[1]Remember how we used to buy and sell used cars before Craigslist? “Trader” weeklies, printed on the cheapest newsprint possible, with grainy black and white photos and terse descriptions… Tiny 25 word classified ads in the local paper… Weed-covered corner lots where gas stations once stood, with a few lonely cars and trucks with hand-lettered signs in the window…
Today, the interwebs allow us to shop nationwide, and even across the globe, for the car of our dreams. For sellers, a wider potential audience means better sales prices. Of course, there are many Craigslist ads that would be perfectly at home in the form of a photocopied flier on the bulletin board at your local coin laundry.
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Take this one from the Canton, Ohio Craigslist cars & trucks FSBO listings, spotted by Facebook fan Kyle Noland [4]. “’85 Custom Corvette – $12000” the headline reads. Three photos and some terse body text complete the ad. “A Must See…New paint, interior, tires, wheels, glass targa top…350 automatic…Excellent Condition. Call Jim 330-413-3404 or email [email protected] May consider trade for a nice motorhome”
While the photos show a C4 in decent condition, two things stand out – One, that wing, which would look right at home on a Chaparral 2F [5], and two, the fact that a Corvette of this particular generation without any significant racing history would need a glovebox stuffed with meth to be worth $12 grand. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why Jim wants to trade it for a motorhome… [6]
