I messed up! What would you do?
03-06-2013, 12:39 PM
#1
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 65
Made A $3500 mistake!!! What would you do?
SORRY FOR THE LIFE STORY! READ THE BOLD WRITING FOR THE BUTCHERED SHORT STORY. THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH!!!
Hey I'm an idiot, and my name's Matt. I semi-compulsively bought an 88 t top stang 2 days ago as a project car. It's a e303 h/c/i car with the 5 speed. This isn't my first fox. I had an '87 comp orange 'vert for a while when I was pimping the '07 WRX.
The drive train seems sound. It could probably use a better tune but it's still running strong. (night and day compared to the old stock vert) He said he had the motor rebuilt when he did the h/c/i and only put 5000 miles on it since and I think i still believe him cause it helps me sleep at night.
Well the car pulled a little to the right and road a little rough. I didn't think much of it; almost instantly decided it was tie rod ends. WE COMPLETELY MISSED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CAR HAD BEEN PUSHED BACK CONSIDERABLY. I know nothing about collision work or frame damage and apparently my 2 friends don't either.
The tire almost rubs on the back of the wheel well. I CANNOT BELIEVE I DIDN'T NOTICE THIS. I was just so excited to get into a t-top car. (i don't know why, but I really love 80's t top cars; even 300zxs and trans ams.)
I took the car to NTB where they alerted me of the situation. I then took it to 2 collision places. The front passenger frame rail had been crunched back into the body a few inches. The 1st said It was severely messed up and if i brought him the car without the drive train or dashboard he could straighten it out for around $1000. The second said it was so ****ed that he wouldn't work on it unless I dumped some serious cash into it. He said that if he just pulled it the sheet metal was too messed up and Jerry rigged and would buckle too easily in an accident or something. I guess I'm not too concerned about my safety, but I'm not gonna dump more money into a worthless death trap that i won't be able to sell.
SO WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
I paid $3500 for the car, $33 for mobile 1 oil change, and $40 for used front tires I know, I'm so ashamed. At the time I felt this was $500 too much for the car with a STRAIGHT frame but was willing to take the hit cause it's exactly the car I was looking for.
THE GUY SAID HE WAS A MASTER MECHANIC AT NISSAN AND OWNED THE CAR FOR 13 YEARS; HE ****ING KNEW IT WAS ****ED AND DIDN'T DISCLOSE IT, OBVIOUSLY. He claims he bought the car like that, never noticed, and refused to take the car back or split the cost of the damage. I even offered to let him keep $500 of the $3500 if he took the car back the day after i bought it.
I initially bought the car to be a semi long term project (1 year, get the body straight and painted, fix all the little things and maybe add a power adder down the road) WOUD YOU:
1. Buy a roller and use this car as a donor car and scrap the rest?
If so, how would you go about doing this? Do i need to look for a roller with a clear title? How much would you pay for one and what should I look for when I look for one? Will everything transfer to a pre 87 fox? Is it harder if it was a 4 cyl or an auto orginally?
I have plenty of access to tools, live in a house w/ garage, have mechanic friends and waaaay too much free time for the average 24 year old (until i graduate college in December).
2. Put it on Craigslist immediately, get what I can for it, and find a different car down the road?
I WILL disclose the frame damage, because I am not an ******* and cannot do this to someone else. The car just pulls to the right a little and eats up front tires fairly quickly I'm sure (oh, and is considerably more dangerous in the event of a head on collision).Should I part it out or sell it whole? How much $$$ (ballpark) am I looking at?
-the drive train seems solid and runs great, although their may be a slight leak here and there, but nothing that wont be easy to fix when it's out of the car.
-the upholstery and carpet is new and looks good, but the fabric is noticeably cheap. the rest of the interior is complete as well.
-the glass is all good minus the windshield.
-all body panels are pretty darn straight minus the passenger fender and rear bumper cover.
3. Fix the small cheap things, drive it around for a few months, and then sell/part it out. (stickers good till December)
If I fix some gauges, the passenger window motor, the tail lights and throw a radio in it it'll be cool to drive for a while
4. Throw a wet shot on it and drive the **** out of it till it breaks/ I get bored with it... then salvage what's left
This option is sounding better and better as the shock of wasting so much money is wearing off.
5. Chug bleach
Hey I'm an idiot, and my name's Matt. I semi-compulsively bought an 88 t top stang 2 days ago as a project car. It's a e303 h/c/i car with the 5 speed. This isn't my first fox. I had an '87 comp orange 'vert for a while when I was pimping the '07 WRX.
The drive train seems sound. It could probably use a better tune but it's still running strong. (night and day compared to the old stock vert) He said he had the motor rebuilt when he did the h/c/i and only put 5000 miles on it since and I think i still believe him cause it helps me sleep at night.
Well the car pulled a little to the right and road a little rough. I didn't think much of it; almost instantly decided it was tie rod ends. WE COMPLETELY MISSED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CAR HAD BEEN PUSHED BACK CONSIDERABLY. I know nothing about collision work or frame damage and apparently my 2 friends don't either.
The tire almost rubs on the back of the wheel well. I CANNOT BELIEVE I DIDN'T NOTICE THIS. I was just so excited to get into a t-top car. (i don't know why, but I really love 80's t top cars; even 300zxs and trans ams.)
I took the car to NTB where they alerted me of the situation. I then took it to 2 collision places. The front passenger frame rail had been crunched back into the body a few inches. The 1st said It was severely messed up and if i brought him the car without the drive train or dashboard he could straighten it out for around $1000. The second said it was so ****ed that he wouldn't work on it unless I dumped some serious cash into it. He said that if he just pulled it the sheet metal was too messed up and Jerry rigged and would buckle too easily in an accident or something. I guess I'm not too concerned about my safety, but I'm not gonna dump more money into a worthless death trap that i won't be able to sell.
SO WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
I paid $3500 for the car, $33 for mobile 1 oil change, and $40 for used front tires I know, I'm so ashamed. At the time I felt this was $500 too much for the car with a STRAIGHT frame but was willing to take the hit cause it's exactly the car I was looking for.
THE GUY SAID HE WAS A MASTER MECHANIC AT NISSAN AND OWNED THE CAR FOR 13 YEARS; HE ****ING KNEW IT WAS ****ED AND DIDN'T DISCLOSE IT, OBVIOUSLY. He claims he bought the car like that, never noticed, and refused to take the car back or split the cost of the damage. I even offered to let him keep $500 of the $3500 if he took the car back the day after i bought it.
I initially bought the car to be a semi long term project (1 year, get the body straight and painted, fix all the little things and maybe add a power adder down the road) WOUD YOU:
1. Buy a roller and use this car as a donor car and scrap the rest?
If so, how would you go about doing this? Do i need to look for a roller with a clear title? How much would you pay for one and what should I look for when I look for one? Will everything transfer to a pre 87 fox? Is it harder if it was a 4 cyl or an auto orginally?
I have plenty of access to tools, live in a house w/ garage, have mechanic friends and waaaay too much free time for the average 24 year old (until i graduate college in December).
2. Put it on Craigslist immediately, get what I can for it, and find a different car down the road?
I WILL disclose the frame damage, because I am not an ******* and cannot do this to someone else. The car just pulls to the right a little and eats up front tires fairly quickly I'm sure (oh, and is considerably more dangerous in the event of a head on collision).Should I part it out or sell it whole? How much $$$ (ballpark) am I looking at?
-the drive train seems solid and runs great, although their may be a slight leak here and there, but nothing that wont be easy to fix when it's out of the car.
-the upholstery and carpet is new and looks good, but the fabric is noticeably cheap. the rest of the interior is complete as well.
-the glass is all good minus the windshield.
-all body panels are pretty darn straight minus the passenger fender and rear bumper cover.
3. Fix the small cheap things, drive it around for a few months, and then sell/part it out. (stickers good till December)
If I fix some gauges, the passenger window motor, the tail lights and throw a radio in it it'll be cool to drive for a while
4. Throw a wet shot on it and drive the **** out of it till it breaks/ I get bored with it... then salvage what's left
This option is sounding better and better as the shock of wasting so much money is wearing off.
5. Chug bleach
Last edited by boosted AWD; 03-06-2013 at 01:09 PM.
03-06-2013, 01:08 PM
#2
Gentleman's Relish
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: AZ
Posts: 13,090
get a carfax on it. Any damage that severe would may show up on the record. Then nail the guy to the wall if its within those "13" years he's owned it. I'm not sure how reliable Carfax is on older cars though?
keep it as project car but not a DD and track it, drive the shiz out of it until it breaks then scrap it.
And I'm not sure what him being a master mechanic has to do with anything...? Sounds to me like he's using that to help cover his tracks and using something unrelated to try and make himself sound intelligent on auto body work, that or his a total idiot and just proved it....
keep it as project car but not a DD and track it, drive the shiz out of it until it breaks then scrap it.
And I'm not sure what him being a master mechanic has to do with anything...? Sounds to me like he's using that to help cover his tracks and using something unrelated to try and make himself sound intelligent on auto body work, that or his a total idiot and just proved it....
Last edited by Derf00; 03-06-2013 at 01:11 PM.
03-06-2013, 02:04 PM
#4
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Clermont, FL
Posts: 2,952
Got any pics? under the hood and outside shots. How did they get the body panels to line up if the frame rail is pushed back that far? Could it be something as simple as a misaligned k-member or bent lower "a" arm that has the wheel pulled back?
03-06-2013, 02:21 PM
#6
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Clermont, FL
Posts: 2,952
03-06-2013, 02:37 PM
#7
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 1,772
Man that sucks people like this are complete "Dirt Bags " ! I would try this first and see if they could help you !
https://www.oag.state.tx.us/consumer/complain.shtml
https://www.oag.state.tx.us/consumer/complain.shtml
03-06-2013, 03:39 PM
#8
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 65
http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/cto/3529970416.html
http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/3594661476.html
what about these rollers?
The first one:
Does it look like the first one might be too F'd up? Is it extremely difficult to swap the quarter panels or would i be able to repair the body damage relatively cheaply? does it look like that frame might have gotten twisted on that one too? That one's about 3 hours away but if i can talk him down to $4-600 would the price be right?
the second one:
Looks awesome but I'm not a huge fan of the pre 87's but dont wanna ruin it by butchering my front end on there. I might be able to get used to it, but would $1500 be too much money for it?
http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/3594661476.html
what about these rollers?
The first one:
Does it look like the first one might be too F'd up? Is it extremely difficult to swap the quarter panels or would i be able to repair the body damage relatively cheaply? does it look like that frame might have gotten twisted on that one too? That one's about 3 hours away but if i can talk him down to $4-600 would the price be right?
the second one:
Looks awesome but I'm not a huge fan of the pre 87's but dont wanna ruin it by butchering my front end on there. I might be able to get used to it, but would $1500 be too much money for it?
03-06-2013, 03:43 PM
#9
Yukon Cornelius
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: deep in the heart of dixie GEORGIA
Posts: 11,808