pamb

If you plan to buy your dream corvette on Ebay be cautious. Make sure the buyer has a stellar reputation by reviewing all the buyer reviews (not just last 12 months). Confirm their dealer license. Even plan a trip to see the car before you buy it. Learn from our mistake....

We purchased a 1980 corvette from an ebay seller: Chic's Corvettes www.chicscorvettes.com. The car we received was NOT as described. We had to spend a few thousand before we could even drive it! See www.chicscorvettesbuyerbeware.com for all the details of our unpleasant buying experience.

In a nutshell buying a car can be emotional. Try not to let your emotions override your logic. If your dream corvette is only available from a "long distance" buyer, do everything you can to mitigate your risk. Unfortunately there are unsavory car dealers out there who don't operate their international sales with any ethics.

charliek

It is unfortunate that you didnt join the forum before you purchased your car. Many forum members would have advised you not to buy a car without seeing it. I have learned the hard way also, and now will not under any circumstance, buy a car unless I, or someone I trust checks the car out first.I have never heard of Chic's Corvettes but I am sure that other members know of them. I am sorry that you had to go through such aggravation but unfortunately it is all too common. You can feel somewhat better knowing that there are many knowledgeable Corvette people on the forum who can help you get your car to where it should be. Good luck

AnTra

Too bad to hear!, I have also bought a car that was heavily misrepresented from a dealer, i had to put alot of effort into getting some refund, for example the rust free frame was so rusty that you could put your arm through the frame-rails. I think you also would be better off buying from forum-members. My last car i bought here and the car was exactly as described. I have even been in a transaction where the seller didn´t ship the car, only kept the money wich ended i had to use an attorney to get money back. (Seller took a chance that i was not man enough to use an attorney all costs involved but he ended up paying all back including all my costs involved).

Still, good luck with the car!, often a misrep car could be made very nice and way better locking than it was meant from beginning even tough money and time is tripled to what was orginally planned.

pewter-FRC

"Would you buy a car from a car dealer who's buyers are unhappy with the product more than 7% of the time?"


YOU DID!

Hoosier44

I got interested in Corvettes about 10 years ago and have owned 6, 2 newer ones and 4 'classics'. Of the 4 classics I've bought 2 from dealers (1 from Mershon's who I would never recommend) and 2 from owners. The 2 from dealers, both had issues re: misrepresentation and undisclosed problems. The 2 I've bought from individuals I had very pleasant experiences with. Whether it's from a dealer or individual I would highly recommend you or someone knowledgeable always check the car out first. Personally, I hear far to often dissatisfaction with dealers vs. buying from an individual. For me, future purchases will come from an individual.
Scott

schmegeggie

A dealer misrepresenting a car For Sale?
Never heard of that happening.....
Reminds me of the movie "Used Cars" with Kurt Russell.

GREGG-73

.....Dealer's work under different constaints....SELL, SELL, SELL, or I you will not get a pay check. Individuals will sell because they need or want to. Both have there problems and both can, will and do misrepresent their vehicles. Be careful out there, with the internet coming of age, its extreamly hard to tell the Good Guy's from the Bad Guy's. I hope I can find a car soon from a private buyer I can trust...but here again, the ones I have spoken to lately are either in dream land on price or they do not even know enough about their car to satisfy my questions...and or both combinded...Which then kicks me into paranoia mode.

ZBRA

I'll never again buy a car sight unseen. Don't ever trust Carfax either!

In sept of 2008, my wife fell in love with a 2006 Volvo V70R. She bought it from a BMW dealer in Denver. It had about 22K miles on it, and a spotless carfax.

9 months later, when I got tired of it spending more time at the Volvo dealer than in our driveway, I went to sell it. I advertised it on a Volvo forum as having a clean Carfax, since it had one when we bought it, and we had never wrecked it. Someone ran the VIN, and replied back that it now had a report (front end collision, air bags deployed, vehicle towed) one month before we bought it. I guess carfax runs a few months behind, and I have no doubts that the dealership knew it had been wrecked.

I do have to admit though, that I never saw any signs of repaint or repair. Whoever fixed the damages knew what they were doing. Volvo sells body panels prepained too, so they may not have had to paint anything during the repairs.

10caipirinhas

Sorry for your problems.

The moral of the story is that an airline ticket, as well as a couple of hundred in cash into a truly knowledgeable forum members pocket, in exchange for a couple of hours of their time, is the best investment you will ever make.

If you don´t end up buying the car on the first one, or three trips, think of it as an absolutely priceless education in Vette 101. It is easy to lose thousands or more buying sight unseen, but to lose $1-2K on a couple of trips is well worth the investment in your knowledge. If someone cannot afford to do this, they cannot afford to buy the car.........and I am not saying the OP could not afford to do this, it seems like they just didn´t feel it was necessary, and kudos to them for admitting as much on a public forum. I know it hurts and I am not beating them up.

Always get an independant PPI (pre-purchase inspection).......ask around here for who does them on Vettes in the target area you are researching. There is absolutely nothing wrong with, or different in, the process of buying from dealers or individuals. It is incumbent upon YOU, the purchaser, to either KNOW YOUR STUFF OR FIND SOMEONE WHO DOES........plain and simple, plenty of people buy from dealers every year and an entire multi-billion dollar industry exists because most of us do the job right. But they don´t post on websites because they are too busy driving their cars. Don´t trust anyone, whether it be a franchised dealer or private party, and perform your due diligence. I have been a licensed car dealer since 1989 and I trust no one except those few who over the years have never lied to me.........and I have the airline frequent flier miles to prove it.

Stick around here and learn about Vette´s.......you´ll recoup your initial financial losses in the knowledge you gained very quickly. It is what I am doing before I pull the trigger.

As a ´general´ rule of thumb in the high end sports car business.......good things are not cheap.....and cheap things are not good.

vettebuyer6369

I would point out that while it's useful to check feedback for negative postings, the fact that there aren't any or that a history is "stellar" means NOTHING on ebay.

Ebay has eliminated the value of feedback since they changed their rules for leaving it. Many longtime users, myself included, do not even use it anymore. Plus, a person selling a Corvette for the first and only time may not have ANY history, and that is not necessarily bad.

Ive had great luck buying & selling on ebay over the years, but if there's anything to be learned here, its not to get caught up in feedback. The lesson is to never, ever, ever, buy a car sight unseen unless it is a full-boat low priced project car.

Not sticking up for any of the crooks, but if you buy something "misrepresented" because 1. you didnt bother to check it out yourself or 2. you didnt verify it properly in person either by you or someone qualified, it's YOUR fault, period.

AnTra

I cannot agree with above post, and will never do!. If i ask a dealer or seller if the frame is rustfree on a project car wich i do not want to spend a fortune traveling to find out, and he tells you the frame is totally rust free. When car arrives you put your arm through visable frame it will never be "MY FAULT", as things would not have been changed if i traveled there to find out myself. If the seller is unfair and lies it´s always the sellers fault and i cannot understand who sticks up for "it´s the buyers fault". If there are minor misrep due to some missunderstanding or the way people in general see at "cars condition" i can cope with it, but i´ll hope people threath me the same as i do for others in this situation. I must admit that i have done alot of business with forum-members and up to now i´m very happy with the result. I have also bought alot on Ebay and for 95% i´m very happy with what i have reciewed. Got screwed 2times on cars and 1 time on other salesment but in the end i´m still a happy buyer.

jimo

HA Ha!!

arnt they like politicians!!! very trustworhty

pewter99

yet people want an Ebay type rating system here

Jack Freeman

Can't you look at a Corvette frame and make your own decision as to whether it is rusty or not? If you can't you need to get a forum member look at the car for you if possible. Either spend the money traveling to look at the car or spend the money when you receive a car with a rusty frame you can "stick your arm through" I learned a long time ago never trust a used car dealer. I have spent money traveling to see forum member cars and have never been lied to yet. My opinion of a nice car is different from someone else. And yes I agree if you buy a car sight unseen it is the buyers fault, not the seller especially when you are buying from a dealer....they will tell you exactly what you want to hear...which most of the time is not true.....they are simply trying to make a sale at your expense...........

charliek

It would still be nice if people could be honest and not misrepresent cars. I guess in a land of lollipops and chocalate drops it could happen.

Atrium512

vettebuyer6369

Hmmm... you've been screwed 3 times and it will never be your fault? Interesting strategy.

No one is sticking up for crooks. However, if you are so naive to believe you bear no personal responsibility for your own purchases of items worth thousands and thousands of dollars, then have a nice 4th screwing. Protect yourself. That's your job.

Sebago Shark

If misrepresenting a car is the fault of the seller and the buyer takes them at their word without checking it out then it sounds more like a case of "Buyer Stupidity" to me. The internet with coast to coast instant access to car adds is a dream come true for dealers and people that operate under the "Whatever it takes to make a sale" motto.

CQRT

It's one thing to buy a shirt sight unseen on the internet based upon an illustration and a description - - if it's not as represented, you can usually return it.

But buying a car- especially a used one- without a thorough inspection just doesn't seem prudent. While we'd like to always be able to trust the seller to be accurate, the fact is that caveat emptor prevails.

If you've purchased expensive items sign unseen, and haven't felt like you ended up on the short end, these days - -you've probably just been lucky.

Sad commentary . .

GREGG-73

Its called......."Due Diligence". If, you are in the market to buy or sell a car...get very well aquainted with the terminology.