After a little more than a week on the market (and more than a thousand dollar price cut), Steven called and left me a message, sounding very interested in seeing the Rondo. I arranged a time the following day that worked for both Mark and our prospect. Our test drive was the first time I drove in the Rondo.  

At first, it was much as I expected, based on CarMax’s conditions report. The muffler was a bit louder than it should have been, but Mark had warned me that it was nearing needing to be replaced during our first conversation. I was less prepared for my driver to insist that the brakes were almost going to the floor before engaging. We seemed to be stopping just fine, but at this point, we were barely going 25 miles per hour in the neighborhood. 

In spite of the concern, he kept driving. We got up to speed on Roosevelt Road and quickly made our way back to the side streets where he asked me to drive. I agreed, and sure enough, that pedal was not confidence-inducing as it plunged a good way before catching. Once engaged, it did the job just fine, but this would need to be fixed.  

Initially, Steven did make an offer of $2700, and after very little back and forth, we did accept the price concession. Seeing as this was our first showing, I thought that maybe we had already dropped our price enough and could snag an even better deal in the days ahead. I could tell that Mark wanted to be done with this vehicle and gladly called him to come outside with the title and a screwdriver so I could get to work getting his plates off the vehicle.

In that short time, our buyer removed his offer mentioning the brakes and the uncertainty of how much it would cost to fix the unsettling issue. At first, I thought he was joking, but before I knew it, he was in his car pulling out of Mark’s driveway.

A few days after our first sale attempt fizzled, I was contacted by a woman on Facebook who set up a time for me to meet with her husband to check out the car. After biking to Mark’s house, they showed up and we repeated the brake concern, but also learned that they had identified a whole host of other “issues,” resulting in a firm offer of $1500. 

Again, this felt like more of a joke than anything. The husband rattled off a list of “must fixes,” including a “sticky window switch” and headlights that had that hazy film obstructing their beams. Despite this laughable offer, only a few hundred more than CarMax’s wholesale offer, I again called Mark to at least let him know what we were dealing with. His first response was rather open to the idea of just grabbing a few extra hundred and being done with the hunt, but I was not ready to let this one go. 

To keep the car on the market in hope of a much bigger donation than $75 after closing (and because I felt this was an insulting offer), I told Mark that I could match the offer if we did not find our buyer in the coming days. Mark agreed to this fallback option and I told this prospect I wished him luck finding what he was looking for elsewhere.

After a few more days on the market (and another price cut), Mark let me know that he was losing faith and was seriously considering the CarMax offer. I very much appreciated him letting me know instead of just collecting an easy payout. I reminded him that my offer was still on the table and I asked to come see him to learn about his concern to see if we could save this sale and the surplus of shared dollars that would follow.

We met for a few minutes in his driveway that evening and he told me that he was getting anxious about finding a buyer. Mark’s hectic schedule with business trips that were pulling him to the airport the coming weekend on multiple occasions, coupled with brakes that were not building confidence with our prospective buyers, I could sense a little frustration and I completely understood. He let me know that the earliest it would even be possible to take the vehicle to CarMax was the next week after his trips. This was a relief because it meant there was still time to up his offer big time. 

I told Mark that my $1500 offer stood and he could call it anytime. I explained that I had little doubt that as a flip, I could make much more than the “full-service” option comp plan we had discussed. I think he appreciated the fact that I was looking for a good story and while flips can be profitable, I reminded him that his sale had the makings of a better story.

Not long after Mark got back from his trip, I received a message from Ben. He had some general questions about the condition, but at this point the ad had been updated to reflect the now-known brake issue, and I warned Ben that the exhaust would need work before long. 

He still wanted to come see the Kia, and we again coordinated a time that Mark was comfortable being available to sign the title if the need arose. The following morning, I met Ben in the driveway, knowing that Mark had got called into a virtual meeting and may need a few extra minutes before coming down from his home office for any reason.

We got started with our walk around and then proceeded with a test drive down our regular route. Ben was surprised by how odd the brakes felt, but was overall very pleased with the vehicle. He offered $2300 to snap up this basic transportation option for his high school aged children. He asked if he could Zelle the money directly to Mark, and after a quick text exchange we had a deal.

Ben needed about 30 minutes to go pick up a friend who could drive back his Lexus for him following the transaction. This was great because it gave Mark time to wrap up his meeting and I could run home to get Stacey and the accompanying bill of sale she was updating and printing off for us. Not only that, but paperwork has never been my thing, so it’s nice to have her to help us dot our I’s and cross our T’s.

Upon Ben’s return we got down to going over paperwork by having him verify that all the data had been entered to his liking. He said it all looked good, so we asked him to send the funds for payment as agreed. Ben suggested we test the transfer process starting with a dollar, to make sure that is received without an issue. After Mark confirmed the dollar had made its way into his account, Ben tried the remaining funds. After an awkward pause, he discovered that he had reached his daily transaction limit at $2000, meaning we were a few hundred away from a done deal. 

Ben asked if there was a Chase bank nearby, and luckily about a mile from Mark’s house in downtown Winfield, there was a branch. He left and Stacey, Mark. and I talked as we waited. When Ben returned, we were all ready to finish this sale and get on with our respective days. 

With the money finalized, we had one last obstacle, the Rondo did not want to let go of the back license plate. Despite my best efforts, once again I was bested by some rusty bolts. It was here that Ben’s friend stepped up to the challenge and after we upgraded him from a screwdriver to some more serious tools, he managed to break the plate free. And with this, we all celebrated and dispersed.

I thought this is where our story would end, having nearly doubled the 7-day offer and clearing one thing from Mark’s plate. Stacey and I were rehashing some of the memorable events that just took place and looked for opportunities to create an even better selling process, when my phone began ringing with Ben’s name appearing. The last time a buyer called us within minutes of taking home a Carma Car, it was because the alternator was failing and it resulted in our donation funds being diverted to help cover the cost of keeping their new Santa Fe on the road. 

Fortunately, Ben was not calling regarding a mechanical issue, but rather he was standing at the currency exchange to complete the license transfer and was notified that Mark’s signature was missing from the title. Apparently, as we moved from one selling obstacle to the next that morning, we neglected to take care of this very important step. I apologized profusely and was more than a little embarrassed, but about 20 minutes later he returned to Mark’s house and the omission was easily resolved. 

As a gesture of good faith, and to show him my appreciation for his understanding, I personally invited Ben to meet me a couple of weeks later for $25 in free gas during one of our promotional giveaways. At this time the Rondo was in the shop getting the brakes and a few other items fixed, so he brought his Lexus RX instead.

All told, we were able to provide Mark with a better offer, while adding very little work to his already busy schedule and because he chose our “full service” selling option it allowed us to make a donation of nearly $300 to the Winfield Education Foundation. Mark chose this organization for the work they do serving underprivileged children in our community. Not only that, but we were rewarded with another selling story and the ability to find more opportunities to refine our selling process. This includes a “final sales checklist” that has a checkbox to ensure the seller has signed the title among other important items to help avoid any extra work for those who work with Carma Services. We also learned that Zelle payments can be an obstacle in closing a deal and to always test drive a car prior to showing it to be able to create an ad that will best represent what we are trying to sell.

Mark is yet another satisfied client, who did better selling with Carma Services instead of simply taking the dealer’s wholesale 7-day offer.