There's an Ebay sucker born everyday

I bought a "61 chevy station wagon on ebay. the pics were vague, the description brief....
But, questions were asked on ebay, through emails and on the phone.
the seller said I could drive this home from New York to Cal.
the shipper dropped it off at my work and it wouldn't even start. then with a jump it started, but i couldn't drive it a half a block, and had to have it towed home. That had nothing to do with the oil pouring out and the racket the valve train was making. The seller said there wasn't any rust he knew of and it was rust free. The entire lower half of this wagon is bondo from the belt line down, and the undercarriage is unbelieveable.
I asked "how is the paint,hard to tell in the pics is it original" man.... the paint looks like a $99.00 spray job and then rubbed out with steel wool.......
I've contact ebay and paypal and now I sit and wait and pray for a resolution...
sounds like a lot of whaa whaa.
but man, I'm pissed this is the biggest pile of junk I've ever seen.. and the topper is the ashtray was full of butts..."you couldn't even clean the ashtray"
hey guys I know
"buyer beware" but I feel like I was flat out lied too...
I guess because I would never do something like that to someone, I dnever think some one would do it to me.............

 

What'dya want--Congrats?

Don't think I'd admit to any of it...

R-

 

man it's a cold world huh? how about a little love ha ha
shoulder to cry on from a fellow hotrodder

 

The first thing you should do is put his name up so others can avoid him.
40studedude is a very ignorant person.

 

i bought a 67 chevelle, feeling nostalgic about my hs car. turned out to be a rusted shell, not even enough left for a circle track car. i got out of it due to the title not being valid, when i bought the 53 i made sure it was what i wanted and the condition being accurate. luckily, i was only 20-30 minutes away from each.

i bought a nissan in new york, drove it home. drove it 2 years and sold it.

guess ive had mixed luck.

 

a friend of mine buys and sells a lot of cars on ebay, he got burned like that once, now he is more careful....I think his success rate overall is pretty good, one car in ten is junk and described as good.

he won't pay for a car until he sees it in person.

I wouldn't bid on a car unless I could inspect it myself first.

tough lesson....hope you can get something back from it, but it's not real likely.

 

Man thats rough......File complaints with both Ebay and Paypal.....

Ebay really frowns on a misrepresented item......

If buying cars, I would only suggest do it if and only if you know someone in that town that can go look or inspect the vehicle prior to purchase.

 

ebay should also provide a lead pipe application service...

you should have put an APB to any ny hamb-ers, they would probably scope it out for you if they were in the area.

 

Relist the pile of shit and give an accurate desription. Take your loss and chalk it up to experience. You will never like the car cause you got burned.

Use the money you make off the deal to fly to New York and shit on the guys porch.

Sorry to hear it was a pile of crap. that happens alot when you have NO connection to people you are doing business with. As a rule I don't buy off e-bay. soo many scammers. If I want car stuff i buy here...at least there is some connection to the people and the moderators help if there is a problem. E-bay is worse than a swap meet...at least at the swap meet you get to hold the item and most liekly the guy will show up the next month.

sorry to hear ya got burned but ditch that car.

 

I've often been tempted to bid on a car on e-bay, but this kind of thing always stops me. I like to see what Im buying first hand.

There are HAMBers all over the country, Im sure any one of us would not mind going to check out a car that a fellow HAMBer is interested in bidding on and giving them the low-down on it.

 

sorry but that would be my course of action as well

 

sorry to hear about your bad luck. I've bought 5 cars off of ebay and 4 of them have been alot worse than described paint and body wise. I always low-ball bid and don't get my hopes up. If you haven't already, you should at least contact the seller and let him know you are disappointed. I bought a 69 nova for $1100 dollars once and ended up getting $500 back from the seller because I confronted him, then I sold it and made a quick $350 profit (don't tell).

 

HAHAHA ....then again there is always the lovely hate mail service of www.dogdoo.com

 

There should be a section on the HAMB dedicated to people looking to purchase cars out of their home area, that way they could talk w/ other HAMB-ers who maybe out in the area of the vehicle and give a description and or photos of the car. I would have no problem cruising to scope something out if it was near me. And it appears that there is good coverage all over hell and back.

and a buyer might feel a little better w/ a independent 3rd party looking at it. (just need to make sure that everyone understands that it is just a opinion, not a legally inscruitable appraisal of the cars condition and or value)

 

Sorry you got burned bro. I'd make a bad remark about east coasters but there are some righteous east coasters here so I know its not the coast its the folks you are dealing with.


That said there are a few ways to protect your hard earned cash. Did I mention righteous east coaster? Before you lay down the cash contact someone here and see if they can give it a look for ya.

Another thing you can do is put the payment in an escrow account to be delivered upon approval of the purchase. A couple of years ago a friend bought a primo black on black Camero RS/SS (yea I know it was a camero). he had it appraised by a reputable appraiser, but the guy shipped him a black rustbucket. Not the same car. My friend had the cash in an escrow account and refused to pay the shipper, the car went back the seller paid double to ship and didn't collect a dime from my friend. Within a couple of days the guy had the same car up for auction on ebay. didn't even change his name. A contact to ebay with a couple of digital snaps of the delivered car and the car dropped out of sight.

Last and best way is to buy from one of us. If one of us rips you another probably lives close enough to take it out of his hide. I've met a lot of these guys and haven't met a single one that would love to do it. Ryan calls us hoodlums for good reason.

Luck in your dealings.

 

With that in mind, avoid any auction that directly states "No Escrow", as Ihave seen a good few on Ebay. 99% of the time its a good signifier of a scam.

 

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, I hope you can resolve it.

I bought a model T on ebay a while back, and didn't get exactly what I bid on.

For one, the guy said it was rust free, in a barn in AZ since the 50's. When I got it, I could tell it had some rust, fixed with fiberglass. It wasn't too bad though. Then I noticed the guy had removed the passenger side mirror, changed the steering wheel, oh...and it was in running condition according to him, even sent me a pic of him driving it.

When I got it I poured water into the radiator and it just ran out of the head..it was warped. To top it off he said it had a clear title..when I got it he said he'd mail me a bill of sale. His idea of a clear title was that the numbers were clear... according to him...more lies. I finally was able to get a title but it was a headache and alot of running back and forth to the DMV.

The car was worth what I paid for it...I think, but some of the main reasons I bid on the car turned out to be lies. I wouldn't buy a car online without seeing it in person first, no matter how honest the guy seems, how much positive feedback he has, or how many emails/calls go back and forth.

 

Yep, you got it OilCan...ignorant...like a fox!

I guess it's my skeptical nature:

NEVER buy something you haven't seen...or can put your hands on.
NEVER buy something from someone you don't know...or at least, have never met.
NEVER buy something as large a purchase as you cannot afford to lose ($$$).
NEVER buy a "used" car from someone that evades questions.
NEVER buy a "used" car from someone more than 8 hours drive from you...go check it out yourself.
NEVER buy a "used" car or motorized vehicle until you've had an impartial third party check it out for you...that's just plain common sense...
and the last one:
NEVER buy something off of e-bay!

Yep, I may be ignorant, in your simple opinion OilCan, but I've still got my cash in my pocket!

R-

 

where in NY is this guy from?

 

is it a 61 impala wag? ...cuz if it is, and you aint happy with it, pass it my way partna

 

Too bad you got scammed.
I have sold three cars and bought one on ebay.
Everyone of my buyers have been elated.
I haven't received my eaby buy yet but I have received good info from other hambers on this seller.
Irregardless.. my opinion of condition and someone elses is never never exactly the same. yes, it is a throw of the dice when buying what you dont see.
the old saying ...if you want it done right..do it yourself adage always applies.
Give us his name...maybe we can arrange alittle visit.

 

I am trying to sell my camaro on Ebay and an old work van and just get retarded people. I try to give an honest deal and explain everything I know about the car. I set a reasonable reserve and start the bidding low.

The van I have just been trying to dump because I don't have anyplace to store it anymore. I think $300 for a running low milage van with a decent body, only needing minor work is fair. The tires are worth more. What do I get? Its been sold twice...both times they were deadbeat bidders and I am in the middle of getting my listing fees back on the second one.

The Camaro - I get more requests to part it out because people only want the good parts off of it. But they want to pay nothing for them. They will offer me half of the going rate for a particular part like the rearend out of the running, driving car! When the car didn't make the reserve, the high bidder threatened to sue me because I wouldn't sell him the car for less than half the reserve! Hurricane Rita killed the bidding, so I am going to be taking new pics and relisting it. Hopefully I will get someone serious this time.

Its getting so that the only people on ebay are the scammers. I have had much much better luck on here than ebay.

 

Brockport, NY

 

i'll let you know what happens.
I filed a complaint with ebay and paypal.....if it doesn't get resolve, i'll sell it too you...but I'll let you know everything about it first...

Hey Guys thanks for letting me vent and for you're kind words.
the sllers name is Keith Kirchoff I actually as mad as I am hate to use his name ..but, tuff sh*t...

 

Not to mention that he's also an arrogant prick

File all your claims with Ebay and PayPal, good luck getting resolution out of them, maybe since it was an interstate deal you could get the feds on him for gross misrepresentation?

 

I bought three cars off ebay and did not have any trouble as they were as described,next time watch out for the east coast cars as they rusted worse then anywhere else. Two of my purchases came from the south and the other was a rust bucket that I got for parts that I was suprised it survived the tow home without falling apart. I have been burnt a couple of times on parts that never showed up and the few times I got something I did not like was my fault for not asking enough questions before bidding. Jeff

 

One again I make my living pretty much selling hot rods and buying hot rods 98 % on ebay . I have had two bad cars , I mean really bad one from a POLICEMAN and one from a PREACHER. ALL OTHERS OVER 450 HAVE BEEN PRETTY MUCH WHAT I THOUGHT AND i ALWAYS AFFER A MONEY BACK ON WHAT I SELL. Also if anyone ever needs me to look at a car in my area for you I will as well as send you my pics of it , just let me know ill be your eyes and ears on it for you... I used to use the nsra fellow pages to get guys to look for me a few yrs ago .. all us ebayers are not bad people i surely try and be honest and straight up.

 

Oh, Luke, that'd be Mr. Arrogant Prick to you...

R-

 

I've only bought two cars through eBay, both were as good, or better than described. One I parted for more than ten times what I paid (I knew going in that it would be parted, it had no chance of ever running again), the other I drive every day (like today). I've sold a few, too. Always an accurate, honest description, and the buyers have always been satisfied.

EBay would never survive if every transaction was fraught with difficulty. Yet, there are always a few unscrupulous individuals trying to make a dishonest buck. But as a percentage of total transactions, the bad ones are very, very few.

But, how to purchase a vehicle on eBay??
Best bet: check it out yourself.
Next best bet: have MORE THAN ONE HAMBer check it out. Why more than one?? Because yours and my idea of "good condition" vary, and having two separate reports would better the odds.

I've only gone to see one for an independent look-see, and it was much worse than described. The phrase "everything works", to me, does NOT mean "everything USED to work, I think". When the lever for the cruise is laying loose in the console, the cruise itself probably does not work as intended...
Still, the car was bid by someone I did not know, to a VERY high price, for what it was...

Good luck, NEXT time,
Cosmo