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vin decode
- Thread starter olddude
- Start date
TURBO1
Super Cool Member
This car has been for sale in AZ for a very long time, I've looked at it in person. It also been on ebay a couple times already also. This is what I gathered from this car. A small used car lot in Glendale, bought it cheap at auction, & put it on Craigslist for $25K, The sales guy told me he knew the previous owner, but I think he was full of :censor:. The car sold on ebay & the new buyer came out to get the car, but backed out of the deal. The buyers feedback was at a 100%, seemed a little fishy, like what's wrong with the car type thing. :detective:
This little dealer had the transmission rebuilt at 44K miles at who's knows were & they gave me a run around answer as to why, when I started asking spacific questions. They wouldn't give me the keys to start it or drive it, but I did look it over, sat in it, looked at the engine, etc. From 5 feet away the car looks mint, up close it looks like theres been paint work, overspary in areas, around all the declas/logos look old & dry, license plate holes in the front bumper,etc. Usually not a big issue, but not at the big price they were asking at the time. There's no press box or other information with the car. On the plus side, I noticed it still had the 20th anniv plug wires on it & exhaust tips (if it still does now, I dont know thow). Anyway the little dealer kept advertising it on Craigslit for 25K then 23K, then ebay & now looks like they sold it to another dealer in Scottsdale. There's also a milage discrepancy that comes up on carfax, you might want to check it out. Sorry to go on & on, its not a bad car by any means, it was just way over priced for a very long time, if you can talk them down, you might score a good deal. Heres the link they have on Craigslist now:
1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am Firebird Rare! Low Miles!
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Mr. Turbo1, I ran a Carfax on the car, there was no documentation on the car listed before the dealer that has it for sale now (7-14-09). What kind of mileage problem did you see? It had 44219 when he bought it at auction and has 44499 now. Did the car look like it was in an accident? You said it had paint overspray and touchup, was this on different parts of the car or one central area? The dealer told me a lot of older cars (da) weren't plugged into Carfax when sold new and that is probably why there is no records prior to this year. Sound like a scam? Anyway, I got them down to 16k, is it a decent price for this car? I have contacted Carfax and asked why there is no info on the car prior to Jan 09 and am waiting for their answer. If you noticed a mileage problem on the Carfax you ran I wonder how they got the info removed from the Carfax? The deal is not finalized yet. Thanks for the info.
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TURBO1
Super Cool Member
I actually used AutoCheck (kinda like car fax, but cheaper) it showed the mileage discrepancy, I think I still have the copy, if I find it I can scan it here to show you. The used car dealer that had it before was called Aarons, they are in Glendale. It was there for a long time only because they were trying to make bank on it & it didn't sell. When it sold on ebay it was $16,500, but I know that had alot lees in it, including the trans rebuild. They also had it on the dyno, but still no good answer as to why it was gone threw. I noticed overspry in both fron door jams, under the hood in places & rear bumper area. Like I said before, from 5 feet away, the car looks great, just up close you can see imperfections & normally not a big deal at 10K-13K, but at the big price they were asking of 25K at the time, it was way over priced. Witch maybe explained why the ebayer that won the auction, came to get the car, after seeing it in person, was maybe dissapointed in there discription. It is a nice car, if you can get it at a decent price, just don't overpay for it.
Turbo1, I ran AutoCheck, there is no mileage problems now. There was in Jan 09, it looks like when someone applied for a title after auction in Mesa they put the wrong mileage down on the previous title. The first dealer had the mileage re-transcribed on that title to the correct miles. The dealer now(bought at auction 7-14-09) has the paperwork showing the correction. The car came instate (Az) in 94 from who knows where and that owner drove the car less than 4000 miles in 15 years, probably why the tranny went south due to lack of use. KBB is still $20k for good, $24k for excellant. The now dealer said that the rear spoiler has been repainted in the past probably where the overspray came from on the back bumper. As far as the overspray at the other places, well your guess is as good as mine. I was concerned that the car may have been wrecked and rebuilt in Mexico as we see a lot of totaled rigs going south on transporters and comming back with clear titles into the states when fixed. We winter in Az in the southern part. Where and when did you look at the car? The reason I like this car is that it is "box stock" which is really hard to find now-a-days.
TURBO1
Super Cool Member
I went too look at it in mid April, at the Aarons dealer in Glendale. The sales guy seemd flakey and couldn't answer my questions with out giving me a run around answer. The dealer that has it now in Scottdale, it looks like they detailed it very well, because at the other place, it didn't look as good as it does now. On the milage issue, thats what I thought too (that some one entered the wrong info) but it was on the auto check non the less. I would find out more info the the trans rebuild, who did, what parts were changed, as these cars have speical valve body & internals. Other than the other stuff I mentiond, its a nice car, just doens't have any documentation, like others have, by the vin list it should be #1230. I'm a meticulous car guy & look over every thing very close. If your serious about it, arrange to come out here & see it in person, before you lay down your hard earned cash.
Turbo1, I talked with Aaron's in Glendale, the transmission was done by Allstate Trannys in Pheniox (I was told they have been around forever) because the front seal was leaking when they got it, probably from sitting. They painted the rear spoiler as the paint was cracking. They also did some touch up paint work on the top back of the front fenders but the guy I talked to didn't know why. They had the car chassis dyno'd at 285hp and 385 fpt at the rear wheels, not too bad. Anyway, I think that all my questions about the car have been answered and I want to thank you for the info you provided for me. I think when the ecomony picks up the cars value will hopefully increase to cover any overage that I pay for the car. I am retired and just hate to see my IRA going south when I could be driving it around on nice days!! Olddude
Olddude made an offer on the car with reservations as to some items that needed to be addressed to get the car off E-Bay before someone hit the BIN. No money has changed hands yet. With the outcome of the items that are being researched to the satisfaction of Olddude then the transaction will be finalized. Any glitches and he walks, simple as that!
IMO what u did was wrong on so many fronts:
1) u lied - u entered a final transaction while not intending to keep your word if something doesn't seem right to you
2) U took the car away from someone else who may have wanted it - and if it comes up again on ebay the car is now "damaged goods" since those looking will know that the "winning" bidder didn't come through. "I wonder why? Hmmm ... something's wrong .... better be safe than sorry."
3) You have now reduced the value of this man's car.
4) You have in some way called the seller's integrity into question - whether implicity or explicity it makes no differnce
5) You had ample time to research it before and in your own admission (quite frankly I'm shocked you admit to this) you only hit the BIN in order to block others from buying it ahead of you. Amazing.
It's things like this that happen so frequently that is an embarassment to who we are as human beings in general and car enthusiasts in particular.
JMO
1) u lied - u entered a final transaction while not intending to keep your word if something doesn't seem right to you
2) U took the car away from someone else who may have wanted it - and if it comes up again on ebay the car is now "damaged goods" since those looking will know that the "winning" bidder didn't come through. "I wonder why? Hmmm ... something's wrong .... better be safe than sorry."
3) You have now reduced the value of this man's car.
4) You have in some way called the seller's integrity into question - whether implicity or explicity it makes no differnce
5) You had ample time to research it before and in your own admission (quite frankly I'm shocked you admit to this) you only hit the BIN in order to block others from buying it ahead of you. Amazing.
It's things like this that happen so frequently that is an embarassment to who we are as human beings in general and car enthusiasts in particular.
JMO
Wow, and I thought I had a difficult childhood! The car is still for sale on Craigslist dude, buy it and quite sniveling!!! [email protected]
72firebird
Super Moderator
Don't blame him, the seller is the one who agreed to whatever conditions he put into place on the deal. It's a dealership and if they don't know how to cover their own butts by making him pay a non-refundable deposit and/or signing a contract before they ended the auction early then it's their own fault. If the car doesn't meet his criteria then he doesn't care if it looks like damaged goods, and if you're interested and you're too lazy to look at the car just because it's been relisted then you may not know what you're missing out on and you probably wouldn't have bought it in the first place.
TURBO1
Super Cool Member
+1 :cry:
ebay rules are pretty clear, specific, and common knowledge and anyone bidding 16K should know it. u make an offer and it's accepted is the very same as bidding and hitting the reserve. i spoke to that same dealer, did my research, and decided not to bid; rather than making an accepted offer and then acting like it's all suspicous. However, if you guys think that's alright to do then there's nothing I can say to convince you otherwise.
This is not the same, btw, as bidding - winning - and then getting there and the car is not as described or some major flaw was hidden.
Good luck with your search.
This is not the same, btw, as bidding - winning - and then getting there and the car is not as described or some major flaw was hidden.
Good luck with your search.
I did exactly what I had to do to assure that I was getting a quality product at a price I felt was reasonable. I made a offer, it was rejected, THEY made a counter offer, I accepted with a time frame to verify the the items I felt were potential problems. Being the auction was up on a weekend and I probably wouldn't be able to check into all the items that I had concerns about I opted to do what I did. When you are 1200 miles away and only have a few leads as I did I used this Forum to gather what info on the car I could and got a bunch of help and info from other members. CarFax was a dead end and I didn't know about AutoCheck which Turbo1 said he used to get info on the car (his forum post on Saturday, Aug 8th). I found out about the dyno tests, transmission warrenty, previous owner (2nd) who had the car for 15 years paint overspray areas, weak headlight door motors, A/C conversion and a few other things about the cars and its history. All this info after the E-Bay listing would have ended. I didn't see the listing till last Thursday night. If the dealer didn't sell the car this time it was going to auction. You had your chance but decieded not to follow up on bidding for whatever reasons. I did nothing different than you did except I bid on the car. I violated no E-Bay rules as far as I am concerned, if you feel I did, file a complaint with E-Bay. PS, I'll sell you the car for $23995
Your responses to me are funny ... I love that you speak about yourself in the 3rd person. But all that said here is the truth in your own words and I quote "to get the car off E-Bay before someone hit the BIN."
That's my final word on this topic. Good luck in getting one of these awesome cars. I am still hunting as well and am hoping to get the one in Illinois that I've had my eyes on once the owner gets the title for the car.
BTW, on another topic, is not having the current title (lost it) a problem if he gets another one? What will the difference be? It's a real low mileage car.
That's my final word on this topic. Good luck in getting one of these awesome cars. I am still hunting as well and am hoping to get the one in Illinois that I've had my eyes on once the owner gets the title for the car.
BTW, on another topic, is not having the current title (lost it) a problem if he gets another one? What will the difference be? It's a real low mileage car.
The replacement title should show up as a "Replacement" as long as the original one that was lost was in the now owners name. If it was never transfered into the now owners name he will have to contact the previous owner and have him apply for a replacement. I'm sure you will find a TTA of your own in the future. I'm not hunting anymore, car #1230 will ship this week. Good luck dude.
As the dude said, not a big deal. When I bought my TTA years ago the owner could not find the title. I arrived all ready to pick up the car and sat there for an hour or so while he and his wife looked for it. He had just made a copy of it for another prospective buyer but couldn't find what he did with it after that. He filed for a lost title and just days before it arrived, he found the original. I finally got the car 3 weeks later, and he put another 1k miles on it! I wasn't too happy about the miles :aggressive: but was glad to finally have the car.
Thanks for the info on the title ... I'll be calling him today since I'm going to be looking at another car with the same miles early this evening and unless something goes real wrong I'll be owning one of those two cars within the next few days (who knows maybe even tonight ... but we'll see.)
Dude ... good luck with your car and I'm glad it worked out for you and the seller. Maybe we'll see each other at a show sometime ... the first beer (or soda?) is on me.
Dude ... good luck with your car and I'm glad it worked out for you and the seller. Maybe we'll see each other at a show sometime ... the first beer (or soda?) is on me.
Steve, where did you look up the vin# at? I found a complete list on turbobuick.com that shows my vin is TTA #1239
TURBO1
Super Cool Member
Check out the link, its a in a pdf, Jan's been updating it, as he goes, your car should be #1239. After you get your car, I would send away for the PHS info. It will tell 100% for sure what # it is, its $35 bucks & well worth the info.
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