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Event Coverage Car sale adventure

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by wraymen, May 13, 2017.

  1. This happened in Scotland where guns are limited to Farmers and gun club members.
    Some years back I was at my friend Tom’s home garage when Drew, another friend arrived and explained he had found someone selling a couple of front suspension struts for his 50s ford. He invited us along as the seller had quite a variety of older Ford parts that may be of interest to myself. I happily went along

    We drove for 20 minutes in Drew's car, and eventually drove down a farm road coming to stop outside a battered old farmhouse.

    I was towered by my 2 friends Tom at 6 feet 8 inches and Drew at 6 feet 6 inches, both in their mid 40s, dressed in oily clothes complete with dirty hands, and quite intimidating.

    We waited for an answer when a younger small man arrived from the side of the building, invited us in and explained the parts were in the attic of the cottage. A price was reached and we discussed returning for a list of parts that I'd be interested in aquiring.

    As we waited at the bottom of a ladder the 2 suspension struts complete with springs, hubs, drums, etc… were passed down to us and placed on the floor.

    Soon we found ourselves in a rear room with my 2 mates holding the struts. The cash was handed over and as I left the room I heard an almighty crash.

    Drew had turned in the room; knocked against the largest TV I had seen and sent it crashing to the floor.

    Drew instantly stopped, and explained that he’d pay for the damaged TV set when the seller left the room by another door and re-appeared with a shot gun.

    I ran just as a coward would, Tom stood in shock and Drew dropped the strut to the floor hoping to grab the shotgun. He'd grown up on a farm and was familiar with shot guns.

    I had Drew’s car started and waiting for the 2 others when they appeared jumped in the car while shouting at me. In the rush to escape I strayed onto the grass leaving deep tyre marks throwing mud up onto the side and rear of the car

    I found out later that the farmer’s gun wasn’t loaded, and the TV was still working when it was back on its mount.
    The seller later explained that he thought he was being robbed so went for his Dad's old gun, but then realised it was a genuine accident and phoned Drew to return for the struts that had been left when we made our escape.
    He seemed most upset at me as I had made a mess of his grass.
     
  2. hey now:), I have been a member for 37 years....and your right, everybody is OK with it if we are making repairs and the power is out but not so much for new runs or upgrades.
     
  3. upspirate
    Joined: Apr 15, 2012
    Posts: 2,299

    upspirate
    Member

    OOPS ! I should have said pintle hook in relationship to the rear axle, not 5th wheel!!:eek:
     
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  4. gene-koning
    Joined: Oct 28, 2016
    Posts: 4,021

    gene-koning
    Member

    The drive at my shop is 88' long. You have to turn 90 degrees off the street onto my driveway. Its 19' wide, but usually there is at least 1 car/truck on one side of the driveway, and my house is on the other side. I have discovered it is much easier to offer to back someone trailer (and increasing often just a car or pickup) into my driveway then it is to try to instruct them. The little tree at the front corner of my house sure appreciates it.

    As far as selling something, I sold a pickup once in October. It was going to be the 1st week in November before he could get there to pick the truck, we had agreed on that. The day he came to get the truck, we had a freak snow storm, near blizzard conditions! The guy had decided it was going to be OK for him to take the "new" pickup home (1000 miles away) on a tow dolly! So there he is, 6" of fresh snow, and still coming down, and he wants to back the truck with the tow dolly into my driveway, and back up to my garage to load the truck on the tow dolly. Lets just say that plan didn't work well. We ended up parking his truck and tow dolly on the street, and driving the pickup onto the street to load it up. Then we had to jack up the back end of the truck to pull the driveshaft. By the time he left we had 9" of snow on the street!. I guess he made it home OK, but what an experience. Gene
     
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  5. BuckeyeBuicks
    Joined: Jan 4, 2010
    Posts: 2,705

    BuckeyeBuicks
    Member
    from ohio

    Years ago I had a 66 Impala ragtop parts car that some dickhead found out about and bugged the hell out of me to sell it to him. He was one of those guys that I could tell was going to be a pain in the ass but he finally wore me down so I put a price on it that would scare any sane person off. He jumped on it like stink on shit and gave me half the money right then. He said he would be after it the next weekend. He called after about three weeks with a sob story, said it would be at least two more weeks. To make a long sad story shorter, I got $50.00 on the ballance every few months til it was paid off. I finally got fed up(maybe all that beer and my buddies givin me a boatload of shit) and called him and told him he either gets it out within 5 days or I junk it and his money is gone. That got action, he said he would hire a rollback and be here Sat. Here comes this fruitcake MF'er on Sat. afternoon with some guy in a brand new alum.bed rollback, by this time the car had sit on dirt for over 7 years and the frame was gone. Numnuts was walking around the car telling the rollback dude how he was going to restore it better than new. The driver backed up to it and hooked on, the rear end came loose and he finally got it loaded in a few bent up and rusty pieces, the new bed was scuffed to hell and said driver was PISSED!! He told dickhead the tow just doubled and when they were pulling out was still giving him 9 kinds of hell.
    I have had other selling and buying nightmares but this one takes the prize!!
     
  6. Last summer when I sold my little 39 pickup, the buyer had come from the NW part of the state where it's cool and damp to pick it up here in the desert. It was bloody hot that day, like 109. Long story short- we were loading it on his trailer in my blacktop parking lot. Black truck. Black trailer and a tenderfoot that thinks 78 is Hot. Sumbitch collapsed right there on the ground. I'm trying to put together a good way to call his widow and tell her where to collect her new pickup and the carcass of her husband- he says "I think I overheated". Helped him inside and got him a bunch of water, went outside and loaded, strapped down etc the rig. He hung around an hour or so moaning in front of the ac vent and finally decided he'd be good to go. Got an email from the poor bastard the next day and he told me the ac in his truck went out about 10 miles after he left my place-- with about 6 or 7 hours left to drive home in.
    I've sold a good bit of stuff so lots of good stories, not to mention growing up with a wrecking yard owned by my uncle&grandpa.
    Craigslist is worth every penny you pay to use it and tons of quality folks on there to uphold strong ethical dealings. (That last bit may be the rye talking..)


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  7. stimpy
    Joined: Apr 16, 2006
    Posts: 3,546

    stimpy

    know what you mean , I did some doubles work , I used to get them close then place them by hand , would not even try it with my new truck as I am not about to mess up my $3500 aluminum fenders/toolbox
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2017
    upspirate likes this.
  8. ........................You're always welcome at my house to make repairs, do new runs or upgrades.:)
     
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  9. Yea what he said and I have Bourbon...
     
  10. wicarnut
    Joined: Oct 29, 2009
    Posts: 9,042

    wicarnut
    Member

    Interesting thread, I guess I've been lucky buying/ selling/trading cars, don't have any horror stories other than do not trade in winter as I had a bad deal w/ icey road, fortunately did not wreck, but it could have been a disaster. I have 2 cars for sale now and we might be in different times, but I'm a patient man and don't put up w/ the BSr's, obnoxious know it alls, low ballers, car brokers, etc that come w/ the car game, new or old, there's that group of people that are born A$$holes and work every day at improving their skills, sadly IMO, that's a part of the car hobby, buying or selling. That being said, have and still do meet alot of great people in our hobby.
     
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  11. I have had a couple of old cars for sale , and I got the same turkey call me both times.
    He has no idea of what he is looking at, he just walks around the car, and regardless of it's condition, rarity, engine, etc, will offer you 1/4 of the price. Just a professional car flipper (or is trying to be), who concentrates on old stuff. A couple of friends had cars for sale and got this bloke's treatment as well. Now if he rings me again (I can pick the accent), he will get the "Wrigley Field" treatment (Blues bros).
     
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  12. Hemi Joel
    Joined: May 4, 2007
    Posts: 1,527

    Hemi Joel
    Member
    from Minnesota

    You guys have some great stories! I have learned to try and only buy stuff that I probably will own till I die. But still, selling happens . I sold an old, inoperable work truck to a guy who showed up on a cold, windy, rainy afternoon. He said his back was out, would I please load it. Ok. His whole rig was junk: ramps were scary, a worn out hand crank boat winch with a frayed cable that broke and the truck rolled down the ramps, ratchet straps rusted solid that I had to soak in penetrant, 3 hours of work and agrivation for a $300 truck.
    Now if I sell something that needs loading, I tell them to be prepared, they will be doing it on their own, I have a bad back.
     
  13. Lol. Great scoops here. Have to preface mine with ... "my papa ruled".

    Had a 64 XL Galaxie, 390 4 speed forever. Great running car, rougher outside, clean interior. West Virginia car. Bought from a coal miner friend in a financial jam. My grandfather was a bit more meticulous in care with his cars. This car was one he wouldn't normally want. Too turdish in cosmetic aspects. In any event, he could vouch for the mechanicals, because he built it for the guy.

    Anyways ... the guy was crushed in the mines, and my papa put it in a gravel bay car port. He'd run it down the road a bit, and start it here and there, but otherwise up on blocks it stayed. It always had an issue burning up the porcelain ignition bus bar, so always had a spare handy, with associated screw driver stashed with.

    My grandfather's property has a meadow, with a steep drop off into what they would call a "holler", and others would call a gorge. The car port was at the edge of the meadow, above said holler. Old tractor port. Car was parked, with keys always in the ignition.

    As time went on, this pesky kid would inundate my family with offers on the XL. Mow my papa's meadow as a favor, not knowing or asking if it was a haying prospect he just mowed to oblivion. Cutting down the fields bordering brambles that were actually my papa's blackberry patches at one time. Liquor hobbyist. Hauling off "trash" that was scrap trade for the propane guy usually.

    If it wasn't for my grandmother, and this kid's family via the church .... I'm positive the coal mining belt would be chasing this kid thru my papa's property. Thank gawd' for him, he did these favors when papa wasn't home.

    To shorten this a bit. The kid started f#ckn' with the car. New battery, new starter, new alternator, new distributor, new plugs, new wires, new belts, new hoses. The car needed none of the above. It still had all Ford labeled parts man ! Stored by a coal mine operator. My grandfather was pissed. ( 1800 bucks, and the car is yours kid. )

    Car was purchased the following week. Of course, it turned over, but wouldn't start. Remember the bus bar ? Remember the kid buying all those NAPA parts ? My papa told him, he'd have it ready to pick up Sunday. Friday evening he comes home, to the kid's truck at the end of the meadow .... neighbors, and grandmother under the car port, looking out the back of the structure.

    He walks down to the end of the drive for a look see ..... and the dumbass kid had launched the car down the gorge, into oblivion. He'd jumped the bus bar, with the car in reverse and sent it way past that age's recovery point. Done.

    He started the kid's truck and drove the wife and neighbors back up to the street, leaving the keys dangling for the kid to recover. Got out of the truck, and let the bull into the meadow. Closed the house gates, and let the hounds into the side yards. To add further injury to the plight, papa took my nephew's 410 shotgun to the car port and blasted the wood hornets nest from it's season's perch, somewhere in the vicinity above said destroyed car, and pesky damned kid.

    My grandmother said the kid ran thru the meadow, thru the side yards, and into his truck. Papa sipped on some George Dickel whisky, and turned on the ballgame. Pete Rose was a favorite.

    The end.

    :)
     
  14. jnaki
    Joined: Jan 1, 2015
    Posts: 9,255

    jnaki

    Hello,
    It was a sad day when I decided to sell my first car, the “salmon pink/racer orange” 40 Ford Sedan Delivery. There were thousands + miles of fun associated with owning that sedan delivery. I know that if there was an abundance of money back then, more stuff would have been done on the sedan delivery. But, as life goes on, we all had to adjust. The hours of fun, driving in that 40 delivery made up for not having the time or money to upgrade it to big time, hot rod status. It was built for going to the myriad of surf spots all over So Cal and to cruise to those surf movies and dances.
    upload_2017-5-24_4-46-13.png
    So, college called and there was a need. Instead of placing an ad in any of the Hot Rod Magazines or the local newspapers’ Hot Rod sections, I decided to put a 8"x 10" poster on the both doors and let people see me driving around in So Cal. It must have worked as within a few days, I got a call from some guy in Bellflower, CA. Bellflower? I never drove to that area to show off the ad on the car, so how did that guy get the number?

    We had gone on a long drive to San Clemente to go surfing in Marine Territory in the darken AM hours. We had a great time and afterwards, drove all up the coast, slowly, enjoying the sights and stopping at the “name” locations: the San Clemente Pier, Dana Point Doheny Beach, Salt Creek on the beach parking, Laguna Beach, Corona Del Mar Merle’s Drive In, Huntington Beach Pier, and of course Seal Beach. So, where did that kid from Bellflower see my 40 Ford Sedan Delivery?

    Jnaki

    When he came over to see the car at our Long Beach house, he had cash and saw our surfboards in the back garage. There was no quibbling about the price. He not only bought the 40 Ford Sedan Delivery on the spot, but also a extra 9’6” Gordie Surfboard from our garage. He told us that he was starting in surfing and wanted to make a good impression when he went to the beach. Well, a year or two later, we saw the same (salmon pink/racer orange) 40 Ford Sedan Delivery sitting on Main St. in downtown Huntington Beach.

    What was it doing there on the street? It was in front of a new surf shop that had just opened and people were “oogling” the 40 sedan delivery on the street. He had a couple of brand new surfboards sticking out of the rear window, just like I told him how to carry longboards. The guy who bought it from me was the owner of that new surf shop. What a small world.
    upload_2017-5-24_4-47-33.png
    Bellflower, CA? It turned out that Bellflower is the city where this guy grew up and lived when he bought the 40 Ford Sedan Delivery from us. But, years later, he was considered a Huntington Beach “local.” It was the image…So Cal surf scene at its finest… HA!
     
  15. Harland grunder
    Joined: Aug 11, 2016
    Posts: 77

    Harland grunder

    Who else has carpet in their shop ?
     
  16. cshades
    Joined: Sep 2, 2011
    Posts: 554

    cshades
    Member
    from wi

    I had bought an hit in the front o/t Pontiac out of the salvage pool back in the 80s for the motor. I only owned the shop downtown at the time with no place to store excess cars, so I parked the wrecked carcass at my grandfathers farm in the trees until I could figure out what to do with the remains(too nice to just scrap). I guy I knew that owned a body shop was looking for the passenger door from this wreck so I sold him the whole car to get rid of it. He has a towing company go get it from the farm and won't you know it, the door he needed they somehow managed to rub on a tree on the way out of the woods. He calls me up and wants to know if I will kick some cash back to him so he can repair the door they damaged. I just laughed at him and told him maybe he needs to talk to the truck driver not me. What a moron.
     
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  17. F-ONE
    Joined: Mar 27, 2008
    Posts: 3,271

    F-ONE
    Member
    from Alabama

    I don't think I'll ever sell another engine unless it's a "package deal". If it's common I'll pick through the good parts and scrap it.....If it's special I'll rathole it somewhere.

    My brother who was in or just out of high school sold a complete small block 400 for 100 bucks.
    The buyer, a kid shows up with his hoopty ride in tow! A chain no less.
    "I thought the best way to get it was have Y'all drop it in the car for me." Says he....
    My brother was in a mess and being the oldest I help him out.

    Well what started as just a drop it and strap down deal turns into a full house install.
    "Can you do this.....Can you do that.... I need this....I need that" says the kid."

    We were nice boys we try to do for folks so this kid took full advantage us and took over our barn in the process.

    So we work all day on his piece of junk. We lower that joker now mated to his transmission in and find he has the wrong engine stands. V6 I guess. Who knows...Who gives a damn, it ain't fitting.

    The kid starts this crap about leaving his piece of junk in our barn until he can get the right parts. Maybe a week or more!!

    I take a look and there is 1 1/2 inches lacking on each side reaching the SBC mounts.

    "It'll go" says I.

    Out comes the 10 foot railroad digging bar. We made up that inch and a half on each side and slid the bolt through.
    "We're Done! " Says I.
    The kid could not shut the hood on that peice of junk with the carburetor on the intake but it was in and on "factory" mounts.

    Close to dark....we were done....Now you need to get this piece of junk out of here.
    All for a hundred bucks.
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2017
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  18. Atwater Mike
    Joined: May 31, 2002
    Posts: 11,625

    Atwater Mike
    Member

    Moral: NEVER SEND A ROPE TO DO A CHAIN'S JOB!
     
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  19. Lebowski
    Joined: Aug 21, 2011
    Posts: 1,564

    Lebowski
    BANNED

    I would have said get the hell out of the truck and let me do it. I've done it before and I'll probably have to do it again. Some people (like this clown) have no clue how to back up a vehicle with a trailer behind it.

    Also, there's a new invention called an umbrella. You open it up and it keeps you dry in the rain. Maybe you should look into buying one.... :)
     
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  20. Lebowski
    Joined: Aug 21, 2011
    Posts: 1,564

    Lebowski
    BANNED

    I agree 100%. Free is my favorite price too... :D
     
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2017
  21. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,172

    manyolcars

    I had a Harley for sale and Ray wanted to buy it. I didnt know Ray well but he seemed to be an OK kind of guy.
    The problem was that he was waiting for a large check from an insurance settlement and would I hold the Harley until he got his money? I didnt mind. It was no big deal and Ray seemed to be an OK kind of guy. Things dragged on for more than 3 months and Ray got his money. Now hes not sure if he wants the Harley or not. I dont care, Someone will buy it. Then he calls and he does want it. OK. He shows up and wants to give me half of my price and will pay the rest later. Ray, thats kinda nutty. Just pay and go away. haha I got his half payment, let him take it and told him he would get the title when he paid the rest. At half payment, I had already made a profit so I wasnt worried. Of course things dragged along and he didnt pay any more and one day my best friend called. Said he saw on TV where Ray was MURDERED. I drove over to Rays house in the country. No Harley. He had been talking about Bobby the mechanic, so I drove over to Bobbys. Yep, there it was. Bobby had been installing new chrome and fancy stuff. Ray, ya ought to pay for it and get the title before you buy fancy stuff! Anyway, I took the Harley home about 5:30 and about 6:30 Rays brother called looking for the Harley. I explained that I didnt want it but it wasnt paid for and what did he think we should do? Next day the cops showed up and told me I was a suspect in Rays murder! They claimed I was callous since I got the Harley right away. I guess they didnt think Rays brother was callous for looking for it so quick.
     
  22. hotrodharry2
    Joined: Nov 19, 2008
    Posts: 793

    hotrodharry2
    Member
    from Michigan

    I sold a '40 Ford Pickup, had it for sale at Louisville Nats. A guy was walking fast in a hurry and stopped long enough to get my phone number, didn't even ask any questions. I didn't see him the rest of the weekend. Thought oh well and drove home. In October my phone rings and it was the guy, Fred by name. He asked me if it was still available and a few questions. He said he would be at my house on a certain day. By this time it was November, here in Northern Michigan that means winter could come any day. So Fred showed up by himself, driving a Ford Ranger (2 wheel drive) with a tow dolly. We loaded it up, took the driveshaft out, plugged the trans so it wouldn't leak fluid and he was ready. I suggested that I follow him for the first 20 miles, (it's beginning to snow hard and it was wet heavy snow) so off we went. I wasn't sure the Ranger could pull the hills with the '40 in tow. He did rather well! Called me when he got home and all was well. The easiest sale I ever had. By the way Fred was nearing 80 when he bought this and it was going to be his daily driver back home in Tennessee. I would've included a picture of the '40, but I don't have a good one.
     

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