<VV> Corvairs and Deals from Hell

[RoboMan91324 at aol.com]

Not really a deal because I didn't follow through with it but still a bad 
story.

67 Monza 4 speed 140 HP listed on eBay was described as "running good."  I 
did talk with the owner for more in depth info but lets just say that he was 
imaginative in the description on the phone and in the auction.  Unfortunately, I 
didn't have the time to see the vehicle before the end of bidding.  I will 
NEVER do this again.  

1.  Claim- Runs good but has oil leak onto the exhaust causing smoke.  
Reality- Ran like crap and billowing smoke was coming out of the right exhaust pipe 
not off of the pipe.  Apparently, the $10 gasket the seller claimed as all it 
needed was probably a required rebuild.

2.  Claim- "Runs good" indicates to me that it is drivable.  Reality- After 
the auction, the seller informed me that it was not drivable and had to be 
towed.

3.  Claim-  An extra complete, freshly rebuilt 140 engine was included with 
the car.  The seller said it had never been in a car after the rebuild.  
Reality- There were numerous parts missing including distributor, carbs, oil cooler, 
much shrouding, harmonic balancer, etc.  Also, there was old road grunge 
around many of the bolts nuts and screws that would have been disturbed if the 
engine had been rebuilt.

4.  Claim-  "Good 3 year old paint and good body."  Reality- Significant 
cancer many places including around front and back windows, quarters and rockers.  
This kind of problem doesn't happen in 3 years even if the body/paint work 
was poor.  This is especially the case in SoCal.

5.  Claim- Radio is out of the car.  Reality- It appeared that someone had 
removed the radio with a hatchet.  The large hole in the dash was ragged and 
irregular.

6.  Claim-  (Actually auction photos.)  The seller was obviously creative 
when taking the pictures for the auction.  None of the cancer locations showed 
up.  Reality- many, many flaws were obvious at a distance when viewed in person. 
 The angle of the photos did not show the dash and ripped up upholstery.

I could go on but will not.  Obviously, I did not follow through with the 
deal.  Because I did not buy the car, the seller asked eBay to forgive him the 
money they take on a deal of this magnitude.  eBay tried to stongarm me to 
complete the deal but backed off when I described the situation.  I was not out the 
price of the car but I did waste the day driving round trip for nothing and 
the cost of gas was around $60.  Oh well, live and learn.

I was not overly cautious on this auction because I did not need to pay for 
any of it immediately as some of the auctions require.  However, it was still a 
hassle and could have earned me a negative feedback on eBay.  I strongly 
suggest that the car be inspected by yourself or someone you trust before bidding.

I have had other "adventures" with other non Corvair cars including an air 
trip to Florida to inspect a misrepresented 67 Vette big block I found in 
Hemmings.  You can ask all the right questions but nothing can protect you from 
deliberate lies other than an inspection.

Doc
'60 Vette; '61 Rampside; '64 Spyder; '65 Greenbrier; '66 Corsa; '67 Nova SS; 
'68 Camaro ragtop
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a message dated 5/11/2005 1:49:54 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
virtualvairs-request at corvair.org writes:

> Message: 4
> Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 16:06:51 EDT
> From: UltraMonzaWest at aol.com
> Subject: <VV> Corvairs and Deals from Hell
> To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
> Message-ID: <1f7.992c52e.2fb3bfdb at aol.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
> 
> With all this talk of He / She / It   and the various names / reasons ......
> 
> How about everyones WORST story  of Buying a Corvair.......the Deal...the 
> Car
> <Huge Snip>