One of the positives of buying and selling cars is all the different people you get to meet. One of the downsides of buying and selling cars is all the different people you have to meet.
A little background: In the late 70s the kid next door and I were both in first grade. His grandfather would occasionally give us a ride to school in his orange Dodge Ramcharger. I remember thinking it was the most fascinating vehicle I’d ever ridden in. It certainly wasn’t a car, but it was not a pickup truck either.
The pickups of the 1970s there were not like the crew cab or double cab pickups seen everywhere today. I think that 99% of them back then were regular cab trucks. I remember being stunned when I saw my first Datsun King Cab! There is space behind the seats? It was like something from outer space!
The Ramcharger was just a derivative of a Dodge pickup. It came equipped with bucket seats and a massive center console. The back seat was actually higher off the floor so rear passengers had a great view, and there was a huge area for storage behind the second row. The Ramcharger was different, and for a seven year-old, different was cool. I decided that one day, I would own one.
Fast-forward a few decades. I was perusing the internet local used junklist and I found one. It looked okay in the picture, it said it ran good, and the price was rock-bottom. Every time I called the number it went to voicemail and said “voicemail box full”. I gave up after about the third or fourth call over a two day span. What kind of person wants to sell something and doesn’t answer their phone? I wondered.
I really needed transportation. I have four kids, and each time one of them turned 16 I gave them my car. This was one of those times, so back to the web junklist I went. The same Ramcharger was posted again, this time with a new lower price! I called the same number and there was still no answer, but this time the voicemail worked! I left my name and number and soon forgot about it.
Two days later I receive a cryptic sounding call and the only word I can understand this man saying is “Ram”. I was about to hang up when I realized it was the seller of the Ramcharger. Only it wasn’t actually the seller, it was his agent or assistant or something. Why you need an agent to sell an old $750 Dodge, I’ll never understand, but I got the address and went to look at it. The vehicle was being used to haul hay so it was a mess. It had an automatic, with a fuel-injected LA 5.2 (318 V8) and 2 wheel drive but I couldn’t hear it run or take it for a test drive because, of course, there was no one there. I called and left a voicemail. Another couple days later the “agent” calls and we agree on a day and time. I express frustration, telling him I have to borrow my wife’s car each time I drive out to look at it. He promises that they both will be there.
By this point it has been nearly ten days since I first saw the ad. I pulled up to see someone laying on top of a picnic table and another individual peering down at him. The one standing gave me the keys and the supine person did not move. The Ramcharger fired right up and the quick test drive was uneventful (unless you count dust and hay blowing everywhere). I checked fluids and crawled underneath it and it really seemed to be in nice condition. The price negotiations were like a comedy sketch. I think I offered $600 to the couple, and the lying down man wanted $700, but the standing man said we should compromise at $650. I had the cash literally in hand, but the deal would end up having to be done the next day, because the laying down man had the title at another location.
This was probably one of the most drawn-out, protracted auto purchases I’d ever had to go through. Many times I asked myself if it was worth it. We FINALLY closed the deal the next day.
After a thorough cleaning this old SUV was actually pleasant to drive. Early Ramchargers came with a removable roof, but this one was fixed. It was as roomy as I remembered in the first grade. The 5.2 was under-powered and a gas hog, but it always started right up. The Bendix had that distinctive “wheezy” Chrysler starter sound. Some readers will know exactly what I am referring to.
Plymouth had their version called the Trailduster, I guess this name was chosen because it incorporated the name of another Plymouth vehicle? Bonus points for a little creativity. Other than the front end treatment and badging, I think the Ramcharger and Trailduster were identical.
At any rate, I drove the Ramcharger for a while, but I got bored with it. I identify with Jay Leno. Leno says many Hollywood types have had multiple marriages but only one car, and he has had only one wife, but hundreds of cars. My wife and I married our junior year of college. One wife, over 50 cars. I know I’ve SOLD more cars than Leno because I only have a two car garage.
Speaking of selling cars: It is funny that some vehicle transactions go so quickly and easily, and others are a disaster. I think the Ramcharger had some kind of a transaction curse. When I put it up for sale I only had one interested buyer. He was very interested though. The sale took much longer than it should have, the buyer probably called me about ten times and came to my house three times. Ultimately, closing the deal included me driving the truck to his house. After I got the cash things began to get weird. He took his shirt off, and wanted me to hang out and have a beer. I decided to start walking home rather than wait the extra five minutes for my wife to come and get me. I did not want to see any Ramchargers after that. As common as they were years ago, I almost never see one now.
Owning a Ramcharger was a promise made to my seven year-old self. It has now been crossed off my COAL bucket list.
Wow, I am at a touch over 25 cars and cannot say that I have had any experience as odd as the two transactions you have related. But then I’ve never bought or sold a Ramcharger. The closest might be talking price with the wiry old guy with the gray flattop who was sharpening a big knife as my son and I talked price with him on his 89 Grand Marquis.
Great story! I always thought these Ramchargers were the coolest thing – Chrysler’s answer to the Bronco and Blazer if you will. I remember them either being in mint condition or beat to the ground. There was a tan and brown 2-toned one that I saw forever in my hometown. An older white-haired gentleman drove it for years. I also remember around 1981 the local Dodge dealer had a leftover one in a strange goldish color with a white top and weird striping down the side that must have sat for well over a year with writing on the windshield with SAVE!!!! on it, until one day it was gone – it finally sold. Well, about a year later I was with my friends at the mall and there it was in the parking lot! I’m sure someone got a great deal on that Ramcharger!
My take on selling a car has been that either the first person that comes and looks at it takes it right away, or I get tire kicker after tire kicker that really want it but for some reason ask about paying in installments, or can I hold the car for a few weeks, etc. etc. It drags out and then eventually it goes to someone else. That happened with an older Accord I sold about 4 years ago. It was a 1996 LX 5-speed sedan that I had a ton of calls on. It had about 220k miles on it but ran like a new car. I was only asking $1700 for it and the offers I got were ridiculous. Trade for a snowblower? Really? $500? Cash? Really? That makes a difference! Ummmm no….. Eventually my wife had a friend looking for a cheap car to commute back and forth to Boston with. I agreed to $1500 and they took the car. They live a few streets away from me so I have run into them a few times and they say the car is still running great with over 300k miles on it! It has rotted out some over the wheel wells, but other than that it still looks great! I often miss that car and think that I sold it way too cheap, but a car with over 200k can be a hard sell unless you know the history of it so it had to go cheap.
I’ll never understand why folks advertise a vehicle for sale BEFORE they locate the title. And in this story, I can’t quite understand why the seller needed an “agent”, unless he was super paranoid. Me? I’d want to have an “agent” when I BUY, just in case things “go south”.
My brother had experiences similar to Tom C when he tried to sell a Civic. He priced it at about what similar Civics in his area were listed for on Craigslist. Not an overwhelming number of responses, but almost all counter-offer ridiculously low prices.
The 2 times I’ve privately sold cars, in one case the buyer brought a 10 year old car back saying I should re-imburse for a repair it needed….but offered no proof the repair was even done.
In the 2nd instance, the buyer wanted me to provide the faceplate for the stereo on a car they were buying “on installments”(never do THAT again). I wouldn’t do it, and every time they asked, I repeated: “when the car is paid for, then you get the faceplate”. And yeah, the buyer eventually tried to “steal” the car.
In this area, full-sized Blazers/Jimmys rarely come up for sale (though 1 of my neighbors has one sitting in their backyard). A Bronco or Ramcharger is easier to find for sale. Traildusters? Almost an automotive unicorn.
Howard, doesn’t it seem like people are getting more and more unreasonable with the bartering? And forget selling a car now on Craigslist – it can be a very scary proposition. The days of a classified ad in the local newspaper and trusting the people showing up at your house are gone.
I’ve sold and bought lots of cars and motorcycles on CL over the years. So far most of my encounters have been okay. I’ve dealt with a lot of flakes who set up an appointment but never show up, of course they can’t be bothered to call and let me know they can’t make it. I try to show the car away from the house, after all the bad news stories about CL sales gone wrong. It’s best to have another person with you, in another car to give you a ride to the bank or home with the money. Not always the best idea to let the buyer drive you home, you might end up minus the car and the money.
I’ve mostly bought and sold cheap cars that sold for a couple of grand, although a few have sold for over 5,000.00 dollars. I did those at the bank where I could verify the validity of a cashier’s check.
I don’t mind a buyer trying to drive a hard bargain, as long as they are respectful. I once made a deal on an Acura I was selling and the buyer was going to exchange the cash the next day and complete the transaction. Later that evening I received a call from the buyer who told me that his brother had told him that the price was too high. He then offered five hundred bucks less. I told him that we had agreed upon a fair price. He said he wouldn’t pay more, I told him to forget it because I wasn’t going to even deal with him anymore and hung up. I think that here is a certain etiquette we should observe as buyers and sellers.
It’s because Craigslist is free and the minimum classified ad in the newspaper was $20 or $30 for three days or whatever. So with the want ads it was not an economic proposition to perpetrate frauds etc.
Craigslist is an obvious thing to do with the internet and should be great. But it often makes for bullshit and fraud because it’s free. It sort of exposes the downside of the worst of human nature.
In Brooklyn, you see all kinds of apartments listed with photos that are obviously four or five times the listed rent. And then some real places by actual small time landlords. And room mate situations listed under apartments. And I’ve read about bullshit car sales, which I don’t really understand but there are enough stories to just avoid the whole thing.
Then in less populous areas everything there may be on the up and up.
It’s an unfortunate situation. Maybe Craig should charge something minimal and then use the fees to investigate and clean up the thing.
I sold an almost new modern sectional sofa on Craigslist in DC a couple of years ago, and used the free section to get rid of some Ikea type bookcases that were made of particle board and weighed a ton. I couldn’t see charging for them. Anyway it worked for those things.
I once became the proud owner of a ’92 Dodge 267k miles 1 ton dully Cummins powered pickup truck, and I wasn’t even looking for or in the market for any kind of vehicle.
I got a phone call from a resident in the assisted living center my Dad lived in, informing me he had sold him his truck for $2500 and he had already cashed the check Dad wrote him. Dad had no license by this time but had a history of getting his hands on someones keys and doing some very erratic Parkinson’s inspired driving.
Lucky for me, (and anyone driving the roads around the assisted center) the truck had been sitting awhile, and the incorrect small gas engine battery that the PO’s son had installed wouldn’t turn over the big Diesel engine fast enough for Dad to start the truck. I got it started with jumper cables, Dad and I went for a long test drive (with me driving), and I thanked him for his wise decision to buy this truck which I will take home and resell for a profit he will make off it. He gave me a dirty look, but said nothing.
Of course he didn’t get the title and the PO lost it, so I went to the DMV and got paperwork for a new title. The PO was taken away in an ambulance to hospice before I got back to get him to sign the new paperwork. Luckily I found his CP number and had his daughter get the paperwork for him to sign shortly before the PO passed away.
After the new title in my name arrived in the mail, I sold the truck to a friend of my neighbors without having to advertise the truck. I’m I sold it for just enough to break even and deposited the money back into Dad’s savings account, and Dad surrendered his check book to me after this.
Must be something about Dodge trucks and weird transactions. About a month after the new owner bought the truck, the transmission had to come out for a fractured drive plate, and a couple of month’s later the same thing happened again. I was glad I sold the truck “as is”.
I have bought and sold many cars over the years. Most were parts cars that I stripped and scrapped. One of my abandoned projects was, I’m embarrased to say, a ’74 Mustang II, that I got for free. It was rusted out in the rear and poorly repaired with window screen and bondo but otherwise mechanically sound and complete. Naturally I went looking for a parts car with the necessary sheet metal that this one was missing.
I answered an ad in the local classified. “1976 Mustang v6 4spd as is $500 runs good”. I called and went to go see it. The seller seemed to be honest about the car. It was his girlfriend’s and she was in a minor fender bender and they weren’t keen on fixing it since it was nearly 8yrs old at the time and the floors were rotted out. I was able to drive it around the parking lot and there were no apparent issues, clutch was solid. Shifts into whatever gears I was able to get to were smooth and the brakes were a little touchy from sitting but that was to be expected.
A deal was made for $250 and that’s where the fun begins. It was a Friday so he requested that I come by after the weekend to pick it up, which was ok since I would need to call in a favour for a tow vehicle. Monday comes along and “It’s my dad’s birthday, how about Wednsday?” Wednesday comes and another excuse. I had already cancelled my friend twice already so I told him Friday or the deal is off. No problem Friday it is.
Friday comes along and calls were made and sure enough it’s going to happen. My freind shows up and instead of his b2000 he is driving his uncle’s Ramcharger Power Wagon with a borrowed tow dolley. Perfect. What an awesome no nonsense get the hell out of my way vehicle. Pig on gas but who cares attitide all over it. I wanted one badly.
We get to the apartment building where the Mustang was located and there in it’s place was a barely recognizable hunk of junk. We got out to look. Gone were the slotted mags, replaced by mismatched wheels of whatever would fit. Hood, fenders, doors, gone!, seats, carpets, dashboard, gone!, radiator, alternator, battery, gone! front and rear shocks, driveshaft and steering wheel, GONE!. All of it gone! My freind asked me if this was the car that I bought. Hell no, it was a complete running car. My brother was laughing because he had spotted the rest of the car packed onto a Third floor balcony. We were just about to leave when the owner comes out with paperwork and keys in hand to complete the deal. I didn’t have to say a thing because my freind stepped in and tore him a new one for wasting our time.
I had made a mistake in the negotiations by telling the owner about my project and saying that his car had exactly what I needed for mine. Solid quarter panels, a four speed and good running engine for a spare. Nowhere at any time in the negotiations was the idea or the impression that that was all I was interested in and pruchasing. From then on it was poker face and as little info as possible when buying.
At least I got to go bombing around in the Power Wagon. I never did get to own one but every time I see one it takes me back to the sights sounds and attitude of the Ramcharger and the Mustang incident. Thanks for the memory and including the ad for the Datsun Kingcab. Another vehicle I lust after in a big way.
I did eventually find my parts car which I drove home for $150 with aftermarket quarter panels on the back seat.
LOL Great story!!
Neat truck and great story.
I am old enough to remember buying used cars from the local buy and sell (actually called the bargain finder where I lived). If you wanted the good deals you got one first thing Thursday when it came out and madly started calling the good ads. Now days it seems a mix of call me no texts or texts only no calls or email only. It can be a real pain to try to get ahold of the potential buyer or seller. And what is with people when your trying to sell a car that try to bargain before even seeing the car or want to trade you for some junk. The other one I hate is when they make an appointment and leave you waiting around for a couple of hours and never show up…
Exactly Julio – like I said in an earlier post there is no consideration for the seller anymore. The days of the nice classified ad with a prospective buyer with cash in hand are nearly non-existent. I don’t want stories and bartering and hashing the price before you even see my car!
I wouldn’t even attempt to sell a car out of my home anymore.
The last time I sold a car with known issues, I set a bottom line line price for the buyer, a penny less and it would go to the crusher instead.
The frustrating part is I rarely even haggle unless I know for certain there’s a better deal elsewhere, just tell me where and when and let’s get it over with. And I price my stuff fair and firm with the same thoughts in mind, but I don’t think there’s a thing I sold in the ranges of 10 bucks and 1000 bucks where I haven’t been low balled or given a sob story. People must be watching too much fast and loud or pawn stars these days. I’m not even going to respond if you offer anything approaching HALF the listing price.
I always expect at least some haggling. The key is for seller to price at the high end of reasonable and the buyer to start at the low end of reasonable. I do both, and have walked away from more than one deal cash in pocket when a seller would not move to where I needed to be (which was a reasonable number, if on the low side). Problem is, the world today is full today of folks selling at high reasonable x3 and buyers who want to offer low reasonable /3.
So true Matt! And JP you are 100% on the money. The seller starting reasonably high and the buyer offering reasonably low makes sense. Too bad the system has been thoroughly abused to make that system seem all but non-existent in today’s world.
The last couple of cars I’ve owned have either disintegrated due to age and rust, donated to charity or been written off due to accident damage. Several years ago (before Craigslist was a thing) I tried selling off my Mercury Topaz which had some issues, in a local online forum.
I got the progenitor of the Craigslist car buyers, folks who called and wanted to offer me half the car’s worth, take payments, etc. FOR A $400 PARTS CAR? REALLY?
A buddy of mine sold his Lumina several years ago on CL, what a disaster that was. The guy who ultimately bought it (and gave it back) gave my buddy this horrible sob story about how he needed a car to get to and from his dying wife (or some other BS). Unfortunately my friend bought the story and allowed the guy to make payments.
Luckily for my friend, this guy wasn’t a total meth head and made a couple of payments. Then, the excuses started coming in fast and furious, the buyer’s phone wasn’t being answered; and he was afraid the buyer had run off with his car. Eventually my buddy was able to get the car back but not until after having to involve the authorities. And of course, it came back missing the radio and some other bits and pieces…
I recently sold a pressure washer on CL, what a clusterfrack that was. I specifically state in my ads, text only, no calls, first person here with cash gets the item. Of course, I get phone calls, most of which are asking me if I will sell it for 1/2 price (or less). Why yes, I will! In fact, I will pay you $150 to take it off my hands… Idiots.
I don’t mind negotiating with folks, but when your opening move is to see if I will take half the price and then call me a prick before you hang up, nope, ain’t gonna happen. When I buy stuff off of CL, I usually want to see it in person before I start haggling. Sometimes the lousy potato phone pix are better than the item being sold and I no longer want to spend time on this.
Caveat emptor were never more needed than on CL…
Always thought Ramchargers were intriguing. When I was a little boy in the 1980s, I remember our neighbours having one. It had a rich two-tone maroon and dark champagne paint job which I thought gave it a bit of class. I was always hypnotized by that Ram hood ornament.
Wouldn’t mind owning one today. Too bad about the creepy vibe, though…
That Ram hood ornament was intriguing, wasn’t it???
Creepy Vibe? This guy certainly didn’t help alleviate that image!
I’ve bought and sold all sorts of crap on Craigslist, and I’d say about 7/8s of transactions qualify as creepy weirdos. I had a very similar experience trying to buy a 1980 Mercedes 240D a few years ago, I emailed, I texted, I called all provideded contacts every day for three weeks and never got a pickup or a response or a callback, even though he was clearly renewing the ad in the same time. By the third week the ad disappeared, and after I once again sent what must have been my 20th inquiry, I finally got a response “someone bought it the other day”. In retrospect I was probably better off not buying it, the car was very cheap but condition was obviously suspect, the grainy picture clearly showed the interior was filled to the roof with junk and the rural property behind it just had a creepy vibe… but the total lack of response only made me want it more.
In my experience, many sellers on Craigslist aren’t serious about selling their car.
They are under duress from a spouse or relative to get rid of a car, and only reluctantly list it. They will list it with a ridiculous price, and say “No emails. No texts.” The phone number will go to: you guessed it – a full voicemail box.
They can then say that they tried selling it, but that no one was interested to justify keeping it.
Oh yeah I’ve encountered that too, but in this case the seller had email, phone and text all listed as options in the ad and supposedly sold the car in the end, so I don’t know what the deal was. Maybe he did keep the car and the response was BS, I was just dumbfounded that anyone else managed to get into contact in that timeframe when I was so proactive.
I don’t have 1st hand experience with selling on Craigslist, just what my brother told me when he sold his Tahoe and his daughter’s Civic. In both instances, 90% of buyers who responded were (apparently) expecting him to give the vehicle in question away for next to nothing. Part of me says that those shows where folks “flip” all sorts of items for huge profits has wrecked the selling experience. But an even bigger part of me thinks folks who come to look at your car that’s for sale, aren’t really serious buyers. They just want to find out if they can get something for free…or next to free.
What I can never figure out is why folks post ads on Craigslist, then either ignore any and all responses to that ad, or they get all indignant when you try to get them to respond.
My last 2 attempts at buying a car and a motorcycle on Craigslist required a lot of “massaging” of my reply to the seller. It’s almost like it’s a colossal riddle or contest to find THE words that get any responses.
James, there is a potential problem with your recollection of that Ramcharger. You write:
1988 was the first year for the fuel injection system you speak of, and 1987 was the last year for the Chrysler-built starter with its characteristic sound; beginning in ’88 Chrysler bought starters from Nippondenso. Also a gear-reduction design, but doesn’t sound anything like the Highland Park Hummingbird (Chrysler-built ’62-’87 starter). Now, it’s possible the previous owner swapped in an older Chrysler starter—I did that myself on my ’89 5.2 D100 just to make it sound the way I wanted—but very few people share my fixation, and the Denso starters almost never fail, and the fact that you can swap on the Chrysler starter isn’t very common knowledge.
Onward, though:
This part you’ve got absolutely right. That “fuel injection” system was a pathetic TBI setup. Halfassed hardware by Holley, crappy code by Chrysler. Lousy driveability, economy, and performance. I
spentwastedsquandered alargeridiculous amount of time, effort, and money trying to remedy the worst of the system’s flaws in that cheap and nasty system; I managed to make the truck run somewhat better than they tended to, but that’s about all.But selling the truck was weird in an unusually favourable way: I used a Master Mechanic shop down the block, and once when I picked up the truck from an oil change I’d mentioned to the owner I was looking to sell it. Months later he calls and asks if I still want to sell it; the millwright in the shop above his needs a good truck soon. I ask what’s the matter with his ’87 GMC, and the mech says “Used up. That’s the only vehicle I’ve ever fixed an oil leak on by replacing an rusted-out oil filter.”
I trade voicemails with the millwright for a few weeks, finally connect and describe the truck. “Ooh, that real nice red Dodge I see in the neighbourhood. OK, can you meet me here in an hour?” Yes. I’d say we went for a test drive, but we didn’t—not really. He got in the passenger seat, I drove him round the block, he marvelled at the CD player and A/C, asked if I’d throw in the snow tires, we haggled for about 25 seconds, and he wrote me a cheque for $4,875 (vs. ask price of $5,000; for an ’89 D100 with 204,000 km on it in 2008, that was a neat trick!). He had to go somewhere and do something; we agreed I could keep the truck til the next day so I could go fetch the snow tires out of storage.
I went immediately to his bank down the street and cashed the cheque. I kept the Cibié headlamps, the spiral-cell battery, the Evans waterless coolant…and my hand-built Chrysler starter. I didn’t have to pay to advertise, smog, or safety-cert the truck.
The truck moved one block away from me, and the millwright was fond of drinking his lunch (and breakfast, and dinner, plus to spend 10 seconds in his shop was to get loopy on solvent, and he spent all day and half the night in there) so I got to watch the truck rapidly get scarred up and banged around, and I reckon my last oil change on it was probably one of its last.
The end of that story reminds me of an Omni GLH-T roller that I bought off of a forum years back. I swear he was drunk when I got there at 10am.
Buying is tough here but not terrible. Selling is just brutal. I’ve tried selling one machine three times now and just decided to go ahead and keep it. No, I don’t need “ink work”, my “best price” is listed until you show up and actually look, and no I don’t have any issues keeping my lights on, I’m not desperate, and I don’t want your “no title” 2003 Altima.
Once a project is done, it’s done. On to the next.
I do fear that I’m going to become the “hoarder guy” one day.
Me, I’ve been having promising early results with the eBay treatment for my elevated collectserall.
I experienced the following when shopping for a used Toyota recently, I was looking at reasonably priced Camrys and Corollas, It seemed that there were very few genuine owners, just ‘flippers” looking to turn a car with shady previously “signed titles”, sketchy history, with little or no documentation, and vague answers to questions about the car’s history, Finally sorted through the riff raff and bought a Camry from a seller with 10 years of ownership and we negotiated a fair deal…..sheesh what an experience.
Only 650 bucks for that Ramcharger.what a deal.Downhere it would go for minimum five grand.i saw a 1985 Blazer k5 on sheypoor(our version of craigslist)for seven grand.
When I sold my Audi 4000 quattro a couple years ago, I decided out of the gate that targeted marketing made sense. I advertised the car on a number of Audi-specific forums and listservs. It went pretty quickly. I think it helped that my asking price was realistic. I’m not sure what I would have done if I’d been selling a non-enthusiast car like a Camry.
I got my current Saturn L on Craigslist–my only automotive transaction on Craigslist so far. Sellers were a pleasant-enough married couple probably in their late 50s or early 60s. The sale was drama-free, just the way I like ’em!
Oh man you need to lose some weight. That’s not good for you. Not to mention its a downer to all the hot chicks attracted to a Ramcharger owning kind of guy!
Put my old 89 Renault van on Ebay last year – UK roadworthyness test certificate had expired. Guy bid a winning low £100 – fair enough I wanted it gone. He then deliberately delayed pick-up (including leaving messages on my cell phone at midnight) so the road tax was about to expire (you can look this up online in the UK) and it was in danger of getting towed – so he could get the van for nothing for me to avoid tow fine. In the end I got it fixed and kept it – he did me a favour in the long run.
Own a 1979 Ramcharger with a 360 4×4 Automatic, Got it WHEN Chrysler WAS ON THE “MOAD” LOOK” Shaggy Rugs, with the Barrel Rear Seats in stead of the three passenger rear seat. ORDER with AM/FM/ TAPE DECK, PS.,PB,PW,PDL,.Also got the 20″ Macky Thomas , on American Racing rims.
COAST me a total $12,000.00 dollars I almost forgot had AIR. CONDITIONING.
LOVED the RAM but a YEAR later sold it got MARRIED “THIRD TIME” Dump Over the Road Hauler. GOT Dorivoce 1 1/2 Years later.
Bought 1981 RAMCHARGER off AL Palmointi FORD / DODGE/ DATSUN Dealership in Mills Rose Park,Illinios. Keeper that 10 Years. By then they quit Make the RAMCHARGER
SAW the” APRIL FOOLS JOKE ” about LAST YEAR 2016 where the RAMCHARGER was to come” BACK”. Like the” FOOL” RAN OVER TO THE DODGE DEALERSHIP. Asked a SALE PERSON where I can order or SEE the RAMCHARGER. They laughed and said it was a JOKE . I LOOKED at him and SHOWED HIM and a MANAGER that I brought ready CASH DOWN PAYMENT. I had $ 25,000.00 dollar cash in hand. That Shut them up….
USING “unnecessary” quotes And CAPITALIZATION Will “make” people question YOUR Sanity
So will carrying $25,000 CASH DOWN PAYMENT in HAND.. I only hope he used a Samsonite briefcase.
I think Bill Sullivan’s post is a parody of CL writing style.
“A/C needs re-chargers”
“Breaks are new”
“Rebuilt title”
The car I had before my ’09 Mustang was an ’03 Mustang that I drove in my job to the tune of at least 500 miles most weeks. It had 228K miles on it when I bought the new one in August 2008. I parked it by my house with a FOR SALE sign on it. My street has a fair amount of traffic for a small town. That car gave me great service and was in very good shape except for needing tires and the CD changer part of the radio was not functioning. I had several people look at it and even test drive with me along. My price wasn’t real cheap but reasonable and I am always honest with people. This may sound strange, but when I listened to some of the people talk about the car and what they were going to do to it I decided I didn’t care what they offered I was not going to sell it to them. As I said, this may sound strange, but I figured I owed the car that much for the good service it had given me. I finally put it out on the highway on a Sunday at my buddy’s body shop which is next to a popular restaurant. I had it sold within two hours to a nice family who still own it.
When I sold my street rod a few years ago I had two different guys look at it the same day. The first guy made an offer a little below what I wanted to take. I told him I would think about it. Guy #2 shows up, we go for a drive and stop out in the country so he can look it over again. He started cutting the car down immediately and I suddenly realized by some of his remarks that he was planning to buy it for resale. He,then made a ridiculous offer. I had already made up my mind that I would not sell to him at any price. When I got home I called Guy #1 and sold it to him for his offer. Don’t piss me off if you are trying to buy from me.
As to buying on contract, I also have a story I will try to keep short. In 1976 a softhearted friend of my Dad in Indianapolis sold a 1971 Ford full sized wagon to a tenant in one of his properties on a sort of rent to own setup because he felt sorry for him. Shortly thereafter the guy drove the car to Evansville in the southern part of the state and called his landlord to report that “It just quit running”. My Dad and I picked it up and took it to my house, also in the southern end of the state. The engine was locked up! I dropped the pan to find parts of the cam, connecting rod and block fragments ! The guy said he was “only” doing 80 at the time it “quit”. I cleaned it up for my Dad’s friend and traded it even ( blown engine and all) for a pretty decent and running ’67 Chevy pickup which I traded for a ’68 Montego and then sold that to give my Dad’s friend some of his money back. I hope he learned a lesson.
I’ve never sold a car on Craigslist. Have sold a couple pieces of furniture, a gas grill, and an inexpensive guitar, and had no trouble. But those were around 2012, so it’s probably gotten worse since then. I’ve also posted for free a couple old pieces of furniture, both of which were claimed with a minimum of drama. (Someone picked up a chair I’d set out at the curb around 11 PM, which was a bit unsettling, but I made it clear I wouldn’t help load, so I just watched at the window to make sure they didn’t stick around…)
I have bought a car on Craigslist–well, sort of. I saw the car in a parking lot with a for sale sign and did a little investigation before calling, which led me to a craigslist posting that had been up for over two weeks without getting bumped. It went smoothly enough, though it had its quirks (the owner before him had never signed the title over, so I had to ask the seller to ‘supply’ the previous owner’s signature…) And I suspect he knew the A/C had a Freon leak which I found out months later when it stopped blowing cold, but caveat emptor. It was a $2000 Volvo, not a high-ticket item. But a relatively painless transaction, the guy was pleasant enough, and I got to get a mini-tour of his ’59 Giulietta Spider after finishing the transaction.
Also, I’ve never seen a Ramcharger like the lead photo, with the final revision of the grille/lamps the Ram pickups used before they were restyled. Didn’t even know they were still making them by that time. That’s got to be a rarity!
My brother and wife got a 1979 TrailDuster, it was a demo in 1980. They dumped it when the electrical system shorted out, in 1982.
My Dad had a 1991. When he had it, he kept it in amazing condition, even had it repainted in 2000. I learned to drive on it. Was quite a long haul vehicle. My dad eventually gave it to my brother and it was still a runner when he got it impounded 5 years ago with 250k on the clock. My best friend’s dad had one at the same time in high school, an ’86. Many fond memories of the Ram Charger. Great write up!
I sell stuff on Craigslist all the time, and other than some dreamers who ask a zillion questions on the phone but don’t follow through, it is almost never a problem. Sure, the buyer might haggle a bit once they get there, but it works out fine 99% of the time.
But God help you if you’re trying to sell a car. For some reason, that’s where all the freaks come out. I’ve sold 6 or 7 cars over the years, and ONLY ONE was a pleasant, easy transaction with a buyer who knew exactly what they wanted and closed the deal the same day. All the rest ranged from moderately unpleasant to downright scary. It’s just ridiculous, the lengths to which some buyers will go.
I once turned down a buyer who spent four days haggling with me, and then finally showed up $50 short and expecting me to just accept it. He acted shocked that I declined the sale over just $50. Yes I did. After giving him $600 off on Monday, and another $150 discount on Tuesday, and a runaround on Wednesday….
About 20 years ago I actually had the car STOLEN. I made the mistake of trusting the buyer’s partner to stay with car with the keys in it, double parked, while he took me upstairs, supposedly to get the money, then promptly ran off. I had to call a friend to take me home. Thankfully, the police found the car, undamaged, two days later. That’s a real New York City story for you.
Then you get those re-sellers who try the same game on every seller, wheedling and whining and giving you sob stories and pointing out every real or imaginary flaw on the car. it’s just a numbers game to see if the seller will accept their lowball price, which at some point almost becomes tempting just to be rid of them. You meet these characters a few times, you begin to recognize their cynical scripts. Some sellers fall for it, giving these guys enough of a margin to make a profit flipping their car, and if one says no, there’s always another sucker.
Then I got a guy who bought the car and then tried to return it the next day with some cockamamie story, because he quietly swapped a few parts off my car into his and thought I wouldn’t notice….
It’s just ridiculous.
One of the sadder days of my automotive life was when I sold my 1991 RamCharger.
I bought it knowing the engine was ‘worked on’ by the previous owner and I had the intention of replacing the engine with something a bit hotter.
Owned the truck for 2 blissful years.
I sold it when I learned that child number 2 was one the way. No way was I climbing my fat ass into the back of the truck multiple times per day to belt in a kid.
Mine was powered by the totally inadequate 318 and pushed the rear wheels.
If I drove the truck nicely, it would get 9 MPG in town and 14 MPG on the interstate.
If I put my foot into it, I could watch the gas gauge slowly drop!
It required premium fuel.
Owned the truck when premium was $4+/gallon.
30 gallon gas tank + premium fuel + REALLY BAD gas mileage equaled $80+ fill ups weekly.
Black foam would spit out of the vents.
The A/C could keep the people in the front seats sort of comfortable, but the people in the back seats would sweat puddles in the summer heat.
The heat would roast you alive, but it took at least 20 minutes of driving before the heat started to work.
I have never had a truck that I had more fun in or that I enjoyed as much as my old RamCharger.
I loved that truck!
I want it back!!
Sold it to a guy from Mississippi.
As he drove away, a tear rolled down my cheek.
I have been looking for a RamCharger for 3 years now and can’t find anything within 300 miles of me (I live in the South) that isn’t vastly over-priced or a total junker.