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Old 12-07-2018, 03:16 PM   #1
R1jamn
 
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Seller not Honest?

Found what appears to be a low mileage (802 miles) summit white ZL1 on Ebay.
I made contact with the seller (3rd owner) and we have come to an agreed sale price.
The listing has ended and I have been doing a lot of research on the vehicle since and been in constant contact with the seller.

The vehicle shows a clean carfax except for not passing an emission test when the vehicle was being registered to the 2nd owner in Massachusetts.
The story was that the battery was disconnected and the O2 sensors needed to relearn.
I found a mileage discrepancy when comparing the mileage on carfax against the dealer service report. Again this is with the 2nd owner.
The discrepancy is not much but it did throw a red flag.

The third and current owner purchased the vehicle with 776 miles on the clock.
It now has 802 miles on the clock. That is 26 miles that he placed on the vehicle in over a year. That's it.
When I asked him about the air conditioning and did it blow ice cold he said it did and that he has driven the vehicle for two summers now. ???????
How do you drive a vehicle in two summers and only put 26 miles on the clock????
He claimed the vehicle is all stock. The pics clearly showed that the Goodyear F2's are not on the vehicle but now have Toyo proxes 4 plus installed.

Whenever I bring up a vehicle inspection he gets paranoid. He wants me to take it to his place of work and let his mechanic do the inspection.
When I said I want a body shop to look at it too, again I get resistance.

I have a flight booked already. I have a cashiers check for the full amount ready.

I believe I should back out of this one. Something just doesn't seem right.

Update 12/15/18:
This thread is not intended to denigrate the sellers reputation.
It is to gain constructive viewpoints on seller and confidence as a buyer.
We slowly dissolved the barrier that was making us apprehensive and the deal went smoothly thereafter.
I completed the deal with the seller on 12/11/18
The vehicle was loaded up on an enclosed transport on 12/15/18
The correspondence with the seller has always been punctual.
We were both very cordial and treated each other with respect throughout the entire transaction.
I thanked him for his patience and understanding. We discussed this on our meet and greet.
I told the seller as I departed that he was a "Stand Up Guy".
Not only did he have a beautiful ZL1, but he had a beautiful home and a beautiful family.
He was a very gracious host my entire visit.

Vehicle loaded up on an enclosed transport on 12/15/18
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Last edited by R1jamn; 12-15-2018 at 06:56 PM.
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Old 12-07-2018, 03:47 PM   #2
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The history is unusual, but circumstances can cause low milage use, and maybe this does conflict with need for a tyre swap. If you have opportunity to be at the inspection and know what the underside of a ZL1 looks like, are able to remove the under tray and inspect every aspect of the frame and body, you will get a sense of whether it is pristine or not. I would expect the interior to smell and look new, with nil pedal wear, seat bolster creases, chafe marks on sill plates or trunk cavity edge. The exterior should have nil paint or windscreen chips, door handle cavity finger nail marks, etc. Contact the previous owners, verify VIN and engine numbers, and generally approach as if it might be reborn from salvage or stolen. Good luck and be wary.
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Old 12-07-2018, 04:13 PM   #3
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Theres more to the story.
To accommodate the seller and myself, I called a third party to perform a vehicle inspection at the sellers home.
The company is called "Lemon Squad".
Lemon Squad said that they will call the seller to setup a time.
I called the seller to let him know that the inspector will be calling him to setup a time. We both agreed on 10am.
I was very specific with Lemon Squad on the date of inspection (Tues, 12-11-18) as this is the day that I will be doing a meet and greet with the seller and to see the vehicle myself.
I received an email last night that the inspection is to take place three days prior to my arrival (Sat 12-8-18).
I called Lemon Squad to find out why my date of inspection was changed and they have no control of the inspectors schedule.
I contacted the seller today and he said "Oh I was going to call you and let you know that the inspector just called me and couldn't come out on Tuesday".

I'm just not feeling good about this.
Too many other cars out there where the transaction does not have a bucket full of issues.
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Old 12-07-2018, 04:21 PM   #4
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It just sounds pretty sketchy to me, personally I would back out. You're absolutely right that there are more cars out there with sellers who are more honest and not afraid of an inspection. Just keep looking!
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Old 12-07-2018, 05:09 PM   #5
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RUN!!!!
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Old 12-07-2018, 05:41 PM   #6
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If it doesn’t sound right why are you asking us for advice about your money? Hell, go for it
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Old 12-07-2018, 05:56 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roader View Post
If it doesn’t sound right why are you asking us for advice about your money? Hell, go for it
Thanks Roader......LOL
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Old 12-07-2018, 06:09 PM   #8
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Was one of the former owners a prince who will wire you $4m if...?

What's the upside to a risk like this? Crazy deal? Every option you're looking for and will never find again? If your spidey sense is tingling, the gamble better be worth it!
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Old 12-07-2018, 06:17 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by R1jamn View Post
Found what appears to be a low mileage (802 miles) summit white ZL1 on Ebay.
I made contact with the seller (3rd owner) and we have come to an agreed sale price.
The listing has ended and I have been doing a lot of research on the vehicle since and been in constant contact with the seller.

The vehicle shows a clean carfax except for not passing an emission test when the vehicle was being registered to the 2nd owner in Massachusetts.
The story was that the battery was disconnected and the O2 sensors needed to relearn. This is factual, sometimes they don't complete all the smog checks in the computer for hundreds of miles or more. If it is so low mi a disconnected or dead batter would almost be expected.
I found a mileage discrepancy when comparing the mileage on carfax against the dealer service report. Again this is with the 2nd owner.
The discrepancy is not much but it did throw a red flag. Sometimes there are errors. I guessed on the mileage when I went to the DMV because I didn't want to wait for hours again and I did messup and put it a hundred mi or something lower than some other documented thing, smog or something. I think that will come up as one of those carfax red flags on mileage now. whatever.

The third and current owner purchased the vehicle with 776 miles on the clock.
It now has 802 miles on the clock. That is 26 miles that he placed on the vehicle in over a year. That's it.
When I asked him about the air conditioning and did it blow ice cold he said it did and that he has driven the vehicle for two summers now. ???????
How do you drive a vehicle in two summers and only put 26 miles on the clock???? If you have a car that you got to keep in the garage thinking the value would skyrocket someday would you drive it much? To the local car show and a few sunny weekends sounds about right. Not so hard to believe given it's low mi and how some people think about Camaro's collectability especially ZL1's or Z28s.
He claimed the vehicle is all stock. The pics clearly showed that the Goodyear F2's are not on the vehicle but now have Toyo proxes 4 plus installed. Yes that could indicate more mi but the original tires are known to be dangerously slippery on cool streets and are usually replaced. I don't know if that makes him so wrong in stock as that usually means engine mods or body add-ons or hacked up for a stereo. Not belts hoses fluids plugs tires. Unless you are trying to do the collector thing again and all those must be oem.

Whenever I bring up a vehicle inspection he gets paranoid. He wants me to take it to his place of work and let his mechanic do the inspection.
When I said I want a body shop to look at it too, again I get resistance. Some hacks would e.g. bend up things putting it on a lift or joyride the car. There are stories here of even GM dealer techs crashing the ZL1's on "test drives" or simply unauthorized joy rides. I'd be hesitant too.

I have a flight booked already. I have a cashiers check for the full amount ready.

I believe I should back out of this one. Something just doesn't seem right.
I'll offer a possible counter argument in bold.
On the flip side I recently flew to get an ebay car that was in shite condition, and had to buy an expensive on the spot return on-way ticket. That was the second time that happened to me. Total misrepresentation of existing damages (one had a knocking motor with jumping oil pressure gauge, ) Other times I took the P.O.S car and regretted it.
If you want to back out up to you but I don't think without seeing it or having the third party inspection showing indications of odometer rollback or something, that you have a fair claim to your deposit refunded.
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Old 12-07-2018, 06:40 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by R1jamn View Post
Thanks Roader......LOL
Not trying to be a dick but sounds like you already made your mind up and trying to convince yourself to do it. Just find another car
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Old 12-07-2018, 06:48 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silversleeper View Post
I'll offer a possible counter argument in bold.
On the flip side I recently flew to get an ebay car that was in shite condition, and had to buy an expensive on the spot return on-way ticket. That was the second time that happened to me. Total misrepresentation of existing damages (one had a knocking motor with jumping oil pressure gauge, ) Other times I took the P.O.S car and regretted it.
If you want to back out up to you but I don't think without seeing it or having the third party inspection showing indications of odometer rollback or something, that you have a fair claim to your deposit refunded.
The listing ended before any deposit or agreement on a sale price was made.
No monies had been transferred to anyone. This is now a personal transaction.
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Old 12-07-2018, 06:50 PM   #12
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Not trying to be a dick but sounds like you already made your mind up and trying to convince yourself to do it. Just find another car
It's 50/50 right now Roader.
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Old 12-07-2018, 07:20 PM   #13
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If it has a set of different tires on it I would not worry to much about that as dealers were known to leave these cars outside during the winter if they had not sold and the tires cracked like crazy on them. The mileage deal would send a red flag up fast. If he had any service work at a dealer they will have a record of the mileage at every service so you can check that and see if someone did make a mistake somewhere along the way. As has been stated just check it out and if you have any doubts and do not feel all warm and fuzzy with it all you are out is a plane ticket. If it turns out to be a deal that is not legit you might want to pass on the info on the car here to keep all of us aware of this car. Good luck
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Old 12-07-2018, 07:55 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Bigtime53 View Post
If it has a set of different tires on it I would not worry to much about that as dealers were known to leave these cars outside during the winter if they had not sold and the tires cracked like crazy on them. The mileage deal would send a red flag up fast. If he had any service work at a dealer they will have a record of the mileage at every service so you can check that and see if someone did make a mistake somewhere along the way. As has been stated just check it out and if you have any doubts and do not feel all warm and fuzzy with it all you are out is a plane ticket. If it turns out to be a deal that is not legit you might want to pass on the info on the car here to keep all of us aware of this car. Good luck
Thanks Big.
Seller changed out the tires to the Toyo's himself though. Says he still has the F2's and would sell them to me.
I wonder what the F2's look like. I would look at them for sure to see if they provide a story.
I have a service history report. Not much on it at all.
PDI, Recall on the Recaro seat for an airbag module replacement and 1 service record. No description on what the service was for though.

Last edited by R1jamn; 12-08-2018 at 03:03 AM.
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