I've seen a few, as I worked across from a shady car lot in my younger
days...The owner showed me a few tricks - and then tried to sell me a car!
Yeah, right...
Chafed hoses, vacuum lines, or chopped wiring can be easily hidden with a
plastic wire loom...Makes the car look better than before also...
Peeling chrome parts? Some can be fixed by supergluing aluminum foil over
the bad parts (I've seen a VW bug rear bumper done in this fashion - not
noticeable if the repair is well done.)
A/C need fixed? Charge it with freon. It will hold it's charge for about a
week, depending on it's state; then it will fail after the vehicle is sold.
Instead of flushing a power steering unit, many places will simply top it
off with Marvel Mystery Oil. It'll work ok, for a while...
Frame rot can be hidden with bondo, then sprayed with undercoating. I've
seen a totaled VW Bug (Same with alum. foil bumper) pass state inspection
this way. You'd never know it was bondo until you poke it with a
screwdriver.
Small exhaust leaks can be patched with JB Weld.
New brake and clutch pads look and feel impressive on test drives, along
with new weatherstripping. The owner of this dump told me that most people
buying a car buy because of it's looks. He'd armor-all hoses, de-gunk
engine bays, repaint rear axles, etc just to get a sale. Sheesh - with all
the work he put into making the car seem to be good, he could have made it
good. After six or seven months and one injury (I think the VW bug folded
in half or somebody's brakes failed) he went out of business...Thank God!
Anyway, I check for this stuff when I'm buying a car - that's why I'm
posting this stuff. I wouldn't want anyone else to be fooled by this
stuff...
Michael S. Lishego
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Speedway/3706/
>BUYING a car, but you want to get the price down? Run a pencil line down
>one plug, causing it to miss-fire. ( The carbon line will allow the
>spark to escape.) Good trick to play on a GOOD friend at a meeting as
>well.....
>
>Add your bodges here.............
>
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