Tom,
Actually, that's the point. The honesty of the seller. I don't believe
mine was. I even had a couple of pictures sent. It's amazing how good you
can make a car look by careful cropping and from the right angles. The
thing that ticked me off the most was the fact that after I got there, and
sending a deposit check, there was no title. I did do a police check and
the car was not a stolen vehicle, but when I asked for the title, the said
"what, we never said we had a title" Now I'm stuck with parting it out or
selling it as a no title parts car. Sure I did get the car for the deposit
only (I think the deposit was $350) and the car is restorable, but the car
was grossly misrepresented. I wasted an entire day picking it up, when I
wouldn't have bought it here in town without the title. The
misrepresentations were bad as well. A sellers definition of "little rust"
and "complete" and a buyers definition are far between. Especially when the
seller is intentionally being less than honest. I will never ever buy a car
over the internet again without a lister or other trusted party checking it
out for me. I'm glad you had a positive experience. Mine wasn't. At least
I know what questions to ask now :)
Bill
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-spitfires@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-spitfires@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Thomas Carney
Sent: Sunday, December 05, 1999 5:06 PM
To: spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: Getting a car over the internet, was: URGENT! How do I check
non-running Spitfire?
I beg to differ on this one. The internet is a huge resource for parts
and cars that might otherwise be left for dead. The only thing that comes
close to such publicity is Hemmings and that is just the same as a posting
on the net. I got my 2 GT6s over the net, but then again the owner told me
that the 2 cars were in need of help and that I could probably make one out
of the 2. I wasn't looking for a perfect original either though. Guess it
all depends on the honesty of the seller.
Tom
> .....<SNIP>.... Needless to say, I left there crestfallen and
disappointed.
> There's a
> lesson for you. Never, EVER buy a vehicle over the internet unless
you
> can
> have someone you trust personally go out and see the vehicle for you.
I
> simply couldn't believe how the guy not only didn't know what he was
> selling, he was trying to convince me how "clean and original" it was,
> when
> the car was anything BUT.
>
> ABSOLUTELY!!! Been there, done that. Anybody looking for a '71 or '72
> spitfire complete (minus radiator, dizzy, and a couple other items) very
> little rust (no floor boards, through holes on the rear quarters, etc) and
> best of all, No title! It's still on my trailer from when I bought it
(over
> the internet) and drove 11 hours round trip to get it over labor day
> weekend. (Missouri to Indiana) Oh, and NEVER send money up front to hold
> the car. Looks like you learned the lesson a lot cheaper than I did!
>
>
> .... sigh... the search continues.
>
> Good luck on the search. At least you aren't stuck with this one. I'm
sure
> you'll find what you're looking for.
>
> Bill
>
>
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