School of Life Hacks
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    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
    Start this moduleThe whole course

    The lessons

    All 4, in the order they are read.

    1. 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. 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. 3. The three questions
      Asked by message before you drive anywhere, they end most bad deals in ninety seconds and cost nothing.
    4. 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
    CandidateAskingQ1: why selling / how long ownedQ2: what does it needQ3: is the title in your name, clear, in handRequested photos received?Pass / fail
    EXAMPLE — replace——————
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