Never Buy A Car Sight-Unseen! - The Podcast

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
10/13/2016 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

A topic I never thought I’d have to address has forced itself upon me. I’d be scared to tell you how often people call my office after buying a car sight-unseen, usually off the internet. That went wrong? Who’d a thunk it?!

It goes like this: My phone rings (or an email arrives). Someone starts telling me about how they bought a car “off the internet” and they got ripped off. They were shipped a different car. The photos didn’t show obvious damage. Things were wrong with the car which wouldn’t show in a photo. The list is endless.

What can they do now?

The caller/emailer is hoping I can undo the deal through some magic incantations only a lawyer would know. Bad news: When ripped off buying sight unseen, the buyer is often left without a remedy. Or, if there is one, the cure might be painful and not worth pursuing.

I’ve seen it again and again. And yes, I have handled a few cases for people who were ripped off in a way that I could help with. But that is usually the exception and not the rule.

I explain it all in this week’s podcast. The audio:

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And the video:

And the top pic is of a later model GTO at the Orphan museum in Ypsilanti. Back when GM could slap a non-functional hoodscoop on a Nova and call it a GTO.

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This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we’re not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn’t act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.

DISCUSSION (14)

random001 > SteveLehto
10/13/2016 at 09:07

Did this once. It was an act of desperation, ended badly for me to the tune of about $3000 lost. Could have been worse, but still, yeah...don’t do this.

Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction > SteveLehto
10/13/2016 at 09:20

I bought 2 cars sight unseen on eBay, a Peugeot 505 V6 and a 1960 Bel Air. I regret nothing. Both were advertised as in rough shape, both were a bit worse than I thought, but both were still a pretty good deal.
When blind bidding, I try not to go over the price I would pay for a parts car.

Wil Haginen > SteveLehto
10/13/2016 at 09:24

Today’s episode reminded me of an older incident you commented on... Was there ever a resolution to the Honda S2000 craigslist scam from a few months ago? Did you ever hear anything?

SteveLehto > Wil Haginen
10/13/2016 at 09:27

I heard that there was a resolution but don’t know for sure.

Wil Haginen > SteveLehto
10/13/2016 at 09:45

Two relevant stories:

One of my best friends in Michigan found his dream car in my neighborhood (Texas). He had me go out and test drive it first and do a cursory inspection. Then he flew down himself and did a test drive and another inspection, before buying it. So you’re absolutely right, the price that he was willing to pay for his dream car was $X + plane tickets + time + lodging.

Another story: I was HUGE into rotary engines at one point in my life, and my dream car would have been a triple rotor RX-7. Just so happened, a guy in a forum reached out to me and told me he had a manual transmission triple rotor RX-7 in metallic gray (my favorite color at the time). What luck, right? Well, he knew I was in Texas, and he himself was in California. What he apparently didn’t count on was that a college friend of mine was in his city, so I made arrangements for my friend to go out and inspect the vehicle. The forum guy just stopped responding to messages with me.

At the time, I thought maybe he found another buyer or something happened to him. I was very young, naive, and willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. But now, I’m thinking that I managed to avoid a very expensive mistake.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > SteveLehto
10/13/2016 at 10:15

I’ve come to a tentative agreement sight unseen. Went to pick up the car in person about 65 miles away in another state. Best beater car I’ve ever owned.....

shop-teacher > SteveLehto
10/13/2016 at 10:22

I know I’m a weirdo, but I like the X-body GTO. The shaker scoop was functional too!

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
10/13/2016 at 10:54

I think this is a spot on comment. My thoughts are... buying a car sight unseen is okay if the following are true:

1. It’s not going to be your daily driver.

2. You are comfortable with gambling. And just like going to a casino, don’t bet more than you can afford to lose.

Boosted2k - I Make Videos and Put Them on YouTube > SteveLehto
10/13/2016 at 11:05

I definitely agree!

You absolutely never purchase sight unseen unless you have purchased from the same person/dealer in the past and have built a relationship.

Problem is most people see a “deal” that is non-local but fail to factor in the price of flights, time off work, hotel, etc. These expenses should ALL be factored into the price of the “deal” before you decide if it is worth it or not.

If it is out of your budget or you are unwilling to travel to inspect the car then you are taking a roll of the dice and the risk of disappointment is fully your fault.

SteveLehto > shop-teacher
10/13/2016 at 11:11

Wow. I thought it was non-functional but I admit I did not look too closely. It just looks too much like a Nova for me. I love the 65-67s, especially the ragtops.

shop-teacher > SteveLehto
10/13/2016 at 11:21

Most people would agree with you, that it looks too close to a Nova. I happen to really like the way the Nova looks, so that’s not a detractor to me :)

Before I got the Roadmaster wagon you saw at the Oppo meet, I owned a ‘74 Buick Apollo. I loved that Apollo, but I always wished it was a GTO instead.

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/1974-buick-apollo-the-oppositelock-review-1645812310

Wil Haginen > SteveLehto
10/13/2016 at 12:07

Steve, a question: Can you break down exactly when a consumer is able to recover his lawyer fees from the court settlement vs when he is not allowed to do so? I think I’m getting a bit stuck on the details of that.

SteveLehto > Wil Haginen
10/13/2016 at 12:36

There is no bright-line answer other than:

The general rule is that each side pays their own fees, win or lose.

But, if there is a statute that allows them, then you can get them. Lemon Law, Mag Moss and so on all allow them.

And obviously, you can get an attorney to take your case on a contingency which means that you don’t pay the lawyer directly but he/she gets a cut of the proceeds if the case goes well.

In this scheme, the worst thing to have is a case with no statute (like common law fraud against an individual) against someone who is not collectible or for an amount that is not worth pursuing.

Wil Haginen > SteveLehto
10/13/2016 at 12:39

Understood, thank you.