odd ball 59/60 caddy bidding

[Mark Elias]

private listing - bidders identities protected US $166,099.99 Aug-20-05 15:23:29 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $165,999.99 Aug-20-05 12:57:01 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $164,500.00 Aug-17-05 21:32:42 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $164,199.00 Aug-20-05 12:56:41 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $163,999.00 Aug-20-05 12:56:20 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $161,999.99 Aug-16-05 18:31:11 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $160,000.00 Aug-11-05 21:05:33 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $159,999.99 Aug-16-05 18:30:50 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $158,888.00 Aug-13-05 07:25:54 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $158,001.99 Aug-11-05 14:01:26 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $150,000.00 Aug-11-05 13:50:46 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $140,099.99 Aug-11-05 14:01:03 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $125,000.99 Aug-11-05 14:00:41 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $120,999.99 Aug-11-05 14:00:23 PDT  
 
 
 private listing - bidders identities protected US $110,101.99 Aug-11-05 14:00:01 PDT

[Mark Elias]

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/yesterday.html TARGET=_blank>http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/yesterday.html

Cars of Yesterday
Pompano Beach, FL

•Cars of Yesterday
 
John of Danville CA (8/7/01):
After studying the complaint from JC of Lexington, Kentucky (below) and the sarcastic response posted at the end of it, suggesting he let someone else do his car buying, Im reluctant to subject myself to the same treatment, but I feel I should post this for the benefit of those others who might be tempted to deal with this outfit.

Just like JC, I was drawn in by his description of the 1963 Thunderbird which he described in his ebay listing as "shows and runs beautifully ... a real pleasure to drive." Included with this comment was a list of 11 major mechanical improvements made by the prior owner at a cost of $20,000. This was termed "a complete mechanical restoration". Together with this were numerous digital photos which make this car look like a true showpiece.

I was not able to get from California to Florida to inspect the car, but I wrote to Marv and asked if the car was perfect, what else it might need, and could I trust him to buy the car sight unseen. He spends a lot of time blowing about who he is and how rich and important he is. He never once gave me direct answers to any of my questions, but just like with JC, he pressured me to send him a wire transfer for the entire $17,500 for this car, in addition to which it would be $1,000 - $1,100 to ship the car to California.

At the last minute, the shipping charges turned out to be $1,550. Anyhow, when the car arrived here, it is a tired, junky-looking piece, smelling like mildew with a very tired interior. After the driver backed it off the truck, I started to drive it home when, within two miles, the car wouldnt go into reverse. This together with the fact that NOTHING on the car works. The supposed $2,880 paint job is either non-existent or is a sloppy $39.95 special right over rusted areas etc.

I emailed Marv to complain bitterly, and he sent me back a very nasty message stating if I wanted to get tough they would do nothing for me, and go ahead and sue. Knowing were in California. Just like JC, I then softened my position, and now he has told me to drive the car to Aamco and have it fixed and he would send me a check. Since at least ten other promises have been brokem, Im sure Ill end up holding the bag on this repair job, but more importantly, he said he would sell the car for us; of course he didnt say for how much.

Despite your criticism of our naive car buying habits, it seems to me that at the very least, something should be done about these (individuals) who ply their trade on the internet. I consider myself anything but a stupid person, but there must be thousands of victims like JC and me out there waiting to be taken by this master of deceit. If youre not disturbed by this type of activity, is there at least another agency you can recommend to us who might take a more overt interest in this mans business practices?

Marvin Friedman of Cars of Yesterday responds:
Cars Of Yesterday, Inc. sold a nicely restored 63 Thunderbird Convertible (Ground-up restoration) to John in Danville, Calif.

As with all vintage cars, I urged John to come inspect the car in person or hire an inspector ... he declined. I had advertised this car for $19,995 but lowered the price and sold it to John for $17,500.(plus shipping)

He asked us to arrange for a trucker to deliver the car to him. I told him shipping would be for approx. $1000-$1100 in an open carrier and $1500-$1700 enclosed. The car came enclosed and he paid the shipper $1500 for delivery.

This car was painted professionally by a local shop in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. for $2880 and I have a copy of the bill which I did send to John. John notified me in an e-mail that after driving the car that the transmission was not performing correctly. His note was extremely offensive. I e-mailed him back and stated that he could call me on my toll-free line ... and that if he spoke to me as a gentleman, I would try and help him.

He did call and explained the problem. I authorized him to have the car flat-bedded to the nearest AAMCO and that I would pay for the charges. I spoke to AAMCO and authorized them to remove the transmission and to completely rebuild it. They did at a cost of approx. $1400 and I paid for the entire bill on my American Express Card.

Then, at Johns request I sold this car for him on EBay for $17,500 to a producer in the Hollywood, CA., area for $17,995. He received the car, left me great feedback and called me up to let me know how much he loved this car. John promised me to have all negative comments removed since I was so fair in paying for the tow and new transmission and also sold the car for him without even charging him for the EBAY listing fee.

I did all these things not because of any threats, not because I had to, but because I am always interested in maintaining excellent customer goodwill.

J.C. of Lexington, KY, writes (6/28/01):
I have recently been burned by a Classic Car Dealer who has a substantial presence on eBay Motors and other online venues. The car I bought was supposed to be a complete restoration yielding a car that “looks and runs, as new”. Through a series of very deceptive advertisement, email and telephone correspondence, Marv (owner?), consistently hyped the car far beyond its true condition.

In his eBay Ad (which I can produce) the headline read, "Best in World"! Marv repeatedly used extreme hyperbole to describe the condition of his restored car such as "Perfect", "As New", "Showroom Condition". Well, far from it. The condition of the car was not even close to those lofty characterizations.

The net loss for my particular transaction with Cars of Yesterday, Inc., was nearly $9000 over a period of less than two weeks. Heck, I never even drove the car off the lot! I’m not alone here as I have recently become acquainted with two other buyers who have experienced similar problems with this same car dealer. I request your advice regarding any potential recourse that I may have.

The eBay Auction After agreeing to pay $19,000 for the car (6/14/01), a 1970 Cadillac DeVille Convertible, I hired an inspection service to check it out. The inspector approved the vehicle mechanically and gave a good report of the overall condition. At this point, Marv induced me to pay in full (not just the 20percent deposit as specified on his eBay Ad), using the hook of "other higher offers are waiting in the wings". Since the car passed inspection and Marv assured me of the car’s “As New” condition, I reluctantly wired him the full amount. Stupid move on my part.

Five days later I flew to Florida to pick up the car. Its condition was in no way indicative of Marv’s hype. I hated it! Many, many serious flaws. My discoveries include but are not limited to:

oil pooling on top of engine manifold. Marv seemed surprised & could not explain.
Front seats are split apart badly on both sides.
Nothing about the dash is new as promised.
Instrument panel is badly faded and very dull.
Wear on steering wheel so bad that it was covered by a cheap wrap.
Metal toggle switch (Like something from Radio Shack?!) on main instrument panel, has been used to replace the power-top button.
Rust on the bumpers and under body side molding. (Ad reads: Car has zero rust. Chrome done to “Pebble Beach” standards “like surgical chrome.”)
Body side molding (rt.side) bowed, hanging loosely due to rusted out fasteners. Glob of super glue (or equiv.) visible in an unsuccessful attempt to attach molding to body. o Could not get rear speaker to work.
Car has many, many obvious flaws throughout.
In no way could this car be indicative of “Best in World”, “As New” or “Showroom Condition”. After my personal inspection I informed Marv that the car was in no way indicative of his ad or our phone and email correspondence. I then asked for a refund. He blew up. The more flaws I pointed out, the angrier he got. [He was quick to point out that he has a Ph.D. and is worth $20 Million and what a crybaby I was for rebuking his car and his deceptive tactics.] He refused to entertain a refund of any sort.

At this point I became very concerned realizing I did NoT want to drive this car home. In fact, I was very unsure if it was even capable of making the 1000 mile journey. I pleaded with Marv to work with me and after apologizing for offending him (regarding the poor condition of his car) asked him to please work with me on this. After calming down, he begrudgingly agreed to re-market the car on eBay and through Hemmings.com, but only after I signed a contract accepting the car and limiting his re-marketing efforts to 30 days. After that, the car was completely my problem.

We went to the copy center where he angrily typed up a contract. Viewing this as my best hope of regaining most of my money, I reluctantly signed his newly drafted contract and flew back home, very disappointed. After my return home, I became uneasy with passing this car onto the next guy via Marv’s marketing tactics and so again focused my efforts on a buyback from Marv. He flatly refused my request for him to buy back the car, keeping a 20percent fee ($3800) for his time and trouble. Obviously, his other “higher offers” were fictional.

Finally, my offer to sell the car back to him for $11,000 was attractive enough for him to bite. We agreed on this price and that is how the transaction ended. In a little over a week, I was out over $8000 plus expenses. My total cost for this mess...about $9000, and I never drove the car off of his lot. BUYERS BEWARE!

In Marv’s defense

His ad does have a legal disclaimer that basically says that the ad is meaningless.
His ad welcomes a personal inspection and/or a mechanic’s inspection.
Unfortunately, my mechanic’s inspection DID okay the car prior to payment. I later realized he was viewing the car from the perspective of “it looks great for a 1970 model” whereas I was expecting, “a near perfect restoration” as advertised. The company I dealt with -- “Inspection Solutions” a.k.a. “LemmonBusters” -- does not arrange for a pre-inspection conversation between the buyer and the inspector.
His photographs of the car were excellent, however, he was careful to omit the front half of the interior which is where most of the obvious problems were. Prior to purchase I asked him to clarify this area with additional photos which he never produced. on the phone Marv specifically told me that the interior (as well as the rest of the car) was “just like a new car on the showroom floor in 1970”. Balogna!
I did see other cars at his local that at least appeared to be very nice. Certainly, much nicer than mine.
J.C. concedes that there was a disclaimer essentially saying the promises in the eBay listing were meaningless. Further, he himself -- presumably without a gun being held to his head -- signed at least two different agreements with Marv, all this after paying $19,000 for 21-year-old car, sight unseen. We hope J.C. will not be offended if we suggest he let someone else handle his future car buying.

Marvin Friedman of Cars of Yesterday responds:
I sold a car to a J.C. of Lexington,KY on Ebay in 2001. This was a car restored with a body-off-the-frame by world renowned Cadillac restorer Richard Farkas of Orlando,FL. This was a #1 Condition gorgeous show car.

Prior to hitting the "buy it now" feature on EBay, at my suggestion, J.C. hired a professional inspection company. He was told by the inspector that, "Its the best 70 Cadillac convertible I have ever seen"

After the inspection, J.C. purchased the car.

He called me up the next day and said he would be delayed in picking up the car for a couple of weeks and asked if I could store the car until he arrived. I agreed to do so at no charge as long as the car was paid for. He did, I sent him all the paperwork and picked him up at the airport in Ft. Lauderdale 2 weeks later.

When he arrived, he told me that he had lost $211,000 in the stock-market and that he needed to sell the car. He asked if I would buy it back. I replied, "No, but I will sell it for you and get you what you paid for the car."

He signed a short agreement giving me permission to sell the car for him. I told him I would relist the car the next morning.

He called me at my home that night, and said I am in big trouble with my wife ... she wants it sold right now and he offered to sell me the car back for $11,000. I advised him NOT to do this as it would mean a substantial loss and that if he just gave me a week, I could get him all his money back. He said my wife wont let me do that ... "she is still angry about what I did with our savings in the stock market." I wired him $11,000 the next morning at 10:00am.

I relisted the car and 7 days sold it on EBay for $1,000 more than he had originally purchased the car for. I told him to be angry at his wife ... not me.

He then said he was going to place all types of detrimental information about me on the internet if I didnt send him a check for the money lost. I refused and told him that he was trying to extort money form myself & Cars Of Yesterday, Inc.

After 6 months of his posting of false information on the internet, I hired an attorney in Hollywood,FL., Hyatt Freed and began a civil action against J.C. for the dissemination of libelous and slander statements against Cars Of Yesterday, Inc.

J.C. subsequently agreed to cease from doing any further dissemination of false statements, either in writing or verbally, and we dropped the legal action against him.

The subsequent owner of this gorgeous Cadillac loves the car.
 

[Bruce Reynolds # 18992]

Gday Mark,

Buyers of anything so expensive, as a car, or truck, or even a boat are STUPID if they dont have the brains to take time off and go and inspect them personally.

I am looking for a 72 Eldorado Convertible, and when and if I do find one that I think is reasonable, I will be flying 15,000 miles to the other side of the world to personally inspect it.

I purchased a car once, through a friend, and it didnt turn out as I had expected, so for the cost of a couple of thousand dollars, it will give me the peace of mind, and a holiday to boot, and a chance to front a poor seller if necessary.

For anyone living in USA or Canada, and wanting to pay a large sum of hard-earned money, flying, or driving across your country should be chickenfeed.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

[John Tozer #7946]

Hi Bruce,

That surely is the point here. I just searched one of my favourite US Travel web sites and came up with a return flight from Burbank to Florida, 3 night hotel stay and all taxes for US $562.

The 3 nights in Florida after a winter in Canberra is worth the $562!

Go see first. If you miss out, you miss out. The good thing about ebay, particularly in the US, is that the market is just so huge, there will be another one along sooner or later.

I would go to the US to look at cars on a much weaker excuse than saving myself 20 grand.

My 2 bobs worth,


John Tozer

[Andrew 10642]

The buyer was an idiot.

Caveat Emptor.  Sales puffery is meaningless, get you ass out the door and look.

Salesmen have been over-promising since the first Ford rolled off the line, so buyers should know better.

What a twit.  The same person would ignore an honest ad, looking for the "perfect" candidate"

[Dave #17592]

I have gone out of state to inspect a car before buying it.   That is no guarrantee that it will be perfect.

    I bought a 1961 Plymouth that was supposedly mechanically restored.    After a test-drive that went very well, I negotiated a price and drove the car home.   Well, It never made it home.   The first stop was a gas station.   As I pumped gas for what seemed forever, the gas station manager finally ran over screaming and waving that about 20 gallons of fuel was running out across the lot on the other side of the car!    The tank had a bad seal!       I had to leave the car there and get the tank fixed.    A week later, another drive out of state to pickup the car.    A few blocks from the service station my buddy behind me started honking his horn wildly.    There was anti-freeze pouring out behind the car as it blew the head gasket!     Yet another failed attempt to bring the car home.    The garage that said theyd fix it called and said the engine block was clogged with a concrete like substance.   They had to boil out the engine.    A month later they said come get the car and bring a bank check for $4500 to pick it up.    

  So I spent a ton of money on a car before I ever got it home either.   So going in person is not going to prevent you from getting burned.   Sometimes old cars just fight with you all the way.    But having a dishonest seller doesnt help any bit either.

[Mark]

Gee it kind of reminds me of cars being displayed at shows that the owners are trying to pass them off as ALL ORIGINAL - UNRESTORED when it is obvious that they have been rechromed and repainted.

I sometimes think what is the big deal of these type of seller telling lies?  The owners of the supposed unrestored cars are receiving trophies and awards for lying.  The sellers get the money when they lie about their cars for sale.  In my opinion they are both the same level of dishonesty and misrepresentation.

[bill refakis #3171]

hey guys,in the last 5 years my sight unseen won lost record is 29-1,got burnt once on ebay for 2500.oo,but i understand cars,ground up restoration for 17500.00?? the price alone is 25 percent of what the restoration should cost if done right,so what can you expect at that price??? Just what you got,a cheaply redone beater!As for marv,every car he has is the best in the world!Need i say more???Up here in new york big mouth strokers like marv are a dime a dozen,thats why marv is in florida now,go to hershey where really wealthy collectors who know and love cars are,you will not hear all this  bull#@$percent^ about what and who they think they are,but you might learn about cars!

[Barry Wheeler #2189]

I must have been extremely lucky with the two cars I have bought sight unseen on eBay. However, both were within my (admittedly small) budget that I could live with if if the cars were junk.
If you cant afford to completly write off what you spend, go see it, take a camera, possibly a friend, because, from forty years experience, with each and every car you look at, you will see it only with rose colored glasses. You will pick up on the cars good points, and completely overlook or forget (once you get home) what is wrong with the car. It happened to me just yesterday. We went to a town-wide yard sale, and guess what? Of all things, I found a 1949 Chevrolet fast-back four door. Good, usable interior, pretty straight body. Some Indiana rust on the bumpers and grille. But I bet if I went back to look at it again, I would see lots of things that my brains "firewall" overlooked. Best of all, take your wife, if you have one. SHE will see whats wrong with the car! And not be shy about telling you about the cars faults, either.
Forget about these "one of a kind," "mint originals," and "completely restored" cars on eBay, or just figure the seller is either lying or simply doesnt know any better. The previous post said it all. Go to Blackhawk, Hershey, or any large, nationally known museum. The people who own and restore the cars you see there can keep sending chrome back, over and over, sand off a $10K paint job without a thought, and rip out a near perfect interior "to get it right." Remember the maxim that the last five points, from 95 to 100 run at least $5k a point. If you cant afford Fran Roxas to do your car, or if you dont know who he is, you (this is a "general" "you", not aimed at anyone) have absolutely no idea of what a "fully restored" car is, or what it takes to get it to that condition. Unlimited capitol, and paying the asking price for rare, or even not-so-rare parts, and your restorers trip to Hershey to look for them.
Your Board of a few years back was in Roxas garage and both the engineless Fifties town car and the 1938 V-16 Knudeson fast back sedan were there, in unrestored condition, the town car not too far from junk. Ive seen both since they were done, and it took untold amounts of money thrown at them to finish the job to Frans standards.
One other point that is nearly a given. When, at last, you DO find your perfect car, that matches your dreams, pocketbook, all the parameters you carefully listed, within the next week, or even perhaps the next day, you will find a better car at less money. Go figure.

[Mark]

Whoa wait a minute!  Yes there are a lot of really nice cars there and some really unusual ones too BUT

Hershey is not exempt either from the wheeler dealer sellers (like the Florida ebay guy) who exaggerate the condition of their cars.  

Hershey is also flush full of owners who misrepresent their cars to be original unrestored with factory original paint and chrome.    

[Matt Harwood]

While I despise slicksters who over hype their wares and intentionally conceal flaws through camera angles and/or Photoshop and though hyperbole, you have nobody to blame but yourself if you end up with a piece of crap car that you bought sight unseen. In the first post, the complainant even says he "asked if he could trust [the seller]." Yeah, like the guy is going to say, "No, Im totally dishonest and will cheat you out of every penny I can." Though the complainant states that he "does not consider himself to be a stupid person," I beg to differ.

If youre unwilling to inspect a car first hand (or get an expert to do it for you if you dont have the necessary knowledge to make an informed decision), at least use an escrow service to protect yourself. If the car is not satisfactory, youll get your money back (though at the cost of cross-country shipping, which can be several thousand dollars).

Never, ever, ever expect a seller to tell you everything. Yes there are plenty of honest guys out there and there are plenty of stories with happy endings. But how many bad endings that cost $17,000 can you afford? Dont be stupid, check the car out before you send your money. Jeez, why is this a hard lesson for people to learn? Theyre exactly why those scammers are so successful when they say, "Ill send you a $20,000 check for your $15,000 car, and you refund the difference and ship me the car." Only after the car is long gone does the seller realize the check (and the buyer) were totally bogus.

Suckers.
--
Matt Harwood
Cleveland, OH
My 1941 Buick Century Restoration:
http://www.harwoodperformance.bizland.com/1941buick/index.html TARGET=_blank>http://www.harwoodperformance.bizland.com/1941buick/index.html

[Malcolm]

Hi Bruce.
Youre spot on.
Living in Australia, I consider it a pleasure if the car I am looking at is even in the same country. I will think nothing of flying anywhere in Australia to inspect the car myself before buying or committing to buy.
I have bought a number of cars via Ebay from the USA and had them shipped to Australia. Although I have never been to the USA to check them first, the following simple rules apply...

1. NEVER buy offline. If buying via Ebay, make sure you do it within the auction, NOT with any special offline deals.
2. Always check the sellers feedback.
3. If anything sounds a bit suspicuous, or looks suspicious, it is.
4. This is the most important rule... bank on the car being 30percent to 40percent worse than you think. This has been pretty close to the mark in my experience. If you expect the car to be 30percent to 40percent worse than it sounds, then you stand a lower chance of being dissapointed.
5. If youre talking about spending $20,000 US dollars, it doesnt matter where in the world it is. Go check it out.
6. And finally, if you buy via the Internet like I have, be prepared to deal with the consequences. If the car arrives and is a lemon, roll your sleeves up and deal with it. If you cant do this, dont buy the car.

Sellers will often over state the condition of the car. This should be obvious and expected.
If you cant deal with fixing it, or cant afford to, dont buy. If you go and inspect the car, make sure you know what youre looking at. If you dont know, hire someone who does.

And finally... these cars are 20, 30, 40, or 50 years old (or older!). They WILL have issues. Keep it real, and be prepared to deal with it.

I hope I havent sounded too harsh, but I feel theyre the simple facts. I love all these old cars, and most of the people involved with them.

Malcolm.

[JIM CLC # 15000]

08-29-05
Malcolm, is correct.
Dont expect much and you will not be disappionted.
Good Luck, Jim

[Mike #19861]

 While perusing Ebay last week, I noticed a new line "I have been told" used by several sellers. Now, this is to perhaps illustrate the rarity of a car, or feature by some untold person of questionalble authority and remove the responsibility of the seller of a quite likely erroneous claim.

 But, while I have a couple of personal friends who have bought cars successfully from E-Bay, there have been several horror stories to go with it. Simply put, if you cant inspect the car personally, or have a reliable and trusted person do it for you, do not buy the car. You will be disappointed.

 As David said, you can still get burned, but the chances are slimmer. But I have always said, have the car put on a hoist at a garage that has no connections with the seller. Pay the shop an hour of shop time to fully inspect the car in your presence. make your assesment and go back with your offer. If the seller refuses this, then walk. He is hiding something.

  Mike

[Michael Stamps 19507]

My number one rule on buying a car unseen on Ebay is "Never pay more for the car than you can part it out for."  Get a bad deal and you spend a week pulling parts to sell.  My last car bought from Eric was bought as a parts car.  Once it was parted out we sold the parts for $700 more than the car cost.  To boot I got a vacation in OH and got to ride in Erics nice 76 Eldo Vert.  Plus I was able to teach a newbie the mechanical ins and outs of an old Cadillac.  The parts ended up around the world helping others restore their 70 Cadillacs.  It also kept me out of trouble for a few months while we did all of this.

Stampie

[Denise 20352]

  Yeah but Stampie, youre talking about the kinds of cars that I buy, like my $1300 hearse that I now have $7500 in, my $1000 Deville, or the $2k New Yorker that Im looking at now.  If you expect that the car will be junk and need everything, not only will you not be disappointed, but youll almost always be right.  You might just enjoy restoring them.  If youre not into that, forget about the low-dollar cars.  The best you can hope for is to drive them for a few months and send them to the crusher.  I hate to see it happen to the big luxury cars that I love, but thats where they go.

  Then are the cars that go for $3-10k, usually nice-looking, but theyre a total crapshoot.  They may run for years, may blow up on the way home, may slowly drain your wallet for a year or two until you get sick of them and put them back on Ebay.  Most people dont restore them.  You can avoid many of the problems by reading in between the lines when you see "probably needs a fuse", "air conditioner just needs a charge", "has been sitting for 10 years, I would drive it anywhere", or how about "just needs a battery and you can drive it home".  I wouldnt buy one without inspecting it, but I would be comfortable with doing the inspection myself.

  And then there are the "restored" or "all original" classics that you have to pay real money for.  You have to consider car buying in general, the disbelief that you experience when the seller said "Upholstery is perfect" and its cracked and faded, "only light surface rust" and its bubbling up through the paint, "all original", and it has a household light switch hanging under the dash by the wires, to turn the air conditioner on and off.  If youre going to pay real money for a car, not only do you have to inspect it, but you have to take someone along who knows that particular car and what is usually wrong with it.

  And then there are brand new cars, for people who want junk that has a warranty.

-densie

[Andrew 10642]

The line isnt new.  If you watch a certain news channel, reporters will interject the network owners bias by prefacing the bias with "People say
 that. . . "   A couple examples. . .

"People say that the candidate is unreliable.  How do you respond?"  "People say that this tax will put small businesses at a disadvantage. How can it be a good thing?"  

This wouldnt be a big deal if the network were honest enough to state " We believe" rather than "People say".  Its a not so subtle attempt to manipulate public opinion.

Just my opinion.  Feel free to ignore:)

[Michael Stamps 19507]

You are correct and at the same time agreeing with me.  As I said sight unseen I only bid for parts value.  At that level you get a parts car or you end up very happy with your find.  My last ebay buy was my gold 70 SDV.  While I dont have much over the purchase price in her, I am building a five grand engine to put in a $880 car.  When I get tired of her I can part her out and put that engine in something else as a play toy.  Ive come close to buying more expensive cars but havent yet because of concerns.  I think there is still a 60 Seville out there calling my name.

Stampie

[Dave #17592]

....."Ran when parked"...

....."A/C just needs a charge"...

....."virtually rust free"...

....."in excellent shape..for its age"...

....."slight exhaust leak"...

....."Barn fresh"...

....."all original.....except for cheap repaint"...

....."never been hit  (ignor the incorrect grill)"...

....."you wont find one nicer"  (yeah, there are none left!)

and my favorite:.."it is a Motorama show car, but I dont have proof, trust me"...  

   HA HA HA HA!

David

[Dave #17592]

I am guilty of that.  well, let me rephrase that.  LOL.   When I see a mistake or an important omission in an Ebay ad,  Ill click on the "Ask a seller a Question" button and email the guy with correct or important additional information.

  Most people are thankful and revise their ad.  Especially if the new info may get them more bids.  

    For example.   A person lists a Caddy forsale for a neighbor who doesnt have a computer.   Maybe he lists the incorrect year  (that always p*sses me off)  LOL.   or perhaps it is a rare DElegance model.    All truthful tips, but I can see where a seller may be skepitcal and use that expression "So i am told".

David