I drove to AL today to look at a 420 with a Predator engine in it. The owner told me he couldn't get it to run but that it only had about three hours total on it. He also said that he has a 322 and a 316 that I could also have for the price of just the 420. The 420 had a Ruegg 3ph and four new tires plus the new Predator engine. The drive over was about three and a half hours but the weather was beautiful and I had a Jack Reacher CD book on the barbie so I was happy. When I go there my heart sank! The owner had tried to get the 420 to run but was unable. There was no PTO on the engine but was on the old Onan. I had no idea whether or not it was any good. I could not test the power steering or the hydraulics. The wiring looked like someone had dropped a plate of multicolored spaghetti on the tractor! The battery was dead and the gauge cluster was broken out. He also said he had a 60-inch deck for the 420. He didn't! He had a gear driven 48-inch deck that had almost all of its corner mountings torn off and welds that were as bad as the old 400 I bought. The 322 and 316 were a pile of rusted broken garbage. I didn't even make him an offer. I told him that I could not use any of this stuff and started to leave. He said, "But you drove all of this way". I just told him that I had enjoyed the ride and didn't mind at all. I did compliment him on his photographic skills. I told him that he had been able to leave out every single negative thing on the tractor and to make it look almost presentable. He frowned at my compliment! Ah, CL! I think flipping a coin is almost better odds. Anyway, 7 hours later I arrived home just in time for the end of the book!
The worst of Craig's list
inspectorudy
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2,076 Posts
I don't feel complete unless I have two or three items listed on CL. I recently made $150 on the sale of a Chinese (Junk) guitar. It did look nice, though. I've sold garden tractors quickly on it and bought two cars and a truck there, too. Yes, I've had several guys call about an item and they simply want to talk. One fellow went on & on for 1/2 an hour! I guess I couldn't exist without CL!
I've had some really good luck on craigslist and only one time that I felt a little cheated was this past fall when buying some mulch hay. I guess for $3 a bale I wasn't expecting good stuff but man was that stuff rough. In the end it did its job and the new lawn grew in perfect.
My most recent find was a nice old craftsman air compressor with an oil lubricated dual piston compressor, dual voltage motor and it puts out 8cfm @ 90psi. Thing runs like a top and is quiet. Put some new synthetic oil in the compressor and it's perfect for my shed. Not too bad for $100 bucks.
What I use craigslist the most for is putting stuff on the free section. Snap a picture and put stuff on the curb. It's gone in less than an hour and I don't have to go to the dump. Also very handy for post yard sale clean up. Never have to bring anything back in the house.
My most recent find was a nice old craftsman air compressor with an oil lubricated dual piston compressor, dual voltage motor and it puts out 8cfm @ 90psi. Thing runs like a top and is quiet. Put some new synthetic oil in the compressor and it's perfect for my shed. Not too bad for $100 bucks.
What I use craigslist the most for is putting stuff on the free section. Snap a picture and put stuff on the curb. It's gone in less than an hour and I don't have to go to the dump. Also very handy for post yard sale clean up. Never have to bring anything back in the house.
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1,974 Posts
Are you proud of that?
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492 Posts
Yes, those were stolen net pics (Home Depot) - I didn't have any pics of the actual hardware.
The blade very closely matched that pic (except it was reversed for scraping rather than digging); the tines on the cultivator showed some paint wear.
They were both put to use the following day. I did need to purchase a different hitch pin as these two items needed a pin that was 5" (another $8).
+1
I'm amazed at what people will take off my curb from scrap metal to old toilets. I've put a few items on CL in the free section only to see them on CL the next day for steep price. It's the epitome of one man's trash is another man's treasure.
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2,062 Posts
If it was legal and he was honest, the buyer felt it was worth it.
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21,248 Posts
My parents live on a fairly main street in a good sized city. Nothing lasts on their curb for more than a few hours, especially on trash-day-eve. No CL needed.
Where I live, we rarely get random drive-bys (being on a cul-de-sac, I certainly hope not). Sometimes neighbors leave stuff at the end of the road, but even that street gets limited traffic, so things don't tend to move.
I'm not posting on CL for draw people in. I like being able to leave things outside, not locked up, and find them just the way I left them when I get home from work.
Mike
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4,263 Posts
I always Google the address that I am given and then use the satellite view to see the neighborhood and any strange things to look out for. I also always carry a .357 detective special with me. I have never had a funny feeling about anyone but here in GA we had an older couple murdered over a fake Mustang ad by being lured into a woods area to look at a non-existing car. I use CL a lot but it is disappointing to encounter someone who has no sense of right and wrong.
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21,053 Posts
I am sorry But if your put that in a different Context that a Pretty funny statement especially if some lives In a Major city :sidelaugh:sidelaugh "random drive-bys" :sidelaugh
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8,828 Posts
I don't need Craigslist. I've sold 4 cars out of my driveway in the past. All to neighborhood residents. I get good traffic driving by. Anything I don't want I just leave out front and someone will pick it up. One car I sold, I ended up giving him clothes and a gas grill a year later. He ended up helping me around the yard whenever I need him. Another car I sold to a young girl who ended up cleaning our house on weekends. Old mattresses and large appliances the county picks up for free. Books and clothes I give to charities.
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21,248 Posts
They get plenty of those in Boston (only an hour away). Although, they're not usually random (usually related to drugs/gangs/retaliation).
Mike
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2,076 Posts
He brought a knowledgeable friend along and his wife also. They all looked, played, asked questions, etc. All was aboveboard. He wanted it. It was new w/case. I say "junk guitar" as opposed to my very fine Gibson Les Paul, and two Gretsch guitars. I didn't force him to buy it. I only offered it. His knowledgeable buddy thought it was worth it. NO REGRETS here. To answer the question directly, though, I don't guess I've ever been "proud" of a sale. Happy, pleased and I'm sure other adjectives could describe my feelings after a sale of an item. I'm thinking proud would be used in the terms of winning with deception. I was totally upfront with what the guitar was all about. I simply had no need or desire for it. A lot of people buy inferior products because they don't want to spend the money on quality items. That's their prerogative (special privilege). I, too, have payed more for some things than they we actually worth, but at the time of purchase, no one would have been able to talk me out of it. I guess it was worth it to me.
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4,263 Posts
I don't think any of us sell on CL with the thought of being "Proud" or not. When you go to Harbor Freight do you feel ashamed? I know their stuff is substandard and I still buy certain things from them. I have sold many JD's on CL and bought many from it and have no feelings either way about pride or shame. Have I sold some tractors with known issues? Certainly. But if any were of the nature to be crippling to the tractor I always advised the buyer. Things like "The lights don't work" or it has a "Very slow drip" or "One of the tires has a slow leak". I always give my phone number to the buyers and tell them that I will help them with any issues that may arise later.
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155 Posts
well I just got a super deal on a MC 519 and he delivered it to my work (about a half hour ago)
I would call the the BEST of Craigslist lol
I would call the the BEST of Craigslist lol
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2,076 Posts
Harbor Freight! It so reminds me of my trip to Seattle when my brother died 13 years ago. His wife told me to go out to the garage and see if there were any tools that I'd like, set them aside and she'd mail them to me in Tennessee. While mourning, yet a bit excited to see what I might could use, I went out to the garage. The very first thing I saw was a cast iron pedestal for a grinder. It was from Harbor Freight. I thought about its weight and what the cost might be to freight it to me from any carrier.....cost prohibitive! I was certain that it would be cheaper for me to buy a new one than to ship this one thousands of miles. I laughed to myself thinking that my brother, nine years old than myself, thought the same way I did about tools. If you're only going to use the tool 1 to 3 times and the cheap one will work, why spend 5 to 10 times the dollars for the "professional" one? I ended up bringing one small Crescent brand wrench from Jamestown NY home with me! By posting 4 pictures, you will know I'm PROUD of this memory of my beloved brother!
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2,076 Posts
I have my grandfather's claw hammer. I welded his initials on it!
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1,965 Posts
Rudy, I wish I'd known you were looking for a 420, there was a guy down in the Tampa area that had one for $1000, looked pretty good and came with a 50" deck, which I thought was rare, but cool. But now I can't find it. There is another one in Homosassa (Tampa area) but I actually bought another 420 from him as a parts machine, but would be a little concerned about paying the guy for a running tractor based on what I saw of the non-running one. I happy you got the 400, I think that's a nice package even if there are some small issues here and there, I mean come on, it's 40 years old.
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4,263 Posts
Don, I talked with the guy in Homosassa Springs but I didn't feel it was worth a 6 and half hour drive to get it. He also changed it from a 50-deck to a 60-inch deck in e-mails to me. I asked for a few more pictures to decide if it was worth the drive and he claimed that wasn't up on all the e-mail stuff and that he would just talk about it over the phone. My antenna went up and I dropped him. The decks are getting to be the hardest things to find and if the deck on his is rotted out then it isn't worth $1,000. I also figured for $1400 more I got the 400 with a FEL and a tiller plus a lot of extras. If you run across a good 420 let me know.
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