S3 lotus esprit off eBay. What could go wrong. Read on.
Discussion
First off all apologies, this is 5 minutes of your life you will not get back!
Was bidding on this car
Got outbid !
Anyhow guy sends me message 2 days later saying ' original purchaser was going on holiday for 3 weeks, and seller wasn't prepared to wait
I could have car, rang the guy (##classics), and we have a conversation about the car.me asking various questions.
He tells me car is
His answer (truth)
1 owner (yes 1 in Ireland plus 3 in England)
Car has full service history (1 mot from 2011 and £500 of bills)
Car has a couple of stone chips on bumpers ( quite a few cracks in paint/gelcoat, not too bad)
Car is up and running and drives perfect however would need a service as it's been in storage (car will not start as various wires leads off engine, so engine state unknown!).
Tells me he has hpi report from when he bought it in 2012. He drove it home, put it in his unit and it's only been used very occasionally.
Interior could do with a good clean due to sitting. ( a lot of interior parts glove box, carpets, handbrake gator etc are damaged)
2 keys
I ask 'as I'm buying the car off his description is there any other damage or faults at all? He replies 'none, the car is 100%'.
All the conversation was carried out very confidently and (sounded) truthfully. Guy is an older chap, sounded very honest(!!!!!)
As car is 300 miles away agreed price of £9,300.
As I'd have to get the car collected he assured me 'if I'm not totally happy with car then he would take the car back no problem at all.'
My transporter collects car, owners son does handover, doesn't want car driven on to lorry, wants it winched on, says doesn't want any damage to car during loading! Car has no battery fitted either, took off while in storage! Shows transporter driver car turning over via jump leads.
I speak to son, again he says 'if you're not happy with the car or have any problems just give me a call, you can have refund, no problem as I can sell the car again tomorrow '
I didn't want to leave car as I had paid for it(in good faith), and i didn't want to leave my money AND car.
Fast forward to car arriving at me home. . .
Soon as the lorry came down the drive I knew things were bad. .
Get car off lorry by pushing it, notice it's nothing like what I was told,I ring the seller and he says 'have a proper look round it, then give me a ring if you're not happy then you can bring it back.'
As lorry didn't arrive till 9.15 at night ileft it till morning to get a proper look.
First major problem is the lift out glass sunroof is missing. . . Been replaced with a cut piece of glass bonded to roof! Probably £500 to replace, if you can find one!!
Pulled carpet away from drivers A post bottom due to 'odd looking lump to find a crumbling A pillar base
On investigatingno start found various leads and wires dangling in engine compartment, gearbox cover / bootfloor is missing as are all boot carpets.
Oh and it was a cat c back in 2008 as per v5, evidence on inside of o/s rear corner but decent enough repair.
Car needs a total restoration in my opinion.
Ring seller straight away he says 'no problem, I don't want to leave anybody with a bad taste in their mouths over this deal, I'll work with you.'
I tell him I want my money back as the car is significantly not as described.
He says he's away at a funeral till Monday but will ring me Tuesday.(could genuinely be!)
I asked him directly 'are you going to rip me off? Because I'd rather know now, than travel 300 miles with the car to get fobbed off'
He says he doesn't rip anybody off.....
We will see
I'd like to say long story but. . .
I have the advert off eBay, his name ,his phone number and a home address.
If this turns any sourer(which in all honesty I'm more than half expecting)
Do I have any legal redress?
I know I shouldn't have bought it unseen, paid him till it was driven onto lorry etc, but I am where I am!
Think I've been very stupid!
Anyhow you can now carry on your lives in the knowledge that there are people out there, making sillier decisions than your own!
Regards
Fy
Was bidding on this car
Got outbid !
Anyhow guy sends me message 2 days later saying ' original purchaser was going on holiday for 3 weeks, and seller wasn't prepared to wait
I could have car, rang the guy (##classics), and we have a conversation about the car.me asking various questions.
He tells me car is
His answer (truth)
1 owner (yes 1 in Ireland plus 3 in England)
Car has full service history (1 mot from 2011 and £500 of bills)
Car has a couple of stone chips on bumpers ( quite a few cracks in paint/gelcoat, not too bad)
Car is up and running and drives perfect however would need a service as it's been in storage (car will not start as various wires leads off engine, so engine state unknown!).
Tells me he has hpi report from when he bought it in 2012. He drove it home, put it in his unit and it's only been used very occasionally.
Interior could do with a good clean due to sitting. ( a lot of interior parts glove box, carpets, handbrake gator etc are damaged)
2 keys
I ask 'as I'm buying the car off his description is there any other damage or faults at all? He replies 'none, the car is 100%'.
All the conversation was carried out very confidently and (sounded) truthfully. Guy is an older chap, sounded very honest(!!!!!)
As car is 300 miles away agreed price of £9,300.
As I'd have to get the car collected he assured me 'if I'm not totally happy with car then he would take the car back no problem at all.'
My transporter collects car, owners son does handover, doesn't want car driven on to lorry, wants it winched on, says doesn't want any damage to car during loading! Car has no battery fitted either, took off while in storage! Shows transporter driver car turning over via jump leads.
I speak to son, again he says 'if you're not happy with the car or have any problems just give me a call, you can have refund, no problem as I can sell the car again tomorrow '
I didn't want to leave car as I had paid for it(in good faith), and i didn't want to leave my money AND car.
Fast forward to car arriving at me home. . .
Soon as the lorry came down the drive I knew things were bad. .
Get car off lorry by pushing it, notice it's nothing like what I was told,I ring the seller and he says 'have a proper look round it, then give me a ring if you're not happy then you can bring it back.'
As lorry didn't arrive till 9.15 at night ileft it till morning to get a proper look.
First major problem is the lift out glass sunroof is missing. . . Been replaced with a cut piece of glass bonded to roof! Probably £500 to replace, if you can find one!!
Pulled carpet away from drivers A post bottom due to 'odd looking lump to find a crumbling A pillar base
On investigatingno start found various leads and wires dangling in engine compartment, gearbox cover / bootfloor is missing as are all boot carpets.
Oh and it was a cat c back in 2008 as per v5, evidence on inside of o/s rear corner but decent enough repair.
Car needs a total restoration in my opinion.
Ring seller straight away he says 'no problem, I don't want to leave anybody with a bad taste in their mouths over this deal, I'll work with you.'
I tell him I want my money back as the car is significantly not as described.
He says he's away at a funeral till Monday but will ring me Tuesday.(could genuinely be!)
I asked him directly 'are you going to rip me off? Because I'd rather know now, than travel 300 miles with the car to get fobbed off'
He says he doesn't rip anybody off.....
We will see
I'd like to say long story but. . .
I have the advert off eBay, his name ,his phone number and a home address.
If this turns any sourer(which in all honesty I'm more than half expecting)
Do I have any legal redress?
I know I shouldn't have bought it unseen, paid him till it was driven onto lorry etc, but I am where I am!
Think I've been very stupid!
Anyhow you can now carry on your lives in the knowledge that there are people out there, making sillier decisions than your own!
Regards
Fy
Edited by flyinyam on Thursday 17th May 06:43
Edited by flyinyam on Thursday 17th May 06:45
Edited by flyinyam on Thursday 17th May 06:45
Edited by lids.mod on Monday 21st May 15:06
Edited by flyinyam on Wednesday 30th May 08:52
flyinyam said:
Do I have any legal redress?
Yep, loads so long as you can prove that he said these things about the condition and history of the car and about returning the car for full refund if you're not happy.That proving part is where he will wriggle if he wants to.
Good effort though OP, a spectacular example of car-lust and optimism overcoming common sense
.
Seriously , do you really expect someone selling a supercar to use 70's car sales speak such as "Starts and drives really well " . I really expect all cars to do that. Especially £10k one's.
You've been done and won't see a penny I'm afraid 🤔 and I suspect you'll find plenty more wrong with the car.
You've been done and won't see a penny I'm afraid 🤔 and I suspect you'll find plenty more wrong with the car.
Is the chap a dealer? If so they are more vulnerable.
Put your problems to ebay and see if they have anything to say or do. They might stop the bloke dealing, for a while at least. Revenge is good.
We've all made bad purchases of cars over time. Learning from it is the best you'll come away with I think.
Put your problems to ebay and see if they have anything to say or do. They might stop the bloke dealing, for a while at least. Revenge is good.
We've all made bad purchases of cars over time. Learning from it is the best you'll come away with I think.
Paid by bank transfer. To sons account with halifax.
How did it drive well ?
Exactly! !! Personally I don't think it's turned a wheel in 5 yrs.
The ad photos are from when he bought it I've since guessed.
Oh and the reason they're all of the drivers side is because the nearside turbo side skirt is damaged at the front.
V5 is still in previous owners name too.
I'm not sure if he's a dealer. Think he maybe but not officially.
I'd keep the car but I'd want to keep it at 6 grand. He told me a service and an mot is all it needed.
Sounded a really well to do genuine chap too.
I think I've been stupid , funnily enough the wife does too!
Cheers
How did it drive well ?
Exactly! !! Personally I don't think it's turned a wheel in 5 yrs.
The ad photos are from when he bought it I've since guessed.
Oh and the reason they're all of the drivers side is because the nearside turbo side skirt is damaged at the front.
V5 is still in previous owners name too.
I'm not sure if he's a dealer. Think he maybe but not officially.
I'd keep the car but I'd want to keep it at 6 grand. He told me a service and an mot is all it needed.
Sounded a really well to do genuine chap too.
I think I've been stupid , funnily enough the wife does too!
Cheers
Hammer67 said:
"Anyhow guy sends me message 2 days later saying ' original purchaser was going on holiday for 3 weeks, and seller wasn't prepared to wait"
Do people actually believe this stuff? That means the seller had a stooge bidding on it to inflate the price.
Not sure a stooge was involved. Do people actually believe this stuff? That means the seller had a stooge bidding on it to inflate the price.
Think winning bidder may have turned up an said ' no thanks'.
Hindsight, the most useless gift in the world!
I have no doubts as to how much of a tool I've been .
Regards
Fy
Oldandslow said:
If you're looking for an example of how NOT to buy a car off the internet this pretty much ticks every box.
FTFY.It might be a bit of an inconvenience for you but if you don't either go & inspect it yourself or pay someone to go & inspect it then TBH I don't have a lot of sympathy.
I can understand your wife being a bit unhappy & I suspect this will be used against you for many years to come. And for that you DO have my sympathy
It seems to me, that the chap's a Dealer of sorts , judging by the ebay name and the cars he's sold recently.
The advert for the "Daimler/Jaguar xjc coupe crayford conversion" also highlights his selective photography skills
with interior shots plus one front and one rear shot... all very strange IMHO , I'd be showing off the lovely XJ-C body lines.
Unless off course, the car happens to (1980, so by definition it must be a Series III ) be a saloon that been shortened to the point of stumpiness (see the pic on the car magazine he display's, you can just make out the silly proportions).
Im, sure many PH'ers have made heart over head buying decisions over the years, especially since it's possible these days to neck a botlle or two of red and then bid on a sure fire classic at 2.00am on a sunday morning
..... although tend to limit myself to stuff under a grand when playing pissed up ebay roulette.
Hope you get some resolution OP, if he's as Stand On as he say's he is , maybe all will be fine.
The advert for the "Daimler/Jaguar xjc coupe crayford conversion" also highlights his selective photography skills
with interior shots plus one front and one rear shot... all very strange IMHO , I'd be showing off the lovely XJ-C body lines.Unless off course, the car happens to (1980, so by definition it must be a Series III ) be a saloon that been shortened to the point of stumpiness (see the pic on the car magazine he display's, you can just make out the silly proportions).
Im, sure many PH'ers have made heart over head buying decisions over the years, especially since it's possible these days to neck a botlle or two of red and then bid on a sure fire classic at 2.00am on a sunday morning
..... although tend to limit myself to stuff under a grand when playing pissed up ebay roulette.Hope you get some resolution OP, if he's as Stand On as he say's he is , maybe all will be fine.
flyinyam said:
Paid by bank transfer. To sons account with halifax.
How did it drive well ?
Exactly! !! Personally I don't think it's turned a wheel in 5 yrs.
The ad photos are from when he bought it I've since guessed.
Oh and the reason they're all of the drivers side is because the nearside turbo side skirt is damaged at the front.
V5 is still in previous owners name too.
I'm not sure if he's a dealer. Think he maybe but not officially.
I'd keep the car but I'd want to keep it at 6 grand. He told me a service and an mot is all it needed.
Sounded a really well to do genuine chap too.
I think I've been stupid , funnily enough the wife does too!
Cheers
You wife's spot on. How did it drive well ?
Exactly! !! Personally I don't think it's turned a wheel in 5 yrs.
The ad photos are from when he bought it I've since guessed.
Oh and the reason they're all of the drivers side is because the nearside turbo side skirt is damaged at the front.
V5 is still in previous owners name too.
I'm not sure if he's a dealer. Think he maybe but not officially.
I'd keep the car but I'd want to keep it at 6 grand. He told me a service and an mot is all it needed.
Sounded a really well to do genuine chap too.
I think I've been stupid , funnily enough the wife does too!
Cheers
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