So I go to pick up the car of my dreams today(81 black on black 4 speed with a 383)... Get there early in the morning and wait for UPS to get there with the check. Check arrives at 10:30 and I drive away with the car shortly there after. I get back to school, 2 hours away with no problems(except for the alternator which I knew about and changed as soon as I got back to school). I clean my dorm room and check out for the summer. I drive the car over to my last final exam in auto cad. I leave the final exam at around 8 and start my journey back home to New Jersey from Michigan. I felt very confident in the car considering it had just made a two hour trip. I get about 50 miles south of my school and I start hearing a rod knock when accelerating from 60 to 65 (was really like 50 to 55 on the speedo because the car has 3.73 gears). I closely watch the oil pressure gauge and my worst nightmare comes true. It starts dropping steadily. The engine started off the day with 50-60 psi of oil pressure and by the time I shut the car off it was down to about 15-20. I got the car towed back to school through AAA and talked to the guy I bought it from(Mark- another forum member) and he immediately said he would come down and pick it up and refund my money. I guess it just isn't my turn to get a corvette yet. I am very thankful that Mark is an honest guy that is willing to make it right. I have a plane ticket to get home tomorrow but it looks like I will be carless for a while. It is amazing how things happen. I test drove the car with no problems. I am so thankful he didn't leave me out to dry.
Matt

 

The sucks but the seller is a stand up guy... you got lucky although unlucky..lol

you will find one...

r

 

I think the title of your post should have been "Luckiest Day Ever".

Worst Day Ever is when the guy says you bought it, you drove it, you fix it.

Sounds too good to be true that the PO refunded your $.

Lucky Dog.

 

No, your WORST day ever would have been when the seller said "tough luck" which seems to occure quite often.

Maybe Mark can just fix it and sell it back to you?

 

Thing is I am very capable of fixing it but I will be in New Jersey. If the car made it to NJ I would have no problem fixing it and believe me it would have been worth it. I just need something that I can drive when I get home and I put all my money towards this one. I agree I am very lucky Mark said we would work it out. He really is a stand up guy.

 

if its as nice as you say it is, i would keep in touch with him , maybe he can fix it and you'll be able to repurchase it. but of course paying for some of the repairs. just a thought.

 

First Class Guy. Getting rarer and rarer these days. The 'Vette brotherhood rules!
I would agree with staying in touch with him. You guys might be able to work out a deal.

 

Yup. def a good guy.

I just had the same problem yesterday. I FEEL your pain. losing oil pressure hurt me down to my crank.

dont give up tho. get one and see ya at the next meet.

los.

 

I think the title should read, "Mark's Worst Day Ever."

 

Wow, you don't here a story like this very often.

 

Keep looking you will find the right vette

 

The worst day ever would be that you shake hands and fly home...THEN find out that the 'refund' check he gave you is bogus. I'm hoping you didn't get 'scammed'.

 

SHUT UP, Peace,,,Moosie

 

Thanks, Mark for being such a good guy. In the midst of buyer horror stories, you have given us all some hope.

 

Thumbs up to an honest seller!!

 

Yes, and you know that is what really hurts to me. I've been the seller before and it SUCKS! I am sorry the buyer had trouble, but these are used hot rods. Things break. As a seller you sell a 20-30 year old used car for a decent price, disclose all faults you know about, let them test drive it, let their mechanic look at it, then 2 days later they want me to take the car back because something failed. I'm sorry, when I sell a car now I look the buyer right in the eye and say look at it, have your mechanic look at it, drive it, poke, prod whatever you need to do. If I misrepresented or hid something then that's one thing, but when this car hits the street I don't ever want to see it again. If it breaks down on the street out, I'm sorry. Buy it, don't buy it but that's my conditions. Nobody has backed out yet. Sign me once bitten, twice shy.

Mark (not the Mark in the original post)

 

whew...I thought you may have been having second thoughts had you been the seller above!

I agree with you...an old car is bound to break something regardless of how well it was taken care of.

 

You said the car was running fine and then it developed a knock, so how did he hide anything from you , and not to accuse you , but how do you drive it. If you were running the car hard, you have to consider it is an old car and something might break if you are running it hard and it sounds like it was a long trip also. that would surely bring out any weakness. I think you are lucky that he gave your money back.

 

Usually there's a "as is" clause in the bill of sale and you're stuck.

 

Yes, I should have mentioned that. I have a big as-is clause in my Bill-of-Sale. I am sorry that the car broke down, and I am glad that the seller stepped up to the plate, he is a better man than I am.

This issue is near and dear to me because I once had an '80 Grand Prix, decent car. I bought it from a little old lady with a bad 262 Pontiac engine. I found a used Pontiac 400 and put it in. Later the TH200 non-overdrive transmission went bad and I swapped in a TH350. The county I was living in went to emissions checks so I put the car up for sale. I disclosed all of this to the buyers, a couple. We went on a long-over an hour- test drive and they commented how nice it rode and how responsive it was. Sold it for $1300. Two days later I was out of town and they brought it back and told my wife they wanted their money back because their mechanic said the suspension was shot and the carburetor needed rebuilt. She gave them money back because I was gone. They smoked in it and brought it back dirty. I put new front springs in it ($100) and some tuneup parts (~$50), and the best I could do was $1200 the next time-so I lost over $200 plus my time. What burned me up was on the test drive we talked about the very things they complained about and brought the car back for! It still makes me mad thinking about it. I guess all I am trying to say is that old hot rods can and do break down. If the car was not misrepresented, count yourself lucky that Mark takes it back broken.