In August of 2005, I purchased what was listed as a Beautiful Blue Car, Yeah Right! Many things should have raised a red flag, but I was kind of blinded by the Seller's EBay score, which was over 130 at the time, and all 100% positive. I felt a little secure,,,,,, However, in this case,  I WAS WRONG!!!
The add listed the car as a 67 Corvair, and had very little info on it. <<<THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A BIG CLUE #1.
If somebody will not list the specifics, and instead says to call them for details, PLEASE BEWARE, you will have no proof that what was said is the truth, or even to verify it. Plus, you'll want to do your homework about the car before hand to make sure you know what to look for in each model, as all cars are different.
With that said, here are the specifics of the auction:
It was listed as a beautiful blue car, a 1967 Corvair Convertible with rebuilt motor and auto-tranny and A/C, with a 6-disc cd player in trunk, new brakes and lines, new top, and blows cold air from A/C, listed by EBAY member: Westminsterlions, that resides in Anna, TX... Although recently they have listed stuff for sale in Durant, Oklahoma as well. I have several fully printed copies of the auction and bids, as proof of my statements.
With the add so vague, I should have known better but I was curious of the car, as the pictures did make it look nice.  Well, I sent a question or two, to Mr. Leo Geer(Westminsterlions), and I was told three initial lies. Because the truth was: 1) Yes, there was surface rust on the undercarriage and other spots as well as a hole in the back rocker panel, the size of a large grapefruit. 2) Yes, the engine to body seal was decayed. 3)Yes, there were several fluid leaks? His reply was "NO" to all three questions. I further sent him another email asking for more info, and to which he simply said to call him.... Oh Yes, I fell for it. I called him very promptly and asked several questions, to which it turned out, he lied about all the questions. 1) Does the top leak???? "NO" Truth= YES, and Very Badly, as well as the rubber being rotten all the way around the top, and both doors out of alignment, cause there was a stripped bolt in each one.  2) What damages will I need to repair, other than apparent bumper damage??? "NONE"... What a Lie!!! Truth=Body ripple on the drivers rear end, that somebody just painted over to disquise from average view. Paint Puddles that resemble lakes and runs you couldn't catch and front gravel pan had dents all in it, and even had been painted with dirt on it. Although, the gravel pan lost most of it's paint on the trip to my home, on the car trailer. Not to mention the rather large number of door and other dings that were also, undisclosed. Also, the right, back, cove molding and body was dented inward from backside. Not to mention the rust hole in the hinge area of the driver's door, and one in the back wheel-well, at the back of the rocker panel. 3) Is everything in order and would she be a good daily driver? "YES" Truth=Wait till you hear what happened upon delivery to me.
Well, At that point Mr.Geer tried to give me the phone number of the previous owner, to which I really was not that interested, seeing how I was not buying from a previous owner. <<<THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN BIG-CLUE NUMBER #2, cause when somebody gets a few too many questions about their item, and does not want to be specific, they usually resort to such antics. (I'm just guessing though???)
Now, on with the bidding. I made several bids, then nobody bid for a while, even until the last day, which is not so unusual. Now, this is JUST SUSPICION, but I believe the seller did tell the truth to some of the bidders, especially one fellow who had bid me all the way to $5,900... I originally thought he might be a bid schiller, but I was wrong. (I have since talked to some of the other bidders on the car, as well as that other main bidder) Seems as that fellow, seeing how much I had bid, called the owners and was talking about going to see the car, seeing how according to their addresses, lived not very far from each other. Well, at this point Mr.Geer came clean with him, so he didn't make another bid. <<<THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BIG-CLUE NUMBER #3, for obvious reasons, but of course I didn't have privey to that info until after the auction, as I mentioned.
However, even at 5,900 the reserve was not met, so with several hours left, I entered my final bid of 6,200.00, to which it went up to 6K and the auction ended in just a few hours with no other bids, without meeting Mr. Geer's 7,200.00 reserve price. They had told me to call after the auction and see what we could work out, in one of our prior conversations. So, like a big idiot, I did.

I asked if they(The Geer's) were going to re-list the item, and they said "likely not." (Let me point out, I had a zero beside my name in the reviews column, because at that time I had not purchased anything off EBAY, so I felt like this may be the normal business way... BOY, WAS I A FOOL OR WHAT???)
Nonetheless, I did re-asked a few of the questions, and got the same reassuring answers,,,, which, as it turns out, were indeed, lies. Nonetheless, I offered 6,500 and they called my home number back in less than 30 minutes and said "YES! we accept". So, on with sending them an AMX Check ,as they did not want to re-list it, and pay more fees, or so they said.
The check cleared in a matter of days and then it took 3 weeks for my transporter to deliver.(Not the sellers fault, delivery company was slow.) So, the vehicle was delivered to me, AND... INSTANT SHOCK!.. A ripple in the back end with other dents, and what paint defects, all over the car,,, and never mentioned by Mr.Geer (Westminsterlions). The convertible top, while in the photos of the add was perfect, arrived sadly wrinkled, very dirty, crown seam raveled, and large impression creases in the plastic window, still there to this day. After asking the Geer's I was told that they had not driven the car but once, parked it, and left the top down the entire time they owned it. Top left down, without even unzipping the window, that is. In fact, the photos they posted online were of the day they had the vehicle delivered to them, not when they were selling it.(Though only a few months had actually passed)
Oh yes, the radio didn't work, but they did casually mention that, in a email after payment was made. Westminsterlions had actually said he replaced the speakers and still it didn't work. However, the 'so-called' new speakers were not in the car upon arrival, and just the naked wires hanging in the rear floorboards. The A/C, not blowing cold air either, but not exactly hot, so the system is just leaky, hopefully???(Update: Entire A/C system had to be rebuilt, and recharged with R-134,  I also added safety switches as well.)
I was so confused I wrote the Geer's about the dents and such, and got no reply. A week later, I tried a different approach, and sent them a 'Thank You Email', and what do you know, a response. I then replied to some of the issues, and pointed out some of the things that seemed shaded. I got to say, what a song and dance that came after that. (Yes, I still have those emails.)
I was crushed, but that was just the tip of the iceberg, as it got worse. The front wheels were tilted in at the top, like an old Triumph TR7, although, this is NOT how this car was to be setup. As you may have already guessed, the entire front-end, was completely shot, ball joints, tie rods, coils, shocks, every piece of rubber was rotten, and it just got worse from there.
There were rear-end and oil pan leaks and three stripped oil pan bolts, which was one of my first questions as well. Missing interior parts, and Oh yes, the motor was rebuilt but not externally, as the rebuilding mechanic put back on the original exterior engine parts...ie...harmonic balancer, tension pulley, dizzy, carbs, motor mount, exhaust system with hundreds of pin holes in the pipes and all,,,, to which I have now replaced all of it.

I cannot even list all the things that I had to replace. At 65 MPH, she had a jerky skip, or cut-out I call it, which is usually always related to dizzy and vacuum advance. (Still doing a little work to that part) (As it turned out the fuel pump was wired incorrectly, as well as the Petronic Ignition, causing a cut-out of power under load.)
The tranny was NOT rebuilt, however, I have since done that as well. The tires, which were said to be in excellent condition, although the front tires were completely treaded out on the insides, due to ridding like a TR7. The reason the front end was setup like that is to prevent the wheels from flopping as you rounded the curves, and is an old mechanics trick, so I have been told. However, have you ever seen a car drop a wheel in mid-traffic, or in a turn? Well, this is what can happen when you try to mask a problem with ball joints and such. Whoever the person or mechanic was, needs to be criminally liable, in my humble opinion, but opinions do vary.
Then, I had some rear-end work to do... Coils, shocks, grommets, U-Joints, seals and so on. Oh yeah, I almost forgot the new gas tank, sending unit, and fuel lines, front and rear wheel bearings, front brakes, and I mean complete front brakes, and some of the rear brake assembly as well. Wait there is more... Somebody had put in new carpet, but without sanding or treating the floorboard, but little things like that were expected.... The door jams were repainted over some small rust bubbles and holes, but not the trunk and engine lid, unpainted, and left the original lighter blue. Oh, this made for a really beautiful blue car, although I never remembered mention of a two-tone beautiful blue car????
Nonetheless, it didn't taint me from continuing on EBAY, as now I have met many honorable people here, and many honest descriptions, and will never buy another item with a vague description as the disaster I started with. I even wrote the Geer's several emails, and have them and their responses in my email box, as proof, to this very day. Their responses, were trying in essence to hem and haggle, and denial of answering my questions in a dishonest fashion. Claiming the car was "Good enough for them" Yeah Right!!! That is why it was for sale after taking it down the road, once?  Not to mention answering questions after only one drive in the car??? Really, I should have known better.

OUTCOME:
I now have 36,000.00 in this 'Beautiful Blue Car', and mind you we are talking mostly parts receipts, cause in over a year and a half, I have done most of this work myself. Also, that 36K does not include the final things I need to do.... What could that be, one might ask??? Well, I have to get her painted and get a new top, as now, after all the mechanical repairs I can finally spend another 3 to 5 grand to actually have a beautiful blue car, as originally promised. Although, to be perfectly honest, only 13K plus the original 6,500 (Plus additional 700 for delivery) was what it took to get her road worthy, and the rest above 20K, was extras and price differentials between stock parts and upgraded ones.
What have I learned???? If the add for a vehicle or other big cash item is vague, and asks you to call a number to get more info,,,,, don't be stupid, don't be like me, go on to the next item, as there are legitimate vehicles out there, and honest people who do not mind putting their specifics in writing. Know the cars you are buying, and what questions to ask, and go see the car if you are paying more than a few grand for it. Cause be realistic you are not gonna get a first-class vintage car for a few grand, or even 6K for that matter. But you do not want to get into something, having to replace everything for 6K or 7K, either. Of course, if you are talking Camaro, Chevelle, or Corvette, that will be a different story due to market values and such, as the basic-need-a-full-restore car of those models are likely higher than that. But, the main thing is to know your cars, and the market price. That much I did know, I was just  misled somewhat as to what I was getting. Oh well, theses are the way things can go.

So, What happened to Westminsterlions ??????    Nothing really.
I filed complaints with EBAY, but seeing how Westminsterlions sold it off EBay, they could not help me, and I completely understood. I filed complaints with Square Deal, asking for only 1,500 in compensation. The Geer's never answered the complaint, so I pulled the complaints, sought an attorney, and sent them an email with my intentions to file charges.  My attorney said I could file charges, but it would cost me, and besides a lot of the conversations were on the phone, and that is the hard to prove part...(As I mentioned earlier) That was late November of 2005. Mind you, still only seeking 1,500 dollars, but if the Geer's can live with it, I can live without it. (I still wish them well, in spite of all that has happened.)
 I am not saying they are not honorable people, just that this one deal was made in the shade, so to speak. After all, they do have over 160 feedbacks, and all are positive, so I believe they are honest, just felt they had paid too much for this vehicle, and wanted to recover from their loss. In ways I kind of understood, and told them so in an email. However,  I still would have listed the truth about the vehicle, as I also told them.
One thing I can remember them telling me, was that this was not their first auto sell on EBAY, and they were currently working on a Studebaker. So, I guess I will try and warn all the Studebaker fans to watch out for vague adds, under any screen name? Although, I get the feeling it will be a straight up vehicle, should it be sold. (Update: Studebaker was a rust bucket, and sold very cheap.)

I have all my receipts from Clark's Corvair Parts, Corvair Underground, Larry's Corvair Parts, Corvair Ranch, (Which by the way are essential companies when restoring, or making general repairs to Corvairs.)
Not to mention I have the receipts from 50 of my EBAY purchases, to prove every word of what I had to spend, and do. Also, I kept every single part I took off, because I would never intentionally or wrongfully slander the name of a good person, and it is good to have proof that a story is real. To those who say I am making this up, contact me through EBAY I will be glad to show you the giant folder of receipts, or 300 pictures, or 10 neighbors who witnessed and helped a little. I even have a statement from one of the head GM mechanics in my town, when the car was first delivered to me.
Oh! and No, I have never owned any other Corvair's, so indeed all the parts I bought went into this 67 Vair, NO LIE! (Update: May 17th, 2007 I have now purchased my 2nd Corvair, off EBAY, and a much different situation I am happy to report.)

PLEASE!!! don't take your auctions off EBAY, don't consider vague adds, and ask the sellers to post your questions, and don't use calling them as you only means of info, but as backup to what they have put in print, or to setup a meeting to view the car before buying, or pickup arrangements if you are the winner.
If they put it in print in their EBAY add, you will  likely have protection from fraud, should such arise. If they don't write a good vivid add,  likely you are getting taken to the cleaners. Be realistic as to what you are buying, as to what it is actually worth, so you don't overspend. Also, if in the event of losing an auction, be extra careful on 2nd chance offers, cause I got a lot of those scammers, on two parrticular auctions just recently. Never click on links within emails, type in addy yourself in browser box, and go to your account directly. Likely those bogus second chance offers do not appear in your messages, so be careful.
PLEASE, don't be as stupid as I was, cause I really was STUPID, and will be the first to admit it.
ALSO, don't be blinded by a high feedback number, a person's actions are in essence, their review. Although, in conclusion, those with higher feedback numbers, and 100% positive, are likely the better ones to buy from, as their reputation is on the line. That being, unless you take that auction off EBAY, cause then you enter, the unprotected shade. Then, the best you can do is to write a guide or review, and try and warn other people. So, here it is, my best fair warning.

All The Best Regards,
Danny
AKA: LastHamlet

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MANY THANKS!!!