I go through this all the time. Especially ebay cars. Under 50k I roll the dice. Over and its always a flight or drive out. Just last weekend drove 150 miles to pick up some "brand new take off denali 2500hd wheels". Asked several times they are take off and mint. Yes. Guy says he didn't know how to send pics. I show up. Rear tires almost bald. but a few weeks before that I drove 1500 miles to pick up a "new viper spec t56" and it was exactly as described.
The other side is that plenty of buyers are idiots also. I was selling my 67 a little over a year ago, and I can't count the number of people who thought it appropriate to make a offer of 50% of asking price for a car they had never seen. Or compare the price of a completely built and sorted car with good equipment that I have owned for nearly 40 years; to a piece of mismatched crap on ebay with gallons of bondo on it that was missing either paint, or interior, or trim, or engine, or etc,etc,etc. The killer was the guy and his wife that returned from a test drive having changed their mind on buying and couldnt wait to leave. I got in the car to move it back in the garage and the clutch was fried. Jackasses.
People finally quit calling and it now sits in the garage with the motor pulled. Selling sucks as much as buying.!!!
I wonder if people are deceptive sometimes or if they just have no clue.
10% the former, 80% the latter. They watch a car sell on Barrett-Jackson: numbers matching, all original, 427 COPO '69 Camaro... and they think their Earl Scheib painted 327 2bbl car with a power-glide is worth $50k. They don't get it. They also don't know what they are looking at.
Watching auctions throws me off. I've seen amazing cars go cheap at auction. Then I'll see the same type of car in worse condition selling on CL/ebay/etc... for twice as much.
I've been searching for my dream car for a long time and have lost a lot of time/weekends/gas/etc... with the same story of disappointment. Sometimes I think that if I had just bought the first POS and fixed it up, it would have cost me ~the same in all the expenditures but at least I would've been learning & enjoying it in my hands. Who knows but...I'm still searching.
Oh, and let's not overlook the dry eyes, carpel tunnel and lower back pain of sitting on the computer or squinting at smartphone for hours searching the web.
Watching auctions throws me off. I've seen amazing cars go cheap at auction.
I wonder about that sometimes. Are those cars with serious issues that look nice from a distance on camera, or should I go shopping at the next R&M auction?
__________________
Michael
Plano, TX
1968 Barracuda Notchback
To be honest, if I were starting a new 1st gen Camaro build now days, I would find the cheapest car I could find simply for the VIN tag and maybe a few parts. Then I would buy a new steel body from Dynacorn or AMD and build from there.
__________________ Steve Hayes
"Dust Off"
68 Camaro
Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary, that's what gets you! "Jeremy Clarkson"
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
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