Catfished by a Classic Car on Craigslist? This Handy Chart Translates Online Ads
Searching Craigslist for the perfect next classic car or truck for my next project is one of my favorite weekend activities. But if you are going to inspect one of these vehicles in person, itās a good idea to pack your toolkitāand sense of humorābecause classics are rarely as good as they seem online. My personal favorite was a classic truck I found advertised on Craigslist with āEverything working as it shouldā that had a clutch so far gone that the owner had to turn the engine off at every stoplight. Luckily, thereās a viral āconversion chartā to help you interpret classic car ads making the rounds online.
Classic car ads often stretch the truth
Youāll rarely find a completely honest classic car ad online. At best, most listings downplay the negatives of an older vehicle. Thereās a certain language you often encounter while reading car ads on Craigslist. Knowing that āran when parkedā means it might have been parked for a long time can be handy.
Are folks who advertise their cars on Craigslist scammers? Usually not. I like to think that most classic car collectors have a soft spot for their old rig; classic car ads accurately reflect how the current owner likes to think of their vehicle.
As long as you know what youāre getting into, hunting down the perfect project car on Craigslist can be very fulfilling. But while you search for that diamond in the rough, the antique car ads conversion chart can provide some much-needed humor.
The āOfficial Conversion Chartā shows you how to interpret antique car ads
The classic conversion chart is often shared on social media as an image. Its title reads: OFFICIAL CONVERSION CHART: HOW TO INTERPRET ANTIQUE CAR ADS.
As the original scan is showing its age, Iāve retyped it for you. Without further ado: how to interpret classic car ads.
If it Says | It Really Means |
Rare model | Nobody liked them when new either |
Older restoration | Canāt tell itās been restored |
Needs engine work | Itās been frozen for 30 years |
Uses no oil | Just throws it out |
No rust | Body and fenders missing |
Rough | Itās too bad to lie about |
One owner | Never been able to sell |
No time to complete | Canāt find parts anywhere |
Needs interior | Seats are gone |
Rebuilt engine | Has new spark plugs |
May run | But it never has |
Low mileage | Third time around |
Many new parts | Keeps breaking down |
29 coats hand-rubbed paint | Needed that much to cover rust |
Clean | It sat out in the rain yesterday |
Best offer | About what I expect to get |
Aways driven slowly | Wonāt go any faster |
Prize winner | Hard luck trophy 3 times in a row |
Stored 25 years | Under a tree |
Real show stopper | Orange with purple fenders |
Easy restoration | Parts will come off in your hand |
Ready to show | Just washed it |
Top good | Only leaks when it rains |
Good investment | Canāt depreciate any more |
Where did the āOfficial Conversion Chart on How to Interpret Antique Car Adsā originate?
I would love to know where this classic car ad chart originally came from but I havenāt been able to get to the bottom of it. When I ran a reverse image search, I found itās been making the rounds on Facebook, Pinterest, and Reddit for years. Some posters use the original scan, while others dress it up with watermarks or even retype it.
Itās been around for so long, that when a since-deleted user posted it to Reddit.com/r/CarMemes years ago, they titled it āOne of my old favorites.ā User donutboi420 even commented, āthe sacred scroll,ā and TopFuel1771 said, āSuch a classic. Makes me laugh every time.ā
Below is my repost of the original scan of the official conversion chart in all its glory:
Next, find out why classic cars arenāt always easier to work on, or leave a comment if you know anything about the chartās historyāor have ever been catfished by a classic car on Craigslist.