Jump to content

What do you you guys think of this car and the sellers claims?


auburnseeker

Recommended Posts

It's not my type, but might surprise some of us when there is a group that really like old home made cars, when they have not been changed/updated over the years, and are a REAL barn find.

So be it, if the new owner likes it that's all that counts. I'm a believer that only the owner needs to be happy.

Dale in Indy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Though the figures tossed out by the seller are laughable, I believe the car is catching a lot of unnecessary and unneeded flack from some of you. First of all, the car was built in the early 50s out of what was considered a pile of junk. 37 Fords were the ugly ducklings of the pre war Fords and didn't catch on until fairly recently, so let's not whine about destroying a valuable old car. The Peretto brothers probably paid 15 bucks for it. As to it being ugly, you are categorically and comprehensively wrong. It is quite beautiful and well done. No one, with a sense of style, would call a Kurtis or a Muntz Jet ugly, yet it resembles them. I think you're being unfair in condemning this car because of a few liberties the seller has taken with a perceived value and your dogmatic views of custom cars in general.

To whit, I like the car. I like it a lot, especially as it was originally built

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest AlCapone

Ya but, 25,000 is a long way from high 6 figures. Not low or mid 6 figures so high 6 figures is likely 650,000 or above so you have to think his Ebay reserve is $500,000 right ?

Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest AlCapone

Usually the buddy will stop bidding before the reserve is met just so he never becomes the winner. Quite often the bogus bidder is easily identified if there is a winner. Mr. Bogus usually bids like the devil to just before reserve bid and then he stops completely ! Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Usually the buddy will stop bidding before the reserve is met just so he never becomes the winner. Quite often the bogus bidder is easily identified if there is a winner. Mr. Bogus usually bids like the devil to just before reserve bid and then he stops completely ! Wayne

When that bogus bidder is identified, what are the consequences?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest AlCapone

Not to hijack the post but it is interesting to read how Barrett Jackson treats Shill Bidders and sellers ! Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's the same old thing, ONE SHOULD BID ONLY WHAT THEY FEEL THEY WANT TO PAY, don't get caught up in seeing lots of bids coming in.

Some see lots of bids as meaning the car is worth more than they first thought, so they up their bid above what they really feel it's worth.

Buying a car on Ebay is very risky, VERY!

Dale in Indy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest AlCapone

Dale I totally agree. A picture can hide the true condition of the car and usually people do not show a picture of the cars true identity. They show the best side. I flew to NewJersey to finalize a Craigslist listing with my wife. The picture we had seen of the car was a picture taken many years ago when the car was likely an 8/10. When we got there is was generously a 3 or maximum 4/10. We were devastated . It cost me over $1600 dollars to not buy a car and likely the best $1600+ dollars I ever spent. No wonder the guy just wanted to ship it without me seeing it in person. My lesson learned was be very, very careful with online purchases.

Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing personal, but I have purchased over 200 items on Ebay, just one car, and it's my RM 1946 Buick. I had nothing to lose, the owner wanted a Buick guy to have it, it was his father's car, and notes back and forth with the seller, well, he said, HOW ABOUT IF I BRING IT TO YOU, AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, I WILL TAKE IT BACK,,,,,,,NOTE I HAD NOT PAID A DEPOSIT, SO NOTHING TO LOSE. I bought it..

Ebay is like an auction, when time expires, like when the HAMMER drops, it's OVER......at least on Ebay you KNOW when the hammer is going to drop. I attended my brothers estate auction, I wanted to bid/buy a family table, the auctioneer knew I was family, and after a short bidding process, and I had raised my bid three times, he in quick order dropped the hammer, so I know games are played. I had NOT asked for special treatment. Sometimes if you are liked by the auctioneer you may get a favor, IMO.

I have yet to be taken on Ebay, but I don't buy things that bad people offer, like watches....

Dale in Indy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With a real auction you have time to up a bid if you are losing, then the top bidder is truly determined. That's where ebay falls short. When the time is up, there is no call out for a final bid. It's over. I still stand by my saying that ebay is a poker game. If I want something bad enough I hold my hand till the last few seconds, even if I bid a small amount earlier to get in the game, then show my hand. If I want it bad enough that 50.00 item at less than 6 seconds will have a couple hundred dollar bid. With under 6 seconds there is no time for the 50.00 guy who may have even bid 100.00 and figures it's in the bag to say what the @#%& much less enter a new bid. Nothing personal. I have lost many items before to the same technique. I guess I just didn't have the winning hand.

I buy hundreds of items a year on ebay. I sell thousands of items. I've seen the best and the worst from both buyers and sellers. In general alot of people are not very knowledgeable about what they are selling. Some people are downright dishonest which will probably bite them in rear eventually although I'm one of the last guys to leave negative feedback. I really try to work it out with a seller if they misrepresented something.

I've found that buyers aren't always the sharpest tool either. I've had more than one buyer buy an item for his car that looked nothing like the part they were replacing. I identify by part number then visually if there isn't a match for the number. With 3000-4000 parts a year you are bound to misidentify something. Especially since I sell everything from GM, Mopar, FOMOCO, Hudson, Studebaker AMC etc as well as tons of aftermarket NORS service parts. It's impossible to be an expert on everything. I've had people buy rectangular headlight bezels for cars that had round headlights. (this was identified by the part number and either misboxed by GM or someone put the wrong part in the box at the dealership) Another guy that just recently bought a Front fender molding new in the GM package unsealed that fits around the marker light and goes the length of the lower fender. It's pretty distinct. The number said RH lower front fender molding. Boy it sure looks like one. I didn't compare it to one. Why would you. Number matches what it looks like. Well he got it, said it doesn't fit and left me negative feedback. Never even told me it wasn't right, or let me make things right, which I always do, eating a few hundred dollars a year in lost parts and the occasional damaged or even incorrect application. It's just something you have to do to keep a good rating and do right by your customers, of which many are return customers. Some have purchased hundreds of items from me.

My biggest gripe with ebay at this time (there are many) but that a buyer can leave negative feedback without ever contacting the seller. Ebay is all about making the experience good for the buyer. Well what would make more sense than having the buyer contact the seller first and say this part is wrong. My response Sorry about that. Here is your money and shipping back in full. Please just find a friend that can use the part, don't bother returning it.

Wow that was hard. I eat less than 20.00 total Keep a good rating and one guy tells a friend wow you know that guy was easy to deal with. I guess some sellers aren't out to get you.

It's happened a few times in the last year and that's my exact response word for word.

Please think and try to work things out before leaving feedback. A seller isn't going to be real anxious to make you happy once you burn them.

If you want to see what I sell check out the link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=191137016535&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

By the way if you look into feedback. 2 negatives in 12 months both parts didn't fit the buyers application. They never contacted me just left negative feedback. Both sold for the opening bids of around 10.00.

The 3 neutrals- One buyer said super slow shipping then looked at the package and realized it shipped less than 24 hours after payment but spent 10 days in transit in the postal service. The next said poor quality non DOT approved park light lenses. These are glass lenses made in the 40's or early 50's before DOT stamped lenses. The final one left "thank you"

Not sure how that warrants a neutral. I reported all the buyers to ebay only to fall on deaf ears. Not one is legitimate and almost everyone had less than 50 feedback having left a very high average of poor feedback for transactions with other sellers.

Sorry for the rant. Time to go to work shipping.

Edited by auburnseeker (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest AlCapone

Obviously the seller did not believe the guy from Barrett Jackson because 25K is a long, long way from high six figures !

Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest AlCapone
How do they treat shill bidders?

Very, very harshly. I have been looking for the recent article in either Hemmings or Old Car Weekly. It was in the last 2 months. There was very significant financial penalties as well as a permanent ban on trading for both the seller and bidder. Hopefully another member can find it if I can't .

Thanks Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Obviously the seller did not believe the guy from Barrett Jackson because 25K is a long, long way from high six figures !

Wayne

Obviously, but if the car gets properly restored and it's history properly documented, I would expect it to reach close to $80k the next time around. Hopefully it's in the hands of someone that knows what they are doing. If the body is in reasonably good condition this won't be a very costly car to restore. That old Ford powertrain could be rebuilt or replaced very easily.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[h=2]?[/h]

Though the figures tossed out by the seller are laughable, I believe the car is catching a lot of unnecessary and unneeded flack from some of you. First of all, the car was built in the early 50s out of what was considered a pile of junk. 37 Fords were the ugly ducklings of the pre war Fords and didn't catch on until fairly recently, so let's not whine about destroying a valuable old car. The Peretto brothers probably paid 15 bucks for it. As to it being ugly, you are categorically and comprehensively wrong. It is quite beautiful and well done. No one, with a sense of style, would call a Kurtis or a Muntz Jet ugly, yet it resembles them. I think you're being unfair in condemning this car because of a few liberties the seller has taken with a perceived value and your dogmatic views of custom cars in general.

To whit, I like the car. I like it a lot, especially as it was originally built

Well said John........... the amount of twisted opinion on this board can sometimes be overwhelming........................................

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dale I totally agree. A picture can hide the true condition of the car and usually people do not show a picture of the cars true identity. They show the best side. I flew to NewJersey to finalize a Craigslist listing with my wife. The picture we had seen of the car was a picture taken many years ago when the car was likely an 8/10. When we got there is was generously a 3 or maximum 4/10. We were devastated . It cost me over $1600 dollars to not buy a car and likely the best $1600+ dollars I ever spent. No wonder the guy just wanted to ship it without me seeing it in person. My lesson learned was be very, very careful with online purchases.

Wayne

You hire a professional appraiser to inspect the car at 200 to 400 dollars.

Done this many times without a burn job.

Just saying for other people to know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hired a professional appraiser to inspect a car for me. Infact he brought along another fellow who was more knowledgeable about particular details and able to verify codes and numbers. Both sets of eyes missed something I spotted as the car was being unloaded from the carrier before I even gave it a look over. Inspection cost 375.00 and I received a written report of the car. Infact I found an inspection report in the car done at an earlier time that seemed even more comprehensive with photos and everything that also made no mention of what I spotted less than a minute after seeing the car.

To ad insult, I told my wife there is a problem with the car. Go look at it in the garage. She came in less than 5 minutes later and told me exactly what it was. That from a woman who 10 years ago couldn't tell you a thing about any old car or even the era it was from.

Don't take those inspections as being 100 percent conclusive. (they really are no more than an opinion) I can see more in photos I think if they are the right angles and details than I can trust an inspector to find.

When it comes to drive ability maybe that's where they would pay off or if you know of a very particular knowledgeable inspector, that may not be so bad.

Most cars I never get past the photos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hired a professional appraiser to inspect a car for me. Infact he brought along another fellow who was more knowledgeable about particular details and able to verify codes and numbers. Both sets of eyes missed something I spotted as the car was being unloaded from the carrier before I even gave it a look over. Inspection cost 375.00 and I received a written report of the car. Infact I found an inspection report in the car done at an earlier time that seemed even more comprehensive with photos and everything that also made no mention of what I spotted less than a minute after seeing the car.

To ad insult, I told my wife there is a problem with the car. Go look at it in the garage. She came in less than 5 minutes later and told me exactly what it was. That from a woman who 10 years ago couldn't tell you a thing about any old car or even the era it was from.

Don't take those inspections as being 100 percent conclusive. (they really are no more than an opinion) I can see more in photos I think if they are the right angles and details than I can trust an inspector to find.

When it comes to drive ability maybe that's where they would pay off or if you know of a very particular knowledgeable inspector, that may not be so bad.

Most cars I never get past the photos.

Another lesson:

Get a hand full of reference from the appraiser that your looking to hire. Just like you do when looking for a transporter. If it was that obvious, a good transporter would also call about damage on cars that he is transporting so that he isn't responsible for. That is how I did my job when I was transporting classic cars. These people are more picky than regular cars being transported. I transported Chelsea Clinton Benz from a dealer in up state New York, I picked that car apart and the sales person got mad at me. I said to him, this car workmanship sure is rough for being a 100.000 dollar car.

On another note: make sure you have ins. on cars that is being transported.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The thing I noticed wasn't that obvious or I would have seen it in the photos. But to someone who is scrutinizing something It should have been caught. Would it have been a deal breaker, maybe not, but it should have atleast been noted as one of my concerns was that there had never been any body repairs and it was stated in both my report and the one I found in the car that there never had been. It's an old repair so it's nothing that was done between reports. Maybe my wife is just a step above the rest. She can pick apart a repaint on a car that is claimed to be all original paint. Maybe I just taught her too well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another thing you can do is have your local insurance adjuster/appraiser look at it if possible. Depending on who your insurance is with that is easier said than done. I am an adjuster and I can see paintwork a mile away most of the time. Our seasoned insurance appraisers are even better at it. Just another option, that's all.

Looks like we are off topic, sorry about that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seeker, any recourse with the appraiser? While I believe in the process I also think these guys are just like any other contractors - just like the person you hire to do work on your house (which we have been doing a bit of this Spring) - you get good ones, terrible ones and a lot of mediocre ones - the great ones are few and far between as most people don't treat work they do for others the same way they would on their own home or car. I may get flack for this but I believe it to be true. Your guy likely went down a checklist and maybe even relied too much on the other guy with him if he was there to help as a marque expert - but if he was not being paid for his expertise, or even if he was but is not a pro appraiser, he may have looked at the inspection as a fun afternoon activity but not as having an engagement with a fiduciary duty to the client.

I have friends who have done long distance purchases regularly without a personal inspection but I would have a hard time doing that personally.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another thing you can do is have your local insurance adjuster/appraiser look at it if possible. Depending on who your insurance is with that is easier said than done. I am an adjuster and I can see paintwork a mile away most of the time. Our seasoned insurance appraisers are even better at it. Just another option, that's all.

Looks like we are off topic, sorry about that.

post-78906-143142477995_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The thing I noticed wasn't that obvious or I would have seen it in the photos. But to someone who is scrutinizing something It should have been caught. Would it have been a deal breaker, maybe not, but it should have atleast been noted as one of my concerns was that there had never been any body repairs and it was stated in both my report and the one I found in the car that there never had been. It's an old repair so it's nothing that was done between reports. Maybe my wife is just a step above the rest. She can pick apart a repaint on a car that is claimed to be all original paint. Maybe I just taught her too well.

post-78906-143142477997_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seeker, any recourse with the appraiser? While I believe in the process I also think these guys are just like any other contractors - just like the person you hire to do work on your house (which we have been doing a bit of this Spring) - you get good ones, terrible ones and a lot of mediocre ones - the great ones are few and far between as most people don't treat work they do for others the same way they would on their own home or car. I may get flack for this but I believe it to be true. Your guy likely went down a checklist and maybe even relied too much on the other guy with him if he was there to help as a marque expert - but if he was not being paid for his expertise, or even if he was but is not a pro appraiser, he may have looked at the inspection as a fun afternoon activity but not as having an engagement with a fiduciary duty to the client.

I have friends who have done long distance purchases regularly without a personal inspection but I would have a hard time doing that personally.

I didn't persue any type or recourse. A friend that use to work as an insurance appraiser hooked me up with an east coast appraiser that does only old cars. He contracted with another member of his group on the West coast to do the inspection. I even talked with the West coast inspector on the phone after the inspection to go over details of the car before making the final purchase. Later my friend caught up with his former East coast Insurance inspector Appraiser and gave him a bit of an earful about what was missed. I'm not sure how any kind of retribution would have been able to be secured. It's clearly something that was missed but what do you get back as compensation, the 375.00 fee after a trip to small claims court? How do you value the repair I found in the total value of the car? Alot of gray area and a trip to small claims court really isn't worth the 375.00 when you figure in lost work.

I chalked it up as a lesson learned. We all learn from them. I imagine if I had gotten substantially burned like I did when a friend inspected a car for me I may have persued it. In the Friends case what do you do. Gently give them an earful as they were doing it as a favor. Like I said as far as condition, send me the photos I want to see. That will tell me what I want to know. If I had asked for photos of the exact area I would have picked it up but then only from the back side. Which is the more important side of a car than the finish. The back and insides tell the true story of the car. Putty and paint will always make the front look good. Almost no one takes the time to fake or fluff the back or inside and make it as flawless as the front.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...