An Open Letter To Car Buyers On Kijiji

This is an open letter to car buyers on Kijiji.

 

Dear Kijiji car buyers I have dealt with in the past two weeks,

YOU SUCK!

 

I could simply end this post right here.  Because that’s really all I have to say about car buyers on Kijiji, given my personal experience.

 

But I suppose I should clarify one thing.

 

Not ALL car buyers on Kijiji suck.

 

Only the ones involved in this apparent SCAM to buy Canadian cars and ship them overseas.

 

 

Ever since Christmas, I’ve had my eye on a vehicle that was for sale.

 

Not a new vehicle.  Not by a long shot.

 

But it was something I wanted.  Really, REALLY wanted.

 

 

So, I decided to put my car up for sale on Kijiji, to see what happened.

 

I wasn’t trying to make a lot of money off the sale.

 

I simply wanted to make enough to cover the cost of the new-to-me car, and pay for its registration and taxes.

 

 

OH.  MY.  GOD!

 

I had NO idea it would be such a time-wasting, frustrating, want to punch someone in the head, experience!

 

All I wanted to do was sell a car.

 

A Toyota Camry.

 

 

Never … EVER … again!!!!

 

 

At first, I was worried I wouldn’t get any replies.

 

As it turned out, that was the LEAST of my worries.

 

I got replies.

 

I got a shitload of replies.

 

I also got offers.  Without even seeing the car.

 

At least I was smart enough to take THOSE with a grain of salt.

 

Such as this one, that landed in my mailbox after I’d posted the ad a second time:

 

“You still have it. Is something wrong with it. How's mechanically. Any accidents or damage. I am willing to offer $5000 cash for AS IS and will buy immediately. I am from Toronto and serious. Thanks and let me know.”

 

Right.  Well guess what, Dude?  I’m from Halifax, and I’m serious too.  About the fact you can kiss my ass!

 

The fact he offered me almost double what I had asked for the car was bad enough.  But to throw that snooty ‘I am from Toronto and serious’ part in there?

 

THAT just pissed me off!  Yes, even MORE SO than I already was that day!

The day I thought I'd actually SOLD the car!

 

 

It turns out, there is some sort of car buying scam going on in Halifax.  And yes, I call it and consider it nothing but a SCAM!

 

I was contacted by MANY people, the majority of them with names in their email addresses that I cannot pronounce.

 

And I don't say that to be 'snooty' or nasty.  Not at all.  I'm simply stating a fact.

Four of these people openly admitted that they wanted to buy my car to ‘ship it overseas’.

 

Why do they ship all these cars overseas?  No idea.  I didn’t ask.  I really don’t care.

 

What I DO care about, is the fact that 99.9% of the people who contacted me and made OFFERS on my car, wanted it for this specific purpose.

 

Did they take the car?

 

No.

 

THAT is how I know about this overseas scam.

 

When it came time to actually SEE the car, every single one of them … EVERY SINGLE ONE … said ‘I can’t buy this.  It has a V6 (engine) and I can’t ship V6’s overseas’.

 

Excuse me, but …. WTF?!?!??!?

 

First of all, I had NO idea that so many cars from Halifax were being shipped overseas.  Second, why the heck can’t they take cars with V6 engines?

 

 

At least the majority of people told me up front, they didn’t want it because it was a V6.

 

The others, however, gave me the run around.

 

Such as, Emmanuel Adeola, ‘I’ll be there by noon to get your car.’

 

Or Chijioke Aroghalu, ‘I want your car, but can’t get it until Tuesday, will you accept a deposit?’

 

Both of these men completely disappeared after making these statements.

THESE are the Kijiji buyers who SUCK!!!

 

 

Why waste my time, AND YOURS, if you KNOW you’re not going to take the car?

 

Oh … I know … cause YOU SUCK!!!!

 

 

But they weren’t even the worst.

 

Oh no.

 

The worst person I ran into, trying to sell my car, was a man by the name of Ray MacDonald, who said he was a car dealer in Salisbury, New Brunswick.

 

 

The first time I posted the ad for the car, Ray sent me an email, made a low offer, and left his phone number.

 

I’ll be honest in saying I didn’t call him, because he left me a New Brunswick phone number.

 

No … I’m not calling you long distance, to find out you don’t want my car!

 

 

After dealing with the ‘want to ship the car overseas’ people for a week, I pulled the ad off Kijiji, and re-listed it again.

 

 

The FIRST response I got, was from Ray.  Again.

 

He said he was ‘very interested in buying’ my car.

 

I gave him my phone number and he called me at work.

 

 

I made it VERY clear to Ray, the issues/troubles I was having trying to sell the car.

 

I made it VERY clear to Ray, that the majority of people I had dealt with so far, were only interested in shipping the car overseas, and could not send a V6, so wouldn’t take the car.

 

Ray was very sympathetic.

 

He even told me about how he himself had been ‘screwed’ by people, wanting to buy cars to ship them overseas.

Said he had been contacted by people who were "mostly students, wanting to ship the car to Africa".

 

He then stated that he wanted to buy my car.

 

We settled on a price.

 

We settled on a place to meet.

 

In Truro.  Almost an hour’s drive away.

 

I told him I had no interest in driving to Truro, unless it was a 'Done Deal'.

I made it VERY clear to Ray, that if he screwed me over, I’d hunt him down.

 

He reassured me that he certainly would NOT do that to me!  He definitely wanted to buy my car!

 

 

The ONLY reason I agreed to meet Ray, was because he said the sale was ‘a sure thing’.

 

It would just be a matter of exchanging cash for car.

 

Since the new car I wanted to get was actually in Truro, this worked out PERFECTLY for me!

 

FINALLY, this sale was going to happen.

 

Or so I thought. As did all my co-workers, who were hearing my end of the conversation.

 

 

You see … Ray the car dealer from Salisbury New Brunswick LIED to me!

 

He said HE wanted to buy the car.

 

He said HE would be meeting me in Truro.

 

He said HE wouldn't make me go, unless it was a sure thing.

NOT ONCE did Ray EVER say he was actually the MIDDLEMAN, and had NO INTENTION of either meeting me, or buying the car himself.

 

NOT good, Ray.  NOT GOOD!!!!

 

 

So, I take the afternoon off work.

 

Wash the car.

 

Put gas in the car for the trip, then headed to Truro, a VERY happy girl!

 

 

We were scheduled to meet at 4:30pm.

 

I had also made arrangements to pick up my new-to-me car as soon as the old one was sold, and where I was picking it up closed at 5pm.

 

Buddy pulled into the parking lot next to me at 4:26pm

 

I say ‘Buddy’, because I could tell just by looking at him, that this was NOT Ray, who I had spoken to on the phone earlier that day.

No, I had not actually seen Ray.  But I KNEW.

 

 

As I got out of my car, those were my first words to Buddy.

 

‘Who are you?  You’re not Ray!’

 

And instead of giving me an explanation, Buddy looks at the back of my car, and immediately says, ‘This is a V6.  I’m not buying this.’

 

 

Now that I look back at the incident, I’m VERY surprised nobody called the police on the crazy woman who was yelling at some dude on the front lawn of the Robie Street Irving, in Truro.

 

No, this particular meeting did NOT go well.

 

As soon as he said he wasn’t buying the car, I asked him again, ‘Who are you?  Where is Ray!’

 

Without hardly even looking at me, Buddy says, ‘I’m Ray’s friend’.

 

 

I was NOT impressed!

 

NOT.  AT.  ALL!

 

And to make matters worse, Buddy kept saying to me, ‘Listen DEAR …’

 

I lost it.

 

BIG TIME!

 

So much so that I finally told him to stop talking and listen.  And with voice raised, and finger in his face, I told him VERY CLEARLY that I WAS NOT HIS Dear!  Stop calling me that.  NOW!

 

 

We argued back and forth about why he SHOULD be buying this car.

 

He got Ray on the phone, and informed him he would not be buying the car, because he didn’t have any clients for it.

 

UH … right.  I CALL BULLSHIT!!!!

 

You mean you can’t ship a V6 overseas, to your client, Asshole!

 

 

I looked at Buddy and said, ‘Give me the phone.  I want to talk to Ray, myself.’

 

He did.

 

Ray apologized profusely.

 

I didn’t care.

 

What I DID care about was the fact I was lied to.

And the fact this jerk didn’t have the decency to tell me the truth, that he was only the middle man.

 

I told him , ‘The ONLY thing that will make this right, is for Buddy to pay me for the car, and since you SAID you’re a car dealer, and that YOU were buying the car, YOU pay him back and figure out who you’re going to sell it to!’

 

Ray asked me to put Buddy back on the phone.

 

Silly me.  I thought he might actually be telling him what I had said.

 

Right.

 

Buddy gets off the phone with a, ‘I’m not buying the car.’

 

 

After a few more heated exchanges, and no resolution, I simply drove away.

I went to the Bestie’s (who lives in Truro), and called Ray immediately.

 

I repeated my initial claim of what would make this, ‘better’.

 

All I got from Ray was, ‘Did he at least give you 50 bucks for gas money?  He told me he’d give you gas money.’

 

No Ray.  No gas money. Nothing but a waste of my time.

 

 

The only thing I got from Ray MacDonald, car dealer in Salisbury New Brunswick, was a load of bullshit.

 

And lies.

 

You, Mr Ray MacDonald, ARE one of the Kijiji car buyers who SUCK!

 

And … you don’t honour your word.

 

I suppose this shouldn’t surprise me, for a car dealer.

 

But it was still disappointing.

 

And infuriating, because he'd sent me the EXACT type of person I'd told him had been screwing with me.

Someone wanting to send the car overseas.  Someone with a 'client'.

Before I hung up with him, I DID warn him, that he’d pissed off a chick with a big mouth.

 

Now I’m using that mouth to get the word out.

 

And to warn people.

 

Both about this scam to send cars overseas, and about how Ray MacDonald, car dealer from Salisbury New Brunswick DID manage to screw me over, when he’d promised not to.

Are you REALLY even a car dealer, Ray?

 

 

I still have my Camry.

 

I’ve given up hope on selling it and getting my new-to-me car.

 

I did list it again, yesterday, but I put this line at the very top, “Please note!  This has a v6.  So if you're looking to buy the car to ship it overseas, don't contact me!”

 

Guess it worked, since I’ve only had ONE reply since posting the ad yesterday.

And it's had 245 views. 

 

 

I WILL continue to post things on Kijiji.  It’s still the easiest way to sell items.

 

But, I also think, that the people who DID contact me about the car, and wanted to sell/ship it overseas, and SPECIFICALLY Ray MacDonald, who pretended to be the ‘nice guy’ and ended up screwing me over anyway ….

 

YOU ALL SUCK!

 

K.

 

P.S.  I considered leaving Ray MacDonald’s email address in this post.  So you could all let him know what you think of his underhanded business skills, but … even I’m not THAT mean!

Lucky for you, Ray.