My ebay Nightmare
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My ebay Nightmare - 3/1/2008 1:26:19 PM
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DeeVeeEight
Posts: 494
Joined: 10/24/2007
From: South Jersey
Status: offline
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Before I found Christine, my '79 Corvette, I had purchased a white 1980 Corvette from a seller in Salem, Oregon that I saw on ebay. The sellers statement went like this - "1980 Corvette, 350, auto, air, PS, PB, PW, body and paint are straight, this car has never been in an accident. So I waited for the end of the sale and bid on the car. I won it and then I arranged to have the car shipped cross country. A few weeks later this is what I got.
 
Not too bad looking at first, then I took her to my mechanic for a look see, here's where the nightmare starts.
You just got to love the body shop that did this work!
Notice how the corner of the frame is kinked and the frame holes are torn out.
Here the spring pocket and frame are cracked straight through and need to be re-welded.
A stock hood should not be as badly misaligned as this is and you just got to love the mirror finish on the paint! It looks like it was sanded with 80 grit paper and then painted.
I contacted the seller after having the car inspected and told him that I wanted my money back. He got snotty on me and stopped returning my calls and went and got a lawyer. I contacted ebay and filed a complaint. Of course they gave me a runaround and had me take the car to a body shop for an estimate, then they offered me about $2000.00 compensation. I refused. I had to go through a lot more haggling but eventually I was referred to ebays' Auction Insurance Company. I argued with them for a while, then I told them flat out - "ebay has insurance with you guys for a reason -there must be lots of fraud out there otherwise you guys wouldn't have a job. Ebay obviously has some deep pockets and they hired you to protect them and people like me from loss due to fraud. If you do not refund all of my money - NOW - I will get my own lawyer and we will sue not only for the cost of the car and the shipping, but for additional damages as well. We will charge you and this scumbag in Oregon with Fraud and we will get the FBI involved, seeing as how this is INTERSTATE FRAUD." I also filed a complaint with the FBI's IFCC (Internet Fraud Complaint Center) against the seller and ebay.
I got my money back and I sent the car back to Oregon at ebays' expense.
Moral of the story - Don't trust anyone and don't buy a car from ebay sight unseen.
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If you don't ask, you get the same answer as no.
1979 L-82, 383 Stroker, Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake, Holley 750, Headers, Flowmasters, VB&P 400# rear monospring, Richmond 5 speed. American Racing Vector Wheels, Firestone Indy 500's
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RE: My ebay Nightmare - 3/1/2008 3:38:16 PM
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DeeVeeEight
Posts: 494
Joined: 10/24/2007
From: South Jersey
Status: offline
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Shipping cost about a grand, but no way would I recommend the company I used. I think they drove the car BEHIND the car carrier, it was covered in oily soot when I got it and the engine was a lot warmer than it would have been if they had just taken it off the rig, plus the dumazzes had a full load on the rig, so where was the space for the white 'Vette? They tried to tell me that they had just unloaded my car and picked up another one. Can you say SCAM?
I have bought other cars on ebay, but for the most part I have found that folks tend to take liberties when describing their cars for sale, particularly on ebay. It seems that some folks bank on the idea that the buyer and seller will be hundreds or thousands of miles apart and that it will be difficult to return a defective or misrepresented car. I have also run across some morons who know donkey dick about cars and think they know what they are talking about. From now on I go kick the tires first. Even the guy I bought Christine from wasn't too sharp when it came to mechanical stuff. He showed up to show me the car with a battery jump pack from K-Mart and a can of brake fluid that he used to top off the MC while showing me the car. He told me he had no idea why the battery kept dying, he had just replaced it! I had to replace the alternator and the master cylinder as soon as I got her home.
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If you don't ask, you get the same answer as no.
1979 L-82, 383 Stroker, Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake, Holley 750, Headers, Flowmasters, VB&P 400# rear monospring, Richmond 5 speed. American Racing Vector Wheels, Firestone Indy 500's
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RE: My ebay Nightmare - 3/1/2008 4:01:12 PM
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C3 Starship
Posts: 4749
Joined: 7/25/2006
Status: offline
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I tell ya there DV8, Bubba's twin brother, or 1st cousins lives in Oregon. 
Wasn't too far South of Salem, where I picked up the "Starship". At least I got to look at 'er and take 'er for a spin, but man, did she have issues. 
People up there must be really hard on their cars, and soft in the head.
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1980 L-82 Fastback (forward too)
Mono composite front and rear.
Full adjust ride height and
response.
400+ hp, 454, M-22, 3.07
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o225/C3Starship/Patch.jpg
2007 H. D. Sportster, XL 883 EFI
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RE: My ebay Nightmare - 3/1/2008 4:10:20 PM
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wrwalke
Posts: 385
Joined: 11/1/2005
Status: offline
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I have bought several cars through ebay, including my 81 Vette and the 75 Bricklin. The Bricklin was mostly disassembled when I bought it, so I knew it was in bad shape. With the Vette (and other cars that I want to drive), I always offer to pick it up and make a "road trip", bringing cash or certified check. Even if it is halfway across the country. If you are going to see it in person (and who wouldn't want cash), they tend to reveal alot more about the car...  With my Vette, all of a sudden I learned that it "wouldn't align even though all the shims were out". Big hint there (bent frame). Other than that little nugget, my seller was honest, the paint was kinda OK, the interior was new-ish but not great quality, a couple guages were iffy... But what do you want for $4k or so? It was good enough to drive around while I worked on it once I had the frame straightened ($800, including installation of new inner upper A-arms, bushings, and ball joints).
bill.
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RE: My ebay Nightmare - 3/1/2008 4:48:31 PM
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DeeVeeEight
Posts: 494
Joined: 10/24/2007
From: South Jersey
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: C3 Starship
I tell ya there DV8, Bubba's twin brother, or 1st cousins lives in Oregon.
Wasn't too far South of Salem, where I picked up the "Starship". At least I got to look at 'er and take 'er for a spin, but man, did she have issues.
People up there must be really hard on their cars, and soft in the head.
And some people are just trying to get over on others, see my post in off topic!
_____________________________
If you don't ask, you get the same answer as no.
1979 L-82, 383 Stroker, Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake, Holley 750, Headers, Flowmasters, VB&P 400# rear monospring, Richmond 5 speed. American Racing Vector Wheels, Firestone Indy 500's
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RE: My ebay Nightmare - 3/1/2008 6:00:46 PM
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DryCreamer
Posts: 93
Joined: 1/28/2008
From: Muncie, IN
Status: offline
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I bought a '76 Buick Estate wagon sight unseen on Ebay, and the description said: "not as nice as the pictures make it look" which was wholly the case. Only 1 of the power windows worked. Nothing on the dash worked. It looked like there was 17 layers of paint on the car (can you say Mako?) and notice the ENTIRE rear passenger door is completely bondo'ed :) But I was 17, and my whole family were demolition derby guys, and Buicks were my first love (I've had 6 of them, including 2 '76 Wagons).
Well when I drove the car back (60ish miles from south of Indianapolis to Muncie) the speedometer had this wicked clicking that would drive you crazy! And the brakes would work up until a certain point in the pedal travel, then they would just pop to the floor. I had to put a master cynlinder on it, and had to splice into the blower motor to get the heat to blow. Traded it to a derby guy for a '73 Caprice 454 car when reverse went out.
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I forgot to add, the "vinyl" woodgrain and long since been replaced with woodgrain shelfpaper, and it looked awful. But, it had the 3rd row seating and the power tailgate and rear window that would roll into the body, so I could lay the 3rd seat flat and use it like a truck. I once hauled 6 people, two tires and rims, an engine stand, an a whole 327 in the back at the same time! The car had a curb weight of 7940 lbs.
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< Message edited by DryCreamer -- 3/1/2008 6:20:29 PM >
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Clayton
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