There are also good stories!
I saw a 1957 Aston Martin for sale in Hemmings. It was in California and
advertised as engine dismantled and in "reasonable" shape. A friend was
able to look at it and said all the parts "may"be there. I was assured by
the garage that was selling it that all the bits would be there. I bought
it for US$4,000 and it was trucked to me in Ontario. Guess what? all the
bits where there - all in good nick. Body was excellent, no rust
(aluminium body), no major damage, great wheels - and the bonus - it was a
rare version with "racing engine", albeit in pieces.
At 10:50 PM 1/29/02 -0400, Bob Hamilton wrote:
>Hi Silvestre,
>
> I can sympathize with you as I also had a similar experience when
>I purchased my 1953 Sunbeam Alpine in Marina del Rey, California, sight
>unseen in 1995. The dealer even offered to pay my air fare from Nova Scotia
>out to see the car and said it could easily be driven the 3000 miles home!
>I even had someone in the area go try the car out and e-mailed me a report
>and based on this, I bought the car and had the car shipped to Boston and
>trailered it back to Nova Scotia.
>
> The car was totally misrepresented. The engine was completely
>whipped and 4 years older than the car (and thus 300cc smaller than the
>original), the wiring had been completely replaced by a total amateur
>(nothing worked properly), the differential was totally dry and terribly
>noisy (broken spider gear cage). The redeeming factor for this car was it
>had an excellent body. Over the next 4 years I have rebuilt everything
>except the transmission and now have a very dependable car but it has cost
>me about double the original purchase price which was about a quarter of
>your Healey.
>
> In my view, the only way to buy a car is to see it for yourself or
>pay to have an expert appraisal done before purchasing. It might cost
>$200.00 but it is money well spent.
>
>Regards,
>Bob
>
>
>At 07:36 AM 1/29/02 -0600, you wrote:
> >I have always loved british sports cars. I own a fully restored 1960 TR3A, a
> >"parts car" 1960 TR3A, a 1970 TR6 in its' third year of restoration (!),
> and a
> >1975 TR6 that is mechanically as sound as my 2001 cars, but mostly original
> >(not restored), and which I drive almost daily as regular transportation. I
> >have always wanted an Austin Healey 3000, Mark III, and I began looking for
> >one in December, 2001. I looked in all the expected sources of possible
> >listings, both in print and electronic media. Based on my past
> experiences, I
> >was prepared to buy as much in the way of a completely restored car as I
> could
> >afford. I live in a fairly small town in south-central Texas, so I was
> forced
> >to look in Hemmings, big-city newspapers, club listings, "the lists," eBay,
> >the internet in general, plus call friends and enlist their eyes and
> ears for
> >possible candidates.
> >
>
><SNIP>
>
>
>
>=========================================================
>Robert (Bob) A.C. Hamilton, Waverley, Nova Scotia, Canada
>Home Page: www.accesswave.ca/~hamilton
>Sunbeam Talbots - Alpine, Drophead and Saloon, 1953-1954
>Sunbeam Talbot Web Page: www.sunbeamtalbot.info
>[Stable mates - 1973 Midget and 1968 M-B 280SE]
>E-Mail: hamilton@accesswave.ca or robertach@ca.inter.net
>=========================================================
Regards
Barrie
Barrie Robinson - barrier@bconnex.net
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