Sexism and Sportsmobiles

[rallypanam]

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again.. if you find a van you want at a price you’re willing to pay, you need to buy it. If you can’t fly in 24 hours, then wire a deposit. These are very rare vehicles, and you need to move fast, or someone else will.

[mikracer]

Did you ever post what it is you're looking for in a rig? Have you seen the 2014 that was a SEMA vehicle for Optima Batteries?

[PNWschusser]

Originally Posted by rallypanam

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again.. if you find a van you want at a price you’re willing to pay, you need to buy it. If you can’t fly in 24 hours, then wire a deposit. These are very rare vehicles, and you need to move fast, or someone else will.

Yes, I am WELL aware of this, hence my absolute shock. We have plenty of money, no financing needed, and know I need to hustle, and am prepared for that. I've done this before. I called Thursday, wanted to fly down on Friday to see it (a mere 1 1/2 hour flight), but he said he can't show it on Friday because his mobility is poor, and his wife won't be home until late that night. So I said I could come Saturday morning, whenever it's convenient for him. He then said someone is coming at 3 on Friday to see it and they seemed very serious (after he said he wasn't showing it on Friday...), and because that person was the first to call, he wanted to honor that. I got a call Friday night saying the man passed on purchasing it, and I was next in line, and no one else has called about it, but wanted me to call back Saturday morning. Saturday morning comes, and I call him like he asked, could still fly down that day, and that is when he interrupted me in the middle of me saying "So looking at my flight op--" to which he stated "I already accepted a different offer" and then hung up on me.

I did everything right, was so pleasant and excited, but still got screwed. He wouldn't answer the phone when I tried calling him back.

I actually now wonder if there really was another offer between the hours of 8:30 pm Friday and 9 am Saturday....

[arctictraveller]

I think you have gotten plenty of great advice here, and in addition, your well aware of what a pain it is trying to buy such a rare vehicle. Your time will come, but I think you would be well served to leave your disappointment and anger behind, and move on. Dwelling in the past won't help you find the van of your dreams. Best of luck...................

[BenJJ]

Originally Posted by PNWschusser

Yes, I am WELL aware of this, hence my absolute shock. We have plenty of money, no financing needed, and know I need to hustle, and am prepared for that. I've done this before. I called Thursday, wanted to fly down on Friday to see it (a mere 1 1/2 hour flight), but he said he can't show it on Friday because his mobility is poor, and his wife won't be home until late that night. So I said I could come Saturday morning, whenever it's convenient for him. He then said someone is coming at 3 on Friday to see it and they seemed very serious (after he said he wasn't showing it on Friday...), and because that person was the first to call, he wanted to honor that. I got a call Friday night saying the man passed on purchasing it, and I was next in line, and no one else has called about it, but wanted me to call back Saturday morning. Saturday morning comes, and I call him like he asked, could still fly down that day, and that is when he interrupted me in the middle of me saying "So looking at my flight op--" to which he stated "I already accepted a different offer" and then hung up on me.

I did everything right, was so pleasant and excited, but still got screwed. He wouldn't answer the phone when I tried calling him back.

I actually now wonder if there really was another offer between the hours of 8:30 pm Friday and 9 am Saturday....

I feel your pain in missing out on the vehicle you have been searching months for, happened to me on my first attempt at a van purchase. It feels bad, but as others have said it is better to move on and keep looking for another option than to get angry about losing it.

I also think it is not fair to jump to conclusions about the sellers motives, or lack thereof to sell to you. Given the current situation with COVID-19, I would be hesitant to sell to anyone that had to get on a plane to get to me. That is a lot of exposure, even if you are being safe. You also mentioned the man was older and had mobility issues so sounds like he was probably in the high risk category if he did get infected. Did he need to be rude with how he spoke to you? Absolutely not, but he may have just been scared.

Just to give you some more perspective. I just went through the process of selling my van, and I would have not taken offers from anyone who had to get on a plane to come see it. My wife is giving birth in ~3-4 weeks and if either of us test positive for COVID-19 when we go to the hospital to have the baby it is a major problem. I would not be allowed in to see my child be born. If my wife tests positive they would take the baby away after birth to quarantine it from the mother.

Sorry for the anecdote, but the point is you really don't know what this guys situation is. Assigning malicious intent to his actions in my opinion is unfair, especially given circumstances surrounding the pandemic.

[PNWschusser]

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

I think you have gotten plenty of great advice here, and in addition, your well aware of what a pain it is trying to buy such a rare vehicle. Your time will come, but I think you would be well served to leave your disappointment and anger behind, and move on. Dwelling in the past won't help you find the van of your dreams. Best of luck...................

Who's dwelling? I'm clarifying and answering posts in the thread I created a mere two days ago, and have already moved on.

And for the guy who thinks I'm "thin-skinned": I'm sorry you think that, but who appreciates being deceived and bald-faced lied to? Maybe you're used to that type of character, since it sounds like you're in the selling business, but I'm not. I purposefully don't surround myself with those kinds of people, and won't just brush this behavior under the rug and walk away.

Glad that a**hat doesn't have my money, that's all I gotta say. Peace out.

[PNWschusser]

Originally Posted by BenJJ

I also think it is not fair to jump to conclusions about the sellers motives, or lack thereof to sell to you. Given the current situation with COVID-19, I would be hesitant to sell to anyone that had to get on a plane to get to me. That is a lot of exposure, even if you are being safe. You also mentioned the man was older and had mobility issues so sounds like he was probably in the high risk category if he did get infected. Did he need to be rude with how he spoke to you? Absolutely not, but he may have just been scared.
.

Then I could've and would've easily driven there if that was his concern.

I can't find one single good excuse why he ghosted me. Well, wait, maybe I was asking too many technical questions he couldn't answer, and that unnerved him. [insert eye roll]

Anybody else have any more theories I can punch a hole though?

[simplesez]

Maybe we all just calm down and walk away from the internet for a few days? I swear 2020 is like the boiling point.

Not all used auto purchases work out great. Shoot even NEW Sportsmobile purchases have gotten people pissed off on the internet.

Spend your $$$ wisely...2020 isn't over yet and who knows how it will end. Probably with lots more pissed off people arguing on the internet.

I welcome our robot overlords at this point....

[TomsBeast]

I'm reading your thread and thinking to myself "Oh man, have I had some similar experiences..." I once had my trailer loaded and a pocket full of cash headed from California to Texas to buy a racecar for his full asking price, when I made one last phone call, I got "uh, I've had second thoughts, it's no longer for sale..." But I've never considered myself a victim of sexism.



Oh wait, there was this time that a lesbian couple tried to sell me a Chevy Astro van. My wife loved the van, it check all the boxes, had low miles and all the right trim package. They said was theirs, had the carpets replaced 'because of the dogs', 'the condensation on the windows was because 'my partner left the window down before last nights rain' and other what turned out to be BS stories. They produced the title and it wasn't in either of their names, neither was the repair orders for the new carpet and new digital dash, word performed out of state. A lot more to the story but the bottom line is it turns out it had been in a flood, they were selling Louisiana flood vehicles in Northern California. Two gals trying to peddle a 'swimmer' flood vehicle to another unsuspecting 'hetero', stick it to another one of those f*cking breeders I guess. They had a bunch of cas outside their home. Glad I passed on the 'deal' at the last minute. 100% true story.



My point is this; My experience had nothing to do with the seller's sexual orientation, my sexual orientation, or either of our genders. Even if it did, these were simply awful people, liars, trying to make a buck selling known damaged flood cars, and that's all that matters. I learned a valuable lesson, ask lots of questions. If the story changes, or the seller doesn't have the patience to answer them, paperwork doesn't mach the story, move on, they did me a favor.



Hang in there, you'll find the 'right rig' to buy, like someone else said, be ready to jump on a plane, look, make an offer, and leave a deposit.

[shenrie]

Originally Posted by PNWschusser

I can't find one single good excuse why he ghosted me.

Prolly won’t. This kinda crap happens all the time. Even on this forum. Had a member here selling a rear bumper I wanted. As usual I wasn’t the first to see the add, but reached out to them anyway to express my interest in being the runner up if original buyer flaked. Talked with guy on the phone and he assured me he would lmk. Got a call the next day that I was next in line and bumper was mine if I wanted it. Told him I’d call back in a couple of hours after I put together a plan to get to the state he was in for pickup. Offered to PayPal a deposit, he said he wasn’t worried about it. Put a plan together to head out next morning and called the guy 40 min after we hung up. He said oh sorry, I just sold the bumper to a local friend.

Moral? There’s just a lot of crap sellers out there.