Yesterday I wrote regarding the need to mention location in "MG for
sale" ads. I appreciate all the responses, both from those who agreed
and those who disagreed. I did get one nasty unsigned response (just
one), probably from somebody who had never thought before of the entire
issue. Funny.
But one responder here touched upon an important matter which is related
to the foregoing. It probably has happened to many of us:
misrepresentation at a distance.
You call, the car is further away than you wish it were, but the
description is glowing. You make the trip and the car is Gawdawful.
Here is just one of my stories:
An MGA for $1500 (this was early in 1999). Engine was out and car
needed everything, but the seller promised a body with NO RUST. I
challenged him several times on the phone. Each time he assured me -
"absolutely no rust".
The car was in state for me, but about a seven hour trip. Normally I
would not travel that far, just too tough. But a complete 100% rust
free MGA for $1500! Wow! I made the trip.
Well, the first thing I noticed was the front top of the driver's side
rear wing had a large hole rusted clear through. The car went down hill
from there. This is "absolutely no rust" I inquired of the owner, after
again reminding him of the length of travel. He became angry and
indignant and all but kicked me out.
Yeah, I know I was an idiot to have fallen for this. I am not the
sharpest knife in the drawer to begin with, and you can wave an MGA
under my nose and lead me anywhere (well, almost).
But I do wonder how often this sort of thing happens today. To me, if I
were a seller, I might tend to be a little too positive when speaking
(on the phone) to a potential buyer nearby. I admit I would try to
induce the caller to drop over and look at the car. But I would never
misrepresent a car and/or lead on somebody who lived far away to finagle
them into a long and expensive trip. It is sobering to realize there
are sellers out there who will do this.
Anyway, that's MHO. It would be interesting to know the experiences of
others when doing MG shopping at a distance.
|