I never had the impression myself that it wasn't available for sale since the seller made his need pretty clear. But after a few tire kickers that came over to look at it after they asked him to let them see it on the weekend coming up and then had multiple excuses about why they couldn't buy it then and there, the seller took advantage of the straight up offer to closely match what he was asking for the car from a buyer that was motivated. The reality is that folks in the U.S. dream a lot without coming up with the funds in the end. I personally do not bother to try to sell a car here in the U.S. anymore unless I have a potential buyer that has made his interest clear and has the funds ready. Otherwise, it is just a real hassle. In well over 30 transactions with buyers overseas, I have never even once had any issue at all. And I see their very well-loved cars being restored and photos come my way all the time, and I love it. With buyers in the U.S. in the past, I sell a car and never see it again in any form. The guys overseas actually get them restored most of the time, too.
My impression of John on this site is that he is a great guy, (and he offered to go look at a car for me in the past too) and I wished he had the opportunity to go further with the seller. But this was a case where there was a very desirable car likely available and it just took a little pushing to make his interest more clear was the case this time from what I heard of the transaction. The seller had a bunch of interest expressed to him and already had plenty to deal with given his circumstances and didn't have time for a lot of hassle. The transaction was completed in two days and the buyer already has had the car for almost a week now, and it was brought a long way out here in a covered transport. The seller was unleashed to deal with his mother's needs immediately.