Not So Fast

This would pertain to any vehicles or Corvettes IMHO. I recently bought a vehicle that was on EBay, paid cash for it by wire had it shipped and boy did I step in it. Plus being the dumb *** I am I did it directly with the seller, HUGE MISTAKE, HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!! So I get the vehicle and it was so misrepresented that I couldn't believe it, the seller F***ed me, I F***d up and now I have to live with my demons as there is no recourse except involving lawyers which I doubt I could win any way and it would cost me more money and anguish. I am sick to my stomach over this, plus getting screwed and knowing this ***** MF'er will get away with it really galls me. If you think there aren't crooks out there then I've got a nice 72 C10 I would sell you cheap.
Rant over but the lesson boys and girls is ****************************
Do not buy a car sight unseen and if you do it thru eBay then do it thru eBay, not directly with the seller. If I had done it thru eBay I would be protected but now I am bent over and it hurts big time. I knew better but I researched the seller who had 26 pages of 5 star ratings, been a seller since 2005, he showed a video of the vehicle and a thorough description, ALL F*****ING LIES and now he tells he to F+++ OFF
I will sell the vehicle for a sizeable loss, but I will tell the buyer EXACTLY WHAT IT NEEDS because I'm honest, but not everyone is, take that to the bank !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NSF

gradywhite931127

Ira T

Hey, man, sorry that happened!!! It is so unfortunate that there are sleazebags out there that rack their brains all their waking hours in order to come up with more and better ways to screw the rest of us! Don't let it sour you on the world, though, there are still some good folks out there!

Atomic6

Thank you for sharing your experience. You are NOT alone, that's for sure. Old vehicles are so tough to buy even in person, never mind sight unseen.

PRNDL

I was wondering how you screwed up like that until I read, Were the ratings and his seller history all faked, or did he just not live up to his reputation in your transaction? Did the video miss/hide stuff, or was it also faked?

kevinkar

You're probably not wanting to type it all out but what ultimately was wrong with the car?

I had a friend buy a BMW K65, I think, which also was misrepresented. Essentially the same type of deal you had - seller was well represented, lots of positive feedback and plenty of pictures and documentation. But the bike arrived with leaks, missing parts, etc. My friend decided to keep it and fix it and still has it 12 years later and loves it so it ultimately was a keeper but only after she shelled out more money than expected. Still doesn't know how she got duped. We all looked at it prior to the sale and we all thought it was a great deal. Nope.

Sorry to hear about this.

sneal46

I bought a 2003 BMW 540i a few years back from a seller "sight unseen" other than pics and video. It was represented as a mint garage queen, hand washed/waxed weekly. Drove 5 hours to pick it up and there was a giant scratch on the hood along with some door dings all of which were not disclosed. I could have walked away from the deal but had a $100 deposit plus my time involved. I ended up buying the car anyway and still have it to this day. But, it was certainly misrepresented.

myredhead1

449er

I have purchased & sold many things on EBay with good results, but I think that I would need to see a car in person before committing to buy

HBsurfer

I am sure you already did this but make sure you leave detailed feedback on his page.
Pretty big of you to share this and give us all a reminder that these *** clowns are out there waiting for us.

HOXXOH

Bobby, Post up the guy's name and address and ebay handle, so we can protest him. In the old days it was more than protest, but you can't even joke about that stuff now. Apparently it's still legal to make enough noise that his business fails under the weight of media protests.

BTW, was it you or him that first opted to deal outside of eBay?

Not So Fast

Sort of mutual Tom, and believe me he was slick to the point that I thought he was a straight shooter and with his ebay ratings, been a seller since 2005, plus says he is an appraiser (I would post up the business name & eBay handle but better not just yet) for some of the local auction houses I thought I had done my due diligence but apparently you can never do enough. His claims that it was a fresh restoration, newly rebuilt 383 stroker,turbo400, posi w/342 gears and on and on. said he built it for his wife to drive all lights are sketchy, dash lights dont work, non A/C car but the ventilation system is caput, paint is meh, ok at best, has nice Ridler 20's on it with new rubber. It doesn't look to bad till you get close up and then under it, all three driveline items are leakin and lots of other stuff that show shoddy workmanship. If I had a rack and were some years younger I would try to do some of the fixes myself but as it is I don't think so. I knew I had to do things like A/c, interior, fuel tank relocation and such but not like this, just too much to list it all.
Hopefully I can sell it to a "Shade tree mechanic " that can restore it like it should have been, I'll take a serious hit but what ya gonna do huh. I will at least be honest and up front like I am with any car I sell and inform the new buyer of the problems so that he knows.
The Grand Sport is sitting there laughing at me for straying
Thanks guy for the sympathy but take this as a learning tool, don't trust anyone, Peace
Bobby

ruxvette

And perhaps save someone else!

It sucks that you have to go through all that. Make it a tinker toy for a while and maybe you can repair some of the easier items in your spare time.

ByRiver

So why did you buy it direct from the guy, and not through eBay??? If you are going to buy something sight unseen, you need to at least go through the established buying process on eBay to give yourself even the minimal protections they offer.

Not So Fast

Oh what the hell, why should I care about him
His eBay seller name is "classicappraisals" and he sells a lot on eBay, Based in Washington, oh yeah I forgot I'm out the $1500 transport fee also (gag). His business name is Auto Appraisals, says he is a licensed appraiser for old cars and such, another reason I trusted him

Uh, you think I'm not kicking my own *** for not doing it thru them That's why I posted this because we all need from time to time be reminded of crooks and liars that are out there just lurking
NSF

Null Pointer

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. It has to be hard to share an experience like this, but thanks for doing it. If it saves anyone else from going through what you just went through, it will be a worthwhile post. Man, it just sux that there are so many dishonest people around that wouldn't have a clue how to make an honest dollar.

Olsarge

I've bought five vehicles on the internet. One was local and I was able to test drive and examine it before the price was negotiated (1935 Chevy streetrod). I knew exactly what I was getting. The second was over a thousand miles away (1956 Nomad). It was described as needing nothing. It needed everything and I didn't have a chance to inspect it. I paid about 50% more than it was worth. The third one was 150 miles away (1959 Chevy Apache). I made the deal tentatively by phone. No money changed hands until I drove it. Very pleased with it. The fourth one was more than 500 away (1955 Apache). I test drove it too. I knew it had issues which turned out to be worse than I thought but I'm still pleased with it. The last one I found on this forum (2012 G.S.) 450 miles away. I sent a cashier's check deposit then drove to pick it up and finish the deal. The car was nicer than I imagined. My point is even with due diligence you can get burned. I'm four for five. The one who burned me is a member of the same national club I'm in. He's a CPA whose whole career is based on honesty. I'm sorry it happened to you. Hopefully you'll recover from it. Bravo for reminding all of us you can't be too careful. It took guts to do that on this forum. I don't tell people about the one that burned me.

ByRiver

I was just wondering the circumstances to convince you to not go through eBay. A cheaper price? Faster transaction? Bypassing some DMV process? Knowing this could help others from making the same mistake.

Sorry about your loss.

Welker1

Sorry to hear about your experience NSF, but thank you for sharing. Yours and the experiences of others who have bought vehicles sight unseen I've heard in the past (not all on eBay) are just a few of the reasons I have never done so and never will.

saplumr