dont buy any cars from this guy!!

whatever you do, dont buy any cars from Jim Austin at classic connections in greene, iowa. he advertises on www.oldrides.com and he has his own website (can't find it right now).
bought a 38 cadillac that "needed work". it arrived at my doorstep last night. JUNK. he said the frame was cut for a trans mount -but he did not say that the entire x-member was removed! mix-matched wheels that dont even fit -just thrown on there with 2 lug nuts holding on with 2 threads.
cant believe anybody would even try to sell a car like this. totally mis-represented it. and it took 2 months to get here.
crap.

 

Here ya go.


http://classicconnection.net/

 

Bummer, remember "buyer beware". Got any pics.?

 

Sucks to be taken advantage of. Hopefully it wasn't too expensive or too much of a loss.
Best of luck with your new Caddy!

 

never buy a car sight unseen

 

Aside from wheels and X member how is the car ?? I mean is what you have workable and worth what you paid for it??

Lil more info would be nice

 

why didn't you see these flaws in your pre purchase inspection?

 

yeah wish you would have posted sompthing on here asking about the quality of cars he handles ? could have told you to steer clear

 

I see he does not have a list of cars for sale anymore. Only the one coming in soon.
He use to have a large internet listing.

 

Your not the only one.

just google them

 

I just delivered a car to a guy yesterday with the same kind of story. OT convertable, supposed to have a solid frame, new quarters and lots of new parts. When I was tying it down I could see that the rear frame was rotten, couldn't really see much else due to the darkness. When I delivered it, you could see that the quarters were put on wrong, 3/4" gap at the top of the door and almost touching at the bottom. I unloaded it and was on my way. Got an email from the guy last night wanting to know if I picked the car up at the guys house. The frame is from a coupe and junk and now the guy won't answer any of his phone calls. I guess it just goes to show that if you can't look at it in person, or have someone look at it for you that you trust, probably better off to pass on it.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I have heard so many horror stories about these kind of dealers.

 

Never trust a website with all those moving Gif's.

Looks lke the guy has been doing it for years. You should collect all the posted complaints, plus your and send the information to Iowa's attorney general. You may not get any direct satisfaction, but it moght be difficult for him to screw other from jail.

 

People just dont seem to care anymore how it affects others when these things happen. Hopefully you can make use of it some how or another...

 

Do "classic car" dealerships need to follow the Lemon laws?

 

And then on the other hand you have people like Kansasployboy, he's new on the HAMB, he's a farmer from SW Kansas, he delivered a 56 wagon that I bought from him this morning and it was just as he said if not better. I guess it's who you deal with, maybe I was lucky this time. Maybe, we should have a list The Good, The Bad and the really Bad!

 

From the other side of the table, I just sold a car to a guy that bought it without ever seeing it. I was panicked about mis-representing the car. I took 50+ pictures from all over, inside, outside, underneath, etc... Still, I found a few surprises even I wasn't aware of once I started digging in to take pics. I took pics of everything. He asked me "what would you do if you were buying a car you couldn't see?" My answer was "I would never do that." Seriously, that's a big risk. I don't even like being the seller in that situation.

 

I got one policy
when it comes to buying cars, or projects.

If i cant see it with my own two eyes, and feel it with my own two hands..I dont buy it.
I have never been burned , guess my policy works great.

sorry you got screwed..test out my policy for a while and see how you do

 

I had a good experience from a classic car dealer, but I also hired an appraiser, that I researched well, to appraise it for me and take his own photos. I was still very nervous that the dealer would slip the appraiser a C note to give a good report. I guess I watch too many movies

 

I bought a 51 Fleetline 4 door sight unseen once. the guy said it was a complete car, but all rusted to shit. when it arrived it was a complete car, all rusted to shit. made about $2500.00 parting it out.

 

It goes with the territory for cris'sakes, just like horse tradin'. Check the teeth BEFORE layin' the money down.

 

No. Lemon laws only apply to new cars. If no warranty is expressed, or implied then you are on your own.
It sucks that the guy misrepresented the car, but I can't feel sorry for you. Ya gotta have someone look at it if you can't do it yourself. There's just too much that can't be seen in pictures. Is it worth what you paid?

 

I bend over backwards to clearly identify any known problems, repair, damage, missing, etc. and insist that the buyer return it marked "understood and accepted".

And the phone still rings - "there are no license plate bolts".....

Haven't you all sold a basket case (milk crates in the car containing the engine in pieces), and been asked "does it run"?

 

I deal in classics and try VERY hard to please but some people are un-reasonable with their expectations on a car they are buying by photos alone. The main thing is to call it like you see it and encourage them to come look/drive the car for themselves.
I have bought back several cars (and in a few cases I shouldn't have) just to make the guy on the other end happy. A good dealer makes friends and future contacts with sales and not enemies.

 

It continues to amaze me how many people will plunk cash down based on what the "seller" says...and not actually inspecting a "piece" themselves --hands on...you get what you get. There's an old saying..."Caveat Emptor"...if you don't know what that means, I suggest you find out pronto...!!!

R-

 

It's really hard to comment on this because we dont really know what the whole deal was. Did you pay $500 or $10000?

 

I'm available to inspect cars for interested buyers. My shop is in central Iowa and I can travel and provide photos for a reasonable cost. I don't appraise cars however. I am an experienced buyer and seller of vintage cars, trucks and motorcycles. PM me if I can help. Thanks. John

 

You hit the nail on the head with this one.
Usually you get what you pay for and if it seems too good to be true then...
No matter what the price was, the seller should have given an accurate description of the car. A lie is a lie. It is hard to get too upset though when you don't go look at what you are buying. It is terribly inconvenient to go look at a car for sale that is far away but by not going you are taking a huge risk of it being what you want.

 

I agree... I also look at these dealers and their prices and cannot understand how they sell cars. What's the advantage to buying from them? Why not just continue to look at private sellers and save their markup?