I posted on this board and asked if anyone was in the Davenport , Iowa area that could look at a car for us. I got an email from a well meaning, nice person saying he had a friend in that area.

Here's what happened:

The friend looked at the car, even drove it for us. He called his friend and I got a call to say the friend looked at it and it was great. We bought it. Now we have had the car shipped and it is here. Yes, from a few feet the car is gorgeous. The interior is beyond mint and it runs great. The ice cold a/c is dead, and the front of the car has had a collision. If you look under the hood you can see this. The 'original' paint had been repainted at least one time and the hood is not even original. there is overspray on the front bumper! There is rust on the inner fenders and on the edge of the hood.

I am not passing blame here and I do appreciate the effort made. I am just saying it is better to look for ourselves or just pass on the car. I would not have bought this "original" at all in this condition. Now we have to do about $2500.00 in work just to fix the obvious ills. Alan
--
1937 Chevrolet 2 door master deluxe sedan
1947 Cadillac 4 door series 62 sedan
1941 Chevrolet special deluxe 4 door sedan for sale

I have been building Hot Rods [some good, some bad] since I was 15 and am very near 60 now. Having what I think is pretty good metal working, painting and fabricating experience, I am always hesitant to get involved in trying to predict how someone else is going to view a car relative to my likes and dislikes. It is extremely difficult to look at a car and predict how someone else sees the same vehicle. After all, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

I recently was asked to help a friend sell a car over the internet. Here's what we did.......He and I went around the car and I took very detailed pictures with my digital camera. Each and every item that he spoke about relative to a defect and/or selling point was photographed. When we were through with the photo session, I went home and put them into an album of photos on my web site, with an explanation in the caption of each picture as to the reason for the pic, and anything that the prospective buyer should be aware of [both good, and bad].

After all was entered and proofed by myself and the then current owner, we e-mailed the address to my site to the prospective buyer.

The first person to look at the site and the info on it, called and sent a deposit on the car. After he had the car shipped to his residence, he called the seller and reported that "everything was exactly as advertised" and he was very glad that the photos were available and that someone other than the owner had described the condition of each item.

Both myself and the seller have stated that a few minutes of work with a camera and a complete explanation of each item is viewed very highly by a prospective buyer and is well worth the time and effort......jb EXSEDAN

Hey Alan,
I hope it wasn't your '71 Caddy. Last year I drove all the way to Rapid City SD. to see a '41 Olds. I drove the 2000 mile round trip in a weekend (never again). The car wasn't anything like the dealer decribed it, and I haven't seen his ads in Hemmings lately. The best way is still to go see it yourself...that way you can kick yourself in the butt (I've done that, too). Good luck with your car.
phil
--
One man's treasure is another man's trash.

Yep.....it's all over the place. I have had the very same experience.......driving a long distance just to look at a "no disappointments" car and was disappointed.

The must get it from the brand-label management. Have you ever had a hamburger from anyone that looked like their ads and claims?

I don't believe ANYTHING anymore.....I check it out for myself......mostly differing opinions!


--
Steve Jack
SOUTHEASTERN GOODGUYS REP

Some of the best treasures are in your own back yard. Most times if you got to drive more than 6 hours its cheaper to fly(around here anyway).If its a great deal it WILL be gone before you get there. I love the no rust ads.Keep a good amount of cash around thanksgivin and X-mas and look than(have bought some real nice stuff dec 24th).Most times it will be close to 1/2 price with cash money.If its long distance get great pix's,pay about 2/3 what its worth and find shippin with a private party NO BROKERS.There are NO steals out there any more.(yeah there allways a steal when we talk to the wife LOL ) Spent 5 hours on the road today chasin a no rust rustbucket today.But got to meet some nice people at a local show soooo....not all was lost.Most times i end up buying something else the guy has anyway.LOL
--
If you have to trailer it, leave it home!

and find out when you get there, it's the dark brown flakey kind that started on the INSIDE surface! A guy in our club payed $17,000 for a "Frame off restoration" '58 Impala. had it shipped out from the right coast only to find out it was a frame off because they had to take the body off to try and straighten the frame, the rear was tweeked so bad, still, that the gas door sat sideways, and the sides looked like the bondo filling the rust outs had been "blocked" with a jitterbug...Luckily, the guy took it back and our guy was only out shipping one way.

Some people honestly dont think there cars are that bad when selling them(dealers allways know.so no excuse).Soooo...i guess your friend did well just losing the shipping,we have all seen worse.Heck it hard for me to tell a customer he has a rust pile(i would do it if had not bought it yet) or that big 502 in his car is really a bearing spinning 396.
--
If you have to trailer it, leave it home!

Yes, the dealer you describe has a tendancy to doll up cars with primer. He picks a new color every few months and sprays THE ENTIRE CAR! minus windows, sorta. He does have some decent buys from time to time. But he is a politition (SD house) as well as a used car dealer!
--
Something's Gotta Happen

Lets talk about regular cars. I was self employed for many years. I did mobile auto repair and had my own shop.

A long time friend and customer with an old (started in 1909) and large industrial machine shop in Phoenix would ask me on occasion to inspect a vehicle he was buying for a family member or mayb for the shop.

All of the vehicles I looked at had many problems or needed repairs soon. My suggestion on 95% of the vehicles was : "do not buy this vehicle". The prices were usually lower than other vehicles that were for sale too. (go figure)

He bought about half of them and then complained about the cost of repairs. I always reminded them of my position on the vehicle before purchase.

If you have a person looking at a vehicle for you at a distant location make sure they are a "car person" that has worked on or built a vehicle, streetrod or similar type project.

This situation also applies to most things in life. A quaint little fixer-upper house to one person , needs major work to another person.

My wife has some realitives that want to relocate to the Phoenix AZ area. They wanted my wife's sister to locate a house for them to live in. Boy that sent up red flags to me!!

I suggested that the husband or wife fly out here and look at houses. I would cheerfully drive them all over town. These folks wanted a nice single family home near down town Phoenix to be close to work.

They have not flown out here yet since the job offers have dried up for now. (((-;



--
Tony

You are right, but even "car guys" can miss details. My best example was in college, I was Lot MGR at a local dealership. You cannot believe the schtuff that slid by the used car managers! And these are guys I still respect, they just didn't look OBJECTIVELY! We all have this childlike giddiness we get when looking at a new project for ourselves or a friend. The key is look at the car like it belongs to the guy that stole your girlfriend in highschool! BE critical, it is your money. I also deal in houses and see the same thing. It seems like anyone with a shop gets considered a "pro" over even the most talented personal garage builders. You must look at the car like it is marrying your daughter. I have seen $5000 paint jobs with sand marks etc... Oh, I am being repetitive, you get the idea.
--
Something's Gotta Happen

Just another example :
"Hello I am writting this message to warn all members of a person who ripped me off on a truck sale. This man sold me what was supposed to be an immaculate , well maintained slick 1978 chevy swb silverado with 73,00 miles. Turns out the truck is junk!! The shipping company called me to tell me what was happening . The truck would not start, so they tried to pit gas in it and the gas ran out on the ground. They then saw that the tank was rotted through. They had to keep putting gas in the carb. to get it loaded. They hauled to Calcary, Alberta , Canada and the driver called the office to ask what they had stuck him with to haul , and they called me. The cab floor is completely rotted away, The rear bumper was torn off , the windshield was crackedand the truck if slam full of bondo. I have alerted the authorities here , who then got a hold of the Canadian authorities. I am not the only person ripped off by this man . several others have been too! The truck was sold to another man before me and I don't know if he got his money back or not. Also, this same crook sold a '73 Camaro drag car to a man for $5,000, got his money, thencalled the guy and told him it was wrecked. The guy asked about getting his money back and JOHN N. S****R told him TOUGH. I don't know if I will ever see the money again,but wanted to write and tell you all to BEWARE!!!!!!!I bought this truck through an E-bay auction, ITEM #592436294. This guy also changed his seller name with ebay after I bought the truck. Thanks for reading this, George"
Copy/pasted from another board I frequent.

Checking out a car evenfor oneself is a tricky thing. Emotions tend to throw all sense out the window. While back went to help a friend haul home a 61 Cad he had bought from an elderly rodder who realized it was time to thin out his collection of project cars and concentrate on a few that he knew he had to finish. Guy was into luxury cars and had everything from {2} 32 Chrysler Imperials, a 36 Cord roadster, about 30 Cads ranging from 47 t0 63, including 2 of those stainless steel topped 57s and the car that caught my fancy a 1956 Continental Mark 2. It was a bit rough but complete in every detail, car had run when put in the barn. Not great but did run a few years back. Well I went home set to buy it but decided to have a good buddy give it a once over before an offer was made. Unfortunately he has the same disease I, suffer from RCGS. Surely you all know it and have at times been afflicted with it. Rose Colored Glasses Syndrome attacks us when we least expect it, and its often quite contagious. I don't regret buying the M2 its just that often find myself seeing something as it could be and not how it really is. So if you suffer from RCGS next time you want to look at a car take the most negative car guy with you, you know the type that is always criticizing all the cars at a cruise but could change a set of sparkplugs if his life depended on it. Then he can cricize away and you'll have a lot clearer picture.

I won't go look at a vehicle for someone unless he/she comes along so that I can point out all the problems.

I don't sell anything because, by the time I explain every little dent, ding and tire blemish, the prospective buyer is disinterested. That's probably why I still have that nice, low mileage, '72 Newport Custon 2dr hardtop in my garage.
--
Early hemi s.m.e.
Street rod wiring consultant
Free lance rod & custom journalist

Learned the same lesson a few years back,only with a airplane. Ended up costing about $25,000.00. Guess being stupid does have a price!!!!!!!!!
--
That's my story and I'm stickn to it

Been there done that. yeah even flew to a few. One was to have even come out of a museum, must have been a wreck museum. Iam now a graduate CUM LAUD off the SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS. RP peggys other half
--
Peggy Diegan

Been there done that. yeah even flew to a few. One was to have even come out of a museum, must have been a wreck museum. Iam now a graduate CUM LAUD of the SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS. RP peggys other half
--
Peggy Diegan