Hi Bill - I don't think the perfect system can ever be devised to
enable you to buy a car sight unseen, although, as you suggest, the
proper questions will definitely assist you in your determination.
The one thing that you cannot ascertain for sure over the phone is
the honesty of the individual you are dealing with. I have bought
probably fifty cars over the phone, almost all without the benefit
of pictures, and have only been disappointed twice. Each time I
was dealing with a broker and in both cases, although I asked all
the right questions, I got less than complete or honest answers.
In the most recent case, I drove to Lake Elsinore, Ca. to pick up
an MGA (this is only about 1700 miles with an empty car trailer
bouncing along behind) to find that the car had sustained major
body damage to the rear that had been repaired by a bondo sculptor.
I walked away from that one and left half of my deposit. With
only these two exceptions, all of the other folks that I have dealt
with have gone out of their way to give as honest a description as
they could. I won't follow up on deals where the owner doesn't sound
like he is knowledgeable about his car as I don't feel that I can rely
on his answers. The questions that I ask are very pointed and
deliberate that require pretty straight forward answers to satisfy
me. If I ask about oil pressure and get an answer that it is pretty
good, that isn't good enough - what is the oil pressure at cold idle
and what is the pressure at 2500 rpm's when hot will give you a much
better "picture". I have found the majority of sellers to be honest,
and as I pointed out, have only had two bad experiences. When buying
an MGB, I really believe that if you asked the right questions over
the phone, you could avoid wasted trips and expense. My experience
with MGB's from the northeast is limited, but with what I have learned
about B's in the northwest, I don't think there will be many good
original cars left. By good original, I mean those that don't have
terminal rust in the inner sills and floors, and the rails. The
jacking point is a good one to ask about as is the fit of the doors.
When the rust reaches a certain level, these cars will start to fold up
on themselves with the result that the doors don't like to open. As
far as the paint goes, a few pointed questions should provide the
answers so that you don't get any nasty surprizes.
This is all IMHO - if someone sets out to deceive you, it's pretty
easy with either words or pictures.
Cheers,
Len Drake
KELOWNA, B.C. Canada
>Fellow SOLers,
>
>I have now calmed down enough to write about a recent experience. I have been
>trying to find an acceptable example of a 70-74 GT to purchase for about six
>months. It seems that most of the GTs are located either in the Northeast,
>California, or Northern climes. I don't know where all the GTs are in the
>Southwest but I can't seem to find one.
>
>I thought I had found the perfect car in the Northeast - '73, owned by elderly
>gentleman for last twenty years, only 38K miles, never driven in rain (yeah
>right), garaged, chrome wires, totally original. After extensive e-mail
>traffic where I asked about every question I could think of, he sent me a set
>of photos showing the vehicle. The photos showed a teal-blue w/ochre interior
>spectacular looking car. This GT looked like it had been sitting in a garage
>covered for the last twenty years. After further examining the photos with a
>magnifying glass (really) and additional questions I felt confident enough to
>make arrangements to make a visit. BTW, the gentleman seemed extremely sincere
>and knowledgeable about his car.
>
>After traveling from Dallas and spending the night I met the gentleman at the
>garage on Sunday morning where the car was kept. Imagine my surprise when we
>began to pull off the cover and discovered not only was the car Mallard green
>(no big deal) but the paint on the hood was totally cracked, i.e. where lacquer
>is sprayed over acrylic (or vice versa). I then proceeded to examine the car -
>dent on lower passenger front fender, bad bondo job on hatch, interior totally
>shot, door panels water damaged (so much for not driven in rain), slave
>cylinder leaking, multiple switches inoperative (not unusual for LBC).
>Needless to say we couldn't agree on a price and I went home with a much
>thinner wallet and no car.
>
>My point (there really is one) is, why do people constantly rate their cars as
>"excellent" when in reality they barely qualify as "good". I am so tired of
>looking a pieces of crap that people haven't taken care of for the last 10-20
>years and act like the cars are in perfect shape. A "little" rust means holes
>big enough to put your hands through. Recently "painted" means half-ass
>day-glo metallic over a perfectly good BRG. People run the crap out of these
>cars, don't do any maintenance, then expect to get top dollar for them because
>they have "sentimental" value.
>
>I kicked myself for going up to look at the car, but if you would have seen the
>pictures, the car did look beautiful (they were taken on a cloudy day which
>accounts for the defects not showing up). The gentleman could have had the
>decency to say the car needed body work and a paint job knowing full well I was
>traveling half way across the U.S. I don't want to leave you with the
>impression that I'm trying to steal a car from anyone, but if I am going to pay
>top dollar for an "excellent" example of a BGT I expect it to be "excellent".
>Yes, I realize beauty is in the eye of the beholder but alot of MG owners must
>have a low standard of beauty. BTW, I have owned an 80LE and two AH3000s so
>don't flame me for not being an LBC lover.
>
>If anyone has any recommendations about buying a car long distance I would be
>more than happy to hear from you. Thanks for listening I feel much better now.
>
>The nurse is here with my medication I've got to go now, later........
>
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>>From Bill Schleusner
>Texas Instruments Incorporated
>b-schleusner@ti.com
>972-917-6920
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