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