Are there sum strokes out there or what????

Left yesterday morning (6am) to go (450 miles) to pickup a 65 GTO
that I had talked to the seller numerous times about.
He sent many pics and described it as a really nice car.
389 4speed console car.
We agreed on a price.
7 hrs later I arrive, get out of the truck and as I'm walkin around it feelin the body he says
"Yeah, a little rough on the body work"
The 1/4's were as if he put a midget in the trunk with a ball peen hammer and told him to beat his way out. The doors and fenders weren't much better.
As I was walkin back to my truck and trailer (never said a word to him) he says "Make me an offer"
My respones was -- "Give me a hundred bucks, I'll load it on my trailer for ya and drop it @ the local s**** yard.
Hopped in the truck for the trip home.
The idiot called me 3 times on the trip home almost beggin me to come back and make hime a serious offer.
900 miles and a day wasted.
Proof that "They are a**** us"

 

been there but only 250 miles each way.

 

i bought a henry j acouple of years ago off ebay.i talked to the guy for hours about the car {no pic. of car on the listing}he said it just had a little rust and it would be easy to get too.6 hour drive and it was a piece of **** and was about 400 ft back from the house sunk in the ground.he said he had a tractor to get it out when i called him.well the tractor was a 10 hp craftsman lawnmower.well there was no way to get it so away i went.he said he understood that i didnt want-or could get it.the nice thing was he left me bad feedback{thanks}now im glad because i ended up buying my opel and have been having fun ever since.

 

was looking at a-100 van in vegas last month on here, I live on east coast called the guy said I wanted to send deposit and get plane tickets to come and see it as I do not like to buy with looking, I told him it would be 2 weeks to get out and he said no you do not have to send any deposit he will wait, (he had been trying to sell it for 2-3 months at that point) so that day I order 2 plane tickets, hotel and car rental, the next day he lets me now that he has others wanting it and says if I want it to send full payment its mine, lol. thanks alot "tool" buddy. $800.00 so far and know I take chance on him having it when I get there. needless to say he sold it the day before we get thier, thats the chance I take I suppose by not wanting to pay up front.

 

We drove from Chicago to IA to look at a 1963 Galaxie 4 spd 390 p code, box top... Clean body.

As soon as we get there my buddy points out that the car has patched quarters, and rockers. I bought it for half price.

 

Same thing happened to me with a "Beyond Rust" '57 Buick in Raleigh, NC a few years ago......700 miles round trip. Like you I never said a word, just headed back home, heartbroken!

On the upside, you got to take a road trip in presumably warm weather. It's 14* here right now.

 

we like to be called little people sir!!! midgets are cars that go round and round.

 

funny...you sound taller on the hamb...

 

everyone says that!! in person i'm just 6 feet tall,but i hang out with some 8 foot tall internet bullies.

 

Yeah a little warmer, left here (Prescott AZ 6500") it was 24
goin thru Window Rock Az it was 14
Gallup NM @10 am it was 4 degrees.
Damn that desert gets cold.

 

Drove from Pgh,Pa to Allentown,Pa. Should be 4hr trip. Left home at 7:00 am. Ran into many roads closed (bad ice storm) Pulled into this guys driveway at 4:30pm. Never got out of the truck except to pee. Crawled under car and found a rotted frame and floors and rockers. Told me all was perfect on the phone. Got home at 1:00am!! Trip from hell!!!

 

Looked at a '68 Camaro race car a few years ago that I was told was "perfect" and "I wouldn't find one thing I didn't like about the car" over the phone.


I'll put it nicely and say that the car wouldn't start (after two hours of trying), period, and definitely was far from perfect *rolls eyes*.


Went from Cincinnati to northern MI. for that gem...... wasted trip.....

 

Went to got look at a 60's Chevy truck once. The guy told his directions and the truck needed some body work. Well his directions turned out to be bogus, 1 mile = 10 miles. After frequent stops to several gas stations we found this place. Looked over the truck before I saw him. Doors where shot, loaded with bondo not sanded, the radiator support was pop riveted together. His "New" wood floor was discounted decking lumber, with the rusted metal strips between'em. Then he tells me he had it up on a rack and apart and couldn't tell if it needed floor pans. Says he needs to sell it 'cause he just bought a Alcohol Camaro. After all he was an insurance agent.

 

I think most of us have at least one of these stories; here's mine. I found a '46 Stude truck online and conracted the owner. he said the truck was nearly rust free and solid. sent pics, taken from about 25 feet away and said it was an easy restore. He was asking $3,000 so i p***ed. He contact me about a week later and said his price was just to keep the "kids" away; he said he'd take $1,000. I asked what about $800? he said sure, come and get it. So i drive from an hour northeast of Detroit through Chicago and Milwaukee with a full size van and a big car hauler trailer to get to the truck. when i got there he wasn't there yet. I walked around the truck once and told my friend that came with me we should just junp back in the van and leave. The truck was wasted, the rear fenders were in the bed, the front grilles were all smashed in the front fenders were hanging on my a little rust, tailgate was buckled, etc, etc. the owner drives up and I told him it was nothing like he described it. He had all the usual excuses, "the fenders fell off when we pulled it up on the driveway"... but I told him i didn't want it. He said to make him an offer...I told him "Nope, you'll probably take it and I'll be stuck with this P.O.S." Turns out he is a checkbook rodder, he had a nice coupe in the gargae and could tell me how much eveything thing on the car had cost to be done....

 

In 1982 I drove 1 1/2 hours to look at a 69 Vette. The guy failed to mention on the phone that the body had been modified with huge wheel flairs, a big ugly spoiler, molded in exposed headlights and a gaudy hood scoop on a tilt frontend. I never even got out of the car.

 

Bought a 53 Ford convertable once, looked at it in the garage. The p***enger side was tight up against the garage wall couldn't see it very well, but the rest of the car was really cherry and cheap. Couldn't start it the battery was dead, so I bought it on the spot. He charged the battery and got it running. When he backed it out it looked like they rubbed the p***enger side along the garage door opening all the way down the side. It wasn't that bad but it definitely wasn't a cherry car like it looked on the other side! You learn from life's lessons!!!

 

One of my nailhead disasters. Rerouted a friend on his way from North Dakota to Michigan via the U.P. to Chicago to pick up a 322 complete. Seller kind of forgot to mention the heads were off but coated thickly with grease that looked smeared on. Block too. My buddy called me, told him where to look carefully. Block and heads were cracked. Seller emailed a apology. My buddy still rags on me about that disaster.

 

LOL, I think I looked at that car... on the good side I had a HAMBer look at my International before I bought it. Awesome. I've had a few cars looked at that I've p***ed on. The power of the HAMB can help you.

 

went from top of indiana [columbia city] to southern part of ind.guy had a 37 ford,good shape.got out,went in garage to look at it.worst pile of rusted junk i ever seen.wasn't one of my better days

 

I 1968 my uncle told me about a green 2 1/2 ton truck that he needed me to drive. I flew to this asian country where everyone was trying to kill each other,I didn't think much of the truck either. Took a year to get back. I wonder what ever happened to that truck?

 

We must be related Joe, 'cause my dad's uncle gave him the same line- in '68 too!

 

And if you had been looking at traditional hot rod fodder you would have been stoaked that it wasn't rusted away.
Its all just a matter of perspective I guess.

Best bet is if you are going to buy a car and it is very far from home have one of the fellas from the board that is local give it a look before you head out. Nver ever take a salesman's word for anything.

Sorry you wasted you time and gas.

 

Hey JOECOOL, I know your uncle. His name is Sam right? That old codger has sent many an innocent young man to look at some heaps!

 

1992, I in loaded a completely restored 1946 Harley flathead on a borrowed trailer with a borrowed truck. Hauled it from Gainesville Florida to Summerville Georgia to trade for a 70 AAR cuda project. All the parts are there, needs TLC the owner says. So 10 hours of drive time later we pull into this used car lot full of rusty mopars and I look at the "project". The car has been on fire, the fibergl*** hood is melted from the fire. The roof has been replaced by the local high school auto body cl***, one of the front fenders is AAR, the other regular cuda. Both rear quarters welded on over the old rusty ones, the deck lid wont open the lock mechanism is missing. The engine was a TA motor, with melted fibergl*** on the carbs...
I told the guy I wasn't interested, he offered me any two cars on the lots for my Harley. There were several GTX's, challengers and cudas.We left with the Harley still on the trailer. He had sent me pictures of the car but took the photos so the bad areas were not seen.
I did get to see a way over restored 74 challenger at his business car lot, he didnt want to trade that car. He had too much invested in the car. The guy that did the work lived south of town, man he is good at what he does!
I feel your pain!

 

The owner of that must B related to the guy I was dealin with in New Mexico.
Was his last name STROKER ?

 

Luckily I only had to drive about an hour and a half but I had called about a '70 El Camino SS 4sd . The guy said the body was "really nice" no issues. Drove past the pig farm into the driveway and the car was parked off to the side. Started walking around the car as the seller walked up. By the time I was halfway around the car I had busted out laughing, just kept walking , got in my car and left.

 

If I reported all my stories about the "strokes", we would run out of bandwidth. Because I do this for a living, I obviously need to look at lots of cars each week.

So think about it...imagine how many "strokes" I encounter. I get contacted almost daily by these guys because of my advertising efforts. These clowns just go from dealer to dealer to find a ****er that might buy their junk.

And don't forget the guys that always have something to trade. Unfortunately, some of these folks are the biggest strokers of them all.

On the other hand, we are discussing a small portion of the population. Many, many good people are involved in the hobby and there are often times that it is my sincere pleasure to do business with them.

 

I bought a 1963 Mercedes coupe once, saw it on craigslist with numerous pictures, talked to the guy numerous times, got dozens of high resolution photos.. car looked good, was supposed to be un-restored.

Drove to San Antonio from Dallas with a car hauler, saw the car from 100 ft and knew I would be driving back without it. The thing was partly restored and partly re-***embled, I don't think any part of it was mounted with more then 1 bolt, the floorboards had huge patches of bondo.. it was a mess.

Guy was very mad at me for not buying it, screaming and yelling when I left. Still happy I didn't buy it, still sad it wasn't as advertised.

A few years later the same guy contacted me to ask me to restore a car for him, I respectfully declined the opportunity to do business with him.

 

I bought a 1970 Porsche 911 Targa Carrera from a snake in Michigan. The car had no rust on it at all and looked cherry in the pics. I had it delivered to me here in Texas...

Well some time goes by and it's time for the car to go. I had a doctor interested in it for nearly twice what I paid for it. He asked about the VINs and wanted me to double check them before he came out.

That's when things took a turn for the ****ty. The VIN behind the front bumper matched the ***le. The VIN in front of the dash under the hood matched the front bumper VIN and the ***le. The VIN in the engine compartment was different.

Mind you the VINs on these cars are engraved, not on pop rivet tags that can be swapped around.

Yep. My 911 was TWO CARS welded together in the middle to make one. I'm ***uming they had two wrecks and stuck 'em together. WTF? As a side note I WILL compliment whoever did the work. The door and fender gaps were perfect... but still WTF?!?!

Needless to say I was honest and the doctor backed out of the deal. I was disgusted and sold the car to a cop... amazingly I broke even.

I called the old man up in Michigan to tell him what I found and he laughed at me when I threw out the old "i'm gonna sue your ***" speech. He said, "you can't afford to sue me". and he was right LOL...

I just let it go... but that was the first and hopefully last Porsche i'll ever own. The thing ran like **** anyway.

-Chris

 

Bought my 41 from back east, seller said his son worked on cars and repaired all the rust...not

transport co. had problems loading the car and said it needed a new fuel pump....not

payed $500 for the pump, they had me in a corner as the car was now just sitting at the train yard.

Got the car about 3 weeks later and it was a mess, fibergl*** painted to look just like new steel.

So I take it for a drive and it dies around the corner. I check the fuel pump and it was not new so I got screwed on that one...karma *****!

After checking around I noticed the old ground wire for the fuel pump was frayed and barely attached to the ch***is...

Once I tightened it up it fired right up and I never have had a problem since with the pump.

Long story short........drive to check out the car first! at least you didn't end up with a basket case but driving that far ****s!
sorry to hear that.