How much is your time worth?

[DaraSue]

So I got a rental request from a guy who wanted a DeLorean to show up for his kid's birthday party this weekend. He only wanted it for some photos for about 15 minutes. Even though our club pres says he always quotes a minimum of $250 I felt bad charging that much for that short a time so I offered to do it for $75, which I thought was more than generous. The guy comes back and asks if I'll do it for $50. I said I'd have to think about it. Haven't heard back for him. Now I kind of feel like a jerk, but it was going to be an hour each way from where I live, and I was going to have to do it between taking my buddy to the airport up here and then coming back up to go to work. Arrgh. I might have done it anyway if the guy lived closer to me, just because I like showing the car off and making people happy and why not get enough to cover my cellphone bill for time I was probably just going to spend loafing around or going to Costco, but I just spent 7 hours driving a couple days ago, too.

Those of you who rent out your cars, what would you say is a reasonable price for something like this? $50 for 15 mins seems like what you'd pay Destiny down at Spearmint Rhino but then again you can also drive a Lamborghini for 15 mins for $250, so...

[sdg3205]

So I got a rental request from a guy who wanted a DeLorean to show up for his kid's birthday party this weekend. He only wanted it for some photos for about 15 minutes. Even though our club pres says he always quotes a minimum of $250 I felt bad charging that much for that short a time so I offered to do it for $75, which I thought was more than generous. The guy comes back and asks if I'll do it for $50. I said I'd have to think about it. Haven't heard back for him. Now I kind of feel like a jerk, but it was going to be an hour each way from where I live, and I was going to have to do it between taking my buddy to the airport up here and then coming back up to go to work. Arrgh. I might have done it anyway if the guy lived closer to me, just because I like showing the car off and making people happy and why not get enough to cover my cellphone bill for time I was probably just going to spend loafing around or going to Costco, but I just spent 7 hours driving a couple days ago, too.

Those of you who rent out your cars, what would you say is a reasonable price for something like this? $50 for 15 mins seems like what you'd pay Destiny down at Spearmint Rhino but then again you can also drive a Lamborghini for 15 mins for $250, so...

Unless it is a charitable cause I believe in, I charge. One hour each way?! He can cram his $50 you know where. I wrote a piece for our local club. Let me post it here:

So you want to rent your delorean? There’s really no science to renting your DeLorean, but here are some words of wisdom that come from experience that you can combine with common sense.

We DeLorean owners get a lot of requests for event rentals. I probably get in the neighbourhood of 15-30 per year. Some come though my local club, the PNDC while others come from my online ads and some by word of mouth. Some events are for charity, some are birthdays, some are film shoots and some are photo shoots. Only you can determine if an event is right for you and how much (if anything) you want to charge. I have no problem doing local charity events for free if it’s a cause I support, and the kick back is usually free food, tickets or something similar presented as a thank you or token of appreciation. On the other hand, this is a 36 year old piece of automotive history that i have poured thousands and thousands of dollars and hours in to, so why should non-charity events get a free ride? My time has value and my vehicle has value; from this is born a service. This doesn’t mean a flat rate for all events or inquiries though as I charge a fee i see as appropriate based on some factors we’ll touch on later. Think of it this way; there is a relatively high demand and a relatively low supply. That’s basic economics folks. Plus, your car wasn’t free, gas isn’t free and last i checked DMCH isn’t giving away parts for free, so why is anyone entitled access to your car for free? Renting your DeLorean is an excellent way to supplement your income and offset the costs of ownership.

First, how are you going about getting gigs? Are you placing an ad or going by word of mouth? Places such as craigslist and Kijiji work fairly well. These contribute to a small portion of my rental income, but most of the big ticket events are by word of mouth. Remember, the people who are approaching you see you as a vendor, not necessarily just a guy with a car. If you place an ad, keep it professional. Use pictures, testimonials (if you have any) and lay out CLEARLY and immediately anything you want to avoid prematurely, such as people asking for the keys. My ads clearly state that no one but myself can operate the car, so that weeds out a lot of requests right off the bat. People love a quick response. Try and return emails within 12-24 hours.

Before agreeing to anything, before you give them a price and before you take preparation plans any further, get everything laid out on the table. Get as much information from the client as possible. For example:

Is this a static gig or does the car need to be driven? What is the location of the gig? How long will it take you to get there and how much gas will you burn? How long is the gig? What’s the security like? If static, will the car roped off and out of reach or do you have to be on site and monitoring the situation? If pictures are taken, how close can they get to the car? Can they lean against it? Can they sit in the drivers seat or perhaps just the passenger seat? Obviously there are a lot of variables and typically the higher the risk, the more I ask for. Similarly, low risk but long durations events are priced higher. Short, low risk events like showing up to a birthday party for pictures is more affordable, but driving for a day for a movie is expensive. Always start high. If you have to miss work or book a day off to do the gig, you should at least be making what you’re missing at work. If you don’t know where to start, ask what they’re budgeting. Here’s a rough guide I go by:

Charity or cause I support (not missing work) - free
Adult birthday surprise - $150 (More $$$ if I’m giving rides)
Child birthday surprise - $200 - $250
2 hr static photoshoot - $250
Quick wedding pictures - $250 - $350
Full wedding day - $350 - $500
Film shoot, full day, driving - $1,000
Full day, high traffic/risk location and I have to dress like Marty - $1,150

Clients like a sure thing, especially if it’s a wedding. If you can, plan a backup to do the event on the same terms you agree to. Last year i got horribly sick and had to pass off an event to another owner in the local area. I have another event in Whistler this summer that I’ll have a back up on. It’s not only important that what we do has value, but also that we’re reputable and trusted vendors. A positive association between the marque and the owners is crucial.

Ok you got a gig, but are you insured? Are you actually covered if someone pokes their eye out on the door or kicks a dent in the left front fender? Talk to your insurance company. Most antique or collectors status plates and programs DO NOT allow commercial use of the vehicle. In BC, your local AutoPlan vendor will issue a temporary operating permit for the duration of the event. Check in your area what the limitations and requirements are. I have worked with some companies who actually provide the insurance. In a few cases, I have drafted waivers of liability and documents that held the venue or organizers responsible for damage to the car. Would they hold up in court? Hopefully, but I’m no lawyer. Certainly can’t hurt.

It’s the day of the gig, you know where it is, you know what you’re being paid and you know what to expect. Or do you? If you’re doing a BTTF themed gig, it can’t hurt to have a red vest or any BTTF paraphernalia. Don’t fight the BTTF jokes on these gigs, your being paid to be professional and sometimes that means sucking it up and feigning laughter at the ten thousandth flux capacitor joke. To help make your job a little easier, you can get PVC piping that fits across the striker pins and helps deter unwanted entrants. It’s not uncommon for the requests to change once you’re on site. “Oh, can we just open the doors?” or “Can the staff get a few pictures with the car before the clients arrive for the event?” It’s your call how to handle this. If you were expecting to lock the doors and walk away and get lunch, you might have to think twice. If you think letting one or two people sit in the car is risky or starts a slippery slope, you may want to act accordingly. There is no harm in saying “no, that wasn’t the agreement” and just reaffirming why. On the other hand, if you think it’s harmless to alter things a bit, go for it. No matter what, always expect the unexpected. I have had more people than i can even count climb OVER bars and signs that clearly read “DO NOT ENTER.” I don’t know what goes through these peoples heads, I really don’t, but if they’re careless enough to disregard the signs I consider them a risk and i get them out of the car immediately. It’s not worth the broken turn stalk or side bolster to be kind to these idiots. Unfortunately you’ll meet some entitled people. During a particularly busy event, i turned my back for a minute and when i turned back around a young lady had sprawled herself across the hood to take some selfies. Of course I was the asshole when I protested. I also worked a FanExpo event in 2016 which provided the best security I have ever seen; the car was behind curtains, ropes and had a security guard full time. We had a signed document stating that Christopher Lloyd was the only person allowed in the car and the weekend went off without a hitch…. until the event was over. During tear down a member of the event’s PR team decided to get her hands on the keys (left with security) and open the doors and let herself in for pictures and promptly post them on instagram. Of course, I caught her (actually my wife found the pics) and when i asked her how she got access the the car she deleted the pictures and blocked me. Not even an apology…. from a PR firm. Nice.

One the other hand, you’re going to meet some great people. Believe it or not, I met Volker Seidel through a birthday surprise his wife Maren coordinated. Volker bought and restored 3922 shortly afterward and we remain good friends. I’ll never tire of seeing that look of excitement and amazement on a child’s face as the DeLorean pulls up or hearing afterwards just how much it meant to someone that the DeLorean was involved in their event. Sometimes our own love affair with the DeLorean can diminish and we forget how it felt the first time we saw one, sat in one or even bought one. It happens easily when the comedians and entitled selfie takers seem more prevalent, but try not to let them get to you, try and remember why you got into this stainless steel dream in the first place. Renting your DeLorean certainly will and it can help offset the costs of maintenance, insurance and upgrades.

[Shep]

2 hours driving + 15 minutes photo shoot + 1 hour buffer for kids party (really, 15 minutes? BS timeline there) = about 3.5 hours.

3.5 hours of pay + 2 hours of gas money + insurance for the event (kids at a photo shoot!!!) = over $100 to me. You're right, $75 was too generous.

I use a percentage of my full time job's pay as a frame of reference for pricing. After all, said job maintains and sustains the car itself, I think that's a fairly reasonable benchmark. Charity work or family and friends are always free. I'm a nice guy. But I don't let strangers take advantage of me.

If he really wants a DeLorean, he can find one closer. Haggling on price shows he's not really all that serious about it, or is on a tight budget and really shouldn't even be thinking about renting a car at all. Let him make his own bad decisions solo, don't enable them. Kids or not, nobody should be renting any cars to this guy for less than $100. Insurance alone would make basically anyone balk at the offer, and when he negotiates lower...

Do bouncy castles even come that cheap? Seriously, I thought they were more.

[Michael]

After his pathetic lowball offer you should refuse his request at ANY price. That is nothing short of insulting and at 75.00 girl you would be losing money! You really need to refuse even accepting a call from him at this point. You were beyond generous to do it for 75

Do not let people walk over you like this.

PS, considering you are looking at 4 hours of your time and half of that mileing up your car, 400.00 minimim.

[Shep]

I need to note I was lazy and didn't work actual figures, so "over $100" is selling it really short.

Are you renting to make money or meet people? Making money, there's none to be had. Meeting people, stay closer!

[Dangermouse]

An hour each way???

Try paying a plumber for just the 10 minutes he takes to unplug your drain and see how that goes.

[Rich_NYS]

After his pathetic lowball offer you should refuse his request at ANY price. That is nothing short of insulting and at 75.00 girl you would be losing money! You really need to refuse even accepting a call from him at this point. You were beyond generous to do it for 75

Do not let people walk over you like this.

PS, considering you are looking at 4 hours of your time and half of that mileing up your car, 400.00 minimim.


I need to note I was lazy and didn't work actual figures, so "over $100" is selling it really short.

Are you renting to make money or meet people? Making money, there's none to be had. Meeting people, stay closer!


An hour each way???

Try paying a plumber for just the 10 minutes he takes to unplug your drain and see how that goes.


+1

The guy who offered $50 is the type of person who won't respect your time, your car, or you as a person. I agree it's best not to accept calls from him going forward.

[Jonathan]

Do not let people walk over you like this.

Kudos to Michael for mentioning this.

One of life's (shitty) lessons is to realize that people will step all over you like a floor mat if you allow them to.

This is bad enough from a complete stranger, but much worse when involving friends or family.

Putting your foot down and standing up for yourself is not only okay, but essential for your peace of mind and self-worth.

This is no easy task when it's someone you know, but when it's a stranger, yea, tell the guy to go jump in a lake. I agree with the suggestion to not accept any amount of money from this clown.

The DeLorean seems to bring out the worst in people when it comes to entitlement type behaviour. Do what is best for you and what makes you feel good. It may not come natural to you, I know it doesn't for me, but drawing this line in the sand for what is okay and what isn't I have found to be invaluable in helping yourself enjoy the car. It is your car afterall and you worked hard to pay for it and maintain it.

...and since this is the Back to the Future world afterall, I pause for a word from our friend Goldie Wilson:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj0J-Uk5Iw4

EDIT: And everything Rich just said!!! :)

[mr_maxime]

The drive alone isn't worth the $50. Driving time should always be factored into what you're being paid.

[DaraSue]

Update: I texted him (only because I'd said I'd think about it and didn't want to leave him hanging) and told him it was too much time and fuel for that price. He asked if I'd take $75 after all but I suggested he try to find somebody closer to where he lived.

Thanks for your input, everybody. If the guy were 15 minutes from my house or I had some other reason to go down there I might have done it but it was just going to be more aggravation than it's worth. I'll have to give more consideration to the other factors before I throw a number out next time.

[Michael]

Update: I texted him (only because I'd said I'd think about it and didn't want to leave him hanging) and told him it was too much time and fuel for that price. He asked if I'd take $75 after all but I suggested he try to find somebody closer to where he lived.

Good for you.

[PJK]

+1

The guy who offered $50 is the type of person who won't respect your time, your car, or you as a person. I agree it's best not to accept calls from him going forward.

All right, I'll offer a bit of a counter point...

There are lots of car owners who enjoy just showing off their cars to people and don't see it as a business opportunity (not that there is anything wrong with treating it as a business). This guy might have hoped you were a person looking for an excuse to drive your car and show it to a bunch of people, and figured $50-75 would be a bonus to sweeten the deal and show it to a bunch of kids. No malicious, disrespect, or ill-will intended.

If someone asked me to bring my car (not a DeLorean) to a kids birthday party, I'd almost certainly do it for free as long as it fit into my schedule... not because I'm a better person than anyone else, but just because I like showing my car to people who I think will appreciate it. If that same person offered to pay me, then I'd consider it a bonus (but probably not take the money). Again, I don't mean to suggest that there is anything wrong with charging people, but not everyone sees it the same way, and to assume that this guy is "the type of person who won't respect your time, your car, or you as a person" is assuming a bit too much IMHO.

[DaraSue]

All right, I'll offer a bit of a counter point...

There are lots of car owners who enjoy just showing off their cars to people and don't see it as a business opportunity (not that there is anything wrong with treating it as a business). This guy might have hoped you were a person looking for an excuse to drive your car and show it to a bunch of people, and figured $50-75 would be a bonus to sweeten the deal and show it to a bunch of kids. No malicious, disrespect, or ill-will intended.


Yeah, that's kind of where I'm at. If I'd had the whole day off and could have combined the trip with taking some shoes to get resoled at the shop down there and getting lunch at a restaurant I like, I might have considered it even for $50 b/c I don't mind driving my car (and have been known to drive around for an hour just to go to IHOP because I had some three-week-old gas to burn up) but I was going to have to drop my friend at the airport and then go home and get the car, haul ass down there, hustle everybody through their photo ops and then haul ass back to get to work on time. It was just going to be a little too much like work, for a fraction of what either my real or freelance job would pay. :dead:

[DMCVegas]

All right, I'll offer a bit of a counter point...

There are lots of car owners who enjoy just showing off their cars to people and don't see it as a business opportunity (not that there is anything wrong with treating it as a business). This guy might have hoped you were a person looking for an excuse to drive your car and show it to a bunch of people, and figured $50-75 would be a bonus to sweeten the deal and show it to a bunch of kids. No malicious, disrespect, or ill-will intended.

If someone asked me to bring my car (not a DeLorean) to a kids birthday party, I'd almost certainly do it for free as long as it fit into my schedule... not because I'm a better person than anyone else, but just because I like showing my car to people who I think will appreciate it. If that same person offered to pay me, then I'd consider it a bonus (but probably not take the money). Again, I don't mean to suggest that there is anything wrong with charging people, but not everyone sees it the same way, and to assume that this guy is "the type of person who won't respect your time, your car, or you as a person" is assuming a bit too much IMHO.

What you do with your car is your business, so I'm not going to judge on that. But let's be honest here. The guy asked for a price, was given one, and rather than bowing out because it didn't fit within his budget, he decided to go ahead and try and haggle. If I needed to rent a vehicle for an event, I would respect the prices given by the person with the vehicle. Now let's say they tell me that a rental is "X" amount per hour, and I only want the car for 30 minutes, I might at that point go ahead and ask about breaking the rate down into sub-blocks depending upon the situation. But keep in mind that is in extremely poor taste if I'm not even fulfilling the minimum amount of time offered. Which is what is figured in to cover the owner's basic expenses.

Getting cheap as hell and countering $50 on an already massively discounted rate? Nope. That absolutely tells me that I sure as hell don't want to deal with this person. And it's not as though this person was that hard-up for the cash since they then tried to come back with wanting to pay the full amount. I've dealt with people like this before with selling vehicles who give you ridiculous offers, and it's far more trouble than it's worth.

Again, what you do with your car is up to you. But personally, after 17 years of ownership I'm done with trying to seek out attention. After pulling my car out of storage I left it on the trailer while I ran into Walmart for less than 20 minutes. I come back out and even covered in dust and on a trailer the car already had people taking pictures when I came back outside, and started answering questions. As a daily driver I've been stopped to answer questions and been late to more appointments than I care to remember because of the interactions. That isn't to say I don't like people, nor the attention. It's good fun, and very rewarding when I encounter respectable people who have honest questions. But I certainly don't need to seek attention out, it will always find me.

[Rich_NYS]

All right, I'll offer a bit of a counter point...

There are lots of car owners who enjoy just showing off their cars to people and don't see it as a business opportunity (not that there is anything wrong with treating it as a business). This guy might have hoped you were a person looking for an excuse to drive your car and show it to a bunch of people, and figured $50-75 would be a bonus to sweeten the deal and show it to a bunch of kids. No malicious, disrespect, or ill-will intended.

If someone asked me to bring my car (not a DeLorean) to a kids birthday party, I'd almost certainly do it for free as long as it fit into my schedule... not because I'm a better person than anyone else, but just because I like showing my car to people who I think will appreciate it. If that same person offered to pay me, then I'd consider it a bonus (but probably not take the money). Again, I don't mean to suggest that there is anything wrong with charging people, but not everyone sees it the same way, and to assume that this guy is "the type of person who won't respect your time, your car, or you as a person" is assuming a bit too much IMHO.

I would totally agree with this if the guy hadn't tried to negotiate her price down....

[Shep]

All right, I'll offer a bit of a counter point...

There are lots of car owners who enjoy just showing off their cars to people and don't see it as a business opportunity (not that there is anything wrong with treating it as a business). This guy might have hoped you were a person looking for an excuse to drive your car and show it to a bunch of people, and figured $50-75 would be a bonus to sweeten the deal and show it to a bunch of kids. No malicious, disrespect, or ill-will intended.

If someone asked me to bring my car (not a DeLorean) to a kids birthday party, I'd almost certainly do it for free as long as it fit into my schedule... not because I'm a better person than anyone else, but just because I like showing my car to people who I think will appreciate it. If that same person offered to pay me, then I'd consider it a bonus (but probably not take the money). Again, I don't mean to suggest that there is anything wrong with charging people, but not everyone sees it the same way, and to assume that this guy is "the type of person who won't respect your time, your car, or you as a person" is assuming a bit too much IMHO.
Woah, back up, don't lump us all in the same boat here on the premise that we're assuming too much about a guy while simultaneously throwing assumptions from the opposite there, let's establish a few things first.

I hit on the points you made when I mentioned renting vs. getting to know people vs. family/friends. If a family member or friend wants my car for an appearance, I will move my schedule around to make it happen. If someone invites me to a meet and greet of sorts, I'll case-by-case it. Otherwise, if a stranger wants my car somewhere, yeah they gotta pay reasonably. This was far from reasonable.

But here's the basic facts.

1) Complete stranger
2) Wanted for a kid's birthday party
3) Lowball counteroffer of a generously low price
4) Two hour drive
5) 15 minute appearance

This does not at all fit in with the kind of person that will have a good time with the car. Let's be honest, he seriously lowballed. The offer was $75, he cut a third off of that. A third! That guy isn't going to respect the car let alone you or your time. (Pawn Stars, anyone?) He also is doing this for a kid's birthday party, which can't be forgotten here. He wanted something for the event. He's got options, and chose to disrespect the DeLorean with a lowball offer. There's no assuming about it, if it's not worth the money to him, he's not seriously interested and given it's a kids birthday party, extreme caution needs to be exercised. Are you willing to bet damage minus $50 on whether or not he's the kind of guy to not give a shit and stiff you with the bill?

Good luck fitting two hours of feeling taken advantage of into your weekend schedule by the way.

[Michael]

I would totally agree with this if the guy hadn't tried to negotiate her price down....
54298

[Michael]

If she had said 50 he would have immediately offered 25. If she had said 500 he would have offered 250. I'm willing to bet stanley nickles to shrute bucks he has already texted her back and offered 100.

I do a lot of buying and selling guns. I always get lowalball offers or the tried and true "what's the lowest you will take for it?" B.S.
If you do respond with your lowest price, without batting an eye they offer you less. What the heck, they are not out anything by trying to steal it and they have an unending amount of gall and no shame. Same goes with this joker.

[Shep]

And that, gentlemen, is exactly why I used to price all my parts so goddamn high with "or best offer". Buyer walks away thinking they got a steal, I gladly sell knowing I got a fair price for it. Start with a high price and work down, both parties leave happier than if you start at a low price and play the "who'll budge more?" game.

I think a lot of the negativity -- hell I know a lot of MY negativity -- is because this guy took a generous offer and slashed it. If it weren't so generous by default though?

(Speaking of selling parts, I need to get on that... I have a few thousand -- er, few... dozen... -- dollars worth of shi-- er, items! -- I need to sell.)

[Michael]

(Speaking of selling parts, I need to get on that... I have a few thousand -- er, few... dozen... -- dollars worth of shi-- er, items! -- I need to sell.)

What's the lowest you will take?

[Rich_NYS]

~snip~
I hit on the points you made when I mentioned renting vs. getting to know people vs. family/friends. If a family member or friend wants my car for an appearance, I will move my schedule around to make it happen. If someone invites me to a meet and greet of sorts, I'll case-by-case it. Otherwise, if a stranger wants my car somewhere, yeah they gotta pay reasonably. This was far from reasonable.

~snip~

This is exactly how I operate. Well said man..! :thumbup:

Operative word in this whole debacle is: stranger.

[Shep]

What's the lowest you will take?
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/284/967/02e.jpg

[DMCVegas]

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/284/967/02e.jpg

https://www.pewpewtactical.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Let-Me-Talk-to-My-Manager.jpg

[DaraSue]

He actually did come back and try to see if I could still do it because the car that was closer to him was in the shop, but it turned out he lived near a stadium and it was going to be a game day so I once again noped out. I still feel a little bad since I did offer to do it for $75 and he really didn't come off as a jerk in our interaction so maybe he was just clueless about what things like this cost. But that was going to be a long day and that stadium has one road in and out of it that turns into a parking lot when there's a big event, so... nope.

[DMCVegas]

You don't owe this guy a damned thing, so what could you possibly have to feel bad about?

https://media.giphy.com/media/3otPoLX9WNGpg9erxS/giphy.gif

That slight sting you feel? It's just the growing pains of getting used to telling people "No." It goes away after a while, and starts to actually feel good. That's when you know you're in full control of your life.

Go on. Enjoy your car and your life on your terms.

[Shep]

Amen.

As a former pushover, I can definitely say that there's a lot more benefit than you can ever realize in having a spine these days. But perhaps more importantly, renting your car out should definitely be a purely business transaction. Which means working up a price on an invoice with a preset formula rather than just winging it.

If a customer doesn't want to pay, they don't get the services. It's that simple. Rules are rules. The businesses that bend the rules for customers that simply don't want to obey are the ones that flop. This is different than bending the rules for established customers in good standing for a very good reason: catering to customers that don't care about money means the business doesn't care about money either. Good customers are worth keeping. Troublemakers aren't.

But again, in future cases, if you work the price higher to start with, and come down a bit, both parties will feel good about it. That's my best advice. Having fun with your car means you feel good about all that happens to it. That event as a whole had a lot that didn't sound like it would be fun.

[DaraSue]

Postscript: I definitely feel like I made the right choice turning this gig down, b/c I had to get up at 9am yesterday after falling asleep after 3 and it just wouldn't have been a good day.

Everybody here made valid points. I just get this feeling of nameless dread whenever I have to make somebody unhappy (for reasons that probably go back to my childhood, but this is DMCtalk not Dara'sTherapySessiontalk so I'll spare you all the TMI, lol).

I do place an intangible value on the joy my car brings others, but not to the point where I want to massively inconvenience myself financially or temporally for it, so I'll be more careful about realistically pricing gigs in the future (no pun intended)...

[davidc89]

Probably to touch on what other people said.... In the end it's your car. If they want the car that bad, they will pay you what you want. "Lucky for us" there aren't many DeLoreans out there... So if they want it bad enough they will pay. It sounds more sinister than I am intending, but it's true.

I tend to do things for cheaper, or free, if it's something that will benefit me or if it's for some sort of charitable event. Any time I rent my car out, I always think like a business owner.

[PJK]

So let me get this straight. It is the general consensus of this forum that $25 is the difference between a person who will and will not "respect your time, your car, or you as a person" and the difference between respecting and "disrespect[ing] the DeLorean" $25???

People have argued that the initial offer of $75 was a "generously low price." I'd be willing to bet that the guy had NO idea what the "going rate" is for renting a DeLorean. I have no idea either.

I think it might be reasonable to assume that the guy was hoping to surprise his kid on his/her birthday, and was hoping to do it as inexpensively as possible. No malicious, disrespect, or ill-will intended.

In contrast, people on this forum view his offer of $25 less to be evidence that the guy is a person who will not "respect your time, your car, or you as a person." I think that is a bit harsh based on what I've read.

The main point of my post was to try to get people to consider that the guy might have been hoping the owner was someone who was just looking for an excuse to drive and show the car. The initial offer of $75 would suggest to me that the owner wasn't looking at his as a business opportunity. I wouldn't have made a counter-offer (not my style), but there are a LOT of people who view everything as a negotiation (independent of their ability to "respect your time, your car, or you as a person."). I realize his offer was "1/3 of the initial offer", but let's be honest, it was still $25 less. The forum can make it fraction/percentage if you want to make it sound more nefarious, but if you can accept that some people will make a counter-offer, how much less would be reasonable? Again, it was $25.

At the end of the day, I just think it is giant leap to conclude that someone who made a counter-offer of $25 less ($25 dollars!) is a person who will not "respect your time, your car, or you as a person" and is "disrespect[ing] the DeLorean." That is a pretty harsh characterization of a person on pretty thin "evidence." I just need more.

The fact that so many people on this forum would jump to this conclusion about a person's character so quickly is a poor reflection of this community. I'm done.

[Michael]

No Mr. "20 posts to my name and I'm done" you don't have it straight. This guy took an extremely generous offer and tried to lowball it even further. It was an insult to her time and her(I'll say it again), extremely generous original offer.

Few months ago, my new neighbor got wind I was selling my old work van. I was selling it for 1,000 dollars. Already below market because I wanted it out of my driveway. He waltzed over, looked at it for exactly 11 seconds and said with a straight face "I'll give you 200 bucks".

I take offers like that as an insult and the only people who operate like that are assholes.

[opethmike]

No Mr. "20 posts to my name and I'm done" you don't have it straight. This guy took an extremely generous offer and tried to lowball it even further. It was an insult to her time and her(I'll say it again), extremely generous original offer.

Few months ago, my new neighbor got wind I was selling my old work van. I was selling it for 1,000 dollars. Already below market because I wanted it out of my driveway. He waltzed over, looked at it for exactly 11 seconds and said with a straight face "I'll give you 200 bucks".

I take offers like that as an insult and the only people who operate like that are assholes.

:applause: :applause: :applause:

Reminds me of when I was selling my first Corvette a few years ago. I was asking about ~$2,500 below market already. Guy who came to see it offered me HALF of what I was asking because he had cash on hand. I literally laughed in his face and told him to get off my property.

[louielouie2000]

No Mr. "20 posts to my name and I'm done"

Dismissing people because of low post counts is irrelevant for a couple of reasons. A perfect example: there is an owner here in Austin who bought his DeLorean 32 years ago. He's extremely active with his car locally- he drives it in parades, attends local car shows, is present at every local tech day, and volunteers to display his car at most any event/charity/party that's requested. He's one of the most knowledgeable and insightful owners I've come across in my 2 decades in the DeLorean community. He reads DMC Talk religiously, but has only posted on here twice. Point being, dismissing people because of their post count is potentially doing the community a huge disservice. Not everyone feels the need to engage on here, yet they might have a whole lot to add when they do. Conversely, there are people here with hundreds or even thousands of posts who haven't added a whole lot of insight.

As far as compensation for showing your car and haggling over goods/services, those are ultimately personal preferences. I personally can't envision charging for a child's birthday party... but I totally get why others would. I also can't fathom haggling with someone who agreed to share their car... but I also understand why they would. What is appropriate in these circumstances is ultimately highly subjective.

[Jonathan]

You guys watch much stand-up comedy? Bill Burr in particular. He's really funny. Crude, yea, but honest and says what's true without much regard for pleasing everyone.

One of his specials included a bit on "gold digging whores." Like I said, crude but really funny. Towards the end of the bit where he points out Kobe, Mel Gibson, Schwarzenegger and others going down in flames on account of not being able to keep it in their pants, he mentions how he had only ever seen one article written on the subject of keeping yourself out of trouble from that sort of thing. And he mentions how the article was written by a woman!

His comparison was how stupid it would be for him to write a book on what it is like to give birth. Because it is pretty obvious that a woman shouldn't be telling a guy what it's like to have a dick!

Why mention any of this in this thread?

Because there are some things about DeLoreans you just aren't going to know yourself until you're an owner yourself. If you own the car, then sure, you get to have an opinion or thought on these kinds of things. If you don't own one, your opinions or thoughts on what it might be like if you owned one regarding a certain subject is not of value here.

Threads asking for similar advice on brake boosters, fascia painting and getting mice piss smell out of carpeting welcome the non-owner's opinion. Threads like this one where you are going to try and hypothesize how you would handle a specific DeLorean situation that you're using your experience with Vette's or Volkswagon's or minivans, doesn't need your input.

NSFW...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0gaYyNk7QA

[Rich_NYS]

So let me get this straight. It is the general consensus of this forum that $25 is the difference between a person who will and will not "respect your time, your car, or you as a person" and the difference between respecting and "disrespect[ing] the DeLorean" $25??? ~snip~

No, that's not the consensus.

IMO, the amount of $25 is irrelevant.

The fact that the guy tried to negotiate $75 down to $50 for her to drive her car an hour one way shows me he's the type will not respect her time, her car, or her. It's a complete stranger, if I'm understanding correctly.

I can almost picture this kid's party, and the car leaving with a broken directional stalk.

Here's something for comparison:

I had a request for my car to display at a car show where they never get a DeLorean; the guy offered a special parking space two cars wide, and offered to procure a velvet rope thing to keep people away. That is the sign of a respectful person.

[Michael]

Dismissing people because of low post counts is irrelevant for a couple of reasons.

Actually I didn't dismiss him based on post count...more like the attitude that he is "done" after his 20 posts is kind of an empty threat.

I dismissed him because he is an idiot

[Dangermouse]

I can almost picture this kid's party, and the car leaving with a broken directional stalk.

.

^^^ This.

I answered a request for a DeLorean to attend a kids party, whose theme was BTTF. The request was from a forum member "Joe" on a different car forum, so I presumed it was for his kid. When I arrived at the address Joe gave me (which was just round the corner from me, so I didn't mind showing up for a few minutes for free), I was met by Bob who's house it was, a detail that Joe had omitted. However the party wasn't there, but half a mile down the street at Janes house. Ok then.

So I roll up at Janes and the car is besieged by a dozen sugared-up under-10s, watched from afar by their parents who clearly couldn't give a rats ass beyond getting a good instagram photo of their little rascal testing the structural integrity of every part of my car.

Thankfully no damage was done but I am 100% certain none of them would have been digging in their pocket for repair money should something have broken - that's what insurance is for, eh?

So, no, I wouldn't do an unknown kids party again for $75 or even $750.

[jackb]

So let me get this straight. It is the general consensus of this forum that $25 is the difference between a person who will and will not "respect your time, your car, or you as a person" and the difference between respecting and "disrespect[ing] the DeLorean" $25???

People have argued that the initial offer of $75 was a "generously low price." I'd be willing to bet that the guy had NO idea what the "going rate" is for renting a DeLorean. I have no idea either.

I think it might be reasonable to assume that the guy was hoping to surprise his kid on his/her birthday, and was hoping to do it as inexpensively as possible. No malicious, disrespect, or ill-will intended.

In contrast, people on this forum view his offer of $25 less to be evidence that the guy is a person who will not "respect your time, your car, or you as a person." I think that is a bit harsh based on what I've read.

The main point of my post was to try to get people to consider that the guy might have been hoping the owner was someone who was just looking for an excuse to drive and show the car. The initial offer of $75 would suggest to me that the owner wasn't looking at his as a business opportunity. I wouldn't have made a counter-offer (not my style), but there are a LOT of people who view everything as a negotiation (independent of their ability to "respect your time, your car, or you as a person."). I realize his offer was "1/3 of the initial offer", but let's be honest, it was still $25 less. The forum can make it fraction/percentage if you want to make it sound more nefarious, but if you can accept that some people will make a counter-offer, how much less would be reasonable? Again, it was $25.

At the end of the day, I just think it is giant leap to conclude that someone who made a counter-offer of $25 less ($25 dollars!) is a person who will not "respect your time, your car, or you as a person" and is "disrespect[ing] the DeLorean." That is a pretty harsh characterization of a person on pretty thin "evidence." I just need more.

The fact that so many people on this forum would jump to this conclusion about a person's character so quickly is a poor reflection of this community. I'm done.

I agree, the potential renter probably had no ill-intent, and was just hoping to do a nice surprice on a budget.

HOWEVER,

If I made an offer for something that I know is really unique, and I get a *very* reasonable response, I'm NOT going to try and negotiate it. And I'm one of those people who realize everything is negotiable. But the appropriate way to behave is: don't always try to negotiate, because a lot of people will be insulted by lowballing their already low price. And there are consequences to insulting people. Just take the great price, and celebrate your victory.

The other week I was selling some excess stuff on the facebook marketplace. I posted a bluetooth speaker for $10. Like 50 people messaged me within an hour saying they wanted it. One guy just offered "Will you take $5?". No, fuck off, I will not. So he says "Ok, $10". I told him I wouldn't sell it to him for $50 at that point. This is the same thing. If I set a generous price and you lowball me, I'm withdrawing the offer, and you get nothing.

[mr_maxime]

I had a similar experience selling my accord when the transmission died. I asked $750 hoping to get $500, but a guy lowballed me with $200 for the engine only. No, I don't want to be stuck with a car that has no engine and a bad transmission.