i've bought and sold a bunch of stuff on ebay. i was doing very well with
it until that fateful day... a gentleman in the state of missouri listed a
1980 TR7 as "beautiful". it had, according to him a beautiful, new
chameleon paint job and ran like a dream. it supposedly needed only
finishing touches. being the trusting soul that i used to be, i bid to buy,
sent him a 50% deposit via cashiers check and flew out that friday with my
wife to pick up my "beautiful" car and drive it home on saturday. Now, at
that present time, i owned a nice 1980 TR7, not perfect, but quite nice.
But i wanted this "beautiful" TR7, something stunning. On that crisp
morning, after the taxi cab left us, what my wife and I saw in that
abandonded casino parking lot is as follows: it did have a new paint job.
the seller failed to mention that the car was not taped before it was spray
painted. therefore the paint was also all over the tires, wheels and the
bumpers. the chrome strip that holds the rubber/windshield in was missing.
the front bumper was held on with one very loose bolt and moved a good 6
inches up and down in the wind. the trunk was completely missing all
hardboard backing and carpeting. the interior behind the seats was
completely missing all hardboard and carpeting. the lower dash was
completely missing showing all hoses and wires. the foam in the seats had
completely dry rotted and was gone. so when you sat, you sat on the metal
floor. the door panels were completely shot as the car sat with the windows
open for years. the engine was missing the air pump and the air
conditioning compressor and belts. the engine was completely covered with
inches of hardened oil, dirt and rust as if it sat in a bathtub in their
front yard for a few years. i could go on, but you get the picture. i told
the seller, the car was not beautiful as claimed, that i was not happy, but
that i would give him the balance, drive it home and immediately sell it as
a parts car on ebay. i also offered to pay him, first $300 then $500 to
allow me to walk away and him to sell it to the 2nd highest bidder, which
was $50 less than i bid. he took my $500 offer and i waited almost three
months to get my deposit back. you see, he had already spent my 50%
deposit, so it took him time to get my money. as stated earlier by others.
buyer beware. larry
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