Author Topic: Bummed About My Car (Read 1889 times)

Prowler Orange Challenger · « **on:** May 24, 2006 - 11:23:55 PM »

Well, tonight I figure I would post my rant about the Challenger. Anyways, I've had this car for a year now and I've been only able to drive it 4 or 5 times because each time I found the seller has lied to me about the parts replaced or what he stated was new. In other words he took advantage of me or so that's how I feel about it. At the time I bought this car I didn't know a whole lot and some things were hidden. This is just some of his lies copied and pasted from his description of the car:

3. All body bushings and front end parts were replaced, aligned and new brakes were done. (False not all front end parts were replaced as I later found; only made to look that way) Will attach photo proof to this post.

5. New dash pad, tires, air shocks, gas tank, front shocks, B&M slap stick shifter. (False; It doesn't have new air shocks or front shocks; it was hard to tell when clay was covering them up.) Have photo proof

6. Installed a new Electric cooling fan (Later found to be a used crappy fan)

For the past year I have found a lot of things wrong with the car and to make matters worse the guy who was the second owner was the one who did a lot of things that the seller I bought it from took credit for the second owner's work and to make matters worse the guy I wanted to paint the car still hasn't quoted me anything as far as materials go. I've been onto him three times for this already and even bought a gallon of Prowler Orange from him but, he hasn't told me how much primer or clear coat is gonna cost me just yet.

To say the least I'm bummed about this and not sure if I want to proceed any further with the project as I sat down and figured I would have over $22k in this car you figure with just the parts and I'm not sure even if I were to get it done decently that I would get that back out of it and I hate loosing money on anything. To say the least I am saddened over this and saddened that this ordeal with the car hasn't been a happy one. Additionally, I don't make anywhere near the money that a lot of people on this website make. I'm only an E-4 in the Air Force so I'm at the bottom of the wage list for the meantime.
Anyways, I'm thinking of putting the Challenger back together and selling it as it is now but, I have bought a lot of new things for it or I thought parting it out at this point.
The positive is the body is solid but, the paint and bodywork is starting to show its age not that it looks horrible. My intent was never to get this deep with the car. I've fixed a lot of the screw ups on this car. All I wanted was something decent and I could get in drive but, unfournately somebody cashed in this deal. In the end I realized I got screwed over by the seller and its hard to get anybody to do anything anymore much less be honest with you.

BTW, the seller's name is Randy Smart. I will not post the city where he resides due to harassment reasons within this message, if anyone legit here wants to where he resides as he has sold mopars including E-Bodies, before then shoot me a PM and I'll let you know.

Anyways, here's a little photographical proof of the lies. Too bad I didn't catch it before and too bad I didn't know what I know then with what I know now. And oh yeah I paid $15k for this car last year. It was an original 318 car made into somewhat of an R/T Clone with a 383 Big Block. I'm not sure if $15k last year was a good price on this but, anyways this is just my rant and I'm pretty down about the car.

Cuda Cody · « **Reply #1 on:** May 25, 2006 - 01:18:47 AM »

Sorry that you feel that way about your car. You got to hang in there and when you get it done YOU'LL KNOW IT'S RIGHT! I can understand where you are coming from. I feel the same way about my challenger. EXCEPT mines a rust bucket on top of all those issues. Parting it out is a hard decision to make. I thought about it long and hard too. I figured there is just as much labor to take it all apart, ebay it (fees!), package the items up (basiclly a complete car) and ship it.... so I keep fixing it.

I spent $21K for mine and I got about 10 miles before the carb caught on fire. Then the next day the dash started smoking! That was the last time the car moved.

If you need to vent... go right ahead. Get a good night sleep and take a break from it.... But do not give up!

ROMI · « **Reply #2 on:** May 25, 2006 - 04:07:08 AM »

Hey POC, you know how I feel about your situation. I didn't know you paid $15k for the car but at today's prices I'd say that's not that bad of a deal. I think it's your income situation that makes it seem bad because it's hard to do what you want to do when you know more important things are a higher priority. I'd hate to see you give up. You still have a nice car. Like Cody implied, at least it's not a rust bucket. If you want to own one of these cars then you have to be well off, or incredibly patient. I'm not well off either, I'm self employed and 53, but I AM patient. The body work is a major thing and I mean major. If you look at some of the posts about doing body work around here you'll find that it usually takes guys, YEARS to get that stuff done. Some times you have to put off the things you'd like to do so you can still enjoy it while you save up some $$$$ to do them, especially if you're going to need some professional help in getting them done. I hope you can muster up the patience and not throw in the towel. You're young and it will become worth it later on.

Ron

Bullitt- · « **Reply #3 on:** May 25, 2006 - 07:47:30 AM »

Brother Prowler, First let me say how bad I feel that the car was misrepresented and has been such a problem for you, but on the bright side if the frame and body are straight & solid count yourself among the lucky few. I have no idea what the value of the vehicle was or is but I see plenty of junk out there that the asking price is much more. If you have a complete & solid drive train all the better. The reality of owning such a vehicle is that there are going to be problems/issues that have to be or need to be dealt with to keep them on the road. I would imagine that even a fully restored unit would have more maintenance than most any late model but this is the price we have to be willing to pay for the pleaser of owning a classic. If you are a do-it -yourself kind of guy most of this should be part of the joy. If you do not have the deep pockets to just pay for it or don't enjoy the work then this is not the hobby for you. Would you please innumerate what you perceive as the necessary repairs that would make your car safe and drivable and the solutions you have contemplated, then the board could possibly give you some different tact's to take that may reduce some of these expenses. Since you have bought paint and are seeking primer & clearcoat pricing it appears to me that you are contemplating handling the body and paint work yourself. Here is a link to a little company in Kentucky that I have found to be most reasonable. GOOD LUCK and we know that whatever decision you make will have to be the best for you.
http://www.smartshoppersinc.com/

Oldschool · « **Reply #4 on:** May 25, 2006 - 09:41:11 AM »

The situation concerning the car is a bummer for sure....

But it could have been much worse.. I agree with Bullit99---lay out your plan and see if this board can't help you get this taken care of a little less expensively... It sounds to me like you have a solid car, just needs some tlc to get it where you want it. Please don't give up, your car can be brought up to your standards. Shocks, front end bushings, and that kind of stuff is DIY stuff with help from this board. Folks here can give you detailed instructions and pics when needed to get everything right. Good luck---and keep us posted...

... Oldschool

FM3V6M · « **Reply #5 on:** May 25, 2006 - 09:52:24 AM »

Thank you for your service to our country and to us! Good luck and hang in there.

kudakidd · « **Reply #6 on:** May 25, 2006 - 10:30:54 AM »

Once you scratch the surface (pun intended) of ANY old car, you're going to end up putting more money into it than you originally thought. Keep a positive outlook. You will not lose money on your car if you decide to sell it

Super Blue 72 · « **Reply #7 on:** May 25, 2006 - 01:36:41 PM »

Hey Prowler,

I can understand your frustration. I'm with you, I hate loosing money on anything too. $15K for a '71 Challenger with a 383, regardless if it was 318 before, isn't a bad deal considering what they're going for today. Dude! It's a '71! I would love to have a '71!

Don't give up hope yet. Don't get rid of it, don't part it out, unless you're really hurting for money. I know what it's like to be a little low in the cash flow. I haven't been working for a while due to medical reasons and the thought of selling my Challenger crossed my mind but if this is the car you really love, don't give it up. You're already are familiar with this car. It's not like a basket case. Think about how much it'll cost to buy what you already have now.

Definately what the previous owners did by misrepresenting the car was WRONG. But I don't know if there is anything that can be done now. If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Just work with it for now.

If that paint guy hasn't got back to you after 3 times, I would find someone else. That shows his integrity and character.

If money is a concern, it doesn't have to be a show winner. I think once you get it up and running, work out the bugs, and drive it a bit, your feelings of frustration will be taken over by feelings of joy. Your paint looks decent (better than mine!!!) from the pics I've seen. You just got some sweet tires and rims. If you don't have the $$$ to make it really sharp looking right now, do it later, get the car together and save you nickles and dimes for another day when the $$$ situation is a bit more optimistic.

I would love to have a car to drive and win some shows but right now that isn't going to happen for me. I do things on the cheap side to make it presentable. I don't buy new door panels, I refinish the original panels, sand down the wierd surfaces. I don't buy $25/can Mopaint, I get $4.99/can Plasticote interior paint. (Actually matches exactly the blue interior!), I bought used R/T chrome tips instead of new. You get the message..... I'm not saying that's what you should do, but just to give you some ideas...

I just hope you hang in and keep your car. You may regret it later on if you sell it. Hope all works out for you!

70RTdroptop · « **Reply #8 on:** May 25, 2006 - 09:01:57 PM »

Prolwer - you 've got to hang in there, buddy. I think a lot of us on this board have had the same or worse experiences. I know it's discouraging now, but if you keep working at it, things will turn out for the better. When I bought my convertible in March 2004, it looked like a pretty good deal, but after I got it home, poor workmanship and / or outright lies about what was done started rearing its ugly head. As an example, the first thing I did when I got the car home ( bought it in southern Missouri, I live in southern WI ) was pull the engine and put in a different one. Then I had a tranny leak that I couldn' t figure out and it was driving me crazy. Then all the little things that just bug the sh*t out of you. However, right now I'm pretty happy with the results. I'm finally over the hump, but it took a little while to get to this point. Keep plugging away and you'll be happy you did.

chevyconvert · « **Reply #9 on:** May 25, 2006 - 11:22:33 PM »

Prowler Orange Challenger · « **Reply #10 on:** May 26, 2006 - 02:07:23 AM »

Thanks everyone. That's why I like this board. I guess for the meantime when I get some more money next month since I just got through paying a butload of bills this month I will finish throwing it back together. I'm going to take a break from the Challenger and hopefully (cross my fingers) get some miles out of the Dakota Vert even though I don't have overdrive anymore (could be sensor or a hundred different things, I'll just drive it till it breaks). As for the paint guy, I know he's not a bad guy and I realize he's busy but, I'm use to a quick turnaround on things. It's just the military training inside of me and besides that I don't like sitting on things for a long time. If I have something to do I'd like to get it done and get it out of the way. That's just my personality.
Well, anyways I'm hoping the weather will clear up today. It's raining now but, hopefully that will clear up before sunrise. Well thanks everyone and have a good day. It felt good ranting for a bit. Maybe we should turn this into the rant sticky huh?

hotrod98 · « **Reply #11 on:** May 26, 2006 - 07:26:01 AM »

If you love the car, I say hang in there and make the car the way that you want it. It doesn't matter if it takes a while. If you don't love the car, sell it now and go find something that you're heart is in. Otherwise you'll stress over it continuously. I don't think there's a gray area when it comes to the love of a car. You either love it or you don't. My way of living life is to look forward, not backward. You can't change the past but you own the future.

Thank you for defending our country and keeping us free. You guys are appreciated more than you'll ever know.

DAYTONA · « **Reply #12 on:** May 27, 2006 - 07:56:44 AM »

Quote from: Prowler Orange Challenger on May 24, 2006 - 11:23:55 PM

Well, tonight I figure I would post my rant about the Challenger. Anyways, I've had this car for a year now and I've been only able to drive it 4 or 5 times because each time I found the seller has lied to me about the parts replaced or what he stated was new. In other words he took advantage of me or so that's how I feel about it. At the time I bought this car I didn't know a whole lot and some things were hidden. This is just some of his lies copied and pasted from his description of the car:

3. All body bushings and front end parts were replaced, aligned and new brakes were done. (False not all front end parts were replaced as I later found; only made to look that way) Will attach photo proof to this post.

5. New dash pad, tires, air shocks, gas tank, front shocks, B&M slap stick shifter. (False; It doesn't have new air shocks or front shocks; it was hard to tell when clay was covering them up.) Have photo proof

6. Installed a new Electric cooling fan (Later found to be a used crappy fan)

For the past year I have found a lot of things wrong with the car and to make matters worse the guy who was the second owner was the one who did a lot of things that the seller I bought it from took credit for the second owner's work and to make matters worse the guy I wanted to paint the car still hasn't quoted me anything as far as materials go. I've been onto him three times for this already and even bought a gallon of Prowler Orange from him but, he hasn't told me how much primer or clear coat is gonna cost me just yet.

To say the least I'm bummed about this and not sure if I want to proceed any further with the project as I sat down and figured I would have over $22k in this car you figure with just the parts and I'm not sure even if I were to get it done decently that I would get that back out of it and I hate loosing money on anything. To say the least I am saddened over this and saddened that this ordeal with the car hasn't been a happy one. Additionally, I don't make anywhere near the money that a lot of people on this website make. I'm only an E-4 in the Air Force so I'm at the bottom of the wage list for the meantime.
Anyways, I'm thinking of putting the Challenger back together and selling it as it is now but, I have bought a lot of new things for it or I thought parting it out at this point.
The positive is the body is solid but, the paint and bodywork is starting to show its age not that it looks horrible. My intent was never to get this deep with the car. I've fixed a lot of the screw ups on this car. All I wanted was something decent and I could get in drive but, unfournately somebody cashed in this deal. In the end I realized I got screwed over by the seller and its hard to get anybody to do anything anymore much less be honest with you.

BTW, the seller's name is Randy Smart. I will not post the city where he resides due to harassment reasons within this message, if anyone legit here wants to where he resides as he has sold mopars including E-Bodies, before then shoot me a PM and I'll let you know.

Anyways, here's a little photographical proof of the lies. Too bad I didn't catch it before and too bad I didn't know what I know then with what I know now. And oh yeah I paid $15k for this car last year. It was an original 318 car made into somewhat of an R/T Clone with a 383 Big Block. I'm not sure if $15k last year was a good price on this but, anyways this is just my rant and I'm pretty down about the car.

if you can, just park/store the car till your finances catch up with your dream.....it will look lots better in a few years...

1BADFISH� · « **Reply #13 on:** May 27, 2006 - 09:53:34 AM »

Quote from: kudakidd on May 25, 2006 - 10:30:54 AM

Once you scratch the surface (pun intended) of ANY old car, you're going to end up putting more money into it than you originally thought. Keep a positive outlook. You will not lose money on your car if you decide to sell it

Author Topic: Bummed About My Car (Read 1889 times)

Prowler Orange Challenger

Bummed About My Car

Cuda Cody

Re: Bummed About My Car

ROMI

Re: Bummed About My Car

Bullitt-

Re: Bummed About My Car

Oldschool

Re: Bummed About My Car

FM3V6M

Re: Bummed About My Car

kudakidd

Re: Bummed About My Car

Super Blue 72

Re: Bummed About My Car

70RTdroptop

Re: Bummed About My Car

chevyconvert

Re: Bummed About My Car

Prowler Orange Challenger

Re: Bummed About My Car

hotrod98

Re: Bummed About My Car

DAYTONA

Re: Bummed About My Car

1BADFISH�

Re: Bummed About My Car