| Author |
Message |
Randy Terry (205.188.196.59)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2001 - 5:25 am: | |
I had just made the bus deal of a lifetime! I was so thrilled with myself, I would not have been able to wipe that smile off my face even if I'd been slapped silly. No, Sir! I had forked over my money and right there in my pocket was the title and registration to my "new" bus! Yes! Of course I couldn't drive it home because it didn't run, but so what? I bought it, it's mine, and I've got the title. And a cell phone.
In fact, the cell phone rang just three blocks from my driveway after having just driven some 70 miles back home, still with that smile firmly anchored to my face. " Hello?" It was the bus guy. "WHAT?! The deal's off?? You changed your mind???!!"
You're lucky if this has never happened to you because I found out that's all it takes to smack that grin right off your face and change it into one of stark disbelief. It is precisely a moment like this that caused people to begin cursing. "#%&@!*%!"
He continued to tell me that he had made a mistake (!), the bus was worth a lot more than he had (supposedly) sold it for (he thinks) , and he was not going to cash my check. "Sorry," he said. Sorry? SORRY? My first thought was, I wouldn't have the you-know-whats to do something like that! And if I did, they'd have to be some mighty BIG ones! "#%&@!*%!"
I can't help wondering if I should have responded by saying, "Well I'm sorry myself. We made a deal, you sold me the bus, I gave you the money, you gave me the title, tough bananas! It's my bus now." Or maybe, "Well, it's too late, I've already sent a tow truck for it." Or even, "OK, you want the bus back? Fine. Make me an offer, what's it worth to you?" I suppose that kind of talk works fine in Hollywood, but this is the real life, and I'm not one of the Sopranos.
After three trips out of town to see the bus and two solid weeks of negotiations over the phone and in person, it was obvious that the bus meant more to me than it did him. Frankly, the original deal was too good to be true, and I knew it (remember that smile I was talking about?). I was just hoping I could get away with it— which I didn't. The next day I sent him another check almost doubling my offer and a letter agreeing that his previous sale price was unreasonable (in other words, he was getting ripped off). It was his prerogative; either return my checks, whereupon he will get his title back and that will be the end of it, or cash them and I will then own the bus and THAT will be the end of it.
At least for him. For me, it's just beginning. But it's nice having another bus AND a clear conscience. Oh, and that smile? You bet, it's still there!
More about the 3704 in my next installment.
Happy busing!
(By the way, some people spell it "bussing". Busing, bussing, bused, bussed. I looked it up in the dictionary. All are correct. Your choice.)
RT |
Scott Whitney (63.151.64.84)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 13, 2001 - 2:06 am: | |
Gosh, well, I don't know the details of you purchase. . . .but if someone called me to cancle a deal AFTER I had paid for it and AFTER the title had been transferred, I think I would tell them to get bent. Ever heard of 'Due Dilligence?' I think the bloke should have figured out how much it was worth to him before he agreed to sell it - not after in a 'seller's remorse' plea. But I assume the bus was still in his possession, so that makes it tuff to argue . . . However, I think the guy is a dweeb to even ask the buyer to to recant a deal that had already been consumated. The only exception to this would be if the seller was unknowingly deceived by the buyer as to its value in some way. I mean, if a guy brings a baseball card into a shop to sell and the shop dealer offers him a buck for a card which is valued at $5000, then the seller has been tricked by the buyer's dishonesty. But in your case, it sounds like you just got a god deal on a bus and the guy flaked out big time. Anway, as I said, I don't know the the whole story, but that is just my opinion on the matter. Maybe you should put the bus on auction on eBay and let the guy make the high bid to get his title back.
Scott |
Randy Terry (152.163.213.208)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 14, 2001 - 3:31 am: | |
Scott, that's exactly what happened in the movie "Blast from the Past". Brendon Frasier, who is completely ignorant of the wealth he possesses, walks into a card shop and tries to "sell" some rare baseball cards for a handful of change. Fortunately, Alicia Silverstone doesn't let him do that and eventually he becomes the rich man he is.
Unfortunately for me, there's no Alicia Silverstone in my life to help me make those wise business decisions.
But I have found out that buying a bus is half the fun. The other half is getting it home. Someday I would like to buy a bus that runs!
Randy |
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