Suckered in Sunny Arizona

[akaloosey]

POST NOW EDITED!

To those forum members who did not read my original post, this will not make much sense to you. To those who did, I am posting this edited comment to provide more details about my experience buying a 1967 Roadster and the seller who sold it to me.

In a nutshell, I bought this car off of a Craigslist ad. After speaking with the seller several times and considering what information and photos I had, I decided to go ahead and make the purchase. When I received the car, I felt there were many problems that were not disclosed and the car was misrepresented. I still feel that way to a certain degree.

Initially, I had sent the seller several emails expressing my disappointment and received no reply to my last two. Basically, I was resigned to the fact that this was a mistake and I simply wanted to cut my losses and forget about the whole thing.

So I was astonished to check the mail today and find that the seller in Oklahoma had decided to reach out and make amends by sending me a partial refund for the car. Obviously, my opinion for the seller has softened since learning of this gesture. He did seem like a good guy on the phone but there were many issues (odometer, brakes being the big ones) that were not disclosed that should have been as part of basic courtesy to fellow enthusiasts.

Still I do want to publicly and personally thank the seller of this vehicle for making things right in the end. Buying an old car 'as-is', I had no legal recourse so this decision was purely his own conscience and morals speaking. It has also been a valuable refresher to me in making purchases of this type.

My plan is to invest this money back into the car and make needed repairs to keep it on the road for many years to come.

Anyway, I felt it was necessary to post this to set the record straight.

[AC77]

That's tough. Sorry to hear about your experience. Buying a car sight unseen is risky. Pictures don't show everything and you're putting a lot of trust into an owner you don't know. I hope you're able to get it on the road soon without spending a small fortune.

[bakerjf]

Unless they have been truly restored (not just fixed-up), 50 year-old cars are always going to require continuous maintenance. The owner could have sold you a car that matched your expectations 100%, but it all could have gone horribly wrong one year, one month, or one week later. Also, unless an owner can actually document the mileage any assertion of such is just that, and shouldn’t be taken very seriously.

Sounds like the seller wasn’t honest in this case, but really it’s all very fixable. Probably could have just simply rebuilt the brake master cylinder, didn’t need to shell out for a new one. The clutch slave was out of adjustment? Big deal. The engine sputters and kicks out occasionally? Fuel filter/obstruction. Big deal. Exhaust is bouncing around at idle? Yep, probably needs a new hanger or two. Big deal. Needs a new speedo cable? 20 minute job...

For many (most?) of us, attending to these “headaches” is what makes owning an old classic car actually fun. For you, not sot so much, and that’s ok! If I were in your shoes I’d find an early (super reliable) Miata and call it a day.

[Linda]

If you would have bought on eBay you would have some recourse, but not on Craigslist. To save money now I suggest you check out the aftermarket parts available to repair your car with before you sell it, which means getting thoroughly familiar with the site. I agree with Mr Baker, maintainence is part of the classic game and so if it is problematic a newer car is the solution.
But in any case , sorry you had a bad car buying experience.
Linda

[Mackn367]

First off I'm really sorry for your buying experience. I also had a "fun" experience with my 1st Roadster (you can find a similar post I made here out of frustration and a "heads up" to the guy who sold me the car.)

But that aside, this is a great community which if you decide to keep your Roadster you will too find out. Put out a message on this forum to the local Roadsters near you and you will see many will quickly jump to help you with info, parts, installations, etc. and they will do it because we all love these little cars and the community too. I actually found another Roadster right after my 1st failed purchase and decided to pull the trigger and buy the 2nd one. It really turned my sour experience into the complete opposite. I now am looking to sell my 1st Roadster - and yes I also am going to fix it up and unfortunately take a huge loss too. Definitely a learning experience.

All that being said, I hope you decide to keep the fun little Roadster and contact local Roadster members for help. Just as bakerjf said many parts could be rebuilt instead of buying a whole new part. Or sometimes other members will just give you parts.

Take care!

[theunz]

Well, I'm going to have to chime in here as I inspected this car for another member about a year and a half ago. I do remember that the brakes acted like they needed a new master cylinder and the first gear syncro was shot. The paint is indeed cracked and crazed around the trunk area, however the rest of the paint is smooth and shinny, in fact from 10 feet it really looks good. I felt that the interior, the top, the chrome as well as the rest of the car presented very well. In fact, I told the prospective buyer that if he invested a couple thousand of dollars and some time it would be a very nice car ( I hope you do the same ) and that it would be worth his time to make the drive and see for himself. I hope that after you get over your initial dissapointment you will give the car the attention it needs and be able to enjoy it. At the time I believe he was wanting about $7,000 for the car and I think it would be hard to find what you are expecting for anything near that price.

[jamesw]

To get you started on the "'road" to enjoying your roadster, here are a few things you can do to get your brakes working well:

Do a search here on how to use a Datsun 510 Master Cylinder. You need metric to SAE adapters to connect the brake lines. Total cost is <$100 but you have to get the right 3 parts (MC + two brass adapters). You also need to take the rod+clevis out of your old MC and put it into the new one. It's a PITA but you can do it.

Brake pistons are available new from the Nissan dealer at around $90 each last time I checked. You need 2 inner and 2 outer.

Also get two sets of Dorman "Speed Bleeder" nipples at the auto parts store to make bleeding the brakes a breeze.

All of the above is not that hard to do - it's just dirty work with lots of bending over. But for <$600 you can have good brakes.

I can't help you much with your transmission. You might as well try putting in some of the Lucas "transmission fix" fluid to see if it will help with your syncro problem

HTH
James

[spags1986]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about the disappointment but I think you did pretty good assuming you paid somewhere near the 7k mark. I'm also assuming that SRL 2000 was a tall window and while some won't agree I think the 1600 short window is the way to go, again this is just my .02. I have a 1966 1600 and love it.

[bakerjf]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about the disappointment but I think you did pretty good assuming you paid somewhere near the 7k mark. I'm also assuming that SRL 2000 was a tall window and while some won't agree I think the 1600 short window is the way to go, again this is just my .02. I have a 1966 1600 and love it.

You’re right. Some won’t agree with you.

[akaloosey]

Well I appreciate everyone who took the time to read my post and express their thoughts. I am no stranger to vintage cars but we all need a reminder how easy it is to get snookered.

I searched the internet and the cheapest rebuild kit I could find for a single tank 3/4" bore was around $90. These are non refundable kits and not knowing the history of this part or how many times it has been honed out in the past, I just decided to get a complete aftermarket unit ready to go.

I'm not sure where the $7000 came from. The seller was asking $9500 and i paid more than $7000. Mr. Baker is correct in one respect. For that money I could have bought a low mileage first series Miata and probably had many miles of trouble free service.

If all the gauges stopped working, the gears started grinding, the brakes went out, the battery died, the exhaust started clanging and the odometer stopped rotating a month after I had purchased the car, it would be entirely different story. I understand that. But they didn't. This is how I TOOK POSSESSION of the car and none of these issue were mentioned even when asked about the current maintenance problems the car has.

Unz you are correct. From 20 feet away the car looks very presentable, however, if I wanted a yard ornament that just sits still and looks pretty I could have invested in a Tom Clark gnome or something. I can tell you for sure there is checking in other panels but if that was the only misrepresentation than i would still be satisfied. The paint wasn't a big issue to me.

As for many of you saying that I came out okay on this deal, well, I hope you are around when I go to sell this car. If $7000 was a nice deal why didn't he sell it a year and a half ago for that amount? In fact, I would be ecstatic if anyone wants to offer me $7k. I will throw the M/C back on there and fill it back up with fluid if anyone wants to come buy it. For real. Just sent me a PM and it's yours. $6995. No surprises.

[akaloosey]

POST NOW EDITED!

To those forum members who did not read my original post, this will not make much sense to you. To those who did, I am posting this edited comment to provide more details about my experience buying a 1967 Roadster and the seller who sold it to me.

In a nutshell, I bought this car off of a Craigslist ad. After speaking with the seller several times and considering what information and photos I had, I decided to go ahead and make the purchase. When I received the car, I felt there were many problems that were not disclosed and the car was misrepresented. I still feel that way to a certain degree.

Initially, I had sent the seller several emails expressing my disappointment and received no reply to my last two. Basically, I was resigned to the fact that this was a mistake and I simply wanted to cut my losses and forget about the whole thing.

So I was astonished to check the mail today and find that the seller in Oklahoma had decided to reach out and make amends by sending me a partial refund for the car. Obviously, my opinion for the seller has softened since learning of this gesture. He did seem like a good guy on the phone but there were many issues (odometer, brakes being the big ones) that were not disclosed that should have been as part of basic courtesy to fellow enthusiasts.

Still I do want to publicly and personally thank the seller of this vehicle for making things right in the end. Buying an old car 'as-is', I had no legal recourse so this decision was purely his own conscience and morals speaking. It has also been a valuable refresher to me in making purchases of this type.

My plan is to invest this money back into the car and make needed repairs to keep it on the road for many years to come.

Anyway, I felt it was necessary to post this to set the record straight.

[notoptoy]

Thank you for giving credit where credit is due, and recognizing that the buyer had no obligation to do what he did. I like to think that in general, Roadster people are good people, and good to each other and the community, but there are always bad apples out there. This had a good resolution, and I am very happy for you and hope to see pictures of this car on the road soon!
And Kudos to the seller for doing what he felt was the right thing even though he did not have to do anything.

[bakerjf]

Glad things are working out for you.

[AC77]

Wow, that shows a lot of character by the PO. I hope that gives you enough to get her up and running real soon

[Gregs672000]

Resolutions like this helps restore my belief in human beings, a few people at a time. I've always said, your values are not challenged when things are going well; they are challenged when things are going WRONG! (Consider torture vs "fighting terrorism". The expression of one's values is not tested in times of peace). This seller's values were on display through his willingness to put you first over money. He showed grace in the face of adversity and angst. You responded with public acknowledgment of that grace, and the problem gets solved as close to win/win as possible. Values are expressed and remain intact. Well done gentlemen. Once again, the world would benefit from Roadster diplomacy.

Now, go fix that new find and have some fun... both you and the previous owner can enjoy that!