What does 'best offer over $XXX' mean?

Ok, so I'm looking to buy a car (not a Ferrari) and I see people in their ads saying things like "Will take best offer over $6000'. Now, does that mean if I offer the guy $6000 the car is mine? Or does it mean he's going to be fielding offers, silent auction style? Or does it mean different things to different sellers?

 

It means nothing...........if anything you have an arrogant seller on your hands. Offer whatever you think it is worth and back it up with comparables........if he balks, you walk.

 

Well, that's what I'd think too, but for this particular car $6000 isn't an arrogant price. It's a pretty fair deal, if it's actually what it claims to be.

 

I would take it to mean the seller is fielding offers & will take the best one. Similar to a regular OBO sale, except he is putting a "Don't bother" floor price there.

 

And that's what I'm afraid of. It's a reasonably rare car, a 1965 Triumph Spitfire, but it's also a pretty non-sought after car, so if he's fielding offers it's gonna be a while before he gets a few. The car is a 2 1/2 hour drive from here and I don't want to drive all the way down there for a car I'm not going to buy, but I'm also not going to buy it sight unseen. I figured I can try to negotiate a 'conditional on inspection' deal, but if he's really a game player then I could get down there and have him try to re-negotiate, making my trip a waste of my time.

 

Well, the guy happily took $6K for it, so it's my car now!
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

looks like a fun car for $6k

 

Yeah, she ain't no Ferrari, but Triumphs have a quiet charm of their own. I just hope the 308 doesn't get jealous of the new girl...

 

Yeah, that's a pretty cool car. How does it run?

 

Runs like a top, all original, two owner car. It's the best condition Spitfire Mk II that I've seen in a long, long time.

 

Oh, I see you bought it, no need for my post then. Enjoy.

 

I don't think you would want a Ferrari for $6k...