responses and replied as such but I usually have 10 or more photos in my Ad contained plenty of information. If you, as the buyer, respond then the seller knows you're probably interested.

Also, there's a lot of scam inquiries which are worded just like your response and people tend to ignore them. I had an Ad up for 6 months the same scammers came around 2x or 3x with the same "I'm a cash buyer,,blah blah blah".
 
Never say "CASH"!
As there are other commissions for the sales person to make if they get you to finance the vehicle(or when adding extra features to the vehicle). Telling them you want to pay cash may/will certainly hurt your final price on a vehicle. OK, maybe not in every situation and used vehicles/used vehicle car dealerships may be a different situation.

Make that statement about cash, the last thing you tell them. You may think differently however, it is always one of the 10(or more) things not to say when buying a vehicle in many articles about "how to buy a vehicle".

Another thing not to say(doesn't pertain to you) is, telling the sales person what you want your payment to be. They will certainly get it there when in fact, you may have done better/lower with some hard negotiating.
This is all probably fine advice for a dealership type sale. I'm talking about a private advertised sale on various marketplaces. There's sometimes a vehicle that peaks my interest but has almost no information.
 
The sellers response to your question seems reasonable.

Without knowing the info in the add and without know the info you wanted, it’s just a big discussion with the fat purple cat from Alice in Wonderland.
Huh?
It's a car. How about list some of the information a person would want to know about it. We're not recreating the wheel. In fact, to help, most online ads actually have areas to FILL IN THE BLANKS which the sellers are often too stupid or lazy to do.

Which is btw another red flag. If a person is to stupid or lazy to do that, it's likely the car was also neglected out of ignorance or laziness. If a person is so dumb they have to ask, "What information do you want to know?" On a blank slate vehicle sale ad, I guess I just need to not bother with it...

I guess this rant has run its course.
 
Huh?
It's a car. How about list some of the information a person would want to know about it. We're not recreating the wheel. In fact, to help, most online ads actually have areas to FILL IN THE BLANKS which the sellers are often too stupid or lazy to do.

Which is btw another red flag. If a person is to stupid or lazy to do that, it's likely the car was also neglected out of ignorance or laziness. If a person is so dumb they have to ask, "What information do you want to know?" On a blank slate vehicle sale ad, I guess I just need to not bother with it...

I guess this rant has run its course.
Yeah you're coming across as entitled.

It's their property and their ad. But they're dumb for posting it the way they want to.
 
Really?!

I'd think just the opposite, as in "I have the cash and am not a tire kicker or going to offer you some nonsense trade or need to get financing, or trying out a scam like a check mailed to you, etc."
That's GIVEN, any seller will assume you have the cash, how else are they going to sell to you, on the never never?o_O Also when they ask you what you want to know it is for a specific thing for they don't know what is important to you. I'd not be so dismissive of them.
 
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