Trust NO-ONE on Ebay and other on-line websites

[1970Moparmann]

Based on another thread where someone is looking at a car on Ebay, I put on it about how I trust no-one I don't know. 

What is your story??  I figure this is a good time to pound it in some heads of people trying to get into the hobby.   

Here is my story -

I was high bidder on a 70 AAR CUDA about 8 years ago.   As I always do, I asked a ton of questions about the car, asked for more pictures and details.  Well, after all the receipts and information from the seller, I won the auction, picked up a rental trailer and left on a Sunday night at 9:00 to go to NY to pick up the car.   After 12 hours of driving, I pull up to "the house" (what the seller said) and there it was, a 70 Rebodied Baracuda into a 70 AAR.   "The house" was a used car lot with a 1970 ish trailer in a fenced yard.   After spending literally 2 minutes looking at this car, I was so disgusted and frustrated that I was ready to shoot myself.   Now, I had to wait an hour for the "owner" to show up and demand my down payment back.   After 3 hours or argument after argument I finally said I will call the police and then tell them everything about what your doing.   As a reminder, 8 years ago was when all cars were selling for a mint. Rebodies were at a all time high!

After all of this, I got my money back and ate about $500 in gas and the trailer rental.    This was the first time I did this, and last.  TRUST NO ONE!

The sad reality of is some poor sap in Texas purchased this car, off of Ebay, and just had the car sent to them.   I saw this about 3 years after my situation, and yet again, this seller was misrepresenting the car.  I went back and forth with them on Ebay messaging about this car and finally they said "your mistaken".   So here is the snowball affect and yet someone else get's screwed............. One liar after another!!!!

If your getting into cars now, do yourself a favor and NEVER purchase anything without looking at it.



What is your story???

[67tbird]

When I had my charger shipped up from AZ, it puked antifreeze all over a Javelin below it, the driver had been sweating having to file a claim on it. Turns out the guy had Ebayed it as a rust free car and was so hot from the bondo cracking/melting that he didn't even file claim. The driver told him there was no rust, just no metal, You could squeeze the frame rails on it it was so far gone. He accepted the car and said that's what you get for not having an inspection.

[66FBCharger]

Based on another thread where someone is looking at a car on Ebay, I put on it about how I trust no-one I don't know. 

What is your story??  I figure this is a good time to pound it in some heads of people trying to get into the hobby.   

Here is my story -

I was high bidder on a 70 AAR CUDA about 8 years ago.   As I always do, I asked a ton of questions about the car, asked for more pictures and details.  Well, after all the receipts and information from the seller, I won the auction, picked up a rental trailer and left on a Sunday night at 9:00 to go to NY to pick up the car.   After 12 hours of driving, I pull up to "the house" (what the seller said) and there it was, a 70 Rebodied Baracuda into a 70 AAR.   "The house" was a used car lot with a 1970 ish trailer in a fenced yard.   After spending literally 2 minutes looking at this car, I was so disgusted and frustrated that I was ready to shoot myself.   Now, I had to wait an hour for the "owner" to show up and demand my down payment back.   After 3 hours or argument after argument I finally said I will call the police and then tell them everything about what your doing.   As a reminder, 8 years ago was when all cars were selling for a mint. Rebodies were at a all time high!

After all of this, I got my money back and ate about $500 in gas and the trailer rental.    This was the first time I did this, and last.  TRUST NO ONE!

The sad reality of is some poor sap in Texas purchased this car, off of Ebay, and just had the car sent to them.   I saw this about 3 years after my situation, and yet again, this seller was misrepresenting the car.  I went back and forth with them on Ebay messaging about this car and finally they said "your mistaken".   So here is the snowball affect and yet someone else get's screwed............. One liar after another!!!!

If your getting into cars now, do yourself a favor and NEVER purchase anything without looking at it.



What is your story???

I a

Based on another thread where someone is looking at a car on Ebay, I put on it about how I trust no-one I don't know. 

What is your story??  I figure this is a good time to pound it in some heads of people trying to get into the hobby.   

Here is my story -

I was high bidder on a 70 AAR CUDA about 8 years ago.   As I always do, I asked a ton of questions about the car, asked for more pictures and details.  Well, after all the receipts and information from the seller, I won the auction, picked up a rental trailer and left on a Sunday night at 9:00 to go to NY to pick up the car.   After 12 hours of driving, I pull up to "the house" (what the seller said) and there it was, a 70 Rebodied Baracuda into a 70 AAR.   "The house" was a used car lot with a 1970 ish trailer in a fenced yard.   After spending literally 2 minutes looking at this car, I was so disgusted and frustrated that I was ready to shoot myself.   Now, I had to wait an hour for the "owner" to show up and demand my down payment back.   After 3 hours or argument after argument I finally said I will call the police and then tell them everything about what your doing.   As a reminder, 8 years ago was when all cars were selling for a mint. Rebodies were at a all time high!

After all of this, I got my money back and ate about $500 in gas and the trailer rental.    This was the first time I did this, and last.  TRUST NO ONE!

The sad reality of is some poor sap in Texas purchased this car, off of Ebay, and just had the car sent to them.   I saw this about 3 years after my situation, and yet again, this seller was misrepresenting the car.  I went back and forth with them on Ebay messaging about this car and finally they said "your mistaken".   So here is the snowball affect and yet someone else get's screwed............. One liar after another!!!!

If your getting into cars now, do yourself a favor and NEVER purchase anything without looking at it.



What is your story???

I agree. If I am going to purchase the car I posted about, I will spend the money to fly out and look at it in person. Great advice!

[Charger_Dart]

I have had one good Ebay car and one bad one. I bought my Dart 10 years ago off Ebay and the seller way under represented the car. He mentioned all the flaws, but did not mention all the good / great parts of the car. I paid a fair price and have been very happy with the Dart ever since.
I also purchased a 70 Challenger R/T SE off a Texas Ebay seller. I asked lots of questions, and had a friend inspect it personally. That was my mistake, and the car had so many hidden issues I thought I would never find them all. The only thing the seller told the truth on was that it was a real R/T SE. 2 years later I sold the car on Ebay and it went to the high bidder in Norway. He never had an inspection done, just wired the money to me and 2 weeks later a car hauler came to get it. The buyer seems to be happy with the car since I never heard anything from him after he said he got it.
One good, one bad for me.   

[RallyeMike]

70moparman: At least you had the sense to cut your losses. I continually read that people see the car and problems, and then go through with the sale anyway!    Cut your losses - A good lesson for all to understand. Cars are just not something to buy without personal inspection. Even then, sometimes you can be screwed if problems are hidden well enough. The problem when you have zero trust and don't take the risk of checking the cars out, is that you are going to limit yourself on the ability to get a deal on a car you want. Even in this recession, Mopar muscle is a sellers market and you have to be aggressive to get the good deals. Sure, sometimes the cars fall in your lap, but rarely.

1. I recently committed to buying a Charger 1600 miles away based on a vin photo, 4 grainy photos, and a 1/2 hour discussion with the owner on the phone. Even so, it appeared to be an incredible bargain and I drove there with a trailer to pick it up and pay in person. If the car had not been what it was described to be, I would have renegotiated the price or walked. Better ot lose $1k in gas than $10k in extra body work or more on a rebody rare car!

2. I committed to buy a Charger from a ex-member here that I was told was a sound restoration project needing only paint and  running gear. Again, not having seen the car except in a few grainy photos, I drove 300 miles to pick it up and pay cash. The car had clear evidence of a twisted uni-body and major crash repair. I renogotiated a lower price, hauled it home and parted it out. I would have walked away if he would have stood on his price. Instead of a good deal on a project car, I got a good deal on a parts car.

3. I have sold three Mopars on the internet and have been suprised at at how trusting people are. I had one guy wire me the full $12k price sight unseen. Bottom line is that the activity by these kinds of buyers is going to draw scammers to the market. Where there are sheep there will be wolves. As long as there are irresponsible buyers, there will be be stories of bad deals.

[bobs66440]

I would NEVER buy a car without looking at it first. Period.

[Brass]

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.  The seller was accommodating, agreed to let the car be inspected locally, and was very easy to work with.  I was probably more demanding and a little jumpy over such a big ticket, long distance deal.  But also ecstatic at the same time.  Had I gotten any sort of weird vibe, I definitely wouldn't have bid on the car.  Instead, I felt so confident about it that I ultimately decided not to proceed with the inspection.  (It helped that the seller was willing to fax an appraisal.)  As it happens, it turned out that he was mistaken about a couple things - yet I truly don't believe it was intentional.  Certainly not a deal breaker or anything an inspection would've revealed anyway. 

The first transport company I hired was another matter entirely.  What a pain in the ass that was.

[Chryco Psycho]

A friend of mine traded a really nice solid 70 AAR 4spd  clone , it had a lot of god parts on it , numbers block for the car , the paint was rough & my friend really wanted an orange car , this one was blue & needed paint as the paint was realy the only problem with the car . He swapped for a Orange clone AAR , had them both shipped & when it arrived it looked great , the paint was fresh but everything else was junk , the body was rotted so bad , most of the pieces were cheap repro or wrong , just a terrible move for him , I think he located the oragne car on Ebay but I could be wrong . Anyway he got real lucky & found a buyer willing to pay very close to what he paid so he did not lose a lot but he should have !! he ended up buying a T/A Chall clone , it was an original FM3 car & had a number of details we had to fix but it was a decent car .

Lesson learned , I would never buy a car without either having looked at it person or having a 3rd party I trust to inspect it first

[69 OUR/TEA]

I have had good luck  buying cars off the internet,one was bought just from pictures,and couple hour conversation off Moparts(my AAR),had it shipped up from Florida and was everything the seller said it was,thank God!!!!
The other two,my 72 RR GTX,Ebay buy-it-now,went in person to pick it up and pay,and if it was'nt what he described,I was'nt taking it.And my 75 Regal 15k mile survivor,also off ebay,went and picked up and paid in person.
So,I agree,would never send $$$$$ and hope to get the car as described.

[Dans 68]

First Time: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,35861.msg396039.html#msg396039   

Second time: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,39025.msg430021.html#msg430021   

Dan

[flyinlow]

I have had good luck with Ebay motorcycles ,but bad luck with Ebay cars.  Sorry to hear of your aggravation.

When I do buy on Ebay, check the sellers history, positive feedback on similar cars, and get an email back from them before I bid stating they have a clear appropriate  state title in their name. I also get the VIN and run it past the DMV for liens, salvage or stolen.

[Alaskan_TA]

What was the VIN on the re-bodied AAR?

[1970Moparmann]

What was the VIN on the re-bodied AAR?

I think I have it.... I'm out of town with work and will send it tomorrow.

[Alaskan_TA]

Thanks!

I would like to know if it is one I am aware of already or not. 

[aussiemuscle]

i've bought two cars on ebay

1. alfa romeo, when and inspected it and came back later and drove it home. i got a permit to drive it, but the gas station attendant wouldn't sell me any gas because it had no license plates.

2. pontiac firebird. i bought it sight unseen, but was exactly as described and as in the photos.

i'm tempted to buy another car, but will definitely view it first as suggest here.

[kokxville]

Well,this is an interesting topic.
I bought several cars on the internet,and i've had one issue with my 2005 ram hemi sport.The decklid on the bed was stolen and the alarm was disconnected.The rest was fine as described.
Now my 69 charger R/T 4 speed ( the car i always wanted,and i sold my 70 500 for it ) i bought recently,i have mixed feelings about it.The car should only needed a paintjob and some rechroming of the bumpers,mirror and doorhandles.For the rest it was a great driver and a complete car the seller told me.So i wired him ( huge amount ) money and trusted him.So when i checked the car out,it was sourt of a big dissapointment.The brakes were bad,the lights didn't work,it ran like shit,the handbrake didn't work,it has a startbutton under the dash,wipers don't work etc.There were also parts wich he should replace such as the steeringwheel.It has an aftermarket,and he would put in an original.The front bumperguards were gone,and again he said he has them and come with the car.He didn't put the steeringwheel in and when i asked he said he didn't know.
But on the bright side,it's as far as i could see a rust free 4 speed R/T
When i was there,and i've already wired the money,i was in a Fu#d up position,because it isn't what i've expected.At that time i knew i've overpaid well for this car.
I could have told him the deal is off,but with the mixed feelings i didn't knew if i ever get my money back.Especially because i'm overseas.
I asked him to fix all the things mentioned as we agreed,and he said he would do that.So,i have to trust him on that,but it's kind a hard to actually believe if he really done it.
In the meanwile i have the car shipped,and i only know if i can trust this guy when it arrives here and see if he fixed the things we've agreed.
So,i shouldn't have wired him the money,before i checked out the car in person,but what's done is done.
When the car arrives here,i'll post here if everything worked out the right way.

I have my lesson learned and i'll keep my fingers crossed.
And i agree 100%,don't trust anyone when you buy a car unseen irl from the internet.

[Cooter]

I would simply never buy a car off E-Pay. Too easy to get screwed. Evil Bay has made things to easy for people to buy things and they gewt themselves into trouble by buying stuff they normally would never buy in that way.

Scammers are out there and it is ALOT harder to get screwed if your standing there looking at the car. I can just see the scammers jumping up and down in disbelief over how easy it really is to scam people when dealing with these cars on E-Pay. Yet, it still amazes me how many people will allow their emotions to cloud their judgement when spening huge amounts of money. Bottom line? Don't spend anymore than you are comfortable with losing cause when dealing in musclecars on EPay, you will eventually lose...

[1969chargerrtse]

Years ago I was buying a 69 Camaro Pace car in Ohio from Ct where I lived. I talked to the guy almost every day. The day came my girlfriend took off work and drove me to the airport. It cost me 300.00 one way. I took a taxi in Ohio to get a greyhound bus. I called him and said I'll be there in one hour by 5:00. He said ok I'll go get the title.  I got to the station at 5 and called him but no one answered?  I kept calling and at 6 he picked up the phone. I said, where have you been I said I would call you at 5?  He says, I just sold the car.
I said I have been talking to you for 2 weeks, I just spent 300.00 for a plane ticket, took a taxi, rode a bus, and you just sold it?  There was nothing on the other end. I said, ok and hung up. The pain and anger I felt was terrible. I felt like I lost a family member. I just couldn't believe it?  After I cried it out, I got up off the floor put my faith in good things happen and grabbed the local paper. The Pace car was junk, he didn't even think I'd make it back to Ct. But the fully restored 69 Olds 442 Conv I just found was still for sale in the Ohio paper. I made the call. 2 nice guys drove the car to the greyhound station and then took me to DMV for temp plates. I drove the car back home, top down fm radio playing tunes with the worlds biggest smile on my face. This car had every option made including power seats and antenna. Fresh paint and new magnum rims and exhaust tips. One bad bad story that ended up very very good.

[1969chargerrtse]

Most of you know my Charger was bought off eBay site unseen. The problem was it was across the Us and had a buy it now tag. This was 2007 when we all had money. Chargers were bringing top dollar and anything nice was sold in 5 min. I had to hit the button. I had been looking daily for over a year. Was it as listed?  Not even close. Do I regret it?  No not for the times.
I bought my house 3 years earlier and did see it it person. Paid 300k. Put at least 60 k more in it and the bank tells me today it's worth 300k. Can't win em all.  

[PocketThunder]

Most of you know my Charger was bought off eBay site unseen. The problem was it was across the Us and had a buy it now tag. This was 2007 when we all had money. Chargers were bringing top dollar and anything nice was sold in 5 min. I had to hit the button. I had been looking daily for over a year. Was it as listed?  Not even close. Do I regret it?  No not for the times.
I bought my house 3 years earlier and did see it it person. Paid 300k. Put at least 60 k more in it and the bank tells me today it's worth 300k. Can't win em all.  

If only we could go back in time, as i lived a few miles from where you bought your Charger at the time, and i would have looked at it for you...

[1969chargerrtse]

Yeah at the time I was new here and didn't know enough to ask. They were so hard go find back then. Even if you saw it as it was and advised me, I probably still would of bought it.  eBay is a powerful tool. I didn't want to lose a R/T SE.
Looks nice in my garage anyway.  
No major regrets and love showing people before and after pictures.

[1970Moparmann]

Most of you know my Charger was bought off eBay site unseen. The problem was it was across the Us and had a buy it now tag. This was 2007 when we all had money. Chargers were bringing top dollar and anything nice was sold in 5 min. I had to hit the button. I had been looking daily for over a year. Was it as listed?  Not even close. Do I regret it?  No not for the times.
I bought my house 3 years earlier and did see it it person. Paid 300k. Put at least 60 k more in it and the bank tells me today it's worth 300k. Can't win em all.  

Those days were crazy.   This was the time I was flipping some cars and had to react really fast.   My friends called me sick in the head.   Made a fee dollars here and there. 

A friend and I had a discussion about the current housing situation the other day.  He always rented, but was convinced 15 years ago to buy a house.  He told me the following-

He used to rent a townhouse for $1,000 a month.  Even if you consider increases in rent and such for the last 15 years it would look somewhere like-

He figures rent would have cost him around $275,000 for the last 15 years.

Here is his house situation-
Purchased his house for $189,000

Mortgage amount of $1,100 x 15 years = $198,000
Tax calculated at $4,500 a year (currently at $6,500) = $67,500
Taking car of the house expenses in terms of lawn, fix it parts $2k a year = $30,000
Total roughly = $295,000

House value now $180,000

Can also pick up the same house on a short sale in the neighborhood for $130k.   

Hows that Hope and Change?

[oldcarnut]

I bought the 70 Road Runner I'm using for my Superbird tribute project without seeing it in person.  The car had been listed on Ebay a couple times and didn't sell and I had wrote an email asking about it. Sometime later he wrote back and said if I was still interested he was going down the list and the first one to give him his bottom price could have it.  After some phone conversations, checking out the bank for wiring to, and a few other reassurances I needed to make, I bought the car based on his descriptions and a few pictures.  Never had done that before and I was nervous  A few things were under described but others were better than I was anticipating but it worked out. http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,53678.0.html
Buying has not been that bad but selling cars on Ebay has been a pain.
I have sold my 32 Ford Roadster and just recently my 69 Coronet RT on Ebay.  Dealing with the scammers, low ballers, and people trying to pitch their sob stories why I should give it away to them because they're don't have the money gets old quick.  Ended up trading the Ford for a 70 Chally and cash. A car dealer bought my R/T sight unseen except for the add pics and links and now has it listed for almost double what he gave me.  If something was cheap enough I would probably have to weigh the cost of seeing it in person but for high dollars I would want to look at it first.  I guess I'm more on the trusting side to a fault but I also try to give a good add description so somebody doesn't get any surprises either.  I feel like what goes around comes around.

[66chargerkid]

My buddy about 3 years ago bid on a mint 86 turbo z c/s package t-tops, leather, the whole shabang. 54k original on the clock.Car had brand new paint, brand and looked very very nice. He spent 3,500 bucks on the car and another 1,200 to transport from Florida to Kansas. He gets the car, it drives well, looks good etc. For the hell of it he calls me and asks if he can get the car up on the lift and check everything out. Get underneath it and the floor boards....GONE. Rockers....GONE. The dead pedal had been fiberglassed together and the quarters bondo'ed up.
500 miles later the car blew the clutch and the brake lines were so rusted they collapsed the second we touched them and the car was scrapped.

[1970Moparmann]

That sucks.

I have heard so many people that get upside down in cars due to not doing homework or looking before they buy it.  I've had a few stories, but the AAR was the worst one. 

Hope this thread pounds some sense into some people. 

Of course there is good people out there, but still you have to check.  The worst are the guys that buy a car, muck it up, and sell it.   A few of my cars that I flipped, these guys did this.   A little bondo, paint, and off it goes to the next sap.