I've had my car on CL for a reasonable price, maybe a bit higher than most. I've had five contacts, the last one was about an hour ago. First guy sounded sincere. We chatted a bit, he ask a few of the important questions. There was talk of a test drive, I told him I would be happy to give him a ride. He then wanted to talk about price. I told him the price is listed in the ad. He wants to negotiate now, on the phone. I told him no thanks. Come and see it, if you like we'll go for a drive, and then we can discuss price. I'm not in a large population center, so it's a bit of drive from downtown. He wants me to bring the car closer to him. I decline, he says he'll call back maybe.

Second call, guy speaks very little English. I think he's from SE Asia, but I'm trying to get info to him. He asks 'what is your lowest best price?' I say the price is in the ad. He says something like 'you must go lower price'. I know it's not his native language so I tell him he can negotiate after he sees the quality of the car. He gives up.

Third caller, I'm sure is a car dealer. He asks all the RIGHT questions, says he's not a car dealer. Tells me he has '$17,000 CASH RIGHT NOW!' I now know he's a car dealer. I tell him he can have it for $22k RIGHT NOW! He says it's too high,and I say he should shop for cheaper cars with defects.

Fourth guy wants to come out soon, but again - he's got this 'what is your best, lowest price for sale' bit? I hang up.

Fifth guy just called. He asks a few questions, not really related to 911s. Says he has $15,000 he can give me, and I should take it because he's got an offer in on another 911 and the guy may call him back any time. I tell him to buy the other car.

Jeezalou, it's like I'm trying to sell a 1983 Yugo. I don't want to edit my ad and be a complete equine posterior. Cheap 911 shoppers are like the plague.

 

i can feel you on that , outer then my 996 i have turbo m3 for sale

the calles i'm getting to trade for 92 civic , buyer will come along just have to wait for the right one !

ppl see too much gas monkey they think if they have 2k they can buy 20k car !

 

 

CL has never been good but its the absolute worse place to sell or buy anything, other then "offer up". Might as well not waste your time writing a description b/c you will get people contacting you asking all the questions answered in your ad and asking to trade garbage and low ball you even after you spell out in bold print "no trades or low *****". Besides countless scams both sites are full of dumb rude teenagers and ********. My favorite one was when some dumbass asked me to trade a perfectly good bmw for a pos dodge truck plus some (stolen) stereo equipment and video games. wtf? Anyways, hang in there and if anyone knows a better place besides autotrader or bring a trailer pls post it.

 

I bought my 997 a few months ago on CL. I thought the whole thing went pretty well. Hope the seller feels the same.

I've sold plenty there too. You need to ignore the noise and look for the right buyer.

 

I bought mine about a year and a half ago off CL. I can understand some buyers thinking your asking price may be a little high, even if the car is as nice as the description, and they want to get a feel for your willingness to negotiate. I have seen some cars in the past that were 5k over market, and it would be a waste of my time to look if they weren't going to negotiate. In addition, most cars advertised aren't as nice as the description.

​​​​​​​There are a lot of people that will waste your time with low ball offers and "what's your best price" before they even look at it. I would assume that no one is going to buy the car sight unseen

 

I played the same games for 4 months and decided to remove all my listings. People were looking for a bargain, they were told these undesirable 996s could be had for CHEAP! Which is partially true, but I'm not selling a neglected 996 with 6 owners and 3 accidents - yes the miles are high but the car is well cared for and maintained with logs and receipts.
I frankly got sick of the deadbeat buyers asking for extra pics and video and would just disappear into oblivion.

 

OP that was my exact experience trying to sell my 996. I had it advertised on CL, Rennlist, Cars.com, etc. The only callers are people who want you to lower the price, by thousands, even though they have never laid eyes on the car. I did exactly what you did, I told them to go buy another car, this ain't the 996 you are looking for. I love the ones who quote KBB value or Edmunds value. Thankfully I don't actually "need" to sell the 996 but I just got a brand new Audi SQ5 and it's really hard not to drive that as my first choice.

 

You hit the button with all the bad 996 press uneducated dealers and buyers think we just want to give our cars away to get rid of them. Funny these same dealers post cars for sale way above market value and talk about owning a "PORSCHE" with all the marque's history. I try to educate serious buyers about the strengths and weaknesses of the 996 a truly interested buyer has an appreciation for the info and discussion i blow off anyone who's first question is a low price offer not my definition of a serious buyer.
Rich

 

Yup, I was hoping to get one out of four or five that was legit. So far, a complete bust. I buy and sell things on C regularly, and have had pretty good luck with most stuff. This is just annoying with a 996.

 

 

Soooo...what's your best price?

Seriously, when I bought mine from a private party he got to sharing horror stories of his experience. Example: one guy called, allegedly, from California and wanted to trade him for a house boat. A house boat for God's sake! We live in NE!

 

 

I have sold couple of cars on CL and a few other items. I don't think I ever listed my phone number. I "screen" potential buyer through emails and how they come across. If they mention negotiating price without asking any other question, or not even list their names in the email, I don't bother responding. I've also bought things off of CL and do not ask about room for negotiation on the price until I've gotten enough questions answered, first.