Mark Hubley

I recently helped an acquaintance sell a 1964 356C. The owner is elderly and has possible suffered a stroke recently. He may also have Alzheimer's. He can converse, but he is clearly not 100%, and he has some memory issues. His wife has been managing the sale, and I helped her to advertise the car on the Internet.

The car is beautiful, with just over 60K original miles. The current owner has owned the car since 1968. When asked about the "originality" of the car, he insists that nothing has been changed (except fluids). He says that the car has never been in an accident, never been repainted, etc.

A prospective buyer from Oregon asked about the paint. I sent him the following reply, "I am told that everything is original, including the paint." This person later spoke to the owner and purchased the car. He had it shipped from Maryland to Oregon. He never had anyone inspect the car prior to the purchase.

Now the buyer is unhappy with the purchase. He sent me the following message:
___________

The [car] was delivered on Sunday and I have had a chance to inspect it thoroughly. Unfortunately, there is a serious problem: the car has been repainted at some point and the paint is not factory original. The evidence is clear:

o The paint does not have the same amount of "orange peel" that factory paint has. The bumpers may be original paint because they do have it, but the paint on the body is much too smooth.

o There are very small areas, such as on the engine lid hinges, where the new paint has dripped on the hinge. Porsche never did that, because the cars were painted when they were unassembled.

o The outside mirror on the driver side is missing. When you look through the access hole for the mirror bolts, you can see that the holes have been plugged. Also, the driver's door does not fit exactly right and appears to have been removed for repainting. There were two exterior mirrors included with the car (they are incorrect for a C Coupe), and the newspaper they are wrapped in is dated 1988. I'm not sure if that provides a clue as to when the car was repainted.

We had an email exchange regarding now critical originality was to me with this purchase -- I have included it at the end of this message. My intent in purchasing the car was to show it in Preservation Class at a national level, which is impossible given the fact that the paint is not original.
___________

Does this evidence seem "clear"? He never mentions anything about spray on the trim or tape lines. I'm not an expert on paint . . .

Also, if originality was so "critical" to the buyer, why did he not arrange for some kind of inspection of the car prior to purchase and shipping. I know that the owner would have accommodated any reasonable requests.

Any opinions?

xsboost90

sounds like he should have flown out and inspected it himself. IF he were that worried, then he should have checked it out. The info you had were just what the owner told you, buyer beware!!! If the mirror holes were filled and the door is the same color as the car, obviously its been resprayed. you can spray a car w/o tape lines believe it or not.

Damian in NJ

You told him 'I am told everything is original, including the paint.' You did not mispeak, this was the truth to you. If he wanted a PPI, or further details, he could have asked you or arranged for someone independent to check.

Now if you made 20 grand on the deal as a middleman you may have some exposure!

UDPride

This may be harsh, but anyone stupid enough to buy a 356 sight unseen with the specific intent to show it at concours in a preservation class deserves everything coming his way if the car is not to his liking. Its like owning a house without insurance. You just dont do it. Its not like it was a 99 911 and you can at least postulate reasonably well that little has been done to the car. Its a freakin 356. The number of 356s that remain original are like practically zilch anymore. Like a unmodified 930.

You should feel no guilt. You were acting as a faciliator of info and nothing more or less. You were not representing the car, just the owner's description he gave you. Difference.

My guess is this can be worked out. Doesnt sound like the guy went too ape**** though IM sure hes not happy. Who would be. But he needs to point the finger at himself. As Reagan said, "trust, but verify." Hence, listen to everything a seller tells you, but dont believe ANY of it until you can vouch for it yourself. Thats just common sense in the used car market, nevermind a car like a 356.

pete944

UD said exactly what I was thinking.
If he puchased a 356 sight unseen and expected it to compete in a concours event then he really can't be very bright.

UDPride

I thought Pete944 used to be 944Pete.

I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue?

pete944

Ha! You're the first to notice!

theedge

UD said what I was thinking too. Buying a car sight unseen is stupid in the first place IMHO, but buying a car sight unseen and expecting it to be exactly what you want and are looking for, and to be a near perfect example of a 40 year old rarity.... Seriously, the guy needs to sit down and think before acting.

Eyal 951

you know, something in the wheel post was weird about your name, but i was like, nah... its been like that forever! geuss not!
~Eyal

UDPride

I just noticed that reflection avatar aint congruent. The Kahns are on the bottom. Im spotting all kinds of new stuff tonight.!

AlexE

? sight unseen ?

This guy is sniffing glue.

I have purchased cars sight unseen before (daily drivers, work vehicles, parts cars).......BUT NONE with the intention to enter them in concours events???? and he basicly expected YOU to do the PPI for him? Weird?

Now if he paid you to ensure the car was to his liking ...........well thats another story.

Carefull what you say in your emails. Otherwise........... too bad so sad for him

washington951

you did the right thing by representing it to the best of your knowledge and stating as much. you have nothing to be worried about. he really should have done a PPI with an un-interested third party.

GOBOGIE

Yeah - what's up with the name change Pete?

Mark Hubley

The purchaser paid $29K for the car. Regardless of whether or not the paint is original, worst case scenario is that he turns around and sells the car. We had a dozen serious inquiries within 48 hours of posting the ad. If he doesn't like the car, he can probably sell it for a profit.

Thanks for the posts!

GlenL

The fair thing would be to refund the purchase price after having the car shipped back at buyer's expesnse.

Call it "stupid" but the buyer trusted the car to be as represented. The who-said-what is not the issue, it's that the car was purchased based on false information. "Get's what he deserved?" There's no integrity in that.