DO NOT POST an XR4Ti For Sale Without Reading This Thread

[anglin]

Hello there!

I understand that you just registered on the Merkur Club of America Forum with the sole intention of listing your snazzy Merkur XR4Ti for sale. Before you make your post, read this thread and follow its advice in order to save EVERYBODY some time and to best represent your car for the quickest sale.

Information you really, really should include:

- LOCATION (city, state, country)
- your email address (because you may never check for private messages)
- phone number (if you feel comfortable)
- price (and currency if not US dollars)
- pictures (the MerkurTech.com Picture Pages proves that a picture is worth 1000 words, but that doesn't mean you get to skimp on the information you provide in your post)

Here is the info you should provide:

- year
- mileage (and units if it is miles or km)
- body color
- interior color
- sunroof or no sunroof
- seat fabric (cloth or leather) and seat fabric pattern (advanced sellers)
- wheels (phone dial, spatula, aftermarket)
- manual or automatic transmission (if manual, has it been upgraded to a T5?)

Include a "Good:" and "Bad:" section along with a thorough list of modifications (if you have done them), recent work, etc. Here's an example:

Good:
- gray herringbone cloth interior in very good shape
- uncracked dash
- fiberglass Cosworth grill (MC Rally)

Bad:
- paint on right front fender bubbling up from rust underneath
- needs a new driver's side motor mount
- stock radio doesn't turn off (I just keep the volume turned down when I want it off)

Mods:
- Borla stainless steel dual outlet exhaust with 2.5" stainless downpipe
- 17x7 Stilauto wheels with Kumho MX tires with about 7000 miles on them (215/40 front, 225/45 rear)
- mc²racing polyurethane and aluminum differential mount

Recent Work:
- spark plug wires replaced
- cap and rotor replaced
- oxygen sensor replaced

Here are things prospective XR4Ti buyers like to know:

- does the dash have cracks
- does the heater produce heat
- does the air conditioning work
- does it have a cracked windshield
- does the car include extras (shop manual, parts car, snow tires, etc.)
- when were the tires replaced
- are you an original owner or what "number" owner are you
- is there visible rust on the body of the car and how much

There are some other year-specific things that buyers are/might be interested in (some of them for advanced sellers):

- low oil dipstick sensor on the dash or not (1987)
- Merkur emblem or Merkur script on hatch (1987 and 1987.5)
- wide or narrow transmission tunnel (1987, advanced sellers)
- 1989 cooling system (1988 and 1989, coolant bottle on driver's side of engine compartment)

Here's an example of what your for-sale post should NOT look like:

Excellent condition, well maintained, low mileage. Make an offer.

Yes, that was all the car-related detail listed in the thread. This sort of post only leads to questions and can turn a semi-interested buyer away in hurry. It is possible that this anonymous seller had to answer the same questions over and over in individual messages to all of the people who replied.

These aren't rules. They are just recommendations. You can show your interest in selling the car to a prospective buyer by putting a teensy bit of effort in your original post. Buyers will respond with proportional interest.

(If this is going to be "sticky-ified" please review and suggest further info; I'll trim and edit as necessary. If someone could also include the method for posting pictures hosted on a service, I will include that as well.)

[anglin]

Howdy again. I posted this in the XR Classifieds section a little bit ago, but this thread gets way more traffic, so I'm parking it here for a little bit until I feel comfortable with the level of input to move it back to the Classifieds section. Add your recommendations and vote.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

So you're saying Scorpio sellers don't need guidelines?

Like the idea in general, but can you maybe trim it down a little? I'd be like, "What is this, a gov't web-site?"

[Big Dog]

I like it. To many people like to sell things and give the most vague description and that really becomes annoying.

[anglin]

So you're saying Scorpio sellers don't need guidelines?

Like the idea in general, but can you maybe trim it down a little? I'd be like, "What is this, a gov't web-site?"

I know nothing about the Scorpio and therefore would not be able to put together the "what to mention" section among other things. The intent is also to encourage the Scorpio owners to put the Scorpio version of this together.

Yes, the post is LONG. The final version is going to be trimmed and lightness will be added. This is the thread to get the brains going. I've spent hours on the VA web page today. You didn't have to remind me how miserable the experience was. (The Dept of Education gets their web page right, FWIW.)

[Mike McCreight]

Couple more...
Don't bother telling us it's turbocharged. Keep that for the "other" sales sites. Same goes for "German", "independant rear suspension" , etc.
Also if it's "low miles" be ready to prove it. I'm really suspicious of all these XRs for sale with less than 5,000 miles per year, sometimes lots less. Not that I don't believe they exist, I just need proof.

[John Brennan]

"What's on your mind, Sebastian... milk and cookies keeping you up?"

Excellent suggestions.

[milehighXR]

Make these rules, not reccomendations, too many forget to post location, and then they don't even put it in their profile.

As for Scorpios:

Early or late 88(you can tell by the seats the fastest)
EATC functioning or not
Last time the A4LD was rebuilt(if ever)
Does any of the power stuff work(fr seats rr seats etc...)
ODO function(it's eletronic, and the gear like to break)
auto or manual(not many of those)
most of the other stuff from the XR applies

Edit: Adding ABS module, and it's relative function.

[hamstang]

Looks like a great way to go. Something that could be nicer, though much more work for someone would be to make a basic form so people could just fill in the blanks and we could have a more comprehensive ad for all. It would prove easier to read for all of us and make sure nothing is left out unless truly unknown.

[Ray]

On the focus board i'm on (and moderate) all the for sale ads must follow a basic guideline:

Item Description:
Location:
Asking price:
Seller's Email:
Pictures (if available):

obviously listing a car should be a bit more detailed than listing a gear shift knob or something, but the same idea applies. Description. Location. Price. Email.

[salukixr4ti]

Looks like a great way to go. Something that could be nicer, though much more work for someone would be to make a basic form so people could just fill in the blanks and we could have a more comprehensive ad for all. It would prove easier to read for all of us and make sure nothing is left out unless truly unknown.

I would definitely second this idea. Very straight forward, and near impossible to screw up. I'm certain the knowledgeable Scorpio owners would appreciate/supply criteria as well.

[anglin]

As for Scorpios:

Early or late 88(you can tell by the seats the fastest)
...
auto or manual(not many of those)

Excellent. Could you combine your knowledge into my post above and throw something together for the Scorpios?

Something that could be nicer, though much more work for someone would be to make a basic form so people could just fill in the blanks and we could have a more comprehensive ad for all.

That's a good idea as well and something like that already exists on the MerkurDestkop.com Market section. When you post an ad, the form is there for you to fill out. You aren't forced to supply all the info but you are prompted. Just reminding people that they have to share the location of the car should do the trick. Take a look:

http://www.merkurdesktop.com/market.php

At any rate, the 2 folks (as of right now) who have voted not to sticky-ify this the top post have shared no suggestions and made no recommendations, so we'll never know what's wrong with this.

Hey, Whoeveryouare. Could you provide some input if you don't like the idea of making this a sticky?

[milehighXR]

I sure can. I'll put together a comprehensive list and qoute your orig post to add it in. Does that sound like a good plan?

[Frag]

WTF are we selling here? A number matching shelby here?

there is shuch a thing as too much information here. If you really must insist on that much info, I would suggest a for sale section off the forum tith a web based template or a fill in the blanks type page.

On the other hand the ads with next to nothing are just a waste of time. Ads that don't contain a minimum capture should be round filed...

minumum for an ad...

year
milage
location
price
contact info
atleast a mention of driving status or parts car

Optional but a plus to include...

2nd way to contact
interior condition
external condition
mechanical condition
mods
repairs
pictures

if people can't provide a minimum capture, they must not want to sell the damned thing any ways. I think they should just be deleted without notice, this seems to work well on a local forum I admin. buyers got sick of wasted time.

Man that took forever on this phone!

[MerlinMerkur]

Ill have to agree with Chris' suggested ad, granted.. thats so much info you may not even know the answers.. but it is a template just put as much of that as you can (stickify) into any FS ads and make buyers informed.
Besides, anyone around here is going to want any and all of that info anyway and you're going to be emailing 50 different people as said about the same things. You put the ad in an autotrader.. most arent going to know what all that crap is anyway.. but this isnt Autotrader.

I say stickify it.