cairo94507

So my '10 997.2 C4S 6 speed coupe is for sale. Get a call from a guy who is 40 minutes away and he wants to see the car. Brings wife and 2 small children. As they look at the car they touch it and leave oily handprints all over. Then the guy says to the son, "You think you will fit in the back seat (8 year old). Kid gets in kicking stuff as he enters. Dad says, well I wonder if I can fit in the front seat now. I ask "Have you never sat in a Carrera before?" "No". Then he says well I guess I can just throw my golf clubs in the back seat. Then he tells me he doubts the car will get up his driveway - car is 100% stock suspension. You see where this is going? So he says, "Well, let my wife and I take it for a drive." I just laughed and said this is not a test drive car. Take a ride to the Porsche dealership and drive all the cars you want." They left after that. I mean really? Who goes to someone's home to see a nice car and expects to load the wife and kids in it and just go for a ride? It's not a Ford Explorer. Sheesh. OK

, rant over.

Carreralicious

I fully expect to test drive the actual vehicle I am considering to buy, but I hear ya about the guy asking for the test drive with his family. I would’ve just asked you to go with me for the test drive and wouldn’t have brought the whole family over. Good thing you drove them off.

Steph1

I don't blame you.... having recently been on the other side of that spectrum, let me tell you that some owners are also idiots.

One guy knew I was driving from 2 hours away, but never bothered telling me that the car won't be able to really be seen cause he had disconnected the battery and didn't know how to open the hood to reconnect it so we could at least hear it run!!!! Found that out when I showed up. Along with so much dust that even the paint condition couldn't be judged and the front wheels were so beat that I still think that they were beyond repair... heck, chunks of the rims were gone!!! Never seen beat up rims that bad. Could go on.... But the Guy's ad insisted that the car was absolutely mint mint mint and needed absolutely nothing!!!!!! His ad is still up with the same description and of course it is still for sale.

There's been a few others..... lets say that the only really nice "normal" guy is the one I bought from.

C4SDayton

That sounds frustrating. It is hard to ferret out such people by phone. Seems a little unusual to drive 40 minutes if not at all serious, but it sounds like that happened. All I can offer up is when I have sold cars privately, I tell people on the phone what's going to happen. They get a walk around. They get to see under the hood. They can lay on their backs and look under car. They can sit in the front seats and back for a sedan. For a 911, I'd get in the back seat and show them I fit but not comfortably. I tell them i will take them on a test drive and if serious we will discuss them getting a turn driving. If they request to "see what the car can do," it is to be demonstrated by me. I've sold some beaters that were my kids' first cars. Those buyers are usually always serious and ready with cash IMO.

MexicoBlueTurboS

The frustrations of selling are many.

If you have a car listed at n amount expect a number of cash offers from dealers to come in at .75-.8 of n where n is properly priced.

Then you'll get the uniformed newbies that keep comping high mileage 996s or 997.1s with or non S versions to your low mileage 997.2 S. Who knows their cash positions?

Eventually, if you have the car priced fairly, an informed cash ready buyer will come in and meet your asking price with some minor nits - mine was to replace the front tires as they had uneven tread depths less than 7/32.

There wasn't a test drive as much as an introductory drive where I showed the new owner how I typically drove the car.

It helped that I had all of the records and maintenance up to date.

It helped to have a transferable Fidelity Platinum warranty that was good for 5 years and the next 60,000 miles.

It helped to have a lien free clear title in hand.

It helped that all parties were honest and gentlemen during the entire transaction and since.

Fined

Yeesh. Sucks. But to be frank, people will do what you let them get away with. My method with buyers might not be the most patient or best, but I tend to let the money talk and the BS walk. If someone expresses interest in a car I have for sale I let them know what kind of price I'm expecting, how easily I need the transaction to take place, and screen out folks before time is wasted. I'm quite sure I've turned off potential buyers by how direct I am.. I do not care. My time is worth even more than money. I know I can't get it back.

To me its better to not make a thousand or two thousand dollars I could have made off of a sale than have my time wasted for a week or have my piece of mind a bit rattled because of what I allowed someone to do in the process of selling them one of my cars.

SFZ GT3

This is the point at which the dialog, "demo", whatever, would have ended had it been me. Also, some great advice already offered by others on "qualifying" the prospect. As you said, it's not a Ford Explorer. Hope the next buyer is a bit more courteous, considerate, and in better control of the kid's behaviors with other people's property.

BTW, your car is beautiful; I bet the "right" buyer will find it soon! Good luck!

pilfer

what a joke. I have almost no interest in selling a car to a private party unless it's a close friend, this story confirmed my feelings lol. I guess for the next interested buyer meet at a parking lot somewhere? Maybe they are less inclined to take their whole family to a random shopping center? I didn't drive my RS4 personally before I bought it but had another enthusiast look it over and take a quick drive with the previous owner in the car.

HEIL911

The free market includes all types of people, including those who lack common sense, respect, and appreciation for others and their property. I would never let a stranger (and his kids) climb all over my expensive car whether they were interested in buying it or not. Clearly this "tire kicker" was just on a family outing and your 911 was the convenient entertainment. As others have said, learn how to not waste your time.

ThomasCarreraGTS

I was in the automotive business for 16 years, most as a General Manager, and I certainly know how to sell a car. . What you described above is exactly why I happily sell my cars, which are always 100% perfect condition and the right spec, to my dealer. Time is money, and I don't need the brain damage from unreliable idiots coming to my home or some parking lot. No free Porsche drives here.

n1gels

I once allowed a potential buyer to test drive a car I was selling (not a Porsche). He seemed really interested, a decent enough guy, looked serious. He burned the clutch and stalled it on a hill. “What’s that smell?” he asked. “That’s the clutch you just burned”. Then he had the stupidity to ask “Why did it do that?”. I was so tempted to leave him right there at the side of the road. No test drive until you’ve proven you know how to drive. Lesson learned: test drive the buyer first.

sandwedge

Guess why I took my GTS off the market. When this one goes it'll be a dealer trade unless I know the buyer on a private sale. The last straw was some stranger saying he would be "driving through my town tomorrow around noon and would like to take it out for a test drive". Then....."would I mind if he drove it without me coming along so he could drive it the way he wants to drive without my "input"?

sandwedge

Sounds similar to a nearly new 1993 Twin Turbo Mazda RX7 I was selling private many moons ago. A guy who said he worked for Merrill Lynch called and asked if he could come by and look at it and maybe drive it after work. His looks matched what he said he was doing and seemed honest and genuinely interested so I handed him the keys and got in the passenger seat. The first 3-4 minutes were uneventful but then he just started to beat the hell out of the car. Got to the point where I told him to pull over so we could change seats. There were no questions, no apology and no discussion so clearly just a joy ride with no regrets or shame on his part.

Para82

One thing is certain - the majority of the general public are COMPLETE MORONS. I rather dump it at a dealer lot - I did just that with a Boss 302 Laguna Seca and a new Shelby GT350 and I recieved top dollar for both. Not worth the headache.

linderpat

Just curious what you got for the Legun Seca. I'm selling mine right now (a 2012), and this thread really resonates! Send me a pm if you do not mind, and I will keep it confidential.
Thanks.