I'm picking this up tomorrow, or at the end of the week if it snows.
1994 Ford F-350 Extended Cab Dually w/ Tow Package
7.3L Power Stroke Turbo Diesel
Automatic
216,XXX Miles
K&N Air Filter and 3" Downpipe to 4" Midpipe to 5" Tip
New Tires, Brakes, Shocks, Starter, and Glow Plugs
A little rust underneath, but that's to be expected. All the ball joints look good. The thing PULLS!
Last edited by Chubby Chaser on Fri Jan 21, 2011 11:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"if you see team rowdy in anyone's sig, just don't even read the post. From my experience anything they've said to me was assholish and most of what i read is the same."
Bad news. I pick up the car and it dies 6 miles down the road. I pull into a housing division and it won't crank... then it loses all power. I call the seller and he says his brother will come help. While I'm waiting, I call the seller back and tell him to bring the money because I want it back if we can't get it to start. He tells me it died while in my possession and he won't give me the money back. I tell him I'm gonna talk to a lawyer and that was that.
His brother arrives. Turns out it wasn't getting power because one of the battery cables has a really shitty connection (it involves the use of nails). Now the car has power but won't crank. The seller's brother leaves to get him and some tools. We wait for an hour. Apparently, they were trying to get a generator stared for light (what's wrong with a flashlight?!). They get back and brought their girlfriends for some reason. They try to get it to start by arching the solenoid, the sparks were cool but it still won't crank. They get under and turn the engine by hand to make sure it's not seized, it's not thank God. Then the guy says it's "out of their realm" (even though they've owned and worked on it for years) and that he might be able to fix it if he had "a week and a heated garage" and that I should just take it to a mechanic. The truck died on a corner and was blocking part of the road, so we pushed it to a safer spot. It has no plates because he took them off after I bought it. I asked him for the plates so it doesn't get towed and he says he doesn't have any (WTF?!) He says to call the cops and tell them about it so it doesn't get towed. I'm not gonna do that because the cops might make me tow it.
Today, I get it towed to the local Ford dealership and they're actually really cool and seem to know they're stuff. They're expensive but their the closest and pretty much only diesel repair shop in the area. $55 for the tow and $125 for the diagnostic. They can't get to it til the middle of next week though.
Anyways, I have a handwritten/signed bill of sale on one of the seller's landscaping invoices stating that I put $300 down and would pay the remaining $3200 by Saturday. It says nothing about as-is, no returns/refunds, etc... It's not a notarized or witnessed legal document, so that might help if I take him to court. I didn't sign the title either, so it's still in his name and will stay that way til the problem is figured out. I can't get legal counsel/advice til Tuesday, but hopefully that will bring good news.
I understand buyer beware as much as the next guy. I've bought some lemons before. This thing really didn't seem like one though. I looked up end down pretty much every inch of the thing and it looked good for a 17 year old diesel work truck. I test drove it and the engine felt great. The seller and his brother swore up and down about it's dependability and how it never let them down, etc... and they were fixing little things up til the day I bought it. The Craigslist ad said they were only selling it because they didn't need it anymore. I'm suspicious because the seller's attitude did a complete 180. He went from "it's a great truck" to "now it's your problem". It's hard to tell if it's a case of shit happens and the something finally let go after I bought it OR whether there is some kind of fraud involved. They did come out to "help" but that might have been to cover their asses if we go to court. You never really can tell with people nowadays. Times are tough and I think decent people may compromise their ethics to improve their financial situation.
