Lou-Q

I sold my 1967 Corvette in 1983 to have money to keep a building permit active for a duplex I built in the Florida Keys. I told my wife that when we sell the duplex I would buy another 67 the same as the one I sold. In November of 2017 I sold the building and started looking for a Marina blue roadster. A friend called ansaw one like I wanted in an older Hemmings. I called the dealer, and he said he still had it. At this time, I didn't know it had been sold and returned by the prior owner since the ad had been posted a few months earlier.


In Decemberr of 2017. I bought the 67 roadster with NCRS judging of 97.6 from Gregg Wyatt at Vintage Corvettes in Georgia. I searched this forum and others to check the business out and most reviews were favorable. I paid for the car before picking it up. It was cold and rainy the day I picked up the car . When I got in the showroom to look at the car, I noticed a couple of drops of oil on the floor around the oil filter area. I asked about it and Gregg said they had done an oil change and it was just residue. At that time (I had been there 2 minutes) he told me he had to go to a meeting and we needed to load the car. He asked if I wanted to drive it into the trailer; if not, he would do it.
I told him to go ahead, and I went out to open the tailgate. He closed the hood and pulled the car into the dark trailer.
When I got the car home, I took it out for a drive. I saw a wavy spot on the driver's side fender. After closer inspection, I noticed that the hood was about 3/8" lower than the front header and the driver's door stuck out about 3/8".
At that point I decided to take the car to a Corvette specialist and restorer named Paul D'Alesandro in FT. Lauderdale Fl.. As soon as they came out to look at the car. they noticed a few problems. I left the car there for them to give me an estimate to repair the problem areas. They put the car on a lift and checked the frame since there was so much body damage. This is a quote from the letter Paul sent me. "The hood had holes filled in where a stinger scoop had been bolted and were shrinking and showing.
The nose has had several areas of repair and these repairs are all beginning to show through the paint. My observation at the time would be that the car, at some time, had front end damage (that's why I inspected the frame closely). To repair the damage, the nose was pieced back together. A left front fender was spliced in with the rear splice very apparent and spliced across the corner of the nose to the inside corner of the hood area. The front nose section was also replaced and has an incorrect header bar under the fiberglass. Again, the poor assembly done when they rebuilt the front end is now showing up with cracks around the headlight buckets and poor bucket alignment. The right front is not as bad as the left fender, but the splice areas are visible. The poor alignment of the hood and fenders is, I believe, a combination of poor fender repair and gluing and possible hood deformity from the scoop it had." The letter goes on to describe many other issues with the body. I hired a local lawyer to see what he could do for me and all he did was to take my money and tell me he could not help me (he was from the same town, as I needed a Georgia lawyer).
I found several receipts in the folder that came with the car with the prior owners names, so I called the one before me and he told me he traded a 62 plus cash for the 67 and found the same issues. He got Gregg to take the car back but lost several thousand dollars in the deal, but got his 62 back. He could not believe that it was back in Hemmings for sale.
I contacted Gregg, and when I started to complain about the car he told me to quit or he would hang up on me. That's when I hired the lawyer.
I finally got Gregg to take the car back on consignment. One week later it was back in Hemmings and sold again. He sold it for $95000 this time (I had paid $90,000) but he told me he sold it for $84,000 and gave me $82,000.
The whole deal with him cost me over $14,000 with the return shipping and the tax.
I have letters from the prior owner and the shop in Lauderdale to back this up.
It's sad that I worked very hard for my money as a commercial fisherman and got burned by someone that was supposed to be reputable.
When I told him I was going to do a bad review, he said "you know what I'll do".
The reason I didn't do this review sooner is because I was away for the Summer and wanted to talk with a judge friend of mine and our local attorney.
They both said I was protected by the first amendment as long as I told the facts.

Sorry about the long rant.
He has some beautiful high end Corvettes.
Please look at the car or have an expert check it out if you want something he is selling.
By the way, I just bought another 67 at the Mecum Auction.
Lou Q

1snake

Unfortunately you learned a hard lesson. Car salesmen are liars. Whether it's a gypo lot selling used cars or a highly recognized seller in Ohio, they're all the same. NEVER buy a car without a personal inspection.

69ttop502

Boyan

Lou-Q

I reviewed the judging sheets and also had Paul review them. By the judging sheets the car was almost perfect. I believe the car was crashed after the judging and nothing was said about it.
I did learn a good lesson . That's why I'm passing this on
No matter how high priced the cars are, he still a used car dealer.

Factoid

Boyan

ptjsk

Sorry to see you go through this. Pretty sad that he knew exactly what he was doing and was willing and able to sell it and screw the next guy down the line. As you stated this is definitely a lesson learned.

Just last month, my wife and I took a trip to Mississippi to purchase a '71 Blazer that looked incredible in the pictures. We had agreed upon a price of 33K. Instead of sending the money, I wanted to deliver it so I could be sure the Blazer was as represented.

Unfortunately, it was not. Ended up wasting about $1,700.00 in plane fare. But it was a whole lot better than 35K (purchase plus shipping).

Even though it cost you a significant amount of money, at least you were able to get most of your money back. Again, feel sorry for the next guy down the line.

Pat

856666

Thanks for posting as there are occasional posts about dealer advise.

Wasn't there a post a few months ago from a new forum member who purchased a C2 from Greg Wyatt and returned it? I think he indicated it cost him 10K or more but had no problems with Greg.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ownership.html

Phil

Frankie the Fink

This is literally the first complaint of any significance I've heard about Gregg Wyatt - he is usually praised a lot here....along with Corvette Mike. Even so, purchasing a nearly $100,000 item without doing the homework is a recipe for disaster.

I can't afford a duplex in the Keys but I did spend the money to personally inspect all my Mustang and Corvette purchases. An NCRS award means nothing the day after its issued....shortly after winning an award many cars have repro sutff put back on them and big ticket, borrowed parts returned to the real owners...

Sorry you had to lawyer up and it cost you....but you got off cheaper than some here who've "stepped in it"...

As to the first amendment, I'm retired and have no problem "going medieval" on something should I get ripped off.

Just stay factual and to the point and don't make it personal (a hard task for some). Others scoff at it but I've had good luck with local Better Business Bureau complaints over the years and they're free.

I would add that there are always two sides to every story and nobody has heard Greg Wyatt's yet...

RatDog

[Disclaimer: I am a satisfied Greg Wyatt customer. Everyone here knows my story.]

I am truly sorry for what you've been through. Posting your experience here is good because it reinforces the advice to always check out a car before you buy it with real life experience.

No matter who you are buying from you absolutely HAVE to check it out. There's no way around it. If you don't know enough to do it yourself, pay someone.

Not everyone agrees with me but I'm of the opinion that a seller has no obligation to disclose everything about his/her car unless asked. If asked, however, I believe the seller has an obligation to be honest and truthful with his answer. So, you didn't inspect the car but did you ask Greg about the condition of the car, especially if there are indications that it had been in an accident? If so, what did he say? The fact that the car is NCRS Top Flight doesn't really mean much but did you ask Greg how recent that award was? When I was looking to buy a car from him, I asked about a TF car he had and he told me the award was several years ago. A lot can happen to a car in a few years.

Do you have a link to the page on Greg's site where your car was shown? He typically provides lots of very good photos. I'd like to look at them.

Again, I am truly sorry about your experience and the money you lost but I honestly believe the lesson to be learned here is not to avoid buying from Vintage Corvettes but to ask lots of questions and inspect ANY car you're thinking about buying from ANYONE who is selling it.

Steve

mike coletta

Sounds to me like you are a "whiner". Put your big boy pants on, and be accountable for the fact that YOU didn't inspect the car prior to purchase. You're really NOT a victim here. Factoid's arrangement of "how it's supposed to work" in the post #6 above, is exactly right. Wyatt has been in busness a long time, and has a good reputation (no, I do not know him).
I hate when people become "victims" because they can't think for themselves. Our country is full of them.

Lou-Q

I'm not a whiner. Just warning the next guy. I know of three people that got screwed on this same car.
Yes, I did not inspect the car like I should have. He rushed me out of there in two minutes. It's my fault for trusting a used car dealer.
Had I had 10 minutes to look at the car, I would not have taken it. The damage was real obvious. I just didn't have enough time.
He has some real nice cars. "Just go and inspect it well"
Lesson learned.
Lou

RatDog

Lou - Is this your car?

http://vintagecorvettes.com/auto/196...350hp-just-in/

If so, the driver's door and, maybe, the hood fit problems are visible. Didn't you notice them?

Steve

Dreaming60’s

Agree with everyone who says rule #1 is "INSPECT", "INSPECT", "INSPECT". I didn't do that and it was my fault I made a bad buy on a 62. But, I do have heartburn with dealers who hide or don't volunteer known issues. Yes, the car should be inspected, but why should this be a "hide and seek" discovery process. I thought maybe some dealers were exempt from that behaviour, but the more I learn and talk to people, I think I'm just being naive. Never forget that dealers can make bad buys too. If they make a bad buy, they are going to pass it on. Sad, but true.

Just sold my 62 back to the selling dealer/restoration shop, after about 10 months of ownership and frustration. Lost 15% plus my improvements, but better than keeping it and fixing it. It needed a new frame or major frame repair due to previous undisclosed damage that wasn't repaired correctly. I'm happy to be rid of it. But, the scumbags have it on EB now, with no mention of the damaged frame or other issues I discussed and emailed to the dealer for many months. Car drives dangerously on curves and yet they say it "drives out fine". I've learned more about C-1's in 10 months ownership than I ever imagined possible.

Best lesson I learned...........INSPECT, INSPECT, INSPECT AND BELIEVE LITTLE YOU ARE TOLD.

BH

William Buckley

I purchased my C2 from Greg also, and being a "newbie", did not have someone inspect it. NCRS decal on the window and documentation on being bought by another party at Barrett Jackson years before. Thought that I was getting a quality product. He changed tires and wheels on me before delivery, and I found the tires he mounted were 14 years old and three wheels were one size and the fourth wheel another size, I've had to spend an additional $10K on the car to bring it up to safe and acceptable standards. When I confronted Greg, he pointed out to me that the bill of sale stated, "as is". Live and learn when dealing with car dealers.

RatDog

So that makes 2 people who bought 50+ year old cars without looking at them.

I wasn't going to repeat my experience here since most have heard it but since Greg isn't here to respond and in an effort to give some balance and perspective to folks who may come across this thread in the future, I'm going to repeat my story again. Those who have heard it can turn away.

I bought my '67 (shown in the photo below) from Greg in April 2012 in an "As Is" transaction. Like the 2 gentlemen posting here who had bad experiences, I didn't inspect my car before I bought it BUT I paid a knowledgeable member of this forum to do an inspection for me. He reported back with what he found and I bought the car. Although I didn't inspect the car, personally, my wife and I did visit Greg's place a few months earlier where I got to know him a bit, establish a rapport with him, and assess the quality of his cars during the hour he spent with us..

Greg had the car delivered to my house in a covered trailer by a fellow who works with him. He started the car, backed it out, and put it in my driveway. We shook hands and he left. Later that day, I went out to go for a ride. I couldn't get the shifter out of 1st gear. I called up Greg who told me a couple of things to try. None of them worked so I called him back. Without me asking him for anything, he said he'd send his driver back to pick up my car and bring it back to his place to fix it. Greg's place is 500 miles from where I live. A week later, he sent his driver back down to my house with my car and its new shifter. Total cost to me was $0.00. Remember, this was an "As-Is" sale and I never asked him to do anything for me when it arrived broken. It was totally his decision to do that for me to make the car right.

During my initial online research of Greg and Vintage Corvettes, I came across another guy who bought from him, ran into a problem with his car, and Greg brought the car back and fixed it for him. This buyer was also located outside of Georgia. That report was one of the reasons I decided to buy from Greg.

BTW, someone mentioned 14 year old tires. My car was delivered with brand new, correct, bias ply tires. When Greg took the car back to fix the shifter, I asked him if he'd change out the tires for radials. The car came back to me with radials dated Feb 2012. I bought the car in Apr 2012.

So I don't know what went wrong for the other 2 fellows on this thread that caused their deals to go south and I feel bad for them because this is supposed to be an exciting and happy experience. In my case, it was.

If you don't want to inspect those 50 year old cars before you buy them, that's your decision. But it's not really fair to blame the seller when something isn't as you expected. But lessons have been learned and life moves on.

Steve

mike coletta

You told me that story Steve, and it is a true indication of the kind of business that Greg runs. Have you ever noticed that the "victims" ALWAYS put the blame on somebody, or something, else. Our Country is FULL of "blamers" who can't make a decision without asking mommy. I'm going to WARN whoever reads this thread about Vintage Corvettes. He has a fabulous showroom, good cars, and has been in business for a long time.

If you buy a car from ANYBODY. Take your mom with you, and make sure that you get her permission before you spend your hard earned money. If you buy the car without her permission, then you have the right to slam the guys business (or individual) into the ground, because YOU YOU YOU YOU are NOT going to accept responsibility for ANYTHING, without moms help. Geesh.

BTW, I don't think that Greg Wyatt has EVER put a gun to anybody's head, and forced the sale of a car. I really think that the OP is warning us about his own ineptness, because I really don't see that it's anyone else's fault.

I'm also going to note that "LOU" just joined the forum so that he could WARN us. He hasn't ever helped anyone, or made a single post to contribute. Way to go LOU.

mike coletta

Pile on William. The term "as is" is just what it says. Did you not read the contract either???

William Buckley