Crazy car buying stories!

When I was 18 and still living at home I acquired a navy blue Fiat 128 on the cheap to go along with my (then cheap) TR6. My mom was having none of the 2 car thing and said one had to go. I put an add in 'The Recycler' saying I would trade the Fiat for a guitar. A guy called and asked if the add was a joke. I said no, what do you have to trade? He had a Guild 12 string acoustic guitar which is sitting right here right now. That was 30 years ago. I do not wonder if the Fiat is still around- it aint.

I lived in West Trenton, NJ in the 70s. I used to drive by a house on a very large lot with mature trees. Under one of the trees was a Shelby GT 350 sitting high in the front. I finally stopped and inquired about the car. Parents told me son bought car, blew up engine, took engine to speed shop, could not pay bill, speed shop sold engine and yes the car was for sale. The PA title had not been transferred yet and they produce it. The original owner was a guy named Roger Penske. They told me son would be home next day and he wanted to sell because they wanted it gone. Excited, I left and returned the next day ready to tow it home. Son was very excited and angry. No, he did not want to sell. I left very very disappointed. Car sat for years. I moved away in 81

So, in Spring 2010 my buddy Tony falls out of a tree he was trimming and breaks the heels on both feet. He is laid up for months during which time he finds Copart. Talks me into registering as a bidder. First car I bid on is a Miata with dented fenders and blown airbag (so it's totaled). I win bid at $300. I go get the car. It's been somebody's Sunday car. Has rebuilt Jasper engine with <5000 miles on it, satellite radio, etc. Almost 5 years later it's given no problems.

My only interesting story is when I saw a nice Formula Firebird 350 at a fly-by-night dealer in Norfolk when I was in the Navy, maybe 1988 or so. Sweet, I could trade in my generic 84 Camaro.

Test drive was barely around the block on an empty tank, probably didn't get above 20mph. He gives me the price, I countered with what I could afford and a dozen reasons why. He gives the "I need to go talk to my manager about this".

Walks into his office. I can see both of them. Manager is at his desk, never looking up, totally ignoring the salesguy. Salesguy says in a very loud voice "COME ON BOSS, I REALLY NEED THIS PRICE". Manager never even glances up.

Salesguy comes out and starts with "well my boss is being a hardass, but he says he can do thisnthisnthis"... I got up and left.

I got a phone call one day at work from a friend who works at a family auto repair shop. He said that one of their longtime customers was in to have his car serviced and he was talking to them about his deadbeat son who was berkeleying up his life. Got into drugs, started stealing from him, baby mama E36 M3, debt up to his ears, etc... None of that concerned me until he said that he was about 8 hours from getting his BMW repossessed by a title loan company unless he could come up with super fast cash...

'oh really, what model BMW if you don't mind me asking?'
'its a 97 M3. I bought it for him, it's pristine, and he went and put a lien on it for drug money. Now he's gonna lose it. berkeley him, I'm done helping him anymore.' 'Does he have any interest in selling it?' 'I'm sure if you paid his loan off and gave him more drug money, he would.'

About 10 minutes later, I was on the phone with captain Addict, took the rest of the day off, picked up my buddy and drove a couple hours to LoanMax. He owed $2200 to LoanMax, due at 3pm that day. He asked for $4500. I told him $3000 or I was walking. He finally caved at around 3:30 haha. I went in, paid the loan off, got the title signed over to me, and gave him $800 to put up his nose presumably.

It was by far the best stroke of automotive luck I've ever come across, especially once I found out the car had a brand new set of PSS9's, full AA exhaust, and diffsonline 3 clutch 3.64 racing diff installed previously. The kid had no idea what he was driving around in...

TeamEvil wrote: Is that box/semi rig truck that's actually a terrific hamburger place still parked around there? Haven Brothers or something like that? I remember coming home from NYC in my Ghia and having a bit of engine trouble. Got off of the highway and stumbled onto that weird place in the middle of the night. The Ghia cooled down while I had a burger and I made it back to Boston without a hitch.

As far as I know the Haven Brothers trailer still comes out at night. It's a great place to go for a bite at 2:00 am after the downtown clubs close. But I don't go into Providence late at night anymore. Crime rate has risen and gang warfare adds to the danger.

Jerry wrote: My only interesting story is when I saw a nice Formula Firebird 350 at a fly-by-night dealer in Norfolk when I was in the Navy, maybe 1988 or so. Sweet, I could trade in my generic 84 Camaro. Test drive was barely around the block on an empty tank, probably didn't get above 20mph. He gives me the price, I countered with what I could afford and a dozen reasons why. He gives the "I need to go talk to my manager about this". Walks into his office. I can see both of them. Manager is at his desk, never looking up, totally ignoring the salesguy. Salesguy says in a very loud voice "COME ON BOSS, I REALLY NEED THIS PRICE". Manager never even glances up. Salesguy comes out and starts with "well my boss is being a hardass, but he says he can do thisnthisnthis"... I got up and left.

Have a similar story on the other coast in 1980. In the army in Tacoma, WA just back from 2 1/2 years in Korea. Couple months pay in my pocket. Walk in to a used car dealer when I noticed the 71 Challenger on the lot. Red w/black top and Crager Klassics on it. Didn't get to test drive it but heard it run. Had a mildly hot cam with a lumpy idle and an exhaust rattle that I complained about but knew was easily fixed with new hangers. Salesman quoted a price, I countered a couple hundred less and he laughs and tells me to come back in 3 days when it's military payday. Yeah, I leave and never went back. That car would have gotten me into trouble anyway.

My Mexican friend and I (Asian) drove 2 hours into the desert town near Victorville, CA, to buy my MX-6 GT from a man who resembled Woody Harrelson with numerous tattoos and one prominent "White Pride" tattoo. Throughout the time there, his girl was making comments about wanting to see me undress, offered to flash me in return, he seemed ok with it; "she likes to be naked," he pronounces my oh-so-Asian name correctly without help, offers me home grown desert weed (declined, still found some in a baggy when I cleaned the car out later,) we had to pull start the car and did I mention it was located in a neighborhood without paved roads? I'm sure that car was Dukes of Hazzards on some very uneven dirt road for the time he had it.

Interesting experience, and people for sure. Call me weird but it was a fun adventure, I'd have a beer with that dude anyday. The car is very rough yet still in my possession and slowly progressing (I need an IAC.)

In reply to DuctTape&Bondo Not sure if screwing with me, or best story yet...

In reply to Trackmouse: Seller's gf; "He's not racist, he's just proud of being white."

Cool with me.

True story, thanks. I thought I killed yet another thread with my awkwardness.

In reply to DuctTape&Bondo:

Did you get an up close look at the headlights and undercarriage?

Aaaaaaand this just became another f2t thread....

bgkast wrote: In reply to DuctTape&Bondo: Did you get an up close look at the headlights and undercarriage?

Headlights looked ok for the vintage, bumper sag as per usual on most examples of that vintage. And the car was about the same.

My personal favorite:

Find a car in Michigan (Civic track car, built engine, rollbar, seats, yadda yadda) and the seller is in a hurry to get rid of it. I run the numbers and decide it'll be worth parting out. I fly there from Maryland with a friend. This is how the trip goes:

1. Get to airport @5:30AM, have security lady say, "IS THIS A JOKE?" to us trying to get a backpack full of tools through the Xray machine. Whoops.

2. X-hour flight that was so loud we couldn't hear each other speaking.

3. Get car ("Hmm, that's a funny noise the engine is making..."), and about 2 hours into the 12-hour drive back realize that a new noise started...which turns out is the timing belt shredding itself on a loose bolt. It is Sunday, 5:30PM in rural Ohio. Decide to wing it and continue driving after fishing out the bolt.

4. Cruising at something >100mph on the Ohio Turnpike past a cop running laser. Didn't so much as turn his lights on, so we kept going.

5. Getting airborne on a bridge in Pennsylvania @ ~80mph. That one surprised us.

6. Making it home after 14 hours on the road, nearly deaf from the ridiculous exhaust and so delirious we were just about hallucinating.

Good times.

Trackmouse wrote: Go ahead guys, share em. We wanna hear your funny/crazy/cool/stupid car buying stories (this kinda goes with that other thread but not quite.)

I saw a car I wanted for sale in the local Auto Trader. I went to the owner's house, roadtested the car, decided i wanted it, then the next day she and her husband drove to a branch of my bank near where i worked, where I withdrew the cash for the car and we had the title notarized to my name. Then her husband drove her home and I drove back to work in my new car.

It may seem somewhat tame, but from the stories of nightmare auto purchases I have read here, it seems to have been a pretty exotic experience.

(I still remember clearly what instigated this. I would buy my lunch at the convenience store, and I would crab an Auto Trader for reading material. And then OH HELL NAW DOGG there was an '80 RX-7 for sale. I wanted to buy an RX-7 and had been hunting an '80 for a long time. Called her while still on lunch break. Drove it that evening. Owned it the next day. That was in 1999.)

Back around 2001 I saw an ad for an 88 dodge colt turbo (g32b SOHC) with unexplained 'wiring problems' for $150 about 300 miles away. I called the guy and worked out the details, caught a ride with a friend who was going that direction to report to his new AirForce duty station, and showed up with a lot of self confidence, a small tool kit and some multistrand wire.

After paying the seller he helped me find a burned wire, we spliced in a new piece of wire, and I started it up, checked the fluids, and drove it 300 miles home. The seller was so happy I got it running, he gave me $50 back, and followed me for the first 10 miles to make sure I didn't break down.

It was a good thing I got it running, as I had NO backup plan or friends in the area, my buddy who dropped me off had left immediately after dropping me so he wouldn't be late to report, and I would have been stranded if I hadn't gotten it running.

TMo wrote: Back around 2001 I saw an ad for an 88 dodge colt turbo (g32b SOHC) with unexplained 'wiring problems' for $150 about 300 miles away. I called the guy and worked out the details, caught a ride with a friend who was going that direction to report to his new AirForce duty station, and showed up with a lot of self confidence, a small tool kit and some multistrand wire. After paying the seller he helped me find a burned wire, we spliced in a new piece of wire, and I started it up, checked the fluids, and drove it 300 miles home. The seller was so happy I got it running, he gave me $50 back, and followed me for the first 10 miles to make sure I didn't break down. It was a good thing I got it running, as I had NO backup plan or friends in the area, my buddy who dropped me off had left immediately after dropping me so he wouldn't be late to report, and I would have been stranded if I hadn't gotten it running.

Sounds like you'd be perfect for banger rallying ;) You should join us. Takes just that kinda huevos to do this stuff.

Many years back at a friends apartment complex there was a green 74 impala that I had been watching slowly loose the air in its tires for a couple years. Finaly asked the landlord what the deal was. He said $50 and it is yours. Added air and a battery and five gallons of gas and drove it home. Found original dealer service slips in the glove box I went to the dealer and asked about the car. Turns out it was the proverbial little old lady car and what I thought was really 125 k miles was actually 25k. The car had sat for 15 years un touched. The lady that owned it had purchased it new and died after only having it 5 years. The famley had abandoned it and the landlord of the complex just kind of ignored it as it was way in the back out of the way. An elderly nabor had keys and had kept air in the tires started it every now and then and moved it from space to space every now and then. It was only when he died did it sit and that is when the landlord filed for a lien title. It was a really cool time capsule. Cleaned it up and drove it for a couple years. Absolutely nothing special of a car. Fabric seats AM/FM mono radio and manual crank windows. But you know I would rock another one today if I could find one.

[Quote]Sounds like you'd be perfect for banger rallying ;) You should join us. Takes just that kinda huevos to do this stuff.[/Quote]

Tell me more about this 'banger rallying'... it sounds like my kinda fun :)

TMo wrote: [Quote]Sounds like you'd be perfect for banger rallying ;) You should join us. Takes just that kinda huevos to do this stuff.[/Quote] Tell me more about this 'banger rallying'... it sounds like my kinda fun :)

Short version so as not to threadjack. 5 day 1500 or so mile road trip with other "teams" everyone in cheap (price varies by event but around $500) cars. Challenges are given daily to accrue points and keep you preoccupied between breakdowns. Much partying is done between wrenching. There is an open class for the less adventurous and a really bad idea class for the truly insane. On that one you show up 2 days in advance with no car. You have 2 days to fine, buy and prepare your cheap car.