I've been meaning to do a blog about what to do and what not to do when posting an ad online for anything let alone cars. As an example of what not to do, today, let's take a quick look at this 1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme I found on Facebook Marketplace with an asking price of $10,000. Yes, you read right. Ten-thousand-dollars.
The poster of the ad says this was his brother's car and he passed away in 2015 so, apparently or obviously, it's been sitting right there for going on ten-years now. Poster of the ad claims it has a Chevy 350 engine and Turbo 400 transmission but there are no pictures of at least the engine. If it does have that engine and transmission it's a bonus as this car was born with a Chevrolet 305 at best. Poster of the ad goes onto say, "It's gonna need work done". You can say that again.
Of course, I'm sorry to hear of his brother's passing. However, first and foremost, the biggest issue with this "Cutty" is the asking price. I've sold six cars on Facebook Marketplace in the last four years so that makes me a self-ordained crack expert of sorts when it comes to selling cars online. So, I know that price sells - especially on Marketplace. If you want to have folks even nibble on what you have to offer, you have to be reasonable with it and, ten grand for this is not reasonable. Not even close. Without seeing it in person and getting a peek underneath, I don't know if $1,000 is fair - then again perhaps the powertrain might be worth that if, IF it's salvageable. Again, no pictures of it and there are no details if any work was done to it.
The other obvious issue is these pictures themselves, especially in an ad for a car with an asking price of ten-grand. Again, sad story behind this car sitting and all but if the poster of the ad really wants to sell this, least they could do is clean the area up around it. And, if at all possible, pull the thing out of the holes it's been sitting in, get it onto dry pavement and wash it thoroughly. That might be a tough to do considering it probably doesn't run, but at least clean the area up around it and hose it down if not wash it.
Even if this had a car cover on it, obviously it hasn't, it still wouldn't protect the under carriage from getting wet. From the look of things that driver's door doesn't look properly aligned so rain may have gotten in soaking the insides. Forty-three-year-old GM weather proofing might have a hard time keeping mother nature out in general too. And it rains a lot up here in Cleveland, Ohio. Like, near Seatle, Washington lots. The amount of snow we get up here is overrated.
These pictures look like they were shot in early to mid-spring and now that we're knocking on the door of the end of summer tells perspective buyers this has been literally if not figuratively sitting on Marketplace for a long time. Good grief, is that a sub-woofer?
All that said and done, something has to be done about that asking price because even if this car was presented properly, $10,000 is just too high of an asking price for anyone to take the ad seriously. What to ask? Not ten-grand. C'mon. I'd delete and relist this with updated, seasonally appropriate pictures along with at least getting the trash out of the way. If the poster can, take pictures that have at least some semblance of glamor and, of course, work on that asking price.
It’s bad enough that there’s garbage around the car, but garbage ON the car? Good grief!
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