Went to check out a car from Marketplace — a total waste of time.
A few days ago I went to see a car listed on Marketplace. The windshield was cracked and the paint was in bad shape, but the ad said it had been regularly maintained. No big deal, right? Paint can be redone and a windshield can be swapped.
I'd booked the viewing a week before I actually went, and I told the seller up front that I'd be bringing a mechanic. But when I showed up and said I'd brought a mechanic, the seller acted surprised, as if I hadn't told him directly a week earlier.
Sure enough: heavy rust on the chassis, water instead of coolant, a trunk that had been flooded, a broken spark plug, signs of major bodywork — you name it. The only green light on the checklist was the tire pressure, which honestly made me laugh.
I didn't really need a mechanic to spot all that, but I gave the seller too much benefit of the doubt and assumed it was an honest listing.
The most ridiculous part was how much he was asking compared to the car's condition. It honestly blows my mind. No matter how you look at it, it's not good. Either he was deliberately trying to hook a clueless buyer, or he'd neglected the car so badly he didn't notice any of the problems.
When I told the seller what we'd found, the one thing he pushed back on was that the tires were newer than the mechanic said… Okay, and? That doesn't make every other huge problem with the car go away.
TL;DR: A Marketplace seller listed a car as well cared for with only minor issues, and it turned out he wanted six figures for something that belongs in a junkyard.
I mean, it's Marketplace lol. It's the eBay of today.
Pretty much every ASEAN country is like this. Cars get driven until they break, then fixed with the cheapest parts possible. The only maintenance is oil changes, and even that's not guaranteed. Preventive maintenance, or things like changing coolant or brake fluid, is basically unheard of.
People tend to think their stuff is in better shape and worth more than it really is. For example, my neighbor is selling her e-bike, just over a year old, and wants 65k for it. Brand new in the store it's 70k, and with a cash discount it might even be 60k.
Yup. When people here say ANYTHING, I don't believe a word! My wife and I bought a car soon after we got here, and the seller agreed to get the brakes done. Nope…. It needed a few other things too. The worst part for me was that we bought it through family. He didn't have our back when problems came up. I don't trust anyone here — not even when they say to meet at a certain time.
Tires have a date code on them, so I don't see how that can even be argued. Also, good on you for getting it inspected. I always tell people that if you're buying a used car, get an independent mechanic to inspect it before you sign anything, and situations like this are why I'll keep giving that advice. Also, never pay for shipping on FBM (Facebook Marketplace) unless it's so cheap that losing the item or the refund wouldn't hurt you at all — even if you're paying through the FBM page itself. And yeah, PH FBM is full of people asking new prices for used stuff. Or they don't list a price and go with “vibe pricing” — if you're a foreigner asking how much, expect it to be a lot higher.
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