You know that feeling when you’ve simply had enough and given up? It’s a bittersweet feeling, tinged with the regret of failure, but the release of the tension that comes with actually caring about something is incredibly liberating – now you can say and do what you really think.
Internet users witnessed a rather unconventional car ad
Image credits: jackazz.smithers
Image credits: jackazz.smithers
This ad for a 2002 Oldsmobile Alero is clearly a guy at the end of his tether. Sick of it. Sick of the questions, Sick of the haggling. Sick of the bargaining and the wrangling. He just wants you to take the damn car already. Now, it’s not perfect by any means, but it’s $900 dollars. What do you expect for $900 dollars?
The salesman, Shelmar Pierre Roseman from Journee Autos in Largo, Florida, laid out the truth in a hilariously frank way, listing all the car’s faults and defects but guaranteeing at least a whole Spring’s worth of solid running.
All spring!
Image credits: jackazz.smithers
The dealership prides itself on its honest approach, which appears to be effective as the vehicle was sold within 24 hours of the post showing up on Facebook. Wouldn’t you rather buy from a place like this, where you know exactly what you’re getting?
The post has since been liked and shared over 64K times and has become a classic of the ‘honest ad’ genre – a perfect mix of hilariously blunt language and a healthy dose of exasperation. It appeared on local news channels and even on the Steve Harvey show, who voiced it in just the best way.
Image credits: jackazz.smithers
Image credits: jackazz.smithers
“The ad was actually a friendly wager with the boss,” Shelmar told Bored Panda. “I simply said that for a car like that, you have to actually give a full description of all its features or lack thereof.”
The bet was on, so they shook on it and Shelmar got to work. “I said, ‘I’ll show you how to post this car.’ I sat down for 5 minutes and the rest was history.”
Image credits: jackazz.smithers
Shelmar and the guys at Journee are well aware of the stereotypes around car dealers – that they are famously economical with the truth. They are out to set the record straight.
“I’d be lying if I said most didn’t deserve that reputation, Shelmar told us. “Take care of the customer and the customer will take care of you. A customer can never be upset about something they knew upfront! And there’s no better salesman than a happy customer speaking highly of your product.
Image credits: jackazz.smithers
Would you buy a car from Shelmar and the crew down at Journee Autos? Do you prefer this kind of frank, no bulls**t method of salesmanship, or the more polite, subtle approach? Let us know in the comments below!
Image credits: jackazz.smithers
Here’s what people had to say about the brilliantly honest and funny ad
This is the right way to sell a car. If you know in advance if something is wrong with it, then you know if you will have to invest in it to make sure it will run. Also, you will be more likely to find someone to give it a critical eye that you trust to know if it's worth buying, even at 900 (still a lot of money, as far as I'm concerned). While it has 200K miles on it, that really doesn't mean much as long as it's been cared for well enough.
I was agreeing with you until the last sentence. There's nothing in this ad to suspect the car was cared for. It was just being sold by a no-nonsense guy who wasn't trying to hide its blemishes.
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We're I live it would still be about 4500, Its cheeper to fly somewhere and drive a used car back at this point
Load More Replies... A grand for a rusted out 17 yr old pos?..w 200,000 miles on it.. And you wonder why people are trying to haggle...the only person that is gonna buy your car is someone very poor or a shade tree mechanic that thinks he can fix/ flip it..
Christ, you're one of *those* annoying people that he was talking about in the ad. It's a $900 car. Wtf do you expect for $900? A 2018 BMW? The fact that it runs and the a/c still works make it well worth it. And it was sold in 24 hours. And as someone whose partner has been in that industry for 35 years, no one in that industry would pay $900 to flip a car that that. They'd pick it up for no charge as junk, see if they can get it running and if so, slap a small price tag on it. That's what it looks like they did here, or the person drove it in and was given maybe $300 for it. That's how that industry works. Good luck in your career as a choosing beggar though.
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I'm sorry..my father did buy a car like this once. The engine was in great condition for the high milage it had, the paint was faded, certain key items had been replaced..and this was in a time when Check Engine lights weren't a thing. But here's the kicker..we were able to pay for it up front..replaced the transmission and water pump ourselves. In the end, I had (and this was in 87) a 1977 Chevy Nova with a kicking V8 that not only smoked other drivers getting on the highway, but was easy to work on and cheap to maintain and insure. My sisters 71 Duster looked amazing for a $500 car after some mechanical upgrades. People are lazy. Expecting a fantastic car for $900 without being willing to put some work into it is ridiculous. Y'all need to stop whining.
Haggling has nothing to do with choosing beggars. Particularly with cars it's just a common practice, and vendor and buyer need to agree beforehand whether it is an option. It's pretty lame to coin a term and then apply it to everything close to it, just for the heck of a flashy headline to these three-year-old 'news.
I wish all car salesmen were this honest. I hate haggling over a price. I hate yard sales because people will haggle for a 25 cent difference on the price of a 50 cent object. I tell them that I put the price I want on the ticket. If you want it, buy it. If you don't, go away. That's how I wish car buying was. Put the lowest price you'll take and that's that. Don't make me ask all these questions to actually find out if all t he expensive c**p works. I'd buy from this guy for sure.
Funky old car for a teen just learning to drive makes sense financially, but not safety wise. An older car with possible issues needs the more experienced driver.
There was a store selling French furniture and decorations. The owner bought piece of c**p car for 1000 crowns (about 50 USD). He spent hours on it and under it. He put about 15 000 crowns in it. And after all that everybody could see that this piece of rust was in fact original Citroën H Van. So he put in another 50 000 crowns to restore the engine. Now he has car worth something between 750 000 and 1 000 000 crowns. After just few months of work on it.
I think that this type of ad is probably the best, besides the cursing. You can definitely sniff some Karens lurking around, wanting to report him to his manager, but honest to God, a lot of car ads pretty things up like people do their resumes, and you get less than what you were told you were getting.
Lol I mean you would still want to know what needs to be fixed if there's a light on that way you'd know how much extra you'd have to spend. Maybe the engine light is on for a sensor or maybe it's the engine head. Then again it's you that should be checking it out and scanning the codes.
If I want to get rid of my old car, i just give it away. The 700 dollars you get for it ain't worth the hassle from some d***head who thinks he's robbed when he was buying a 2003 car for 700 dollars. There's always a poor student or a single mom without transportation who could well use the car. I also get more discount buying a new one because the dealer doesn't have to take in an old car.
The car will be worth more to a hs kid who had to save to get first car. Its a right of passage
Load More Replies...
This is the right way to sell a car. If you know in advance if something is wrong with it, then you know if you will have to invest in it to make sure it will run. Also, you will be more likely to find someone to give it a critical eye that you trust to know if it's worth buying, even at 900 (still a lot of money, as far as I'm concerned). While it has 200K miles on it, that really doesn't mean much as long as it's been cared for well enough.
I was agreeing with you until the last sentence. There's nothing in this ad to suspect the car was cared for. It was just being sold by a no-nonsense guy who wasn't trying to hide its blemishes.
Load More Replies... We're I live it would still be about 4500, Its cheeper to fly somewhere and drive a used car back at this point
Load More Replies... A grand for a rusted out 17 yr old pos?..w 200,000 miles on it.. And you wonder why people are trying to haggle...the only person that is gonna buy your car is someone very poor or a shade tree mechanic that thinks he can fix/ flip it..
Christ, you're one of *those* annoying people that he was talking about in the ad. It's a $900 car. Wtf do you expect for $900? A 2018 BMW? The fact that it runs and the a/c still works make it well worth it. And it was sold in 24 hours. And as someone whose partner has been in that industry for 35 years, no one in that industry would pay $900 to flip a car that that. They'd pick it up for no charge as junk, see if they can get it running and if so, slap a small price tag on it. That's what it looks like they did here, or the person drove it in and was given maybe $300 for it. That's how that industry works. Good luck in your career as a choosing beggar though.
Load More Replies... I'm sorry..my father did buy a car like this once. The engine was in great condition for the high milage it had, the paint was faded, certain key items had been replaced..and this was in a time when Check Engine lights weren't a thing. But here's the kicker..we were able to pay for it up front..replaced the transmission and water pump ourselves. In the end, I had (and this was in 87) a 1977 Chevy Nova with a kicking V8 that not only smoked other drivers getting on the highway, but was easy to work on and cheap to maintain and insure. My sisters 71 Duster looked amazing for a $500 car after some mechanical upgrades. People are lazy. Expecting a fantastic car for $900 without being willing to put some work into it is ridiculous. Y'all need to stop whining.
Haggling has nothing to do with choosing beggars. Particularly with cars it's just a common practice, and vendor and buyer need to agree beforehand whether it is an option. It's pretty lame to coin a term and then apply it to everything close to it, just for the heck of a flashy headline to these three-year-old 'news.
I wish all car salesmen were this honest. I hate haggling over a price. I hate yard sales because people will haggle for a 25 cent difference on the price of a 50 cent object. I tell them that I put the price I want on the ticket. If you want it, buy it. If you don't, go away. That's how I wish car buying was. Put the lowest price you'll take and that's that. Don't make me ask all these questions to actually find out if all t he expensive c**p works. I'd buy from this guy for sure.
Funky old car for a teen just learning to drive makes sense financially, but not safety wise. An older car with possible issues needs the more experienced driver.
There was a store selling French furniture and decorations. The owner bought piece of c**p car for 1000 crowns (about 50 USD). He spent hours on it and under it. He put about 15 000 crowns in it. And after all that everybody could see that this piece of rust was in fact original Citroën H Van. So he put in another 50 000 crowns to restore the engine. Now he has car worth something between 750 000 and 1 000 000 crowns. After just few months of work on it.
I think that this type of ad is probably the best, besides the cursing. You can definitely sniff some Karens lurking around, wanting to report him to his manager, but honest to God, a lot of car ads pretty things up like people do their resumes, and you get less than what you were told you were getting.
Lol I mean you would still want to know what needs to be fixed if there's a light on that way you'd know how much extra you'd have to spend. Maybe the engine light is on for a sensor or maybe it's the engine head. Then again it's you that should be checking it out and scanning the codes.
If I want to get rid of my old car, i just give it away. The 700 dollars you get for it ain't worth the hassle from some d***head who thinks he's robbed when he was buying a 2003 car for 700 dollars. There's always a poor student or a single mom without transportation who could well use the car. I also get more discount buying a new one because the dealer doesn't have to take in an old car.
The car will be worth more to a hs kid who had to save to get first car. Its a right of passage
Load More Replies... 
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