A used-car lot at dusk under sodium lights, one person crouched at a front wheel shining a flashlight along the underside of a sedan.

Reading a Listing

What a listing says, what it carefully does not say, and the three questions that end a bad conversation in ninety seconds.

Module 2 of 74 lessonsWritten in full1 worksheet

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The lessons

All 4, in the order they are read.

1. What is missing from the photographs
The angle nobody shot is the angle with the problem in it, and it is the same handful of angles every time.
2. The language of avoidance
'Runs great', 'needs nothing', 'selling for a friend', 'title in hand' — each phrase has a specific meaning worth knowing.
3. The three questions
Asked by message before you drive anywhere, they end most bad deals in ninety seconds and cost nothing.
4. History reports and their limits
A clean report is evidence of nothing much; the useful fields are the ones people never read.

The worksheet

Listing screen sheet

One row per candidate. Anything that fails the screen never gets a drive. The value of this sheet is measured in Saturdays you did not spend standing in a stranger's driveway.

Listing screen sheet
Candidate	Asking	Q1: why selling / how long owned	Q2: what does it need	Q3: is the title in your name, clear, in hand	Requested photos received?	Pass / fail
EXAMPLE — replace	—	—	—	—	—	—
—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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