Hot Rods Just bought the last car I will ever buy without seeing in person.

I bought one, turned out exactly as described.

Never again though. I have found that my idea of good work is higher than a lot of other people's.

The seller could be describing what he actually thinks is a nice car, that I think is a piece of ****.

Nice paint=shiny, never mind the wavy panels.
Fully detailed ch***is=rattle can over rust and grease.
Fresh paint job=Oh, we didn't paint the jambs or remove any panels.

 

One more thought here.
When making inquiries about a potential new old car purchase, we constantly read so many threads concerning bogus ***les, serial numbers that don't match numbers on the ***le.
Just looking for clear, clean ***les as opposed to salvage ***les.
ANYTIME I speak to a seller, I first ask about the status of the ***le.
Absolute first question before I start liking the car.
If the ***le is correct, I move on with my questions, before driving to who knows where for a physical look see.
If the ***le has ANY snags, I'm off that car now.
I will not go through unneeded azz aches with those ladies at ***le bureaus, who seemingly enjoy squeezing your gonads into their vise.
One lady holds your gonads in the vise, the other lady cranks the handle on the vise.
Funny thing, I have found when I ask the seller about the ***le.
Either the seller has all the correct ***le answers OR, if their is a ***le problem, the seller gives a lot of "dead air" over the phone, meaning few answers to my ***le questions.

 

Yep. I have driven, sometimes a fairly long distance, to see the car for the first time. once there walk past a piece of **** in the driveway and ask seller - where is the car in your ad? it is the one in the driveway. just get in my truck and drive home.

 

for the coast of a plane ticket fly out early look at the car make the deal home for dinner

 

I've only bought sight unseen once, a '50 Dodge truck off eBay. For $500 I wasn't too worried about it. It ended up being a good deal and was better than described. I can't say that I would have pulled the trigger on something that was big money, though.
I have had good luck buying parts on the forums. I've always received the merchandise and maybe 1 out of 15 times it wasn't as good as described. Unlike a car, the parts are usually cheap enough that it's not the end of the world if I get burned.

 

I have looked at several cars for members of this board. I have never charged any thing for fuel or time..

 

I bought three sight unseen and two were really nice for the money spent and on one the sellers buddy delivered it cheaper then I could have gotten it home for since they were on the way a little north of me to pick up a car. The third was a rusty POS but it was for parts to convert one I bought to a manual trans and plenty of spare parts,one was for 500 dollars and the other for 1100 and the parts car 400 dollars. If I were going to spend serious money it would be looked at by me or someone else before forking over the cash.

 

Don't lose your faith, brother. It's up to you and me to see that they don't vanish. There have always been crooks and scammers and there always will be. By the same token, there are a lot of really decent people, and always have been. Of course, that doesn't mean we should be foolish. Sometimes it's hard to tell who is who. There's an old saying, "Praise allah, and tether your camel."

I definitely would not buy a car that I, or someone I trust, hasn't looked at. A few years back a fellow HAMBer (Harv117) checked out a car for me. He took lots of pictures and emailed them to me and he gave me his opinion on the phone. He saved me from buying a real piece of ****. So, there it is. The seller was a scammer but, Harv117 was more than decent and went out of his way to help a fellow HAMBer, even though he didn't know me at the time.

 

A few years ago, my son found an OT Mercury project that he was trying to buy as a surprise gift for me. I later saw the pics from the ad and the car didn't look too bad. Unfortunately, they didn't show the huge rust hole in the roof. Seller failed to mention it as well when they talked. That and a missing ***le killed that deal.

He wasted a bit of fuel and his Sunday, but didn't get burned. I'm glad that he went to check it out first. I would have felt terrible if he had bought it sight unseen for me.

 

I drove five hours to see a car that was not the car I saw in pics sent to me, his idea of a nice car and my idea of a nice car differed considerably. That's the trouble sometimes, the seller really thinks he has something to sell, we as the buyer gotta part with hard earned cash and don't view the pile in front of us with the same zeal.
Guy couldn't understand why I was angry, tried to explain what he had wasn't what he said, out of kindness offered him a pittance, he laughed, when I got home five hours later, there was a message on my phone saying he'd take my offer, didn't bother him by calling him back.

 

There are good folks out there.
Trouble is, we continue to hear more about the knotheads, instead of the good guys.

 

I have bought a few cars site unseen in my life. It is like casino gambling, if you cant afford to flush the money down the toilet, don't ante up. Stakes are high, returns are minimal, and the house has the odds in their favor. Sorry you busted this time, maybe a jackpot still out there someday for you to make up for it. Best of luck and keep Karma on your side.

 

I bought six cars in the US on eBay around 10 years ago. Being in Western Australia means jumping on a plane to look at a car was just not an option and I didn't know about the HAMB in those days. I had to just roll the dice. The best I could do was make sure they had lots of positive feedback and when I contacted them before the auction closed, to make sure they seemed like reasonable people.
Three of the cars had rust, in spite of all being represented as rust-free. One of them proved to be too far gone (body was really sweet, but underneath was gaping holes and patches bondoed on, etc), the others are all OK. The people I dealt with were all helpful and pleasant, one just flat out lied about the rust.
The prices I paid for the cars were low enough that, compared to buying the same cars in Oz, I was still in front. On top of that, I tripped over to the US to drive them across country to deliver them to the shippers, so had a chance to visit the US and drive around for a few weeks.
Would I do it again? Yeah, probably, but I would only pay for a car that I knew I could break it up and sell it for parts if the worst happens.
As for those peddlin' the line 'fools and their money are easily parted' and 'you only have yourself to blame' - I suggest that no one deals with those guys - obviously with an at***ude like that, they'll just try to trick you and then blame you for their deceit.
Woody, good luck with all your future purchases - take all the care you feel you need to. Cheers.

 

I had been looking for a car for a while, and had 3 checked out - 1 in the U.S, checked out by a third party- Pile of painted up bondo, so p***ed on it. Next one I flew out to see it- in a different state - another pile of horse ****. The last one (which I have had now for a few years) was also checked out by a 3rd party- plenty of photos, phone report, and faults listed, when it arrived it was in better shape than I expected.
I have sold some fairly average old cars, hid nothing, and have had people looking it over and point out rust, and I have said "there's more just here". Or "that's worn out"- Yep, this thing is 40 years old and what You see is what you get.
Then they look at you strangely, because they expect you to ******** your way through the sale.

 

I bought my OT Fairlane convertible interstate from a magazine ad and knew what I was getting into. Poor workmanship and dodgy repairs. I needed to convert it from LHD to RHD before I restored it and knew that it required substantial work before I would be happy to registered it. 'Caveat Emptor' or 'Buyer Beware'

 

as My Grandfather said only spend what you want to loose if you do not look for yourself , I have driven 2 days to see a car because they wanted $$$$.00 for it and if it was represented , I would rent a u haul trailer to bring it home . ( I would reserve a trailer in the area or along the way within 1-2 hours drive) this way I was only out the gas money . and not hauling my trailer around with me . 1st thing I always ask , clean ***le and want to see it before any talking or money exchanged hands , had many who said can't find it but I can help you get the copy , NOPE clean ***le in hand before sale ain't getting screwed on the no ***le stuff .

Buddy of mine got scammed on A O/T car that supposed had a clean , misplaced ***le to find out the car was in lein ( in process of repo ) and in someone elses name ( person was in jail ) the owners buddy was the seller and knew it , after all the legal h***les ( 2 years) he gave the car to the bank and was out of some $$$$ and the seller got a slap on the wrist and has yet to pay him back

 

Illinois has a Vin code check on the ***les available as cyber drive to see if the ***le is clear or has been listed as a flood or salvage car ...( cyberdrive ) also tells the date of the ***le too ( ***le scammers selling with a "lost ***le" thats been replaced )

when I bought the 50 the guy I bought it from lived 50 miles from me and I went to look at it , he was very honest on the work needed and what went with the car . I looked at the ***le and it was a 3rd party deal , but when I checked it it was clean ( not a reissue ) . I almost past on it but glad I didn't but I still have lots of work ahead of me , the other car (O/t car )I was trying to look at the sales person was jerking me around and trying to sell me a bunch of pictures ( first flag) , but I ran a Carfax on it from the Vin and found out where it was and went looking for it ( 4 hour drive and not where seller said it was) and it was Nothing like being represented . it was a Michigan rotbox .

 

Feel your pain but you can't trust anyone these days unfortunately.

 

HI, Hollywood-East. Boy I sure would rather drive 3 or 4 hours to see a car NOW than blow all the money I have on ****py cars. I guess we all learned the hard way. Bruce.

 

Rubberrodder, Nope! She a flat top. I don't have to worry about the top windows leaking and cracking. Bruce.

 

Linechaser32.I don't sell a lot of cars but when I do I make sure I drive them for a while and make sure everything works or replace what need replacing. I wouldn't sell a car to a guy who want to use it as a family cruiser and was not safe.I just couldn't sleep right at night if I did that. More sellers should feel that way. Bruce.

 

K9racer, you are a GOOD man! Bruce.

 

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me......Gomer Pyle
If anybody ever needs a car looked over, within 50 miles of Chattanooga, let me know. I'll check it out on my own dime if you're tight. Hell fire, I hate to see anybody get burned as bad as I hate to be burned . No sense in that ****. People don't have scruples and are lacking mores in this day and time. Sad state of affairs.

 

I bough a lot of cars over the years some good and some bad.
I think the best is go see it a picture tells a thousand lies

 

I bought my '59 without seeing it. The auction had good pictures and it was advertised as NO rust. I went over the car, top to bottom, end to end. I found 1 piece of rot that was fixed, a 3" x 5" area that was almost undetectable by the gas pedal. I knew it was missing parts and was able to find everything I needed. For $2500 I paid for it, I was willing to gamble and it paid off for me. Worst case, I could part it out and get most of my $$ back.

 

Simple Solution to this problem, if you can't find some one on the HAMB that you trust. Get a Local qualified Appraiser to examine the car and receive a detailed report of the vehicle in question. The cost should be around 2-3 Hundred dollars which is a cheap price for Peace of mind. Now that I have shifted the onus on the buyer, I find that most will not pay the previously mentioned costs. Go Figure.

 

Yea,and don't forget about the cost of getting it home,not only did I pay to much for the car,But you add in shipping and it was a big loss.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I know there have been many threads like mine where people have ended up with a raw deal. My intention of this thread is just to hopefully make people more aware. If I save one person from a bad deal, then I'm happy. I have finally learned my lesson.

I believe that most people have good intentions and I have had more good deals than bad. Here's a good story.

I found a 64 Riviera on eBay several years ago.. The ad had just popped up with a "buy it now or best offer". The pictures weren't the greatest. The description wasn't great either but it seemed like a nice car with low mileage. There was a phone number so I called the guy. He walked around the car and described it in detail while I was on the phone. We settled on a price so I submitted the offer and he accepted it. I sent him a cashier's check and he sent me the ***le and we made arrangements for pick up.

Me and my buddy flew out to Denver, Colorado where the seller picked us up. He took us back to his shop where he kept the car. We walk in and I am looking at a gorgeous Riviera. It was way better than described. Super clean! We hopped in the car and headed back to Ohio. The car performed flawlessly. As my buddy was driving for one leg of the trip, I went though the glove box and found some old paperwork. There was an envelope with a letter and some pictures in it. The letter was addressed to Wally Dallenbach. Yes, the famous race car driver! The letter came from a man in Ohio! The car was headed back to it's original home! The letter talked about the the previous owner of the car who had gotten too old to enjoy it and the condition of the car. The old pictures of the car were really cool too. The car was super nice and a cool story to go with it. It was an awesome road trip that I'll never forget!

What happened to the Riviera? Well, I had decided at one time that progression was leading me to a hot rod. I ended up trading that car for a 32 Ford pickup. I never really enjoyed that truck. I sold it not too long after that. Recently, the owner of the Riviera had decided to let it go. I tried to get it back but was just a few days too late. Gone!

 

I hope that you have gone and given the HAMB seller bad feedback.

Total Feedback Score:
100 (0%)
Positive Feedback:
0
Negative Feedback:
1
Neutral Feedback
It will help the next guy to go looking at his stuff.

Most of the time I don't spend much on what I am buying on line, maybe it is much to me but not much in the eyes of the world in general. I have a friend that is moderately wealthy (a million plus portfolio even after the recession hits it) when he buys on line he sets up an escrow account with the terms being that the money will be released on inspection. Back in the '90s he bought a black on black Camaro RS/SS very rare car. He had it apprised by a reputable appraiser prior to purchase. What arrived was a repaint yellow RS. He told the shipper that he would not accept delivery and didn't loose a dime.

OK that was a OT car but it works the same if I was dealing out 6K on a car sight unseen I would not let a dime change hands until I was satisfied with the vehicle.

 

Ain't that the truth? As I get older, I find that I tend to lie to MYSELF.......about what I want to do, what I will do and what I can do.