I am in KY.
I bought a car out of North Platte, NE., that was listed on e-bay by the owner's son-in-law in Cheyenne, WY.
Discrepancies in description of car included:
Rust: pictures of the car on the e-bay auction; and other pictures the lister e-mailed me personally; showed no rust. The lister described the car as having "no rust". I asked him on the "ask the seller a question" on e-bay about rust in particular areas of the car that I knew to be problem areas. Lister again stated "no rust". The car is white. Rust is brown. When the car was delivered, it had visible rust, including some holes that are rusted clear through the metal.
Body Damage: Another potential buyer asked; in the auction's "ask the seller" section; if the car had ever been involved in an accident. Lister replied that his father-in-law had "owned the car for the last 20 years", and to their knowledge it had never been in an accident. When the car arrived, it has obviously been in at least 5 different "mishaps"; two which caused damage on one quarter panel, one that caused damage to the front of the car, another to the rear, and another that caused a small bit of damage on the front fender. The damage is visible from 60 feet away, but is not evident in the photos. It also could not have been caused by the transportation company who hauled it for me, as the damage showed signs of light rust in some areas, and the worst area (quarter panel) showed obvious signs of someone attempting to cover the damage with spray paint. I'm not talking about a small area here; probably 3 square feet. The spray-painted area is also showing signs that the paint has been there for quite some time.
Interior: When asked about the car's interior in the "ask seller" section; and again to me personally on the phone; the lister said the interior was in "excellent original condition, with only a few seems (sic) coming apart on the driver's seat". The interior is absolutely trashed. The entire front seat is ripped to pieces; they had even attempted to patch the passenger side with an iron-on patch. The dash pad; which I inquired about specifically and was told was in perfect condition; has 2 very visible cracks in it over 8 inches long. One window crank knob is missing. The driver's armrest is split. The seat backs for the front seats are missing. Many misc. interior trim parts are broken or missing. The carpet has holes worn completely through it on both the driver's and passenger's side.
Mechanical: "Good tires" was the description. The front tires are worn to the point that the outside layer of rubber has holes all the way around revealing the layer underneath. Other than that, I didn't care much about the mechanical condition since I planned on putting a "special"
drivetrain in the car at a later date, anyway.
After several phone and e-mail conversations with the son-in-law; who according to e-bay is responsible for accurately listing the item; I have recieved nothing but grief.
I've made up my mind that I'm persuing whatever legal avenues I can. It's not so much the money; I would have settled for less than $1,000; it's the principle.
I searched the forums for similar situations and found nothing that would apply specifically to this incident, as the car was purchased from an owner in NE through his son-in-law in WY, then transported home to KY.
What is my best course of action apart from walking away with my tail between my legs? I'm not really a "back-down" kind of guy when I know I'm right...
I bought a car out of North Platte, NE., that was listed on e-bay by the owner's son-in-law in Cheyenne, WY.
Discrepancies in description of car included:
Rust: pictures of the car on the e-bay auction; and other pictures the lister e-mailed me personally; showed no rust. The lister described the car as having "no rust". I asked him on the "ask the seller a question" on e-bay about rust in particular areas of the car that I knew to be problem areas. Lister again stated "no rust". The car is white. Rust is brown. When the car was delivered, it had visible rust, including some holes that are rusted clear through the metal.
Body Damage: Another potential buyer asked; in the auction's "ask the seller" section; if the car had ever been involved in an accident. Lister replied that his father-in-law had "owned the car for the last 20 years", and to their knowledge it had never been in an accident. When the car arrived, it has obviously been in at least 5 different "mishaps"; two which caused damage on one quarter panel, one that caused damage to the front of the car, another to the rear, and another that caused a small bit of damage on the front fender. The damage is visible from 60 feet away, but is not evident in the photos. It also could not have been caused by the transportation company who hauled it for me, as the damage showed signs of light rust in some areas, and the worst area (quarter panel) showed obvious signs of someone attempting to cover the damage with spray paint. I'm not talking about a small area here; probably 3 square feet. The spray-painted area is also showing signs that the paint has been there for quite some time.
Interior: When asked about the car's interior in the "ask seller" section; and again to me personally on the phone; the lister said the interior was in "excellent original condition, with only a few seems (sic) coming apart on the driver's seat". The interior is absolutely trashed. The entire front seat is ripped to pieces; they had even attempted to patch the passenger side with an iron-on patch. The dash pad; which I inquired about specifically and was told was in perfect condition; has 2 very visible cracks in it over 8 inches long. One window crank knob is missing. The driver's armrest is split. The seat backs for the front seats are missing. Many misc. interior trim parts are broken or missing. The carpet has holes worn completely through it on both the driver's and passenger's side.
Mechanical: "Good tires" was the description. The front tires are worn to the point that the outside layer of rubber has holes all the way around revealing the layer underneath. Other than that, I didn't care much about the mechanical condition since I planned on putting a "special"
drivetrain in the car at a later date, anyway. After several phone and e-mail conversations with the son-in-law; who according to e-bay is responsible for accurately listing the item; I have recieved nothing but grief.
I've made up my mind that I'm persuing whatever legal avenues I can. It's not so much the money; I would have settled for less than $1,000; it's the principle.
I searched the forums for similar situations and found nothing that would apply specifically to this incident, as the car was purchased from an owner in NE through his son-in-law in WY, then transported home to KY.
What is my best course of action apart from walking away with my tail between my legs? I'm not really a "back-down" kind of guy when I know I'm right...
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