ginmtb
'74 FJ40 - my first!
Well, the right to buy it at least... 
So here's my story - I've been searching for a 40 now since the beginning of the year. I was hoping to make a deal happen with a fellow MUD member, but haven't had any luck so far. So I kept scouring Craigslist and unfortunately continued to come up empty handed.
Then one late night I see an ad posted in the Bay Area. The photos look promising, so I send a message. He replies back that several people are interested. I said hopefully I can look at it. He said he'll let me know, as one guy was in the same city as him. Sigh. Another missed opportunity it appeared. But he did say to call him tomorrow between 9-5 to set up a time to see it if it hadn't sold.
So next day I call and he said it hadn't sold yet. I needed to be at work that morning so I was at the office. After the one major obligation I had was over, I was on a conference call I really didn't need to be on. I call him back and say, "can I come see it today?" I said I could leave in 30 minutes and it would take me about an hour to get there. He said that should work but he was still waiting to hear from someone closer by. Ugh. So I hang up and can't focus at all on the conference call. Then I decide, screw it, I don't need to be on this call and text him that I'm leaving now and see him in an hour.
He calls me on the road and said another guy was coming from about the same distance away. I said, "a race huh?" But he said no he didn't want it to be that way. He then agreed to not sell the vehicle to anyone until we both saw it. Thought that was cool. Apparently the other guy talked to him as well on the drive down and said I'll pay $500 more and tell the other guy to turnaround.
I get there first and within the first 5-10 minutes I realize I want this thing. So I ask him, "if we both like it, how are you going to decide who to sell it to?" He said he really hadn't thought it out that far.
So the other guy shows up. I immediately tell him it is a piece of junk and that he shouldn't waste his time (joking of course). He's all over the thing and clearly likes it as well. So he pretty much asks the same question I did. Now we enter the awkward zone. The poor seller - he was a super nice guy and we hit it off. But there he was standing there with two people who wanted the vehicle very much. He said, "well all I can think of is a coin toss." Being the first to show up ready to buy I said, "well, when I sell stuff on Craigslist, I normally sell to the first one with cash." But then I said, "but I've taken the approach on the 40 search of 'if it's meant to be, it's meant to be and if it's not, it's not.'" So I told him to flip the coin. He assigned heads to the other buyer, and tails to me. He flipped the coin and it was tails! Relief.
The other buyer was cool, I think he was happy he even had a shot. He congratulated me and shook my hand. I wished him good luck in his search. So there you have it - quite an interesting story in getting this thing. I'm still kinda hoping for a '75, but maybe this one is "the one".... The deal was so good I could not pass it up. I'll include more info on what I got in additional posts.
So here's my story - I've been searching for a 40 now since the beginning of the year. I was hoping to make a deal happen with a fellow MUD member, but haven't had any luck so far. So I kept scouring Craigslist and unfortunately continued to come up empty handed.
Then one late night I see an ad posted in the Bay Area. The photos look promising, so I send a message. He replies back that several people are interested. I said hopefully I can look at it. He said he'll let me know, as one guy was in the same city as him. Sigh. Another missed opportunity it appeared. But he did say to call him tomorrow between 9-5 to set up a time to see it if it hadn't sold.
So next day I call and he said it hadn't sold yet. I needed to be at work that morning so I was at the office. After the one major obligation I had was over, I was on a conference call I really didn't need to be on. I call him back and say, "can I come see it today?" I said I could leave in 30 minutes and it would take me about an hour to get there. He said that should work but he was still waiting to hear from someone closer by. Ugh. So I hang up and can't focus at all on the conference call. Then I decide, screw it, I don't need to be on this call and text him that I'm leaving now and see him in an hour.
He calls me on the road and said another guy was coming from about the same distance away. I said, "a race huh?" But he said no he didn't want it to be that way. He then agreed to not sell the vehicle to anyone until we both saw it. Thought that was cool. Apparently the other guy talked to him as well on the drive down and said I'll pay $500 more and tell the other guy to turnaround.
I get there first and within the first 5-10 minutes I realize I want this thing. So I ask him, "if we both like it, how are you going to decide who to sell it to?" He said he really hadn't thought it out that far.
So the other guy shows up. I immediately tell him it is a piece of junk and that he shouldn't waste his time (joking of course). He's all over the thing and clearly likes it as well. So he pretty much asks the same question I did. Now we enter the awkward zone. The poor seller - he was a super nice guy and we hit it off. But there he was standing there with two people who wanted the vehicle very much. He said, "well all I can think of is a coin toss." Being the first to show up ready to buy I said, "well, when I sell stuff on Craigslist, I normally sell to the first one with cash." But then I said, "but I've taken the approach on the 40 search of 'if it's meant to be, it's meant to be and if it's not, it's not.'" So I told him to flip the coin. He assigned heads to the other buyer, and tails to me. He flipped the coin and it was tails! Relief.
The other buyer was cool, I think he was happy he even had a shot. He congratulated me and shook my hand. I wished him good luck in his search. So there you have it - quite an interesting story in getting this thing. I'm still kinda hoping for a '75, but maybe this one is "the one"...
. The deal was so good I could not pass it up. I'll include more info on what I got in additional posts.
