# "For Sale by Owner" cars. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 2, 2004, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248 "2004-07-02T18:07:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248/1 "2004-07-02T18:07:18Z")
In the area where I live I’ve noticed what seems to be a trend lately for people selling their cars. Instead of the traditional cardboard or plastic sign you can pick up most anywhere, many sellers are painting “For Sale”, with particulars, in the back window of the car. It looks like the kind of paint window decorators use for the holidays, and it’s usually neatly done. These are not just old junkers, etc, but many are cars that are only a couple years old. So what’s up with that? Is it a fad? Is it only around here? (NorCal) Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248/2 "2004-07-02T19:49:05Z")
I’ve seen a few of those around here. My guess is the owner doesn’t feel like buying a sign that would only be good until the car is sold so they make their own. It’d imagine that it’s easier to change the window paint than a sign if they feel like dropping the price. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248/3 "2004-07-02T20:41:20Z")
I always have to wonder, who else would be selling it? The guy next door? ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248/4 "2004-07-02T21:23:25Z")
I assume it comes from house sales, where it’s either sold by owner or by a real estate agent. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248/5 "2004-07-02T21:26:33Z")
Yeeees, but what other venues are there for selling used cars? Used car lots. Sign’s redundant, is all. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248/6 "2004-07-02T22:12:19Z")
It seems I have misled some of you. The sign doesn’t neccessarily read “For Sale by Owner”, but more likely (For example) > [@](#): > > FOR SALE 2002 LANCER > LOADED 2.8L TURBO > SHARP AND CLEAN > ONLY 22K MILES > CALL XXX-XXX-XXXX > AND MAKE OFFER All of this painted in the rear window. BTW; I hate “make offer”. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248/7 "2004-07-02T22:47:29Z")
Another thought: if they’re still using the car, they can drive around with that paint in the window and getting more potential buyers. Driving around with a sign obscuring your view probably isn’t legal. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248/8 "2004-07-03T02:06:15Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > BTW; I hate “make offer”. Me too. If you want to sell it to me, tell me what it costs! I went for a day trip to Mexico once and the customs guy almost didn’t let me back into the country because I didn’t buy anything. (There was no price on anything - who knew it was for sale? Don’t waste my time!) ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248/9 "2004-07-03T10:05:58Z")
I remember reading in our local newspaper that one might suppose cars advertised in the way you mention are indeed “for sale by owner” but that isn’t necessarily the case. Some of these cars are what they seem, but quite a few are actually sold by used-car dealers who are posing as “owners.” In one sense, they are the owner, but not in the sense they are selling a car they have driven daily, maintained, etc., etc. Such cars might well come from auction houses—they might have been wrecked and rebuilt or who knows what. Selling a car in this manner might not be illegal, but it borders on unethical. I suppose \*caveat emptor \* covers it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248/10 "2004-07-03T10:32:40Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > Me too. If you want to sell it to me, tell me what it costs! I went for a day trip to Mexico once and the customs guy almost didn’t let me back into the country because I didn’t buy anything. (There was no price on anything - who knew it was for sale? Don’t waste my time!) Psst – the shopkeepers aren’t trying to get you to make an offer. They don’t price it so that you have to go ask them how much it costs, and they look at your clothes and your _gringa_ hairstyle and quote you what they figure you can afford. And then the haggling starts, which is true fun. 😉 [hijack] More fun is if the people you are with know Spanish, English, and a third and more obscure language. My parents speak Russian and Spanish and a few other langauges, so they banter with each other, considering what _they_ want to pay for XYZ, and then haggle with the storekeeper. Sometimes in Spanish. 😃 [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248/11 "2004-07-03T18:08:19Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > Another thought: if they’re still using the car, they can drive around with that paint in the window and getting more potential buyers. Driving around with a sign obscuring your view probably isn’t legal. In CA you get to obscure your rear window if you have two other mirrors, usually left and right side o/s mirrors. This is so you can have a 🆒 gun rack in your pickup to hang drink mugs on. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248/12 "2004-07-03T18:39:18Z")
> [@Little Plastic Ninja](#): > > Psst – the shopkeepers aren’t trying to get you to make an offer. They don’t price it so that you have to go ask them how much it costs, and they look at your clothes and your _gringa_ hairstyle and quote you what they figure you can afford. Yeah, I’m well aware of that but I don’t play those games. If they want my money, they have to ask ME for it. I didn’t ask and they made $0. Their loss. There wasn’t anything in the whole town I would’ve paid more than $5 for; where is the fun in arguing about that? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-sale-by-owner-cars/253248/13 "2004-07-03T20:59:31Z")
Well, **voguevixen** , you’re _supposed_ to come back all proud of how you ripped those heathens off. (Yeah, right.) :rolleyes: