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Which One Of These Two Common Statements In Car Listings Pisses You Off Most?


Which One Of These Two Common Statements In Car Listings Pisses You Off Most?

People are stupid. Or at least some of them are. What makes me shake my head and want to choke someone is when I’m looking at a Craigslist ad for a car and see certain ambiguous or downright misleading statements about the car for sale. Then there are the folks that straight up lie in their ads. Now those lies may not always be on purposed, as some of them are lies because they are making statements on subjects they do not understand, but that doesn’t make me want to smack them any less.

So what are the two statements that make me so mad I can hardly stand it? Well the truth is there are way more than two but these two are the ones we’re talking about today.

The first is “Ran when parked.” and the second is “Ready for paint.”

The following photo accompanied the ad saying ran when parked. The second photo said that the car was straight ready for paint.

Which one of these pisses you off most? Or what do you often see that pisses you off more than these two?


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33 thoughts on “Which One Of These Two Common Statements In Car Listings Pisses You Off Most?

  1. Lee

    “Radio Delete” on a Muscle Car.

    Man that irks me to no end. Radios were ALWAYS an option on those cars with two exceptions: 1965 Z16 Chevelle Malibu SS 396 and the 1969 Torino Talladega and you couldn’t delete the radio on either one!

    So how can you delete something that was not standard? A Heater/Defroster Delete? Sure. Most car companies had an RPO for it and gave you a credit on your invoice.

    So what I like to do is post a photo of a Muscle Car like a 1969 Chevelle SS 396 and say it’s a Vinyl Roof Delete car because it doesn’t have one. And people get all pissy about it!

  2. MGBChuck

    I find people using RARE on common lo-performance 60s-70s cars thinking that they are valuable like an actual muscle cars—LOL. They’ve seen too many auction shows, think mines like that.

    1. Bryan McTaggart

      My personal favorite. I may be a fan of post-musclecar rides, but if you’re really trying to tell me that your 1978 LeSabre is a musclecar while asking eight grand just because it came with the 403 motor…you’re out of your head.

      1. BeaverMartin

        I couldn’t agree more! The amount of crap people consider “rare” is mind boggling. A long bed 80s C10 will NEVER be rare.

    1. Clifford Cake

      Back in the \’50s and early \’60s, the term 3/4 race cam was very common, especially for flathead ford engines, because your average guy didn\’t understand lift, duration, or any technical terms, but did understand 3/4 race and full race designations. You rarely see those terms used today. It\’s like the term \”RV cam\” for a low rpm, high torque cam grind. I remember ordering an \”RV cam\” for my mother\’s \’55 buick nailhead straight from Isky.

  3. Loren

    I hafta say, “ran when parked” is a useful statement meaning it’s complete or there was no major mechanical damage. Beat-to-shit, or rusted into a ball since then maybe but not some bunch of parts thrown together.

    “Ready for paint” I wholly agree about. Never ever take that one at face value, instead look for something that’s just in the middle of a botched re-finish that will be worse than starting from scratch, and missing parts too.

    1. Matt Cramer

      Agreed – “Ran when parked” typically conveys, besides “It’s not running now,” that one can expect the car to be reasonably intact, has the connecting rods still inside the block, and at a minimum, all rubber parts that come in contact with fluids need to be replaced. However, one does occasionally come in contact with cars that “ran when parked” and then had some major component removed.

  4. jerry z

    “Needs a little work”. I laughed at that sentence since it can be anything from a tuneup to a new engine!

    “It has a Corvette engine”. This became popular in the mid-90’s with the LT1. Didn’t matter if it was in a Corvette or a Cadillac!

    “Rust free”. Don’t get me started.

    1. BigDogSS

      They’ve been using the “It has a Corvette engine” statement since the SBC was introduced in 1955!!

  5. Brendan M

    “No low ballers” You can think your car is worth whatever, but ultimately it is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it.

    “Don’t waste my time” If I’m going out of my way to give you money, it’s not a waste of time on your part.

    “No tire kickers” I don’t know the last time I ever saw anybody kick a tire. If I am looking at a car I have never seen, and I am spending my hard earned money, you bet your ass I’m checking this thing out top to bottom. And if I decide your pile of crap isn’t worth your non negotiable price, it’s your fault I walked away, not mine.

  6. Rodney Awesome

    “No low ballers, I know what I got”

    Then proceed to ask a ludicrous price.

  7. Bill Butte

    a real ‘patina-ed rat rod gasser’ – 9 out of 10 times it’s as fake as the current presidency

    1. Bill Butte

      #2 being told: ‘it’s got a straight axle that was custom installed’ – while looking I’m looking at a twin I beam ford pick-up….

  8. Lee

    This car is a true “Survivor” . . .

    Repainted 7 years ago, new alternator, carb and master cylinder, new seat covers and door panels.

    IMO, that is the most overused (incorrectly BTW) description of a car for sale.

    The sad fact is . . . people will say anything that in their mind will raise the value of the car they have for sale even if it’s a lie.

  9. Wayne Aldrich

    A 3/4 cam is ok from a older guy thats how they sold them years ago 3/4 or full race.

  10. Lon

    Original miles. I’ve been told there are reasons for that statement, I still hate it. If I’m buying an old car I dont even care about the miles, I know it’s been around for a few decades, I expect high mileage.

    1. Brian Cooper

      Original miles versus reproduction miles? Miles are all original, and most guys don’t care anyway.

      Original miles is my pet peeve.

      1. BigDogSS

        Remember, car built up into the late 70s/80s (or whenever) only had 5 digits on the odometer. So on these cars “40,000” miles could be “140,000, “240,000”, Or it could really mean “40,000” miles. Hence, this is where “original miles” comes from. Valid statement on these older cars.

  11. George

    “Ran when parked in September”,(it was March when I looked at it). “We tried to start it but the battery is dead now” seller was full of more $h!t than a porta potty. I got there and 1) the hood was chained down 2) he didn’t have keys for the chain 3) he didn’t have a key for the truck!!! If you hand me a bag of HOUSE keys and say I think it’s one of these I already know you’ve lied about trying to start it and assume every other word out of your mouth is also a lie. Goodbye!

  12. Rock On

    Sellers using the term one owner, as in one previous owner. If you didn’t go down to the dealership to purchase the car and your name is not on the ownership, then don’t tell me that it’s a one owner car.

  13. Kenneth Meek

    3/4 cam,full race cam,is not ok,cause they sold them like that doesn\’t mean we all talk like JC Witney,unless you are impressing a 5th or 6th graders

  14. aussie351

    “Don’t need to sell, I will put it in storage if it’s not sold by Friday”. Really?

  15. Pete

    8 to 10 photos of the car .( Buyer do you have pictures of underneath the car.? They wouldn\’t know if a bushing.was bad or good.or if there\’s no rust .(can you get a closer photo..seller , come over and look. Buyer i.m working right now.( Seller). What are you doing on Craigslist at 11am then? ..there more time wasters on cl.itsa down right shame.we don\’t have a people,s car search.where you have to answer.their regulations.and they have you on file..no more kid scammer,

  16. John McKenzie

    This isn’t a car ad that pissed me off, but a motorcycle ad that was just bull! It appeared on eBay regarding CB 750 Honda. The guy is telling the prospective buyers that the CB parts are “sand cast”. And he was listing this for plastic parts as well. Trouble is, the only “sand cast” parts on the a CB 750 was on 1969, and that was just the engine case that I know of.

    The seller was 1.) trying to sell parts from later CB’s as sand cast, and 2.) listing every part in the bikes as sand cast. I remember calling him on this fact in a written question and he became quite indigent and told me to shove off. Like it was pointed out earlier, people will say anything to sell something even of it’s a lie.

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