78 FJ40 Purchase Issue

[dmaddox]

....A place to vent about a recent purchase from the Ih8mud classifieds.

Here is another lesson on "try before you buy"...or "You win some and lose some". I mean, you can see the 63FJ45 in my signature thread. Found that for 3500 bucks. Unreal! We get excited (we all love cruisers) and sometimes jump the gun. That being said, I can't stress enough the important of posting accurate for sale threads. Please be clear, concise and provide detailed pics. The more you fluff and so on, the more you hurt people. In this case, it was me.

I was looking at what appeared to be (and when I use quotes, I heard first-hand or have text/written proof of it) a "solid, unrestored cruiser". The "paint is mostly original". There is "no rust and any fixes were just field fixes to address rust".

There is not a straight panel on this cruiser - nor a panel that does NOT have some spot-welded chunk of metal with bondo over it.

A "20 foot cruiser", it turned out to be a sloppy mess, composed of cruiser parts spanning 74 to 81. The top is from a 74, the ambulance doors from a red 1981, the front doors are from two different cruisers (mustard and smurf), the windshield frame from a non-heated (likely non-us) cruiser with defrost channels cut-in.

It has been desmogged, everything ripped out - incorrect wiring in about anything electrical, the wrong distributor/ignition, wrong starter, wrong alternator....the dash was yanked with hooks to pull it straight from the roll-over. The driver door upper hinge is welded on.....look I can go on and on and on...with broken, cut, torched pieces.....so i will. Window frame is cut at the top because it didn't line up, rear cross member "ears" where the tail light covers bolt to - cut off.....leaks.....wrecked paint....rust...fiberglass fixes...the whole top is effed up.

The back had "all the spare/original parts" to come with it. The seller cleaned out his garage and tossed the garbage in the back of the cruiser. It had seats from a non-toyota....it had a drum OEM wheel....rusty leaf springs....and a spare tire hold-up chain for a mini-truck, along with boxes of dust pan debris, rotten bushings, on and on.

I was told I would be getting the OEM jack, handles, bumper, bumperettes, license plate lights, on and on. NOTHING. All gone.

So....after buying this in a dimly lit garage with it raining outside...I OFFERED to return it to him. I said I'd pay for the return. The reply "you bought a 40 year old vehicle", "A deal is a deal, I didn't force you to buy it."

So, I guess its time for me to bite the bullet - realize I took it in the ass and move on.

Please don't hate-mail for flame this guy. In the end, it was my fault.

For Sale - 1978 FJ40

Notice in picture one....the front left shock is "Rough Country"....you know...the shocks that come with a "HFS" lift kit as he said it has......(he meant, hell creek, fyi....)

But in picture #2.....the shock literally says "made in china".

I am venting because I saved up for two years and I think about all that work to buy a nice platform to enjoy. I was fooled and now face 10x's the work I had anticipated.

If you want to buy a cruiser....from a guy named "Patrick P." in Louisville, KY. Beware.

Note the pics and information in the for-sale thread. Then, read through my findings.

...that is all.

Stand-by for the resto thread.

 

[bikersmurf]

I feel for you. There is no way it was worth near his asking price... regardless of how much prices have gone up.

I'd definitely beware of this seller and anyother seller new to the site.

 

[dmaddox]

Oh....and he kept the 8274, bumper and all that to lower the cost of the cruiser. I was then told he'd put the oem bumper/bumperettes in the back....Oh he did. But not only where they wrong (chrome/non-us), they were so mangled and bent beyond recognition, I had to throw them out.

 

[Casey E]

The bad part is it looks like he signed up just to flip this vehicle. I seriously doubt we ever hear from him again. Did another member here know this person and recommend the vehicle?

 

[swamp-thing]

Dang.....did you go look at it in person or buy this without seeing?

 

[dmaddox]

I believed him, took the bait and made the mistake in flying in on a one way ticket. It’s 100% on me. Was it in a poorly lit garage while it rained outside? Yes. Was I feeling rushed and obligated? Yes. But that is all on me. I tried to work with the seller, no dice. So here it is, a lesson how not to list and sell a cruiser and for those buying, a lesson for you too. Trust is my weakness.

 

[tstepp920]

somebody needs to run into a jack handle.......

 

[swamp-thing]

I believed him, took the bait and made the mistake in flying in on a one way ticket. It’s 100% on me. Was it in a poorly lit garage while it rained outside? Yes. Was I feeling rushed and obligated? Yes. But that is all on me. I tried to work with the seller, no dice. So here it is, a lesson how not to list and sell a cruiser and for those buying, a lesson for you too. Trust is my weakness.

Man that just sucks... I’ve done a few one-ways for cruisers and some turned out okay & some raised red flags - there are many good people out there properly representing their trucks and some not so good people out there slinging garbage. I hope you turn it into a great rig and it goes easy on your wallet.

 

[dodored]

I have bought a few cars sight unseen, but I always pay for a pre-purchase inspection prior to buying. My '72 FJ40 was the exception. The truck was on craigslist and was super cheap. The seller was in New Mexico (I am in North Carolina) and the truck was in Colorado at his ranch. I had his daughter face time me and we went over the vehicle piece by piece. Looked ok, so I wired the money and crossed my fingers. When it got here it was "as reported" so I dodged the bullet. I think the thing that made me comfortable was that it was not restored and was pretty much original. It was covered by a cheap respray which made me wonder what was underneath, but took a chance. I paid $7500 for a running truck and $1000 to get it here. Would I do it again? - a big maybe, especially after reading your story. Sorry you had to go through this.

 

[Obtuse2]

Was it a clear or salvaged title? You do have some recourse... for $30k I would make it a hobby to pester this guy to death. You have the ad... the winch was on pics and you didn’t get it? You’re way too nice dude... I’d at least pay an attorney $200 to write a letter and threaten legal action... then he’d have to pay $ to get legal rep... this is why people do theses things: because buyers take the blame and don’t do anything. Sure... buyer beware... however (and I know) that is different from out and out fraud and false advertising. To defraud by misleading is the same as stealing...

 

[Obtuse2]

It’s funny how being threatened with legal action can change minds...

 

[dodored]

x 2 with Obtuse2

 

[Pierps]

It's amazing how nice even pretty rusty/beat up 40's can look good from 10 feet away.

Really sorry dude. Assuming you paid the full asking price, it might be worth your time to talk to an attorney for 30 minutes to see if there's anything you can do.

If you're considering that option, DO NOT start your restoration. You need the cruiser to stay exactly as you recieved it.

 

[dmaddox]

I paid just under 20k. I’ve come to terms with it. I could definitely seek legal action and with the expense of all that still end up 2-3k. At this rate, I’ll just move forward and share this example and experience to others to learn from.

Truth be told, I overpaid by about 5k.

Maybe more...now that I’m finding such a long laundry list of incorrect and sketchy fixes and additions (and a huge list of subtractions)!

 

[Simcoe]

I really feel for you here man....
I definitely feel like you should pester the everliving hell out of the guy that sold you this rig in that condition as it was obviously completely misrepresented in his initial ad. At the very least, I would hire an attorney to try to recoup some of the money that you will have to spend just to get it close to his advertised state

 

[wileycoyote]

Send me his contact number. I would like that for my records being in KY. Always good to know what a pos number is especially if he calls.

 

[Frank Cloud]

I feel your pain, somewhat. When I started the search for a vehicle, I saw many examples of 15k locked vehicles, that needed 4 to 5k of baseline. When a more expensive vehicle came up that supposedly needed nothing. I thought, why not pay for a turn key vehicle.

As it turns out, the vehicle needed the following: Timing cover gasket. Oil pump gasket, diff oring, valve cover gasket, rear spindle seal, has a cracked windshield, needed the knuckles rebuilt. Door light doesn't work. Droopy sun visors. Dry rotted trim around the sunroof, leaky power steering pump. A/C had to be charged. Also, needs some bushing replacements, etc.

Now, overall, it's a good vehicle that I overpaid for. I bought it sight unseen, with an inspection. The inspector did not look out for my interest.

The seller overhyped the overall mechanical condition. On a good note. No rust, lockers, good paint, no accidents. etc.

In this case, I was so excited to get a vehicle, I blame myself, as I had lost out on several by hesitating. And, at the end of the day, I did not buy it to flip. I will keep it for a long time. But I could have used that extra four grand off to baseline the vehicle and I feel like the seller overhyped the overall condition of the vehicle at the time of purchase.

In reality, If I were selling a vehicle on here, or anywhere else, I would point out all flaws I knew, then ask my price. At that point, its up to the buyer to decide if he/she wants to pay that.

I think the difference in our stories, is I did not get scammed. I overpaid and should have been more thorough with questions, etc. Overall, I am pleased with my vehicle, just not with the purchase price. I don't blame the seller for this, but myself.