$2,000 seems a little too much for this particular car. Ford Explorers seem in general to be good vehicles, but with that many miles and a replacement engine 200 K ago, in my opinion this one wouldn’t make for good betting material. A used Corolla/Civic/Yaris/Fit would be a better choice in a small car, or a used Kia maybe if you need a bigger car.
I’m not really doubting the bit about the seller having terminal cancer, because we don’t have enough details, and we’re not hearing it firsthand
Most reasonable people wouldn’t make up stories like that
However, I did run into a guy who made up a story that his father was dying. He was planning on leaving the dealership, for more money elsewhere at another dealership. Instead of sayig that, he told EVERYBODY that his dad was dying. And everybody, including me, expressed their condolences. I even talked to him and said I knew what he was feeling, because cancer had claimed my dad a few years ago
Anyways, a few years later, I ran into the guy. I said “Sorry about your dad.” He looked at me and didn’t know what I was talking about. I explained, and he said his dad’s fine, healthy as a horse. He said he made the whole thing up.
I told him “Don’t EVER talk to me again.” And I walked away
@db4690, I can’t say that I blame you for walking away from the guy. That’s a pretty low way of handling things and I’d have done the same thing.
I might add that cancer stories have become somewhat common on car scams although I’m not saying this particular deal is a scam in every sense of the word.
It usually goes, “My grandmother/dad/wife/husband/whomever died 4 months ago and I have to sell the car cheap because I can’t afford to keep it or store it”.
What’s amazing is the number of people who fall for that BS and wire off 2 to 5 grand, or more, to someone they’ve never met for a car they’ve never seen; and will never get.
If you think you are about to but a lemon then simply do not buy it. No one is forcing you.
When I am reminded, I will pray for the individual with the cancer.
At dealerships, mechanics commonly leave, for various reason, such as . . .
Another dealership is offering them a better rate
Another dealership is closer to their house
They don’t get along with the shop foreman, team leader, etc.
If he would have cited any of those reasons for leaving, for example, we would all have wished him luck at his new job. And that would have been the end of it
I don’t know exactly why he decided to play the “sick parent” angle, but he certainly lost all credibility and respect, as far as I’m concerned
@db4690 I had a lot of grandparent deaths at the end of a lot of semesters where the students wanted to take the final exam early and go home. I would give the student my sympathy, but ask to see the obituary. Most of the time the grandparents weren’t quite dead yet.
Like others as well as myself have mentioned… the price is too high, mileage too many. Truck could be just fine…but its not worth 2K to find out. If they nearly gave it to you…you would look at any usefulness you got out of the vehicle as a positive thing. If you paid 2K for it and ANYTHING went wrong at all…even a flat tire, you would feel like you were duped.
Get the truck for between 3-5 hundred bucks and see what you got. It would be a win at a much lower price…but the deck is stacked against you at all the current numbers you provided.
Blackbird
Db, anybody that would make up a story like that deserves a lot more of a “dressing down” than you gave him. You’re a lot more accepting than I am.
From the original post about this being a single mom with 2 young ones I might theorize this is her first foray into buying cars due to a husband who is not around anymore for whatever reason.
From her comments it appears that she thinks she can get an excellent, needs no repairs and is not likely to need them anytime soon vehicle on the cheap.
Sadly that is not the way it works in the real world and single moms with young kids are routinely BSed or flat out scammed all the time on car deals.
I’m not saying the seller of this particular vehicle is a scammer but their comments about the vehicle condition come across as way too confident for my tastes and the murkiness about trying to find service papers and so on is a bit evasive.
What needs to be done is to have a knowledgeable and a very blunt, in your face mechanic eyeball that vehicle over closely and sort out any claims about condition, papers, and this alleged warranty this is offered.
“a lot of grandparent deaths at the end of a lot of semesters where the students wanted to take the final exam early and go home”
Many years ago, we had a school custodian who was very amiable, but unfortunately his laziness was even more prominent than his amiability. After he had already taken time off on 4 different occasions for–allegedly–the funerals of his grandparents, I noticed that he was absent once again.
When he returned, I asked him who had died in his family, and he stated that it was his grandfather. I gave him a puzzled look and said, “But you already buried two grandfathers over the past couple of years”. His reply, was…“Ummm…I spent a lot of time in foster homes so…”
Perhaps that was true, but probably not…