About that 65 Mustang I went to pickkup..

Beck · September 07, 2008, 11:16:58 PM

Today was the day I went to pick up the 65 Mustang I "bought" on ebay.
After pulling a trailer 300 miles to pick it up I find a real piece of crud. Every body panel had at least one hicky. Sanding scratches showed everywhere. The paint was a disaster. Then I looked under it. The floors were gone (not really they had aluminum panels glued in). The rear frame sections were rusted out. There was a 2" rust hole in a lower rear fender patch. There were holes in the firewall. The hood didn't fit. The rear bumper was pushed in. It just goes on.
This was a restored car I thought I bought. The couple was very upset when I told them I wasn't going through with the transaction. They said, "But you were the high bidder!" I said, "Yes I was the high bidder on a restored car. This isn't one." I pulled an empty trailer another 300 miles back home.
This was the 2nd time in 2 tries that a similar situation happened with my online car purchases.. Should I give it another chance?
My daughter told all her friends I had bought her a Mustang. Now she will look like a liar. I better keep shopping.

Sad dad,
With a sad daughter...

Crosley.In.AZ · September 07, 2008, 11:57:12 PM

A life lesson for the daughter.

That word "restored" is abused in many ways on automobiles.

I've looked at vehicles over the years : " under restoration , restoration started , partial restoration" ....I find the same results you found on this Rustang

tomslik · September 08, 2008, 04:30:53 AM

yep, i just got done with a "show quality" challenger.
60K later

one of the car lots has a 65-66 stang on their lots for about 6K.
i know nothing about it but i can get contact info and i'm sure a used car check can be arranged.

58 Yeoman · September 08, 2008, 06:21:43 AM

I drove all the way to Rapid City, SD to get a "restorable" '41 OLds in 2000, only to find a junker, unlike the pictures the "used car dealer" showed online.

phat46 · September 08, 2008, 08:19:43 AM

If you , actually if your daughter, has her heart set on a Mustang you might be better off checking Craigslist in a wider area. If you're willing to go 300 miles that should cover several Craigslist areas. That way maybe you could find a local RRTer who could check the car out before you plunk down your money on it. I know how dissapointing it can be to travel long distances only to be dissapointed when you get there. i once drove about nine hours each way to reject a Studebaker pickup that had been desribed as very good condition. When i got there the rear fenders were in the bed, they fell off when the guy moved ther truck, the fronts were held on with a strap and the grill was crunched in all the way across the truck, tailgate was a deep V, no interior, etc etc. When i told the guy I didn't want it he said to make an offer; I refused; told him he would probably take my offer and I'd be stuck with the dam thing!!!

Danimal · September 08, 2008, 08:32:58 AM

I'm with Phat on that one. I had a guy try to sell me a 'clean, Southern, AD Chevy truck.' I got there, no VIN plate, SITTING on an S10 frame with no supports of any type, the firewall was a hack job, and rather than fix any dents, they filled them. No rust was accurate but it was still a botched job. No hood latch plate or supports, either.

I offered to sell him a VIN plate and title! He wanted me to make an offer so I told him $300. That was scrap. He's got it listed for $1500. I figured if he took it and I hated it, I'd only be out the time and the travel costs and I was out that anyway!

Oh, it's a GMC, not a Chevy.

348tripower · September 08, 2008, 08:54:19 AM

Years ago I went to Illinois to look at a 57 Chevy that was for sale in Hemmings. When I got there it was a mess. The chrome was removed and the holes just filled with plastic filler. Was described as a great car, but was junk. When I returned home I notified Hemmings of the poor representation in the add. Sorry about the bad trip. I agree with the Craigs list. Give it a try.
Don

Beck · September 08, 2008, 09:05:45 AM

Thanks everybody. I guess we have all gone on those wild goose chases.

I never have looked past my area on craigslist. I will give that a try.

I might be asking for some help in distant lands.

BFS57 · September 08, 2008, 10:23:13 AM

Hello;
I haven't rang in here! a few years back when I was looking for a 57 chevy, I took a trip to Jacksonville to take a look at a $14,000 2 door. When I got there, I saw much as you did s POS! Rusty Junk. I passed.
Fast foreword another time about 4 years ago, I was looking in EBAY and saw a 4 door hardtop here in Florida, I made arrangements to go look at it. I ended up driving it home from Port Orange to Orlando and haven't stop driving it YET! (every Day) Needless to say there are some good cars to be had, you just have to get down to the nitty gritty with questions first, then decide on the car! Yeah, this 57 ain't no beauty queen but it had way more to offer than the first one I went to look at at more than half the price!
My advise, Keep Lookin!!!

Bruce

Danimal · September 08, 2008, 12:08:09 PM

How do you guys search Craigslist beyond your area? Is there a place on there to do that? I've never noticed. I just type into Google what I want and the word Craigslist and go from there. Works but you get EVERYTHING.

I'll go look at CL and see if there's a spot I've never noticed!

phat rat · September 08, 2008, 12:13:10 PM

Quote from: "58 Yeoman"I drove all the way to Rapid City, SD to get a "restorable" '41 OLds in 2000, only to find a junker, unlike the pictures the "used car dealer" showed online.

I'll bet that dealer was Motion Unlimited

phat rat · September 08, 2008, 12:17:43 PM

Quote from: "Danimal"How do you guys search Craigslist beyond your area? Is there a place on there to do that? I've never noticed. I just type into Google what I want and the word Craigslist and go from there. Works but you get EVERYTHING.

I'll go look at CL and see if there's a spot I've never noticed!

When you have Craigslist up it will show the different states, click on the state then on the different cities. Or you could try here http://www.craigshelper.com/

tom36 · September 08, 2008, 01:59:15 PM

Quote from: "phat rat"
Quote from: "Danimal"How do you guys search Craigslist beyond your area? Is there a place on there to do that? I've never noticed. I just type into Google what I want and the word Craigslist and go from there. Works but you get EVERYTHING.

I'll go look at CL and see if there's a spot I've never noticed!

When you have Craigslist up it will show the different states, click on the state then on the different cities. Or you could try here http://www.craigshelper.com/

Here's another http://www.searchtheentirecraigslist.com/

Tom...

58 Yeoman · September 08, 2008, 02:31:42 PM

Quote from: "phat rat"
Quote from: "58 Yeoman"I drove all the way to Rapid City, SD to get a "restorable" '41 OLds in 2000, only to find a junker, unlike the pictures the "used car dealer" showed online.

I'll bet that dealer was Motion Unlimited

Yep...what a waste. The car was the same color, but it couldn't have been the same car I saw in the pictures.

Bib_Overalls · September 08, 2008, 05:03:00 PM

Friend of mine pulled a trailer from the Memphis area to Southern Georgia, almost to Florida, to buy a car represented as "having no more than a nickle's worth of rust." The car was rusted out. When my friend made an issue of the rust and reminded him of his representation the seller actually said "Well, rust ain't worth much these days."

I'm not sure I have a solution. I sell parts on the HAMB from time to time and I go to great lengths to insure that the buyers know what they are getting. My reputation is worth more than the few bucks I could scam this way. But I guess some people don't care about that sort of thing very much.