Thanks Tom,
Yes, that and the holiday weekend has just put the brakes on everything, I believe. They offered to have an open carrier pick it up yesterday, and deliver on the 7th. Let the car sit out in the open over the holiday weekend? NO WAY! And, I told them so. I paid for an enclosed carrier, and that's what I want. If they can't find one, I'll look elsewhere, even if I have to pay more, lots more...

Best regards,
...z

 

Why don't you spend $200 on a plane ticket, fly out there and enjoy the ride home?

 

Just two reasons, I'm a disabled veteran (not service connected exactly, but the VA still takes good care of me) due to an old back injury that finally caught up to me about 10 years ago, and a 1,000+ mile trip would be enjoyable for the first 200 miles or so, then it would be purely painful. That, and I don't want to double the mileage in 2 days of driving. There are other reasons, such as I'd want to take my wife, and there's no way we could leave our 4 dogs for more than a few hours, I don't believe in kenneling pets, and 2 of them are recent rescues, so they'd go crazy with Separation Anxiety, something a lot of dogs suffer, regardless. So, it's only logical to have it shipped, and I can afford it, so that's how it's coming, eventually. I did make a mistake thinking the middle bidder would be the wisest choice in choosing a transport company, and they misled me into believing they were actual carriers, when they are in fact, brokers. If they don't have an enclosed carrier lined up by Wednesday of next week, I'll bite the bullet and call the most expensive, actual carrier that has their own trucks. That will cost about $2200, and I have $1345 out there with the current "broker." Once the car is here, I do plan on taking some action about being misled by this company, but we'll see how it plays out, first. But, here we are, I bought the car 2 weeks ago, the broker's contract says they needed 7 business days to "find a driver," and giving them every benefit of any doubt, today is the last day of their contract, and I'll give them through next Tuesday, but then I'll ask for my money back, and go with another ACTUAL car carrier.

Lesson learned.

Best regards,
...z

 

Z,
I haven't been online much lately, school, so I hadn't been abreast of these developements. I have shipped cars before, it seems that it's always a pain. Hang in there buddy, it'll happen.

Jack.

 

beautiful weather for a drive.

 

Thanks Jack,
Yeah man, this company is tickling my "shine up the ol' 30.06" nerve. But, I have to let it play out, then because they were an eBay recommendation, I'll give them a real good reference, for sure. If I'd known on day one what I know now, I'd have spent another grand for the carrier Jay Leno uses and advertises for, and the car would be here, and we'd be setting up a meet for coffee... Maybe in a couple more weeks huh, the coffee meetup that is..?

Later,
...z

 

Sorry Tom,
I meant to reply to this post of yours last night, and fell asleep...

Congrats on another outstanding find, there aren't a whole lot of really low-mileage C5s left out there, at ANY price!

As for tires, you should look very closely at the sidewalls of yours, looking for a cracking pattern, and look in the treads for broken steel belts perforating the surface, perhaps even hidden in the tread grooves between ribs. I don't know what came stock on '01 Vettes, but the stock General tires on my then-brand-new '98 GMC Safari SLE AWD (with only 35k miles right now) developed broken belts with wire sticking out, when the tread still had well over 2/3 the wear left on them. They were well out of the warranty for un-prorated replacement, but I didn't want the same brand, regardless. I put a set of Continental SUVs on it, and they're still fine about 6 years later.

The other thing that happens with old tires is "dry rot" where the sidewalls in particular develop hairline cracks in an irregular pattern that looks like guitar finish "checkering." When that happens, it's very likely hitting a not-too-bad pothole will blow out the sidewall, I've seen it happen, had it happen on my '79 Chevy full-size van, after the tires were about 10 years old. Both vans came with General Tires, stock. When I saw the wires sticking out on the GMC's right front tire, that was it for me and General Tire, never again. You might be alright if you have no checkering, but if you do, those tires should be replaced, ASAP. The worst strain on them could not only come from just a pothole or other debris, it could come from going around an On/Off Ramp, going just your normal speeds, which is going to be a little faster than a van or family sedan, because you're driving a Sports Car made to take turns faster than any "normal" car, and you won't notice it until the sidewall blows.

If your tires have any warning sign I've just described, I wouldn't risk it, Tom. In addition on my car (when it gets here), I also plan to look closely at every rubber part that takes pressure as part of it's normal operation; belts, hoses, brake lines, fuel lines, etc. Anything rubber with hardness, a cloudy look, or checkering is going to be replaced long before we take our first ride in the mountains, which is likely to be quickly, being just 10 miles away from 'em. Hahaha...

Anyways man, thanks for the good wishes, and have a safe 4th of July Weekend!

best regards,
...z

 

Congrats, hope you enjoy.

jj

 

I hear ya - my car was stored inside under cover - wasn't exposed to the sun rays - The tires appear 100% new - I took the car to two major tire dealers - they checked the side walls and in the tread area on all four tires - both dealers said if it was them they would run the tires - I talked to our local California Hwy patrol inspector who inspects all of the school bus's in our area - he also said if it was him her would not replace them - My dad owned tire stores for almost 40 years - I was raised in the service station & tire business - I am very comfortable running the tires that are on my car - I have replaced many tires on RV's that were dry rotted - My 1930 Model A I restored & just sold came with tires that had maybe 500 miles - 99% thread on them but had cracks in the sidewall - I replaced them - so that’s my story & I'm stickin to it - tom

 

Nice find Zeek!

I thought my CE with only 7,600 miles was a bargain at "practically new" - yours is incredible.

 

WOW!...

wait...you got a 7 year old car...just like my '04

 

I look forward to it Zeek. Maybe you will have it in time for the Aurora get together on the 16th. If not and you'd like to ride out with me just give a shout. Just a bunch of good people standing around tellin' war stories and ooohin' and aaahin'. It's fun.

Jack.

 

I'd fly out there and make sure this is a legit deal. A friend of mine wired money for a '69 Camaro that didn't exist!!!! He was SOL on his money. Anyone can take pics of a car and sell it online, and it isn't theirs to sell.
So you can't drive that long of a distance due to physical health. Flying out, making sure the deal is real, getting the car put on a transport, and flying back is better than getting burnt in a scam.

 

Excellent score!

Thanks,Matt

 

While I know scams have happened, this isn't one. I can't write out all the details, but eBay Motors has a "110% Buy Back" program that this car qualified for, it went through a number of qualifications for that, plus an "Auto Check" rating (it got the highest rating a used car could get), the VIN checks out, and I've had numerous conversations with the owner and his 40-something daughter, who is handling the Internet stuff for her dad, and who sent me the title last week, which I've already checked out with my insurance company (State Farm) and the state of CO, when I went down to get the title transferred. I can't register it yet, until I get the car and go through the emissions test, but I'm confident the deal is good, it's just the @#$%^&* trucking company that's holding things up. As of yesterday, they promised to "expedite" my order. If they haven't scheduled the car for pickup by the end of next week, THEN I'll be upset and worried... But, thanks for your concern, if I was at all unconvinced of the deal's legitimacy, I would have had someone from the area go check out the car for me. There are services for that, too.

Best regards,
...z

 

It should be here by then, that's 2 weeks away. If it isn't, I probably wouldn't be fit company to show myself in public. We'll see, thanks Jack!

Best regards,
...z

 

Zeek - The last motorcycle I shipped was a total pain in the **** - money wasn't the problem - Guy sent me a bank check that cleared really fast so I had my money but his shipper went south on him so he had to get a new one which took another 3 weeks - it all worked out but I felt sorry for the guy - As soon as his check cleared I over nighted the Title to him & a Bill of Sale - I'm easy to find on google being a engraver so he wasn't worried about me or the Trike - It just took time, I think about 6 weeks! then 1 week to get from CA to FL - hang in there - it will be worth it! beautiful car - tom

 

Zeek
Congrats on a nice find with a great color combo. I know exactly how you feel as I bought my low mileage, 1 owner 2003 Electron Blue coupe (not as low as yours - 4500, but the car still smelled new also) in Sept of 09. Being in Orlando, there is a long time dealer here that deals in low mileage vettes - Rogers Corvettes. I bought mine from Roger. http://www.rogerscorvettecenter.com/...enerationID=C5

He asks top dollar but you get what you pay for. Your price is inline for what his C5 Verts are going for. There are still low mileage C5's out there but finding from private sellers is a hunt.

Like other posters have stated, watch out for the mod bug. I swore I would keep mine bone stock and in Feb this year the bug struck at 52. Procharger, LG Long Tube Super Pro headers, Borla catback, and a new 3.42 differential replacing the stock 2.73 gears. Outside still looks stock (except for the Borla pipes and new tires) but it now has a lot more get up and go (more than a new C6 Z06)

Have fun and put some miles on that new car.

 

Congrats! Your going to love it!!

 

Congratulations Zeek. Those sleepless nights will only be a dim memory once its home and the keys are in your mitts.

Enjoy!