An eBay Dispute: Misrepresentation of a Classic Car
PRINCIPALS:
Seller's eBay ID: "cigarmanauto" (actual first name Iggy). Iggy says he offered the car on eBay as a favor to Tony Chiofolo, owner of Log Cabin Auto Sales in Murphy, NC. The descriptions quoted on this page came from the eBay ad and from emails both from Iggy and from Tony. All descriptions were verified and reinforced in phone conversations with Tony.
!!! Click here for another important update, this one regarding Tony Chiofolo. !!!
Buyer's eBay ID: "olgunner." Actual name: Rob Allison of Mount Joy, PA.
eBay Item Number: 4586742525
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DISPUTE SUMMARY:
Seller's Claims: |
The Truth: |
Exterior is "excellent" and paint is "flawless." | Paint has nicks and is flaking, some chrome is dented, bent or pitted. [See Photos] |
Interior is "flawless." | Dashpad, package deck and one armrest must be replaced. Some chrome is pitted. [See Photos] |
Car runs and drives "excellent...close like new." | Carb needs rebuilt, suspension is badly worn, transmission is leaking, fuel line needs replaced. |
Car is "real solid underneath." | Floorpan is rusted through and several old patches are re-rusting. [See Photos] |
Any questions regarding the facts of this case can be directed to Rob Allison.
E-mail: rvallison(at)hotmail.com (replace the (at) with the @ sign).
DETAILS: It's a very simple story: I bought a 1967 Mustang on eBay, based on the description and photos provided by the seller. All the information I had came from the eBay auction page, emails from the sellers, and several phone conversations. Unfortunately, when I drove to North Carolina to pick up the car (at which time the deal had already been closed and my check had already been cashed), I realized the car was not quite as nice as had been described. It looked pretty good in the diminishing light, but I did note several specific problems. Unfortunately, the seller was not available (he had left the car keys with an employee) so I really couldn't voice a complaint at that time. I also had no other ride back to Pennsylvania, so I took a chance on the seller's word that the car would make the trip and after a 15-minute walkaround (checked fluids, airfilter, tires, brakes, etc.) I headed back home. (Remember, the car had already been paid for. It was too late to back out of the deal, even if I had wanted to.) On the trip home (about 12 hrs driving time), I got to know the car better, and I wasn't altogether satisfied. Not only did I notice several things that simply were not as described, but I also discovered a clunking noise that came from the front left suspension when I turned the car slowly (such as in parking lots). The car got me home with no major difficulty, but I decided to have professionals go over it before I contacted the seller with my complaints. I contacted CJ Pony Parts in Harrisburg, PA (Mustang specialists with a national reputation) and scheduled an inspection and appraisal. Below are a list of things that we found that are significantly different than the seller's descriptions: The written description said, "Exterior is excellent. Flawless paint, no rust, dents or dings." I noticed several flaws, even in the evening light when I picked up the car. There are some spots where the paint has been nicked that have been touched up with a different shade of red. There are also several dents or bends in the chrome trim. I had been told the car had received a repaint, and it appeared that when the chrome trim was removed for the paint job, it had not been removed carefully enough to avoid some bending near the ends of longer pieces, nor was it reinstalled tightly. I was also surprised to find a small area by the left rear wheelwell where paint is actually flaking off. The seller's description of the exterior was simply not accurate. The seller's description also said, "Interior is flawless - as nice as I've seen." The first thing I noticed inside the car was the badly warped and sagging dashpad. This was a major disappointment because I had specifically asked about this before accepting the deal and the seller had replied very succinctly, "The dash is perfect." The driver-side armrest is also badly deformed and needs to be replaced, and there is a chunk missing from the package deck, leaving a messy appearance inside the rear window. Other minor defects include some pitted chrome trim and a crooked dash panel. There's no way this interior could be considered "flawless." The seller's description said: "289 V8 engine runs excellent. No mechanical problems. Car runs and drives close to new." The engine runs well at highway speeds, but suffers from a significant hesitation problem when accelerating from a stop. This has been diagnosed as an accelerator pump problem--the carburetor needs to be rebuilt. Also, there is more valve noise than I'd expect from a low-mileage engine, so I've discounted the seller's implications that the 18k miles on the odometer might be original. That conclusion was further supported by a technician's discovery that some engine components are not original. (Disclaimer: the seller never specifically guaranteed that the car had only 18,000 miles. He merely said the previous owner believed that number to be correct, and he showed photos of the car with "18,040 original miles" written on the windshield.) CJ's Pony Parts' technicians also noted that the transmission is leaking around the seals and linkage, that the fuel line should be replaced (there are some kinks in the steel line and a patch of rubber hose connecting pieces of the original line) and that the muffler was somehow damaged--although it doesn't seem to be leaking. The car drives like a 40-year old car--certainly not "like a new car" as the seller had described both in the ad and in phone conversations. The steering is very soft, there's a lot of wind noise from a gap around the passenger side window, and there's a "clunk" coming from the front left suspension during low-speed left turns. By the time I got the car to Pennsylvania it had also developed a disturbing, loud squeak from the front right side when I turned the steering wheel. Liberal lubrication of the front suspension quieted the squeak at least temporarily, but some of the original components will likely need to be replaced. Hardly what I'd call "no mechanical problems." The worst problems, however, weren't found until the technicians from CJ Pony Parts put the car up on the lift... The eBay description said "This car is near perfect inside and out" and an email from the seller specified "The floor pans, frame, wheelwells all look original. This car is real solid underneath." (Disclaimer: During a phone conversation, I had been told by the seller that the previous owner had patched some rust on the driver's side floorpan. He said that although the floorpan hadn't really needed to be replaced, the guy had "done it right.") The patch in the driver's side floorpan was not "done right." Not only was the bad area not cut out, but the patch was not weld-sealed. It was simply patched on top of the bad section. Worse, it was left unfinished--no undercoating, no primer, just bare metal, already starting to rust again. CJ's technicians also pointed out several other patches (not disclosed by the seller) which had been properly welded, but they, too, had been left unfinished so they've become covered with surface rust. Worst of all, there is a section of floor pan on the passenger side that has rusted through and has not been patched. The rust-through covers an area of at least 12-15" by 1.5" but could wind up being larger by the time the bad area is sanded and cut. Rust-through cannot be described as "solid." Buyer's Proposal: After the inspection, I contacted the seller, detailing the problems we had found, and asked for a rebate/refund of $2,000. The car is a great project car and I'm actually looking forward to working on it, but I estimate it's going to cost me at least $2,000 plus some of my own labor to get the car into the condition that it was advertised to be in. UPDATE: The repair quote from CJ Pony Parts is now scanned and posted. Click here to see the quote. Unfortunately, the seller's response thus far has been that I should have expected flaws in a 38-yr-old car. That position, conveniently, ignores the fact that what I expected--and what I had every right to expect--was the car that I was promised. Current Status: Unfortunately, resolution of this dispute has been difficult because
there are actually multiple parties involved. The "seller" on eBay was not
the actual seller of the Mustang. He simply listed the car as a favor to
Tony Chiofolo (Log Cabin Auto Sales, Murphy, NC). Frankly, I did not
realize this while buying the car. During the auction, emails sent to the
eBay member brought responses from both Iggy and Tony, and the phone
numbers provided in the auction belonged to Tony. When I lodged my first
complain regarding the car's problems, I emailed Iggy, thinking he was
Tony. Unfortunately, because Iggy had only seen the car once and relied on
Tony's descriptions of the car, I think he was reluctant to accept my
complaints as having merit. Once I posted the photos and spoke to him a
couple times, however, he seemed to realize that I had a reasonable
complaint. Not only did he take resposnibility for his role in providing
the listing, but he provided me with Tony's email address. |
Last Update to this Page: 14 January 2006