So I listed a car a couple weeks ago (I'm in the US/Maryland) - a bit high relative to private sale comps and have backed off the price a bit every week or so, and was right in the "good deal" range. Had lots of folks ask questions, nobody showed up to test drive. Several low-ball offers, about 3-4k under what I figured it is fairly worth. So Yesterday I send out an offer for what I consider the fair market price, and within hours I get a dealer saying they saw my car listed and would like to offer me essentially the exact same price i sent the offer to for those 5 "private buyers." First red flag, clearly one of them isn't a private buyer. Ok, strategic decision to do some research, a bit unsettling, but ok, do what you have to do.
So I drive to the dealer, they try to chisel off more money from their offer, i push back, we agree to a price close to my original price. I sign my side, wife and i have to come in the next day so she can sign hers as she's stuck at work and they apparently don't understand what a full power of attorney is when I have one (but they expect me to sign one so they can do the title transfer, oddly enough), and the next morning, before the paperwork is fully executed, MY autotrader listing price has changed to a price a few thousand above what I had it listed at, and the location has been changed to the dealer's location. Still MY account, my name, says private seller, and presumably requests to the ad come to me... but what the?
So i call up autotrader and the guy is like "sorry, I don' see what you see - perhaps clear your browser cache." I'm a network engineer and have a brain, so i know there's no reason the price would have changed to something other than what I had set it to previously or recently, and certainly no excuse why the town would change to where the dealer is located.
So I do some research and realize Cox Automotive owns Autotrader, as well as inventory management systems that service 60% of the auto industry (which I read as dealerships). Which makes me think the whole platform is just a front for dealers to control information on car prices, buyers and sellers - and game the system against private sellers, while they pretend to be a listing service.
Read a little more about how they tried to buy out their next biggest competitor to control 85% of the industry, and were required to divest that part of the business for antitrust reasons.
I've never been a conspiracy theorist an don't have much respect for those who are - and i've always considered myself a proud capitalist. But at the same time, big companies really are getting out of control. SMH
Curious if anyone has had similar experiences. The whole experience just seemed REALLY disturbing. Will probably still sell them the car because it's a fine price and I don't need the car, but definitely gets you thinking.