ARRRRGGGGG... Why did I take on a project?

[TwinTurboGTR]

I am just venting and ranting.

So earlier this month, I decided I wanted a project. My friend was going to get rid of his 2006 Chevy Impala LS. He said that it needed work and just would be too much and that the work it needed, the cost would have exceeded the value of the car. So after asking how many miles and such and what his plans were, I said I would buy it. So of course, I get excited... I get 'er in the garage and wow, it is a mess. You can learn a lot about people by looking in their cars. Trash everywhere, receipts littered the floor, spilled gatorade(He is a personal trainer) NoExplode powder in the cup holders, mud, sand, etc... I mean this thing hasn't been cleaned out since he got it.

So I clean everything up and get the inside looking respectable. Then I start working on the outside. The body is pretty straight, but it does have flaws. Some of the bigger stuff I am not going to do because I have no body work experience. SO I wash it, do paint correction, Polish, wax and the exterior starts to look good as well.

Then I go on to mechanical... Here is where the fun starts. Driving it, I heard a clunking sound. Get it on the lift, bushings are bad on the lower control arms. Go to Napa, get new lower control arms fit them and now the noise is gone. Now the SES light is on. Hook the scanner to it, P0445 Evap Control Valve Fault. So go to dealer, part is $130... I said no. Go to Amazon, part is $18 for same AC Delco PN. Get the new valve fitted all is good but SES light is still on. Weird, maybe computer just needs to reinitialize itself. Check everything over, I felt good. Saved the Impala from going to the junker.

So now what? I decide to sell it. List it on ebay for $4000. I get a few bids and it goes up to $4500. Auction ends, winner says he made a mistake in price. Ok fine, no problem. Relist, I start it at $.99, it goes up to $3900... Contact the winner, tells me, "I didn't realize the vehicle was located in NJ, honest mistake." Really? Who doesn't read where a vehicle is located. Fine, no problem, relist it.

I put it at $3600, down to the wire a guy bids and wins it. We start talking about details. He asks about SES light, I tell him it just needs to reset itself and not to worry. If it doesn't I will pay for the car to be taken into GM for testing. He still sounds nervous about it. I told him I will take the car to the detailer and have it prepped for him (I didn't have time to do it again). He says great. This all happened Friday. He agreed to pick up the car on Monday (Today)

This morning, I call the guy to ask when he is coming. He still has doubts and wants to flake out because of the SES light and the P0445. I tell him if he's that uncomfortable, I will cancel the auction. He says no, "I'll try to make it down." I take a ride to the dealer to have them see if they have any ideas, on my way there, light goes out on its own. Great! Call the guy, tell him... He just says, "Oh, ok and then hangs up." Ok weird. He texts me he will be around at 12:30 1pm. I said fine. So I ask him to shoot me his info (Name, Address, Insurance co and policy number and I will draft the paperwork. He says"Oh I don't know, the car is for my mother and I don't want to put my name on it." I said ok, well you can always gift it to your mother. "Well, I am not comfortable with that, can't you just give me the title blank and you sign it?" No, I can't. So he says fine, put my name on it.

So he comes, 1 hour late 2:30pm(Now he did tell me he was running late. But I hate waiting) Now I see him pull up, he leaves his car running and he only brought himself. He looks at the car and says, oh you didn't document that scratch there, or that chip there... Well, yeah, he's right, I didn't document it, but in the listing, I said that there were scratches and chips, I just pictured the bigger stuff and not the small nick in the front corner of the bumper. He starts it up and starts looking in the motor. Checks the dip stick, tranny fluid, etc. Then looks in the coolant overflow tank. Looked at it for 10 minutes. Sticking a wadded up paper towel in there to check. "Engine sounds like water is mixing with the oil." Huh??? How do you hear that? "Well look in the coolant tank, that looks like oil." So I get a pick and swipe the residue he is talking about, it looked like someone just used regular water and not distilled when filling the system. It looked like calcium. So he looks under the oil cap and says, "See there is water!" I look, it is just condensation, its normal. "Well, I am telling you, that coolant is not supposed to smell like that." Like what? It doesn't smell like anything? Now I am starting to get upset. Starts to look under the car, "It's leaking oil like a sive." What? Where? I look, he's pointing to the grime under the oil pan. I've just about had it with him. At this point I know he is just screwing around. So I tested him, "Were you coming with cash or a bank check?" "I don't know yet." How do you not know?

So he looks at me and says, "You really don't know your way around a car do you? I mean the day isn't even that cold and there is a lot of smoke coming from the tail pipe. I can hear it, the engine is running really rich."

I laughed at him. I said, "Well, you;re right, it is a balmy 29* today so that smoke shouldn't be coming out after you just turned the car on 5 minutes ago. And yeah, I can HEAR the motor sounding rich too. You think it's the timing? I'll refund your deposit tomorrow. Have a good day."

I mean really??? If you didn't want the car, just say something!!! Don't start acting like a jerk. I mean really? You come by yourself, with your car running, and you don't know if you are going to pay in cash or with a bank check? The guy was just looking for every excuse in the book.

The kicker, just before I shut the garage door on him, he yells out, "I do a lot of these things. I know my cars!" Great, what do you want me to say, give you validation that you are an expert bull shitter? Sure you know how to kick a tire or two, but do you know how to pull a M62 motor apart? I think not sir! lol.
Phew, ok Rant over.

[TerminatorX5]

i sold an E34 on ebay...

was hoping to get $5000 but since i was leaving the country (did not list info in the listing, it is a RED flag #1 for the fraud people from Nigeria!!), i took the first offer of $4500...

the guy came in with his dad in a volvo, took the car for a ride around the block, handed me a cashiers check, i signed papers, he left...

totally paineless!!!!

were your buyers with (+) feedback?

[TwinTurboGTR]

Yeah all three were. I mean hell my Audi was easier to sell than this.

[TerminatorX5]

well... document that shit well, like the scratches, blah blah blah, and put a clause there, all sales are final - this is a USED car of xxxx year and xxxxx miles, so it is far from perfect... or, something to that effect...

so, when the guy says, oh, it has a scratch, sure does, it was in the listing, yeah, i see white/blue smoke, of course you do, it is used car, it was in the listing, what about the oily bottom, oh yeah, remember that pic - yeah, that was the pic of theoily bottom...

now what is your excuse? you got cash? or cashiers/certified check?

[TwinTurboGTR]

That guy wasn't prepared to buy anything. Scratches were mentioned, just not the obscure scratch under the front bumper facia. lol. Yea, I said under. If there wasn't anything he would have complained about brake dust on the caliper. The listing even said, "Now this is not a showcar, it will not win any awards, but if you want a good reliable car, then this is the one for you."

I dunno, I have it on craigslist, someone is coming tomorrow, so we will see.

Oh BTW, I lost out on the Style 87 rims and the same guy sold the 4.6is, bastard never even called me. Sold them yesterday.

[TerminatorX5]

are you talking about the Sandy 4.6???

[TwinTurboGTR]

yea. bastard. lol

[TerminatorX5]

wow!!! you need to consign your Chevy to that guy - it seems that he can sell snow in December in Siberia!!!

[TwinTurboGTR]

Haha. So I guess my search continues for the Style 87's

[epdarks]

It sounds like that guy has his little routine. Agrees to buy cars, shows up, throws out a bunch of BS about the cars condition, and the helpless owners start to believe his nonsense and take a lower price.

He doesn't like to list his name on the title because he doesn't want to pay taxes on it. He just wants to re-list them on craigslist (after he beats you down on price enough for him to make a margin).

It shows a bigger point of how difficult it has become to sell just about anything these days.

In your case, if you got the car for free, then you should still come out ahead $3500 on this deal, right? At least you have some margin. Most people selling their car have to deal with all of this bullshit AND lose their ass on the sale.