quote:

Originally posted by Bill N.Y.:
Maybe she see the 3 Bill's (Bill from CA, Bill from CO, Bill from NY) and might assume we're all the same people.

Just like my mailbox. Fulla bills.

quote:

Just like my mailbox. Fulla bills.

If you think it is full of bills now, wait until Congress gets finished with us. I'm gettin' skeer'd.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill N.Y.:
Maybe she see the 3 Bill's (Bill from CA, Bill from CO, Bill from NY) and might assume we're all the same people.

DOH!

I think it needs to be said that anyone willing to turn loose twenty to thirty thousand, getting rarer by the week, US greenbacks, needs to have some basic knowledge of what it is they are doing, bidding on, buying. The photos may not help the uninitiated too much, but the fact it is powered by the 5.9 Cummins, and has a spring suspension should offer more than a clue. Those that have no curiosity, or interest, in these mere mechanical details, perhaps they deserve to pay a little more for their indifference.

This coach did not meet the reserve and has been relisted Here.

You'll notice all reference to Regency has been deleted, YEE HAW! Let's hope they are not telling people it is a Regency via ebay questions.

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:

quote:

Originally posted by towerguy:

A co-worker of mine is in negotiations (via his lawyer) with a dealership in Texas that committed fraud by telling him the 2006 Corvette he purchased had 1700 miles and had never been wrecked. It turns out the mileage was at least 2100 miles (at one point, who lies about 400 miles?) and it had been wrecked by the previous owner. The dealership used car manager had full knowledge of the mileage and collision history. It appears the dealership might have to pay my co-worker 3 times the value of the purchase AND he retains the Corvette.

That is an excellent good example of how dishonesty in selling a vehicle can backfire.

I'm waiting to see how it turns out. The Ford dealership is trying hard to get out of it but they don't fully know just how much damning evidence he has on them. Their service department, along with another Chevy dealership that did the body work, provided the evidence via copies of their service invoices. The used car sales manager's signature was on them, one indicating he authorized the body work, another showing the mileage was over 2100 miles when they first took possession of the car and had the Chevy dealership service it. The series of lies committed by the salesman and manager could end up costing them around $128,000. Maybe I should be looking for a wrecked Barth instead of a Ferrari? Nah!

This all started when he asked me where he could get his newly acquired Corvette detailed. I sent him to my ex brother-in-law in Denver (none better). Before work was started, my ex-bro-in-law pointed out all the signs of collision work and inferior repair work that was done. The damage was fairly significant. This story should help anyone when buying a vehicle. If you're spending very much, it should be checked for mechanical as well as collision history. I would not trust Carfax any farther than you can throw the vehicle. They appear to be WORTHLESS when it comes to collision history!

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
Just like my mailbox. Fulla bills.

That last word was misspelled. That's ok Bill, I knew what you meant and I see how you made that "faux pas". After all, the "I" and "U" are next to each other on the keyboard.

quote:

Originally posted by towerguy:
This coach did not meet the reserve and has been relisted Here.

You'll notice all reference to Regency has been deleted, YEE HAW! Let's hope they are not telling people it is a Regency via ebay questions.

But now, what will I talk to myselves about?

Was it relisted with the hope of getting more money because it didn't meet their reserve... or was it relisted because the winner backed out when he found out it wasn't as advertised?

quote:

Originally posted by towerguy:
If you're spending very much, it should be checked for mechanical as well as collision history. I would not trust Carfax any farther than you can throw the vehicle. They appear to be WORTHLESS when it comes to collision history!

That depends... did the previous owner pay for the repairs "Out Of Pocket" or was it an insurance job?

quote:

Originally posted by towerguy:
If you're spending very much, it should be checked for mechanical as well as collision history. I would not trust Carfax any farther than you can throw the vehicle. They appear to be WORTHLESS when it comes to collision history!

quote:

Originally posted by Bill N.Y.:
That depends... did the previous owner pay for the repairs "Out Of Pocket" or was it an insurance job?

In the case of the Corvette, it was an insurance job so I've always wondered what had to transpire before collision history would show up on Carfax. A guy I used to work with was looking for a truck to buy about 4 1/2 years ago and had purchased 30 days worth of Carfax reports. we had this same discussion about Carfax being reliable. He plugged in his Acura that had been totalled the previous year and nothing showed up. I gave him the info on an Oldsmobile Regency that had been totalled six months earlier and nothing showed on it either.

I used to have a Buick LeSabre that was totalled due to high wind (90MPH - paint and glass) and, if I can find the paperwork on it, I'll check and see if it shows up. The Olds was totalled in a collision. Carfax is great for checking ownership history and title information and, while collision history does show up at times, it doesn't show up all the time and I'm not sure why.

quote:

Originally posted by towerguy:
Carfax is great for checking ownership history and title information and, while collision history does show up at times, it doesn't show up all the time and I'm not sure why.

Because Carfax can only report what they are told through their chosen sources. Just like how only a GM dealer will have service information on your Corvette that's done at THEIR shop... Carfax is only linked in with certain "licensed" body shops that put their info in a larger database that Carfax can access. If the work is done outside of those circumstances, it just won't show up. Not because anyone is being malicious or omitting information on purpose, but just because not everyone is electronically linked.

The information that IS in a Carfax report is likely true. Just don't assume that information NOT in a report did not happen.

There should be a line in the Carfax report that says "for entertainment purposes only" or something, rather than the implication that their database is the end-all-be-all of your vehicle's history.

quote:

Originally posted by scottydl:

quote:

Originally posted by towerguy:
Carfax is great for checking ownership history and title information and, while collision history does show up at times, it doesn't show up all the time and I'm not sure why.

Because Carfax can only report what they are told through their chosen sources. Just like how only a GM dealer will have service information on your Corvette that's done at THEIR shop... Carfax is only linked in with certain "licensed" body shops that put their info in a larger database that Carfax can access. If the work is done outside of those circumstances, it just won't show up. Not because anyone is being malicious or omitting information on purpose, but just because not everyone is electronically linked.

The information that IS in a Carfax report is likely true. Just don't assume that information NOT in a report did not happen.

There should be a line in the Carfax report that says "for entertainment purposes only" or something, rather than the implication that their database is the end-all-be-all of your vehicle's history.

I totally agree about the "entertainment purposes only" since many people try and make it seem that if the Carfax report is clean, the car is clean as well. Many ebay listings attempt to give you that impression. I also agree that information in a Carfax report is very likely to be correct. More importantly though, what information is not in the report?

I know that not everyone reports to Carfax, I never thought for a moment that something malicious is being done. The point I am making is just as you said, Carfax only draws from their pool of entities that report to them. Those not reporting appear to be far greater, with that in mind, you can't trust a Carfax report to tell the whole story. Many do! I would have thought an insurance claim would show up but I've seen several that didn't.

With all this in mind, I stick to my statement that if you're going to plunk down very much money, having the vehicle checked by a qualified mechanical technician AND body shop is the best way to go. It is all too easy for the average person to miss the tell tale clues of problems that might be quite expensive later.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim and Tere:
I once filed a report with Ebay about a fraudulent listing. In fact, I filed it a dozen times and even sent a registered letter to the CEO of Ebay. I never got one word of response, not one word.

I guess I'm doing better than you... At least they responded. Here is their response to my letter.

quote:

Dear Linda,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your report on this members
listing.

Unfortunately, we don't have firsthand knowledge of the items that
sellers list on our site. Because of this, we're not able to guarantee
the accuracy of the listing.

However, we do offer buyer protection programs for items purchased on
our site. You can learn about these programs here:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/...rotection-steps.html

If you have a question about an item, I encourage you to ask the seller
before you bid. Be sure to ask for specific item details, such as its
age, authenticity, and condition. You can contact the seller by clicking
the "Ask seller a question" link near the top of the item page.

It is my pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing eBay.

Sincerely,
Gilbert

eBay Motors Customer Support

Warning: Detailed post. Read only first and last sentence below if short of time.

I wouldn't expect much help from ebay. I did not receive an item, and they said, too bad, the seller has nothing in his paypal account.

"We have completed our investigation of this case. We attempted to process a refund from the seller's account to your account. Unfortunately, the seller's account does not contain the funds necessary to cover this refund. We were able to recover $0.00 USD. We have taken action against the seller and are working to recover the remainder of your refund. We will contact you when we have more information. No further action is required of you at this time.
The buyer's claim has been granted but the seller did not have sufficient funds in his PayPal account to cover the refund. PayPal is working with the seller to recover funds on the buyer's behalf. Case Closed."


I did some checking, and found that that company had TEN other ebay and paypal names and sites, and suggested that, since they were clearly the same, I could be compensated from one of the other sites. I was ignored. I pointed out that their web sites and pictures of their building as well as personnel were identical. It apparently was not suspicious to them.

What was interesting was that I came in contact with other victims of these companies, all of whom had complained to ebay and paypal. We all filed negative feedback, but it never showed up. The companies had almost 100% positive feedback.

Fortunately, I had used the credit card option when I used Paypal, not the debit option, so the charge was reversed on my card account when I contested it. Several months later, the sites were all down. Probably to reappear under new names, with the same pictures of their building. Out of curiosity, I just did a quick Google Search on one of the companies, and there are still a lot of outraged customers around.

Anyway, long story short, ebay is of no help in dishonest transactions.

Bidding is up to 29k. I can't believe it is that high. And, the reserve is not met.

Bet there's a shill or two in there...

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
Bet there's a shill or two in there...

Yes. Ever since eBay quit showing names of bidders, I have had that feeling.

Previously, one could do a little checking of bidders and pick out a few possible shills where their presence was suspected.

You could even alert a bidder of your suspicions re: the provenance of an item.

I received a nice book as a thank-you gift from one bidder who I suggested do deeper checking on his own. No, it wasn't Barth. But, it was an intentional bogus upgrade.

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