[Sebastian]

I think you need some negotiation skills but it's more about Who's not going to regret when they walk away from the deal.

Maybe Cagiva was just one of your options and you wouldn't regret if he sold it to someone for little higher. then you had upper hand.

If he didn't care about money and had a place to sit that for a while, he would've had upper hand. He already tested the market and wasn't willing to wait for higher offer. (which I am sure he would've)
so both of you got into an agreement.

You run into this kind of negotiation thing often in dating market as well.
I was asking this girl on tinder to drive 30 min to hangout in my town.
She wasn't budging. I bet she has many guys like me talking to her and who are willing to drive and even take her out, so why would she? She is not that special girl for me either. So both of us got into mutual disagreement basically.

(01-04-2015 06:53 PM)1818Steve Wrote:  

(12-25-2014 06:13 PM)dicknixon72 Wrote:  

Scour Craigslist, the local paper/flyer, and even just drive around looking for cars that people just want to dump quick. This is where mechanical knowledge and/or a partner with good knowledge comes in hand. A lot of people want to get rid of cars because of issues they are tired of trying to fix. If you can find those 'diamonds in the rough,' fix what turns out to be an affordable problem, recondition, market, and sell the car, you can turn a decent profit. But you have to be there quickly and with CASH IN HAND TO BUY. Make a lowball offer, but back it up with cash. People are obviously most responsive to that. Keep in mind, most private sellers get dozens of jerk-me-off phone calls with people who try to negotiate beforehand and never even show up. I've bought many cars this way for retail and wholesale.

Good info here. I like to ask whether the price is firm before I get face to face. If they say it is firm that does not mean it will be firm when face to face. If they say it is flexible, or give ground on the price over the phone, then GAME ON.

When you get face to face with the seller YOU GAME THE SELLER, from start to finish. This is RooshV, so the concept should not be foreign to you. Build rapport with conversation, find common ground, be pleasant and happy. Be likable. Who would you give a better deal to, someone who is cool or someone who pisses you off?

When you are looking at a vehicle that you want to buy, don't bad mouth it. Don't talk about the problems unless they are really severe. Where there is a dent or ding, or a tear in the upholstery, just run your hand over it so the seller knows that you know. If you criticize the vehicle then you put the seller in the position of defending his price. Don't be on opposite sides. Be on the same side.

When it comes time to hit him on the price, give him the sugar before the shit. Example from about 6 years ago when I bought a low miles 2000 Cagiva Gran Canyon motorcycle (predecessor to the Ducati Multistrada, 900cc Ducati engine, adventure tourer type bike). Background: The bike is worth $3500. A friend told me about it and the friend, who used to be a motorcycle dealer and actually owned a Triumph and Moto Guzzi dealership a few years back, told me that he thought the guy would take $2500. I would be willing to pay that. The ad price was $3200 and he had gone to $2800 on the phone with no real prompting from me. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: (sugar before shit) "I like this bike a lot. It looks great, has low miles, and sounds like a million dollars. It would be worth a lot more money if it said 'Ducati' on the side instead of 'Cagiva'. The problem is that nobody knows what it is."

Seller: "Yeah, you're right"

Me: (sugar before shit) "I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I have cash in my pocket." (I actually open my wallet and show him a stack of $100 bills) "I know that you get calls all day long from guys who want to talk but don't have money. I have the money"

Me: "The bad news is that it is a $2000 bike for me. I am looking at a Multistrada for only a little more, and that bike will hold resale better." The Multistrada was in Georgia, had higher miles and was $4000, not to mention that I had not seen it in person.

Seller: (Silence.) This is sales 101 but I will NEVER break this silence. I am perfectly comfortable standing silently for 5 or 10 minutes or whatever it takes. If I break the silence then I am negotiating with myself and I don't do that.

Seller: "Hmmm, that's a little low. Let me talk to my wife about it and I will give you a call."

Me: "Hey, I appreciate you talking to your wife about it, but I am ready to put cash in your hand right now. I would appreciate it if you would talk about it now and let me know. If you don't want to sell it then I understand, but in that case I need to go ahead and move on to another bike I am looking at. Fair enough?" Each of those 4 sentences is crafted in a certain way or has a very important element.

He goes to talk to his wife about it. He comes back in a few minutes.

Seller: "OK. I will take the $2000."

I had done this type of negotiation enough to not be surprised. The guy left $500 on the table and all he had to do was work me for it. It really is just game isn't it? Say the right things, always move toward the goal, have the balls to shoot for what you want.

TLDR: When buying a vehicle from an individual, use game.