The story of my 1966 Plymouth. A word of warning.

[Newbomb Turk]

Ok, almost 2 years ago now i decided to buy a nice DONE car. It was sort of a present to myself for my 2nd year in business and doing well. I pick what appeared to be a very nice 1966 Plymouth Satellite with a 440, 4 speed and 355's from an online dealer in Pennsylvania. I went on digital pics and his description of the car. I didn't go see it in person as i'm in Minnesota. The car was described as follows.

"Powerful C code 1967 HP440. Excellent seats and interior. Perfect glass. Virginia car with Absolutley NO RUST and a laser straight body. No body filler or replacement panels. Gorgeous paint. Turn key ready for cruises and shows."

This is word for word. I even called a few times and asked several specific questions. So, i buy it and have it delivered. When the transport guy unloads it and drives into my shop he could see i was a tad upset. The paint is some single stage shit with fish eyes and dirt in it. The glass is scratched and pitted. The quarters have been hacked together with hunks of sheetmetal and bondo'd. The driver looks at me and says "i hate seeing good people get screwed, I just dropped off a 64 Belvedere to a guy in Michigan from the same dealer and he was pissed. I could sorta slip you his contact info if you need." I said yes and thank you. At this point i haven't seen UNDER the car or checked the #'s on the motor or driven it. Well, when i do i see rusty floors someone attempted to patch, very poorly. The motor is in fact a 1970 440. NON of the gauges work in my TURN KEY READY FOR SHOW car and the clutch slips when you hammer it. I call the guy in MI. and say " Hi, my name is Tim and i just bought a car from so and so in Pennsylvania." when he stops me dead and says "lemme guess, it's a shit box." His car is actually WORSE than mine. He put his hand THRU the trunk floor. The wipers go backwards, as in down towards the hood, the sun visors are gone and his "#'s matching 1964 383 is in fact a 1963 361 and doesn't run. We did some research and are using the same lawyer in PA. and are currently suing the dealer for fraud and misrepresentation. We have a very strong case since the dealer put all this in writing and used the internet. Pennsylvania has very strict laws about using the internet for defrauding people out of $$. Should be settled by spring 2006.

I always feel obligated to post this when i join a new forum. Buyer beware. Trust nobody. Take it for what it's worth.

Tim

[Egg Nog]

Good luck man! I wish you the very best in screwing that filthy excuse for a dealership! Keep us updated as time goes on

[whiteballz]

shit mate, i feel sorry for you. i hope you get every penny you deserve.

[Clivey]

A lesson to be learned: Always view a car before buying, no matter how inconvinient. The cost of going to view it would (normally) be far less than the cost of buying it then wishing you hadn't and possibly being left unable to sell it again.

Good luck with the court case...do they have capital punishment in Pennsylvania?

[Newbomb Turk]

Thank's guys. I and the guy in Michigan won't be out any $$ even if we lose because after seeing everything we had and what the Dealer actually put in print the lawyer said he'd do it Pro Bono, meaning we have to pay nothing but filing fee's. The lawyer feels so strongly about it he's counting on collecting any fee's from the dealer when he loses. The lawyer's father happens to be head of the 3rd largest lawfirm in the state of Pennsylvania and all he does is fraud and misrepresentation. What's really sad is i've given the dealer numerous chances to just give me my $$ back and take the car and i'd call it even. He won't do it. The lawyer thinks he's gonna wait until the last second and make an offer. We'll see.

[NuclearCrap]

Hope that asshole can get a death penalty.

[Spastik_Roach]

Good luck with that lawsuit man, hope you get every penny you deserve mate! Have you still got the car and have you got any plans for it?

[Newbomb Turk]

Originally Posted by Spastik_Roach

Good luck with that lawsuit man, hope you get every penny you deserve mate! Have you still got the car and have you got any plans for it?

Still have the car. Can't do anything with it until the suit is settled. Here's some pics. Don't let the pics fool you. That's what fooled me. The car photographs great. See it up close and what a difference. More words of warning. Digital pics hide ALOT!!

[PerfAdv]

The best of luck to you. However, how much did you pay for this car? Here's a '70 Plymouth GTX at hemmings for $75,000. The guy's defense might be, you get what you pay for. Regardless of what he said about the car, being show ready and "turn key". Buyer beware!!

[Newbomb Turk]

Originally Posted by PerfAdv

The best of luck to you. However, how much did you pay for this car? Here's a '70 Plymouth GTX at hemmings for $75,000. The guy's defense might be, you get what you pay for. Regardless of what he said about the car, being show ready and "turn key". Buyer beware!!

I paid $15,900 for it almost 2 years ago. You can buy a #'s matching correctly restored car for that just over that now. Excluding a HEMI car. I figure the car is currently worth $8-10,000.

[PerfAdv]

Originally Posted by Newbomb Turk

I paid $15,900 for it almost 2 years ago. You can buy a #'s matching correctly restored car for that just over that now. Excluding a HEMI car. I figure the car is currently worth $8-10,000.

At least the lawyer is doing it Pro Bono, so worst case scenario you're just out the filing fees. This guy so boldly misrepresents, it's almost as if he's confident that he isn't doing anything wrong. He's lying about the condition of the cars. However, I'm sure he's covered his behind with an "As Is" clause in the sales documents.

Consider it the cost of experience. Next time, you'll know that "cream puff" and "show ready" are terms to be understood to mean the same thing by both parties.

As for the car if you haven't grown attached to it, get rid of it without spending too much more.

[kingofthering]

well, you should be lucky that you didn't get christine (from the book)

[sunk]

Goodthing you didn't got nicked.
Yes, digital pics and vids HIDE A LOT. I learnt the lesson the hard way.ALWAYS check it out yourself before buying it.