The General Stupidity of the Human Race Continues to Rise Unabated

No offense Mike, but this is the main reason I don't use CL.  People use an electronic media outlet to place an ad that says "Please call".  That is like placing an ad in the newspaper that says "Please e-mail".

I prefer e-mail over phone calls if dfor no reason than everything that is said and agreed upon is in writing.

Invent something that's idiot proof and they'll create a better idiot.

My opinion is that if some idiot e-mails me I can simply press delete for things so stupid they don't deserve a response.  To each his own.

When I was buying tow-away cars at the San Francisco City Tow auctions and selling them on CL, I had a policy of telling all potential buyers to meet me at the same time/place. I'd have up to a half-dozen lined up for an appointment and never once did I have two show up at once. The flake rate for car-viewing appointments for CL buyers is about 95%.

Then there's the impossibility of getting important info about the car for sale across to potential buyers. The worst is the automatic-vs-manual issue. I actually made an animated GIF of a hand operating a manual shifter and another animated GIF of a foot operating a clutch, with huge red text reading "STICK SHIFT - MANUAL - NOT AN AUTOMATIC" across the tops and bottoms of CL listings for manual-trans cars and I still had people show up to see the car and stomp away in a rage after discovering that it wasn't an automatic.

This pisses me off the other way too.  95% of the CL ads don't give any details that a potential buyer actually cares about.  They have two paragraphs of useless info about what car they bought to replace the one they are selling, but they aren't smart enough to list the engine, transmission, or general condition of the vehicle they are selling.  They take one picture from 50 feet away and assume that tells the story.  Eventually I figured out that any ad that doesn't list the type of transmission is a 100% guarantee that it's an auto.

The engine exists.  However, it does not run when fuel is applied to it.  However, it will spin when power is applied to the starter.  Also, the transmission is not in the place it used to reside.  It is in the trunk.  It, too, does not function correctly.  However, the body is arrow straight and mostly complete, save the few parts I've sold off it.

http://greenville.craigslist.org/cto/2439415413.html

Pass then. I don't have room for another Merc hulk in the basement with the Val acquisition. Stick it on one of the Mercedes W123 forums like Peach Parts or the like as a parts car, someone will snag it.

Craigslist is all but useless these days for selling.

-=Tom

That level of stupid shouldn't be allowed to own a car. 

This reminds of when I go to the parts store to get an oil filter for my '06 Mustang GT and the guy behind the counter asks "Is that a V6 or a V8?"

I've been trying to sell a set of vintage Appliance 4-lug bolt-on wire wheels for over 2 years I picked up at a local swap meet. Came off of a Datsun 510 and did not fit either my Datsun or MGBs the way I like. They also use a strange 2-piece lug-nut set specific to these wheels, an early version of Unilugs I remember people talking about way back in the 70's.

The inner parts are adapters that screw on to each stud and adjust the lug spacing depending on what pattern you have. Arrows pointed "in" for small, arrows pointed "out" for big. The 2nd outer pieces actually hold the wheel on, and give the appearance of normal lug nuts. (Bizarre)

Because of this, they are rarer than hen's teeth and these will only fit cars with 7/16th studs. Which means I gotta find just the right buyer and it is like the needle in a haystack.

The LEAST stupid response I've gotten was from some guy wanting to know if they fit a 50's Chevy Bel Air.

"4-lugs dude." "Oh".

It went down hill from there.

I got a bunch of Triumph folks wanting to know if they fit a Spitfire. Not a clue I say, bring your car over and we'll try it. No response. Over and over for months every time I posted the ad I got the same questions from the same damn email addresses.

Finally one guy shows up, we test fit them and low & behold not even close. I ask if he knew why I was getting so many Spitfire responders every time I post MGB stuff for sale, and he says "we search for MGBs because they all use the same parts".

WHAT? NOT! EVEN! CLOSE! (facepalm) (FYI, some late Midgets & Spits share a few things, but a "B" is an entirely different species)

So I repost it saying "Will NOT fit a Spitfire. NOT. NO WAY. DON'T ASK". And of course I get flooded with excited Spitfire guys.

After automatically deleting the ones that say "for my Spitfire" I've had half a dozen guys slip through the weeding process and show up to look at them, and after wasting my time talking about Hondas, MGs, Datsuns and Toyotas they inevitably ask "So, do they fit a Spitfire?"

You know, I've never really bought into the whole car A -vs- car B thing, especially the odd MG -vs- Triumph hatred (I like all horrible crap), but in this case I can kinda see it.

Also, every ad I've ever posted, someone ALWAYS reponds "any pics" even though I always include them on the ad. Not one person who has asked for pics has EVER bought anything. As a test I've offered them better pics of anything they want, or tried to engage them and not one has responded back.

Verdict: Picture collectors and anything Spitfire are automatic red-flags and the work of the devil: immediate delete.

not all craiglist idiots are adults. I assume plenty of "I just got my permit and need a bitchin' car to pick up girls as soon as my acne clears up" is the problem. My youngest cousin turns 16 in a few months, and he's been trolling the ads for a 300 mile radius for a year. Fortunately, he is kind of responsible, but mostly shy, and doesn't harass the poor CL sellers with "does that chevelle SS have a hemi, or 5.0?" questions. I try to point him in a direction that doesn't involve lowering the property value of his parents home, and/or result in a SBC hanging from a tree limb in the front yard, and a camaro on cinderblocks beside the garage, but I fear my advice might lead him down a much darker path. yugos, and corvairs, and international double cabs, and a half dozen engineless A1 chassis VWs... I'm a horrible role model.

yes. Yes you are.

(working on lemon on a city sidewalk on a busy street)