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Anyone ever feel they got ripped off?

I bought my 1969 RR off the internet through a classic car dealer. I even paid for an inspection and did my research. Well so far I had to replace the starter, starter relay, I have a short somewhere, I need to replace most of the wiring, needed to get a new steering box which was a huge job taking it out! My plan was to buy a car and drive, that's what I paid for! The body on it is solid, hardly no rust, I guess I have that going for me. I think if I would have seen this car in person, I don't think I would have bought it. I planned on doing little things while I drove it and also have it repainted because the paint is not good which I knew about before I bought it. I don't even know how good it runs because I just drove it a 1/2 mile home from the car transport. Sorry, I just had to vent!!
I feel like I get ripped off at least 3 times per year, every April 15th plus twice per year when I pay outlandish property taxes.
 
I feel like I get ripped off at least 3 times per year, every April 15th plus twice per year when I pay outlandish property taxes.

Oh great, now you got me thinking about that! LOL
 
Caveat Emptor. Sorry to hear this. As said, a short drive with the engine running more than 10 minutes can reveal a lot. Odors, controls and switches work or not. My favorite is “ac works, but needs a charge. Not likely. In person or no purchase for me.
I've learned my lesson. I spent over three hours looking my road runner over and reviewing documents, calling friends to validate numbers, and drove it around the block a few times. I still spend more time working on it than driving it. I'll add that you need to buy 5 gallons of gas and drive it for one hour minimum. Even then, you'll find issues after you get the title.
The better advice is to save 40 grand and look for cars in the 45 grand asking price.
Next mopar I buy will be from someone I know or a friend of a friend.
Having said that I love my car and it's a joy to drive in between repairs.
 
Oh boy. I bought my '68 GTO coupe sight-unseen from the East Coast, and I also had it "inspected" by an allegedly well-regarded company on Long Island for $450. The idiot they had look at it claimed it was near-perfect with only a few minor things to fix like a broken lighter and so on. He also parroted the dealer's lie that it had front disc brakes, when in fact it just had drums (how do you miss that?). I got the car expecting to drive and enjoy it that summer, when in fact it took 9 months of almost constant work to get it into the condition I originally expected it to be in. The windshield was completely crooked, the engine needed a full rebuild ($5k at a local shop), the finish on the Endura bumper was shot ($2k to fix), many gauges weren't working, you couldn't manually shift into 1st, etc. It still could have been worse since it was in fact all numbers-matching as advertised and the body appears sound (nothing has bubbled so far). Unfortunately the inspector never sent me an actual report so I don't have any hard evidence of their incompetence aside from a phone conversation (which precludes me from naming names since I have no desire to get sued).

When I bought my Mopar I resolved I would see it with my own eyes first, regardless of how good a deal looked. I waited until my '70 Coronet R/T appeared locally, then saw and drove it. I purchased with few surprises this time. It needed a lot of work but I went in knowing 75% of what was needed at the time of purchase, and knew it would take 6-12 months and some money to get right. In the end it was worth it.

You can't go wrong in the classic car world by assuming that everyone involved in the sales and inspection process are crooked and lazy. Not "trust but verify", but "don't trust AND verify". This means you need to SEE IT FIRST. (Unless it's so cheap compared to your available funds that you can easily absorb a lemon.) And even if you do, plan on fixing things you never expected and paying for things you never expected. Unless it just rolled straight out of Mark Worman's warehouse with a $200k receipt, there is no such thing as a "turnkey" classic car.
 
you guys kill me
if you want something dead nuts reliable,jump in and drive
take the 45g and go buy a new challenger
not being derogatory but owning a old car isn't cut out for everyone
and if you think somehow spending more money outright will make it more reliable.
save yourself the grief
just go buy a new one.
My Brother bought a Hellcat for that very reason.
he could of bought any b body hemi car but
he wanted more time behind the wheel and not under the hood.
 
Unless it just rolled straight out of Mark Worman's warehouse with a $200k receipt, there is no such thing as a "turnkey" classic car.


I've even seen Worman cars require thousands to make right after his hands were on them. lol
the last part of your statement is correct
nature of the beast..
 
I've never bought a car in my life that I hadn't laid hands on myself, short of brand new ones.
Lord knows I'm no expert, but as others have said, interacting with the car in person yields all
sorts of impressions and knowledge - and oftentimes, same from the seller.
 
It’s like going on a blind date. You need to check under the hood and drive her a few times before your committed to buy.
 
I bought a rust free 64 newport conv once project car guy said h bought it in the 70's and it's been indoors since. Was parked for motor work anyways it was in the back of a building burried in a sea of cars I couldn't get good picture s nor said anyone to look at it ! I had his word ! Well my $3500 gamble was a bad one within mins of it getting off the trailer I noticed the paint job wasn't org and wavy well it had more freaking Bondo then a Bondo factory! His term rust free was no longer seeing it mine is not having any ! Well needless to say I got shafted on that deal! And that is the last time I buy anything without touching it myself!
 
I've even seen Worman cars require thousands to make right after his hands were on them. lol
the last part of your statement is correct
nature of the beast..
Yet again, people watching TV only believe what they watch versus reality..........Just cracks me up just how naive people are.....
 
I just think you should expect issues with any car 40+ years old..... I had a brand new starter fail after 50 miles on my 67 Coronet after a full resto... No biggie.. and the "rebuilt engine with a big cam" that turned out to be stock bottom end with a wiped out cam(just get to build it how I want). For me the best part of owning a classic Mopar is getting to tinker with it alllll the time, otherwise I would just get bored with it, as there's nothing worse than just detailing the crap out of something all the time. Just my 2 cents.
 
Sounds like buyers remorse to me. I get it almost every time I buy a car, but It wears off and I'm glad I have it.
 
I just think you should expect issues with any car 40+ years old..... I had a brand new starter fail after 50 miles on my 67 Coronet after a full resto... No biggie.. and the "rebuilt engine with a big cam" that turned out to be stock bottom end with a wiped out cam(just get to build it how I want). For me the best part of owning a classic Mopar is getting to tinker with it alllll the time, otherwise I would just get bored with it, as there's nothing worse than just detailing the crap out of something all the time. Just my 2 cents.
Yes, you can expect the unexpected with a 50 year old vehicle. Deceptive asvertising is wrong.
 
Sounds like buyers remorse to me. I get it almost every time I buy a car, but It wears off and I'm glad I have it.

Yeah, a little, but I am glad I have it. RR are getting harder and harder to find now a days. This is what I always wanted and the body is good on it.
 
I bought my 1969 RR off the internet through a classic car dealer. I even paid for an inspection and did my research. Well so far I had to replace the starter, starter relay, I have a short somewhere, I need to replace most of the wiring, needed to get a new steering box which was a huge job taking it out! My plan was to buy a car and drive, that's what I paid for! The body on it is solid, hardly no rust, I guess I have that going for me. I think if I would have seen this car in person, I don't think I would have bought it. I planned on doing little things while I drove it and also have it repainted because the paint is not good which I knew about before I bought it. I don't even know how good it runs because I just drove it a 1/2 mile home from the car transport. Sorry, I just had to vent!!
If you're trying to equate buying a 50 year old car with a few issues like the steering box and starter motor being faulty, with getting 'ripped off'....you sir are in the wrong hobby.

These cars have passed their prime, and as such require more maintenance and repair than a brand new car.... I would say that you got a decent deal. No major rust to deal with, I assume the title is good....another trap for the unwary.

Most guys here would jump at a chance to buy a car with as little wrong as your one has for the money. I know I would rather buy a '69 RR with steering box and starter issues, than one riddled with rust. :)
 
If you're trying to equate buying a 50 year old car with a few issues like the steering box and starter motor being faulty, with getting 'ripped off'....you sir are in the wrong hobby.

These cars have passed their prime, and as such require more maintenance and repair than a brand new car.... I would say that you got a decent deal. No major rust to deal with, I assume the title is good....another trap for the unwary.

Most guys here would jump at a chance to buy a car with as little wrong as your one has for the money. I know I would rather buy a '69 RR with steering box and starter issues, than one riddled with rust. :)

Agreed, but I had the car inspected and none of this was listed as being a problem. I was supposed to get a car that only needed a paint job and a couple little things. I'm not new to the hobby, I was into corvettes before and restored a 72 from the ground up. That's something I didn't want to get into again, I was willing to pay the price for a driver which I didn't get. Don't get me wrong, I like the car and know I am lucky to get one with hardly any rust.
 
Agreed, but I had the car inspected and none of this was listed as being a problem. I was supposed to get a car that only needed a paint job and a couple little things. I'm not new to the hobby, I was into corvettes before and restored a 72 from the ground up. That's something I didn't want to get into again, I was willing to pay the price for a driver which I didn't get. Don't get me wrong, I like the car and know I am lucky to get one with hardly any rust.
A good inspection SHOULD have discovered starter and battery issues, but without a decent road test, any steering issues found would likely have been limited to excessive leaks and such. Hopefully you can get on top of the problems quickly and begin to enjoy cruising in the summer months. :)
 
As a shop owner, this one hits me a little different than some. I have this attitude that if you can't fix your 50 year old plus car, might be time for a new Accord. I just went over 90k in the hole for my 67 Hemi GTX and have zero regrets that it took a set of plugs, wires and a coil to make it run right. Zero regrets that the little old lady consigning the car completely led about a few things for reasons only she knew.

it's mine, I love it, and refuse to bitch about anything I found on the car since I bought it. It is now my turn to fix the things that need help. That is 1/2 the fun of a 52 year old Hemi.
 
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