What's your best price?
Discussion
So I got an email this morning just asking "What's the best price you'll take on the XJ-S?" as it's up for sale. That was it, just that one line.
You can call me old fashioned if you like, but surely this is something that is asked after the car has been seen?
Or am I missing something here?
I did tell him, but I don't expect any further correspondence.
Selling cars is f
king st these days. 
You can call me old fashioned if you like, but surely this is something that is asked after the car has been seen?
Or am I missing something here?
I did tell him, but I don't expect any further correspondence.
Selling cars is f
king st these days. Maybe not that terminology but I actually agree with the reversal of the process of agreeing a price before viewing.
I see a car I like via eBay, PH or whatever. It fits the bill with service, owners, colour and rough price (as I'd only ever look at cars around my max) but then say if the car is £8500 and I don't have a penny more than £8000, I would explain I like the car etc but I don't have more than £8000 so it's pointless coming to see the car if this wasn't achievable.
Atleast then, when you go to view the car you just have to check its what you expected and hand over cash.
Works for me.
I see a car I like via eBay, PH or whatever. It fits the bill with service, owners, colour and rough price (as I'd only ever look at cars around my max) but then say if the car is £8500 and I don't have a penny more than £8000, I would explain I like the car etc but I don't have more than £8000 so it's pointless coming to see the car if this wasn't achievable.
Atleast then, when you go to view the car you just have to check its what you expected and hand over cash.
Works for me.
But if you don't ask, you don't get......
There are many chancers out there looking for bargains etc & if they can get something cheap, they will.
When selling one of my previous cars, I had advertised it for 5k & some guy had contacted me asking for a straight swap with his car that he had priced at 2.5k. When I declined he got all stty & told me that he would be doing me a favour by taking it of my hands etc! At that point our conversation ended & I did manage to sell mine for the asking price.......
There are many chancers out there looking for bargains etc & if they can get something cheap, they will.
When selling one of my previous cars, I had advertised it for 5k & some guy had contacted me asking for a straight swap with his car that he had priced at 2.5k. When I declined he got all s
tty & told me that he would be doing me a favour by taking it of my hands etc! At that point our conversation ended & I did manage to sell mine for the asking price.......falkster said:
Maybe not that terminology but I actually agree with the reversal of the process of agreeing a price before viewing.
I see a car I like via eBay, PH or whatever. It fits the bill with service, owners, colour and rough price (as I'd only ever look at cars around my max) but then say if the car is £8500 and I don't have a penny more than £8000, I would explain I like the car etc but I don't have more than £8000 so it's pointless coming to see the car if this wasn't achievable.
Atleast then, when you go to view the car you just have to check its what you expected and hand over cash.
Works for me.
I agree, but stating your maximum to potentially save wasted time on both sides is quite different to the situation described.I see a car I like via eBay, PH or whatever. It fits the bill with service, owners, colour and rough price (as I'd only ever look at cars around my max) but then say if the car is £8500 and I don't have a penny more than £8000, I would explain I like the car etc but I don't have more than £8000 so it's pointless coming to see the car if this wasn't achievable.
Atleast then, when you go to view the car you just have to check its what you expected and hand over cash.
Works for me.
I liked the old days where you'd see a description in the Exchange & Mart (not even a picture), you'd ring the person up, have a chat and get a feel for them/the car. Then you'd go along and see it.
These days with email, it just seems so impersonal. "What's your best price?" indeed.
These days with email, it just seems so impersonal. "What's your best price?" indeed.
Edited by vixen1700 on Thursday 23 February 11:29
vixen1700 said:
I liked the old days where you'd see a description in the Exchange & Mart (not even a picture), you'd ring the person up, have a chat and get a feel for them/the car. Then you'd go along and see it.
These days with email, it just seems so inpersonal. "What's your best price?" indeed.
It's only impersonal because mongs who cannot use the telephone or in some cases speak English properly are attempting to clear their benefits back payments. These days with email, it just seems so inpersonal. "What's your best price?" indeed.
Vocal Minority said:
This place was my only salvation after tryin in the inequitable den for bds that is the real world.
Is the art of haggling dead?
'What is your best price?' is the equivalent of saying 'I can't be arsed to haggle, but what would I be paying assuming I had done a great job of it'?
Why is this a bad thing though?ds that is the real world. Is the art of haggling dead?
'What is your best price?' is the equivalent of saying 'I can't be arsed to haggle, but what would I be paying assuming I had done a great job of it'?
I know loads of people think its really clever to haggle and are desperately proud of themselves if they have acheived the sellers low-price by arguing and teeth sucking but completely honestly I grew out of that kind of s
t years ago. Its so embarrassing and tedious. And rude often.That email cuts right through all the crappy motions you have to go through at haggling stage and you get to find out whether its a price you are willing to pay before you waste each others time going to see it.
DOnt get me wrong, the wording of it is lazy and crap, but a polite email ascertaining the REAL price of the car is absolutely the way forward and I much prefer it when people do it to me. At that point, knowing I have been honest in my description of the car, I know that the person is coming to *buy* the car. H eknows the price and he knows what he is coming to see thus he invariably will buy it. I have sold all of my cars (bar one) to the first person who came to see it based on similar conversations
blindswelledrat said:
Why is this a bad thing though?
I know loads of people think its really clever to haggle and are desperately proud of themselves if they have acheived the sellers low-price by arguing and teeth sucking but completely honestly I grew out of that kind of st years ago. Its so embarrassing and tedious. And rude often.
That email cuts right through all the crappy motions you have to go through at haggling stage and you get to find out whether its a price you are willing to pay before you waste each others time going to see it.
DOnt get me wrong, the wording of it is lazy and crap, but a polite email ascertaining the REAL price of the car is absolutely the way forward and I much prefer it when people do it to me. At that point, knowing I have been honest in my description of the car, I know that the person is coming to *buy* the car. H eknows the price and he knows what he is coming to see thus he invariably will buy it. I have sold all of my cars (bar one) to the first person who came to see it based on similar conversations
I completely disagree!I know loads of people think its really clever to haggle and are desperately proud of themselves if they have acheived the sellers low-price by arguing and teeth sucking but completely honestly I grew out of that kind of s
t years ago. Its so embarrassing and tedious. And rude often.That email cuts right through all the crappy motions you have to go through at haggling stage and you get to find out whether its a price you are willing to pay before you waste each others time going to see it.
DOnt get me wrong, the wording of it is lazy and crap, but a polite email ascertaining the REAL price of the car is absolutely the way forward and I much prefer it when people do it to me. At that point, knowing I have been honest in my description of the car, I know that the person is coming to *buy* the car. H eknows the price and he knows what he is coming to see thus he invariably will buy it. I have sold all of my cars (bar one) to the first person who came to see it based on similar conversations
I am trying to sell a couple of cars at the moment and have been inundated with texts all one sentence long saying "whats best price" or "whats lowest price" or worse still a pathetic text offering half the asking price. Nearly every time when I have gone to call these people back they either don't answer or will answer and come up with some sob story which I assume is to make me feel sorry that these poor people don't have enough money to buy my car so I should give it away at half price. They can dream on!
It winds me up, it is not polite, it is very lazy and frankly it is approaching insulting.
Dave
blindswelledrat said:
DOnt get me wrong, the wording of it is lazy and crap, but a polite email ascertaining the REAL price of the car is absolutely the way forward and I much prefer it when people do it to me.
I wouldn't mind a polite email asking more details about the car which may not have been on the advert, possibly including a 'what's the lowest you may consider' tacked on.But "What's your best price?" just f
king winds me up, sorry. vixen1700 said:
I wouldn't mind a polite email asking more details about the car which may not have been on the advert, possibly including a 'what's the lowest you may consider' tacked on.
But "What's your best price?" just fking winds me up, sorry.
Agree, I think I appear to have suggested that just the phrase "whats your best price" is acceptable communication which it definitely isnt. Thats just a rude/idiotic way to communicate.But "What's your best price?" just f
king winds me up, sorry. I was just referring to the process of establishing everything possible, including price, before looking at a car.
IN fact, Ive never really understood the purpose of pricing a car higher than you want to sell it- fully knowing that both parties *know* that this isnt the correct price. Its a bit wierd when you think of it.
We all do it and price a car at x expecting to sell it at x-y simply because it is the done thing. How did it ever start?
We all do it and price a car at x expecting to sell it at x-y simply because it is the done thing. How did it ever start?
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