1999corvettels1

My brother found a guy near him in Texas selling a 1991 Corvette, auto, red 100K miles.

Him and my brother agreed he would trade him a 1999 F150 truck V6, with 30-something miles, in very nice shape, plus 3,500.00 dollars.

He says the steering wheel or car shakes bad at 70 mph, but other than that the engine runs good, other than a oil leak.

I told him be prepared for extra $$ on a alignment vs a regular car.

He just wants a Corvette bad, but most in the family tell him he should keep the truck.

I told him to get it if he likes it, too bad I can't go check it out since I'm not in Texas, the guy was asking 7K for it.





What do you think?

1999corvettels1

PS, I forgot he said it pulls to one side, thus the alignment.

Also the seller would not let him write the VIN # down, the seller claims "someone could steal the title"?

I'm a bit concerned he is trying to keep him from doing a VIN check on carfax or something.

BigDR

Not giving him the VIN is odd, sounds like the seller is hiding something. Could be more than a wheel out of balance. Red flags always scare me. Too many good cars available right now.

oldalaskaman

run

RollaMo-LT4

Not letting me have the VIN so I could do my own checks = No Sale

mrmtrtrnd

Without full disclosure no deal.

VetteMed

Uh, so does the seller never leave the car in a parking lot, because people might copy down the VIN? Smells fishy as can be. Tell your brother (whom I'm guessing is young), to run away fast.

95tripleblack

car shakes and pulls, ya, could be alignment and/or balance or it could need a bunch of front end parts like ball joints, a bent rim, tires, tie rods etc... oil leak hmm. could be a rear main seal, won't give the vin to an interested buyer hmmm. could be a salvage title.

be prepared for the worst

my vote - NO SALE

George6488

Salvage title from wreck????

gerardvg

enventr

He could do alot better. run run run

Paul Workman

WOW! All kinds of red flags go up on this one. And, that VIN number thing?

GEEEZE! No, uh-uh, nyet, nada, forgetaboutit!!! I'd be leaving a vapor trail to get away from that deal!

P.

XR_Strider_GuY

100k miles is a fair few miles and a good buy if and only if everything is clear and extensive service records is present as well as the condition of the car.

No VIN smells like a rat. Take it from me, even a clean condition, sound records and buying from a decent owner can reveal many things down the track that are unexpected.

As others have said, its a buyers market, there are plenty. I would move on don't touch this one.

Tommy T-Bone

There are a couple of problems that I've already noted. First the car is red. Second, an automatic. There sre plenty of very nice $7000 C4 Corvettes floating around. I wouldn't trade a low mile truck for a high mile vette with the shakes and no history. JMO

zr1fred

Generally a "bounce" at over 60mph is a bent rim (around 40mph is a balance problem). I would think the truck with 30 k miles would be worth more than $2500, figuring the guy would probably take $6000 on a clean deal. As far as vin number goes tell him you want it for a car fax, or ask him for one. You can tell him that anyone walking by a car can get the vin if he wants it. Most banks want the vin anyway BEFORE giving a loan, so its pretty much accepted practice when buying a car.

ddahlgren

He is full of it on the VIN number deal there is nothing secret about them. The world is full of clean C4 corvettes or any other toy for sale in this economy.. He needs to drive a good one then make a realistic offer on this one. I would want a under chassis inspection along with a title search.

jon1all

As others have said, tell your brother to run, not walk, away from this guy and his car!!

My guess is not wanting to give the VIN is because the seller doesn't want your brother to run a CarFax (which will likely reveal an accident, which could be part of the shaking problem).

And zr1fred is right, your brothers 30k mile 99 Ford truck is probably worth more than this 100k mile Vette. If anything your brother should be the one on the receiving end of any cash in such a trade/swap deal.

I see you are here in Phoenix... there are tons of good C4s for sale here. Why don't you just go hunting for one for him here. That way you can check it out good for him in advance. Plus... the hunt is half the fun, right?

red89c4

i agree with the crowd, no sale! there are a lot of better vettes out there. do your brother a favor and drag him away from this car and show him the c4 for sale section on this forum. a range of colors, years condition and prices to choose from.

Muffin

Not with a 10 foot pole. That deal smells like week old fish.

sailorsteve

Let me add my wheezy voice to the chorus...run, Forrest, run!