History How to cheat and avoid getting cheated! (Pre1965) The old timer's stories....

As a student of human behavior, what I see way too much of when selling vehicles or parts is a buyer who always ends up getting screwed........because he knows about EVERYTHING.......the buyer is usually so busy showing his two buddies (these guys always bring friends to be an instant audience) how smart he is, that he actually misses lots of stuff. He actually does not always get screwed.......because a lot of the time he actually does not have any $$$$$, but once again just wants to have a giant Mountain Dew and show his buddies how smart he is.
Real genuine smart people are always asking questions and learning.......learning.......learning

 

When I lived in Milwaukee, stopped to look at an Impala for sale. Looked good on the first approach...until I noticed that the entire rockers on both sides were completely sculpted out of chicken wire and bondo. Guy that did the work was a lousy bodyman... but a fantastic sculptor!

 

Damn. I'd love to see pictures of that!

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At least they are honest!

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It was impressive to say the least. Probably took more time to botch the job than to do it the right way.

 

Bought a off topic Ford truck that idled a bit high for cheap at a auction one time. Got home turned the idle down and the oil pressure light came on. Turned the idle back up and drove it for almost a whole year until it developed a nasty knock.

 

Hahahahaha. Good Will. That's kinda scary.

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My advice to avoid getting ripped off is to not be in a hurry. I drove about 1,000 miles round trip in one day to buy a Model A coupe. It was represented (here on the HAMB) as being a "survivor" car. I didn't spend nearly enough time looking the car over, and realize now I was lacking familiarity with Model A's in general. After I got the car home and started working on it the car got worse and worse. Survivor, my bare backside! More like cobbled together and completely misrepresented!

Take your time, and maybe take an impartial friend along to squelch your blind enthusiasm.

Lynn

 

I guess turning the radio up during the test drive was common
if you were selling a clunker.

 

Don't leave site of a car you just bought - until the wrecker driver wanders around to find you ! Walked down to the end of the driveway to wait for my regular wrecker guy - because that's how I treat him. While the previous owner was taking the early aluminum valve covers off the BBC - guess he didn't think I would open the hood - but I did for my wrecker guy just to show it shut good. There was some banter and an offer of $100 bucks refund - I was just beating the seller in my head and just got out of there...if I started on him it - would not be good.

 

Wow. That's cold. What a Jackass.

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No...... .002 or .003!








Bones

 

Back row cars aimed at the younger crowd always had working radios and cigarette lighters.
Tire rotation to hide front end problems.
Fake out of town repair receipts stuffed in the glove box.
Window screen, newspaper, cardboard, metal duct tape and lots of bondo.
Having a girlfriend working at DMV didn't hurt either.
Removal of all spare tires, then a big show of offering and finding one to close the sale.
Complete dash pods to alter odometer reading.
Slightly scuffed new brake, clutch and gas pedal rubber to complete look for altered odometer.

 

I bet that's right on the money. So accurate. Seems like maybe you are speaking from experience?

Hahahahaha.... My family would have been the ones buying those cars. Just couldn't resist a deal!

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Fair Deal Dan

 

I knew this used car lot owner in Portland who put "overhaul pills" down the spark plug holes of worn engines. Worked best on chevy 348s. They looked like lead fishing weights impregnated with wax.
Oh, and once when I was bucks down I put some 90 weight in the engine of my wheezy, clanky old Pontiac engine. The odor of hot 90 weight gear oil fumes coming through gaps and holes in the firewall made ya sick!

 

Nobody mentioned bacon under the bearing

 

^^^Hamburger and bacon; what is this, an online m cooking site?^^^ Making me hungry just the same.
I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Clue me in... So the lead and wax would quite the engine down? I guess like a cushion? Can someone explain please....

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Wait. That's 2 people mentioning meat in a car. Really? I'm pretty naive so don't laugh. Is that really a thing?

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I worked at two dealers , they are by far the worst cheating liars on the face of the earth .They cheat the unknowing each and everyday and make the owners like it . This is the reason I stopped being a line mechanic , I could not take it day to day seeing ,hearing the laughs , and watching it take place . I was 18 years old fresh out of trade school that my parents paid for and I said FU I quit ! Not a good day at home. One of the biggest rip offs today is the term “ shop supplies “ , every car or truck in the shop pays 22.00 for shop supplies . WTH are shop supplies ? The electric for the shop lights will be next !

 

Wow. Lousy people. I bet you are glad you quit. I've seen the shop supplies trick several times. Almost no one complains!
What were the most common things you saw?
Which old school trucks were used?

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Absolutely. The cheapest grade hamburger you could get. Kept the whine in rearends and sticks quiet much longer than sawdust. Rotten bananas stuffed in valve covers to quiet lifter clatter. Just look out when you popped the covers, the smell would knock you out.
Two sacks of oranges left to rot in a closed tight car to get rid of the 'dead guy' smell.
Here's one used on 'We Tote the Note' car lots. A little something called 'lot fees'. A tack on fee to the final price that ranged anywhere from 50.00 to 500.00 bucks, just depended on how much the customer pissed you off.

 

Wow! I've never known about any of that. Crazy shit people do for money.

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Bananas, hamburger and sawdust in the rears, always wondered how much trouble it was to stuff them through the fill hole.......

 

Not the best job to have at the dealership I'm sure!

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I had a customer come in, he bought his daughter an OT used Pinto, this was around 1978. The valve cover leaked, so we got a gasket and popped off the valve cover... WTF? Someone carefully cut up an old bedspread and placed it over the valve train to quiet it down. It had been in there a while from the looks of it.

We call him and he comes down. He knew someone that was a NY State Trooper, he comes down and looks. The Trooper goes back to the dealer and they have a conversation, long story made short, the dealer gives the guy a full refund and tows the car back to his lot.

 

As a rule of thumb I always find if your a serious buyer it's a good idea to bring a friend or two to look it over with you when your looking to buy a car. Let's face it, buying an older vehicle can sometimes be more of an emotional purchase as opposed to just buying a car and it's best to have someone who might not look at the purchase the same as you. I don't know how many times I have gone back to look at something and find things I didn't notice on the first look and that has happened not just with cars it has also happened with houses I've wanted to buy.