Friggin' GREAT!! Now what to do...., Misrepresented Ebay 914 Options

[SpecialK]

Well, to satisfy the 914 void in my life, or I should say "drivable" 914 void, I decided to check out the cars on Ebay. I came across this one that didn't seem too bad. It supposedly runs good and has "no rust". Minor mechanical problems don't scare me but I'm a bonofide rustophobic!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=2479082632

The guy didn't have but two pics of the car, so I emailed him:


Hello,
>
> I'm interested the the 914 you have for sale, would it be possible to get some
pics of the front and rear trunks with the carpets out, a couple of pics of the
engine compartment, and the area below and forward of the battery?
>
> Do you know which engine (1.7, 1.8, 2.0)it has?
> Is it fuel injected or carbed?
> Do you think it runs well enough to make a trip to St. Louis?
>
> Thanks!!
>
> Kevin


His response was:

KEVIN, I WILL TRY AND PUT MORE PICTURES ON IN THE MORNING, THE CAR HAS NO RUST AND
IT RUNS WELL. I WILL GET THE REST OF THE INFO. IN THE MORNING. THANK YOU. VTWIN...........OUT.........


So, with the assurance that there's NO RUST on this particular car I bid on it and win (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)
I Paypal the $200.00 deposit to him and wait for his response. The next day he writes back and acknowledges receiving the deposit and gave me his ph# and address so I can "Yahoo Map" my way down to his house.

I call him up and he seems like a pretty nice guy, so I fire a few questions like engine size (didn't know), fuel injected VS Carbs (didn't know), interior condition, fair (no biggy, I've got plenty of extra interior parts), "So how's the area underneath the battery?" He tells me the battery is mounted in the rear trunk (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif) ...He appearantly doesn't know shit about 914's, so I talk him through an inspection of the areas of most concern on a 914. I explain where the battery is supposed to be located, and ask him if there's any rust there, he replies "Oh yeah, hell I can see the tire (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) . He goes on to tell me that there are a couple of rusted through spots in the front trunk, but he could fabricate me a patch to weld in if I wanted him too (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif), and tells me he'll try to get the pictures to me tomorrow...

Okay, I haven't even seen any of the pics yet and I'm wanting to cancel this deal. That's all I need is more rust!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) Since he totally misrepresented (twice in writing) this car, what should be my recourse? All he's got (or will ever get) is my $200.00 deposit.

[TROJANMAN]

i wouldn't worry too much about it. i think ebay has posted rules for these situations. you may also have protection thru your credit card and paypal. check out ebays website about misrepresented auctions. make sur eyou saved your correspondence.

is that really a 73????

[Mueller]

he owes you your $200.00.....car was misrepresented, plain and simple

[SpecialK]

Oh, I've saved ALL of the emails, and printed them just in case. I guess I need to do some research on Egay and Paypal....It just bums me out!

[d7n7master]

I'm so f'ing tired of people that totally mis-represent their items for sale on EvilBay. I got HOSED last year when I purchased what was described to be 914 seats in "great" condition and in the picture they looked AWESOME!!! $200.00 and two weeks later I get my "great" seats. I open the box with the UPS driver watching me. He's been delivering here for years... 914 parts - of course. When I pulled the seats out of the box they were in really poor shape. Dry, cracked, torn, missing foam, so I returned them. The seller says "buyer beware" you should have asked more questions, blah, blah, blah -. Wanted another $100.- to ship them to ebay for their evaluation. Fuck me once, shame on you. Fuck me twice??? Your gonna have to buy me flowers & dinner. I got fucked by the seller AND Ebay. I'll never do that again. Maybe $20.- $30.- if it looks really good, but no amount that I can't affort to lose or chock up to 914 fever. Ebay SUCKZ. If I can't buy it local, I must not need it. If I were you, and because you bought a WHOLE "RUST FREE" CAR, I'd take the SOB to small claims court. But you knew there was no-such-thing as a rust free 914, didn't you???
Best of Luck!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

[skline]

The zero feedback would have had me a little worried. You should be able to get your money back though. I had a guy in Phoenix do the same thing to me on a BMW except after my deposit, he sold the car to someone else. I had made the mistake of giving him my credit card over the phone and the next day my card company was on the phone with me asking if I was in Phoenix running up the card with adult entertainment. I had the guy thrown in jail and my credit card company refunded my money without question.

[rhodyguy]

"good investment for a PORSCHE and for economy too" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif) . how much (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) is your $200 worth? sorry about the hosing. ebay cars scare me to death.

kevin

[STL914]

Kevin,

If you're really looking for a solid rust-free car in the area, give Brad Mayeur a call at 309-694-1797.

When I was looking to replace my '74 with a solid chasis,
Brad was able to give me two local owners who were both thinking of selling their cars. After searching on line for a month, looking at cars from Indiana, Colorado and CA,
I found my "new" 72 in St. Louis. I looked at two cars here, in fact, one was 10 minutes from my house.

Brad has a wide customer base and could possibly lead you in the right direction. Tell him I told you to call.

[SpecialK]

Thanks guys, I'm just pissed because I went to look at a 914 in the St. Louis Post Dispatch that was "rust free" last week. A little metallic green beauty that looked great from the road and a quick walk around on the way to work. Left the guy a note telling him I be back for a test drive....popped the engine compartment and what do you suppose I saw....the curb. Appearantly, if you can't see the rust from the outside, it's a rust-free car (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bs.gif)

As for Brad Mayeur, I've got a set of his long stiffeners on my '73...very substantial support there (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif) He would definitely know something about the fabled "NO RUSTERS", maybe I'll give him a call and save myself the grief of another let down.

[ss6]

Hey Kevin, you're not alone on the "rust free" scam. I spent a pre-eBay year driving all over Southern New England looking for / at "rust free" 914's (OK, in retrospect, that was pretty naive for this part of the country).

Lost a little faith in my fellow citizens, and almost gave up on the idea altogether. Finally found a legitimately rust free example in Northern New Jersey (refugee from CA). I paid a little more, but it has been worth every penny.

Keep the faith, and follow Ronny Reagan's advice: "trust, but verify". Blind faith and eBay don't mix.

[grantsfo]

Rule number 1: There is no such thing as a rust free 914 unless its an Arizona car that has been sitting in a garage for the past twenty years.

Rule number 2: make people take pictures of both trunks and area around battery shelf.

Rule number 3: If you dont follow rule number 1 or 2 make sure the guy selling has a good reputation in the Porsche community.

I think you have an open and shut case to get your money back. He misrepresented the car.

I have been quite fortunate with my online purchases. My 914 was cleaner than the guy described. I did get some real cheap Audi RS4 replicas where the guy didnt include the center caps that were in all pictures. Always best to force seller to take pictures if in doubt.

[morph]

just as a general rule of thum on cars.i never buy a car with out bieng able to take look at it.ive insulted some people cause "i wouldnt take there word for it "dont take there word for it. i dont care who it is. look at the if you dont youre askin for trouble.shouldnt be that way but,alot of times it is (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[Levi]

Kevin,
E-bay won't do shit, they have several million auctions going and this guy has no history, it takes many complaints for them to act.
Is the car to far away from you to go and look for yourself and decide if you could recover your money if you follow through with the transaction?
The guy will probably not return your money and short of taking him to small claims court I wouldn't expect a refund.


Bummer guy... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[Hawktel]

I bought my 914 on ebay. But, I went and pre inspected it, decided I could live with its faults, and I have no regrets. Course I'm selling it now, so maybe I'm the tard here.

I'd buy another car from ebay. If it wasn't someplace close for me to check it out, I'd ask for a PPI from someone on the board close to it.

The fact of the matter is alot of people selling cars don't know shit about cars. I went to see a 72 911 S as advertised locally. I got out of the car and was walking towards it when I had to break it to the guy it wasn't a 72. Itturned out it was a 74. He related he'd owned the car for 5 YEARS. How do you own a car for 5 years without knowing its damned age? Jesus Christ.

[SpecialK]

Kevin,
E-bay won't do shit, they have several million auctions going and this guy has no history, it takes many complaints for them to act.
Is the car to far away from you to go and look for yourself and decide if you could recover your money if you follow through with the transaction?
The guy will probably not return your money and short of taking him to small claims court I wouldn't expect a refund.


Bummer guy... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

After a little research it appears that Paypal has an automatic $200.00 buyer protection for dumbasses (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) , so if the guy absolutely refuses to give up the deposit I'll try that route. Unfortunately, the car is a little bit of a drive from here...Alabama. That's about an 8 hour drive one way. It was going to be a fun little road trip for me and the boy (17) this weekend, but that went south (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) after talking to the seller. I'm just glad I didn't get all of the way down there and find out about this shit (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ar15.gif) . I'll definitely post the pics when he sends them to me so you guys can check out the "Kein Rost" 914.

[morph]

open your claim soon, as soon as he removes his money from his pay pal account, they'll only remove what is left in his account and return it to you in 10 days. I got ripped off and pay pal was only able to recover $20 of a $60 transaction

[SpecialK]

Some pics of the alleged "No Rust" 914....

[SpecialK]

Engine compartment (Duh)...

[SpecialK]

Guess I'd better get busy drafting the "No F*ckin' way I'm buying that" letter. Well, I'll be tactful in the first one (since he's a Ebay Newbie) and explain that you have to give accurate descriptions of the items you're selling. Hopefully he's reasonable and refunds my $200....if not (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ar15.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/fighting19.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/spank.gif)

[Levi]

Holy shit... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif)
Can you imagine what the inner rockers and the hell hole look like (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif)