>Rick-
>OK, youre a professional at this car buying baloney. I would welcome your
>thoughts on how to handle >the following:
>You drive 2 hrs to look at a big healey that is rust free, and find that the
>inner rockers exist only in "phantom view".
>You call about an alfa, the guy puts you off until the following day at 1.00
>pm. So
>you kill the whole morning waiting to get there, and when you do theres
>already sombody there. When you quiz the owner about"1.00", he says this guy
>was suppose to be here at noon, and was late...
>The worlds most arrogant attorney has an RX-7 turbo, 1 owner, Immacuate, he
>says.
>When you get there, it looks like it was in 12 hail storms, cracked leather
>seats,ect.
>What would you do?
>Its getting so frustrating, I'm threatening to leave the hobby.
>Thanks
>Mark McCombs
>Ohio
********************************
Mark -
It comes with the territory. One of my services as an appraiser is to
evaluate purchases for out-of-state buyers for this exact reason. I often
don't even have to waste the time looking at the car as these guys get real
nervous about having a pro look at their car and tell me the truth on the
phone rather than trying to bamboozle me. When a car seems to be a really
great deal, there usually is a reason and that reason is that there some
major problem that the seller is not talking about. This is a problem that
we find in all aspects of life today. Call it the demise of religion or
spiritual values or blame it on the breakdown in the family or an
educational system that avoids ethics as to not be construed as religion to
critics (and I am not a religious person). - people are basically becoming
more dishonest by the day and this means more than ever, buyer beware.
Don't hold this against the hobby - it's everywhere. I always try to work
with the clubs when trying to find a particular car for a client - they
tend to be run by honest, interested people who are sincerely interested in
the future of the hobby and their particular marque.
Rick Feibusch
Journalist/Appraiser
Venice, CA
|