Sometimes buyers are just clueless. I advertized an Alfa Romeo as a candidate for restoration as it had a good body but a tired engine and bad brakes. Hell, I was only asking six hundred bucks for it. Some college kid showed up telling me he was going to buy it and drive it home to PA from Texas. I finally had to tell him that unless he showed up with a trailer or tow bar I would not sell him the car as he was just going to break down or get killed in it. I really didn't want to see him get hurt and I really didn't want his parents dragging me into court for getting their idiot kid killed. I finally sold it to a local guy who knew exactly what he was buying and thought he was getting a great deal anyway.
Did you check to see if there was a fellow HAMB'er who could check the car out for you prior to your trip? I have also used the NSRA Fellow pages to try to get someone to check a car out for me prior to making the trip. Pictures don't really help. Two years ago a friend talked to a guy in Ohio (friend lived in Maryland) on the phone and got lots of pictures of a 60 Olds before going to fetch it. Upon arrival the car was okay but way short of the level that the pictures detailed. Friend bought it anyway (he is a good body man) and proceded to restore and customize it. But he won't buying another pig in a poke anytime soon.
I drove 9 hours MI to KY to pick up a 34' cab from a newby hamber. I knew I had been had when he said a gentleman a couple houses down had a cherry Model A box for $500 and when I got there he said a tree had fallen on it a few days prior. He had the "rebuildable" passenger door hidden behind a pile of junk so I couldn't see the rusted out wet noodle not even worth throwing in the back of my truck for the journey home. He just went on to say that he talked to a bunch of older gentleman and they said a door in any condition is better than no door at all?!?! I told him that this wasn't what was represented and he said he wasn't moving on the price. I shoulda just turned away and left the piles of rust since everything else wasn't in any better shape. Oh well....you win some and...
Try this one on for size. I bought a classic car from an east coast dealer a few years ago. Saw digital pics and talked to the guy a few times before i pulled the trigger. Car was supposed to be arrow straight, original sheet metal, perfect paint, have a specific year motor, and basically very nice. When i took delivery i immediately realized the error i made. I should have gone down and looked in person. The pics made the car look amazing. Most of the trim was crap, the quarters were mudded, the floors were patched, the clutch slipped, the motor was wrong, etc. This guy lied through his teeth and laughed all the way to the bank. I fought him in court for about 3 years and finally gave up and sold the car for 1/2 what i paid and just chalked it up to a life lesson. I used to be a very trusting guy, would do anything for anyone. Now, i trust nobody and am very cautious about who i offer anything to. The strange thing was i had a friend who bought a car from him at the same time, had them delivered together and his was perfect. Literally a rotisserie done car and he only paid $4000 more than i did.
lol, hes had a few. his cars arnt much better than his dates! he recently brought a truck that was supposed to be good, but had a lot of hidden rust. worst thing was he got it from a buddy.
Buoght two on ebay just from looking at the pictures. Could do the freddy flintstone In the 50 sedan delivery /he had put rubber mats over the floor and took pictures in such a way that you could not tell. he wouldn even come out of his house when i picked it up. Sent his wife to collect the money. When i sell something i take pictures of all the worst places and try to describe it accurately. I really prefer a buyer who knows his cars. I dont want to sell to someone who dont comprehend just what he is undertaking. OLdWolf
Sorry but thats kinda chicken shit on your part.. Id have told him to unload the god damn thing.. You let him fuck you so why fuck with him later? Dave
I agree with jusjunk on this one. You let him load it on the trailer and pull around the block BEFORE you got cash in hand? Nothing goes on the trailer until I have all the cash and a signed bill of sale stating "Vehicle is sold to ___________ on _________ (date) in "As-is, where is condition" with the sale price and the words "NO REFUNDS NO WARRANTY" in HUGE letters on it in my grubby hands.
I was selling a bike once and a contact that lived two hours away said he wanted it. I told him the price was not negotiable but I would pay his expenses if he thought I misrepresented it. He showed, looked at the bike, rode it and then said not what I said and offered less. I asked how much it cost him round trip, gave him cash and told him to leave. He then said he would pay the asking price...nope price just doubled...see ya. Every car that I have sold I have kept in contact with the buyer. My integrity is on the line.
I think he got a pig to poke lol, whenever i sell something over the net or ebay or in person, I always list whats wrong with it, if they still want it,they will probably be happy. no point in hiding crap they will just find out later. I always hope the person i buy something from will do the same in return
Friend of mine drove from VA to the upper part of MI with a truck towing another truck on a trailer for a trade. He got there and his jaw dropped with what the guy told him about his trade deal. The car was trashed and had been moved around with a fork lift through the damn windows bending the whole top. He left pissed off wanting to do this guy harm. He told me the story once and he wont mention it he says it makes him sick to talk about how much money he wasted in gas and expenses for that trip.
I didn't realize that when the seller said rust free that he was giving me the rust for free!!! My Bad Caveat emptor...we all know better...</O
At least once a week... that being said though,some folks are genuinely blind to obvious faults in their mobile toilets.
Learned a couple valuable lessons about how 'trustworthy' people are. Recently got burned on what was described as a nice used chrome trim piece for my '56 on ebay. "...solid...good chrome...driver quality..." - paid more than I should've for it, chrome was worn thru in several spots and housing was cracked. my fault - it WAS driver quality. NEVER again #1. Other time a buddy sold an OT beater to a salvage yard, took their scrap value $100 for it, signed the title & thought it was a done deal. NOT SO. A couple months later he gets a bill from the city for $500 tow fee to remove HIS (titled) abandoned car from a city street. The scumbucket at the scrap yard never processed the title, took the car (didn't scrap it at the yard), stripped it, then dumped the carcass in an alley. NEVER again #2. I'll never EVER sign off on a title except in front of a notary, or at the secretary of state office to MAKE SURE it gets transferred outta my name. And I'll likely not buy any more "driver quality" stuff without hands-on inspection first.
Hey Lux, I have a Cadillac you may be interested in! Rusty, inoperable and no interior...http://photobucket.com/kirstens58
Here are my two nightmare stories. I had a 59' GMC Napco 4x4 Suburban advertised in Hemmings years ago. I get a call from Nova Scotia, I'm in Maryland, described the truck, sent pictures, agreed on price. I was headed to Kilington, Vermont on a ski trip Jan. that year. Ok, I agree to take the truck to Vermont on a trailer to meet him for his convenience. I drive through a blizzard, get a flat on my new trailer and arrive after about 11 hours. The guy drives 17 hours, he looks at the truck while I take my gang to the slopes. I get back to find a note at the hotel lobby, THANKS FOR YOUR TIME, NOT INTERESTED! I get a call a year later from this guy, he bought a 57' and needed glass, yeah right, meet me in Vermont! Next story, Fall Carlisle, I had a 62' roller Corvette for sale and tables full of parts. A guy approaches me wanting the Vette body, points to the parts he wanted one by one, Ok, we look at the body top to bottom, agree on price, He says he will bring me a deposit of 2k back in twenty minutes and I could keep it if he did not show for the car in 2 weeks. I am charged up for the sale. An hour goes by and I noticed all the parts he pointed to were gone! I'd been had. While he occupied my time his buddies stole the parts he wanted. My problem, I'm a straight shooter, and believe convincing cons. I know that in the balance system of life they will get theirs one day, I am a bit wiser these days, too bad I had to learn the hard way!
I just bought a case loader I know it's not hamb freindly but any way the guy i bought it from said it run grate he had owned it for a coupel year ect... I went with my dad to look at it. He stsrted it it run fine my dad pulled it up back and turned it left right ect.... The tires where low and didn't want to run it with low tires (bitch if they roll off the rim) So I bought it he brought it to my house and unloaded it I payed him and he left. The SOB Broke the damn drive chain on it when he loaded it and didn't say anything cost to fix it about 1000.00 and me do the work. Prick will not return calls tryed to use another phone to call him he changed his number and was moving out of his house thats why he was selling it. I hate dishonest people they suck. But I did buy it cheap enough to put the money in it and i woun't get hurt it's just the thought that he thinks he got one over on me.
I fully believe that if you haven't been raised rite, you are unable to do rite. Unfortunately there are alot of people like this around. JC
Almost traded for a Model A. When I got there it was really jacked up. The guy offered me a Cad motor n trans for my trouble but I had bo way to get it on the trailer
I had a guy give me and my dad all the cars, tractors, and what ever else we wanted to take on his farmsted...And turns out it was all old (some from the 1900s!) rusted shit....WTF!!! I was so pissed! There wasn't a damn thing that was newer than 71! so lame.
I'm "looking" at a car now that I had a bid on in Ebay. I asked for some help here on the Hamb. I had some replies and hamber Houston54, looked at the car for me. He went into great detail and even took pic and emailed me. That was help that I though was way beyond my expectations. I'm still thinking about the car, but not at the price the other guy wants for sure. Get someone on the hamb to look at the car for you. If anyone needs my help to look at a car in my area I'll gladly do it. THANKS Houston 54.
I have circumvented all this stuff. if the seller does not say "It's a complete rusty pile of crap", apparently, I won't buy it. Nice cars...pfft. I prefer a bloodletting. LUX BLUE, do you buy original 40 WILLYS, that's the only way I've ever seen 'em
I drove well over 10 hours to go "look" at a tube chassis race car. I fully intended on paying the asking price despite knowing it's "history". Guess the guy figured I had come all that way with a trailer and cash so he would give me a great story to seal the deal. And thats where the trouble began. He had this tube chassis car "built to order" and repeatedly mentioned having over 10k in the chassis and many thousands in the (stock)drivetrain. He had run into some tough times and need to unload it. While biting my tongue I poked the bee's nest with a stick by asking why someone would have a tube chassis car "built to order" and then wired with lights and cd player to use as a daily driver? See he likes to "cruise" with the local street rodders and it made for a fun ride to his job at the local airport a few miles away. See.....about 8 years ago I built that car for myself. Raced it for 2 whopping months before someone stole it(along with a shop full of parts/tools). Saw it advertised 8 years later and went cash in hand because I am more honest than whoever stole it. I called his bluff and he admitted to buying it a year ago and needed to sell it to pay his motor bill at the local machine shop for his Geo Tracker(the actual daily driver). We agreed on a deal and I called the machine shop and had the owner meet us. I paid his bill, we shook hands and I left with "my" car. He didn't steal it. He likely doesn't even know who did but he did try to lie to make a buck and the same was probably done to him. I would like to know who blue sparay bombed the powder coated moly chassis. Pretty sure I know who remodeled the tinwork using airport roadsigns! But at least an old friend is home and one liar was called on his bluff. Took a week of staring at it and wondering why someone cut the wheelie bars off instead of just pulling the pins. I broke down and called him. Seems he couldn't close his garage door so he just torched the bars off. Apparently he didn't feel the need to make up anymore BS.
Me and a buddy drove 2 hours into SW Kanas to look at a unchoped perfict 46 chief frame as described by owner over the phone. I could tell the frame had been buchered when i walked in his shop. I was glad i took some parts books along and showed him what had been done to the frame. Turned out to be a 48 frame showed him where Indian stamped the numbers. It had a plate welded ontop of the frame over the seat pogo hole. Tabs cut off and the neck had been cut ,widen a 1/2" ,welded back together.Walked way from that one.
I bought a car from a guy out of state, for $13,000.00, I had a few pics, (but 15 years ago, it was a poloroid camera) he proped up the car, and staged the pics, when the truck showed up with the rusty unbuildable car that broke in (2 pieces) from the ride from east coast to the west coast. the seller told me too bad "you own it" I was pushed into a corner, I sold the car "restored to a customer" a couple well placed phone calls later, the seller phoned me back and was " happy to return me the money,,,, I had to phone a friends help on that one! now if the pics are vauge I just stay away, they are vauge for a reason.!
The Jalopy Journal
