PT Barnum was right

[pwd72s]

I'd never bid on a car sight unseen....especially at $130,000.

[masraum]

Yeah, not a huge fan of buying a car without seeing it in person.

when I bought my boxster, it was CPO from a Porsche dealership in Dallas. They wanted me to guaranty that I would buy it when I got there. I told them that I wanted it, but that before I committed to anything, I had to see it first.

But buying something like "Eleanor" which is not a stock mustang but is a highly modified mustang that's also nearly 60 years old is definitely not the sort of thing that you do without seeing and driving the vehicle first at the very least.

[KFC911]

PT was right .... for his era.

At least 4-5 per minute these daze... easy.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Ouch, that really sucks. I have bought a car sight unseen once, but it was two years old with under 20k miles and I did a FaceTime video walkthrough with the dealer and then paid for a third party inspection. A restored classic car, not on your life! It’s way too easy to hide issues under paint and bondo, and way too many mechanical variables.

[cockerpunk]

ive bought several cars sight unseen. all were under 2000 dollars, all of them were miatas, and all of them i know how every single nut and bolt in the car works, have spares, and the time to fix em.

[herr_oberst]

When I saw that the Carroll Shelby signature was a decal, I was laughing. By the time I got to the brakelines I was mad.

Man, I couldn't watch the whole thing; I felt so bad for the buyer. Yeah, all the fault is most all his for not clapping his eyeballs on the car, but this is a financial nightmare, and the seller needs to be held responsible. I wonder if the loose Tremec also contributed to the broken driveshaft.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by cockerpunk

ive bought several cars sight unseen. all were under 2000 dollars, all of them were miatas, and all of them i know how every single nut and bolt in the car works, have spares, and the time to fix em.

It’s a little lower risk when you can part it out for the purchase price.

[A930Rocket]

That was painful to watch!

[sc_rufctr]

I'm guessing that car was not built in a professional shop.

[wdfifteen]

^^
Depends on what their profession is.

[Paul T]

Oooff, that is painful! I have bought sight unseen a few times and have been very happy, but only after a TON of pics, videos and conversations.

[tdw28210]

I've bought a couple Cayennes via facetime video sessions. One was fine the other had a "follow up negotiation" on the price. $3k came back my way on that second one.

[cockerpunk]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

It’s a little lower risk when you can part it out for the purchase price.

for sure.

also i like buying broken miatas, they make great profit when you can turn them around and sell them fixed.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

When I saw that the Carroll Shelby signature was a decal, I was laughing. By the time I got to the brakelines I was mad.

Man, I couldn't watch the whole thing; I felt so bad for the buyer. Yeah, all the fault is most all his for not clapping his eyeballs on the car, but this is a financial nightmare, and the seller needs to be held responsible. I wonder if the loose Tremec also contributed to the broken driveshaft.

And there are plenty of folks that even seeing and driving the car may not have noticed the issues. Hell, the buyer saw it and drove it anyway, and he drove it enough to break the pinion gear in the rear. I assume someone did a crappy build, beat the hell out of it and then sold it. Or hell, maybe it had been flipped a time or two since it was built before it got to the guy. Although I'm sure the seller (whether the builder or not) knew that it was crap.

Lots of folks that wouldn't know good from bad other than "Oooo, shiny. Ah, loud!!!"

[masraum]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

I'm guessing that car was not built in a professional shop.

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

^^
Depends on what their profession is.

Yeah, exactly. They were "pro" alright. They got paid to scam someone into paying a ton for a piece of junk.

[zakthor]

Originally Posted by KC911

PT was right .... for his era.

At least 4-5 per minute these daze... easy.

I thought the quote was that noone ever went broke...

Aww here it is:

No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me—has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.

But it wasn't pt barnum. drats.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by KC911

PT was right...

"There's a sucker born every minute." - P.T. Barnum

[sc_rufctr]