Buyers Beware: Jalpa 12355, Allentown PA

The facts are the facts and I don't want to see anybody else get burned on this vehicle like I just did less than 2 weeks ago.

I recently purchased this vehicle sight unseen, I took the sellers word(not Ideal Morotrcars) as he described this car absolutely mint with no problems. I will attach the photos of the car that he sent me, which after I received the car I noticed the photos didn't match the condition of the car by any means. After further investigation I found these photos were taken from Crave Luxury in TX when they sold the car in 2011. Here are the photos that I received verifying the condition of the car that I thought I was purchasing.

I am absolutely shocked seeing this car advertised in Allentown PA as the original owner told me he was taking the car back and fixing it himself as this car has some serious issues. I would highly caution anyone buying this vehicle without seeing it and checking the oil as it was full of antifreeze as well as antifreeze coming out of the exhaust as the car was running when I received it less than 2 miles from the odometer picture is showing. I personally can not stand dishonest people. Buyer beware, do your due diligence on this vehicle, otherwise get your checkbook out.

Link to the ad
Ebay listing
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Too bad. Looks to be a nice car.

 

Here are some pictures of the vehicle that I personally took while it was in my possession.

1 and 2 are photos of the crack in the front bumper. Ideal mentions it in the description vaguely, and appears the pictures they took have been altered or they used caulk to cover it up.

3 is the drivers side front fender. It is rusted all the way through where you can poke your finger right through it, the ad mentions that there is no visible rust on the vehicle.

4 is the drivers side rear fender. It is bent/marred up.

5 is the drivers seat.

6 is the drivers door. It looks like it has been pried open at one time.

7 shows the missing sun visors.

8 is the dipstick, you can see the antifreeze in the oil.

9 shows oil leak spots where the car sat for less than 24 hours.

10 is the car leaving my house last Sunday, April 12th, supposedly back to the person I purchased it from, but instead ended up at Ideal Motorcars???

11 is the odometer as it left my house, less than 2 miles from what is on their pictures.

A few other issues that I noticed. Huge cloud of blue smoke out of the exhaust at start up. Going to need paint, as there are chips and spider cracks throughout. Shift knob is cracked all over and ready to fall apart. Window wiper stalk is broken. Dash is starting to shrink and has gouges in it. Both driver and passenger mirrors are extremely loose, however that is a common problem on Jalpas.

PS. I still have the tools and books to this car as I am still owed a little bit of money, but I see they are advertising it with the car.
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Rob,
Thanks for the info

 

There is a thread on this car somewhere. The car was advertised for something cheap, like 29k on craigslist, maybe in Oklahoma. One member looked at the car in person and said it was on an old gravel road, in terrible shape, and as pictured a rust bucket. A major proiject. The pictures on craigslist are the same - in mint condition. Another bought it sight unseen and then it disappeared. I guess the car was fixed?

 

I grew up very close to allentown PA and the address they have listed as their location is really the house where the owner lives. The house is next door to my friends house but I don't believe the cars are stored in that location.

 

Did you take a sample of the oil and send it out for analysis just for grins..


#6 looks like something got in between the door and the fender and the door lost the fight. Its not that someone pried it open. It would look way worse had someone.

Not sure what you paid for it but if it was anywhere near that price fly out and put your own eyes on it.

Not sight unseen holly **** it was beat the **** up!

 

**ATTENTION**

I am the owner of Ideal Motorcars, LLC. I would like for you to clarify that we have never spoken, discussed, or transacted in ANY WAY, but yet you attack my character and my company for misrepresenting a car. When IN FACT you purchased the car and subsequently sold it back to the gentleman I purchased it from, John. You did not speak or contact us at all, this is the first time we are actually evening sharing a dialogue, is that not correct?

The vehicle arrived in less than fair shape but nothing as detrimental as you state.
Upon arriving:
1) we replaced the battery as it was dead
2) The alternator was removed and rebuilt with higher amperage which was a common issue for the Jalpa's
3) The front bumper was removed, prepped, sanded and refinished in pearlescent as to repair the crack and minor scrapes to the underside of the chin
4) The hole in which you mention was cut out of all area that had any sign of rust, patched with new metal, sanded and resprayed in the satin black finish that it initially wore.
5) The car had a full fluid flush INCLUDING NEW OIL AND FILTER.

Further, the oil did NOT have antifreeze in it, they would separate NOT MIX. When drained it would show water, than antifreeze than oil. That was not the case. What you went on stating was not fact, what occurred was a mixture of gas and oil. This occurs when the engine is not running properly, in this case due to a failing alternator. This did not allow for the proper amount of power to the spark plugs to allow for a proper explosion(spark) in the cylinders. This is imperative for carburated cars! What occurs is the cylinders get washed out with gasoline (due to the lack of spark needed to ignite to the optimum level), it seeps through the rings and into the sump and crankcase.

Additionally, after the fresh oil and fluids the car was ran on the road for 15 minutes at proper temperature, it than was parked and sat until the next day (20 hours later), the radiator cap was removed and released pressure. If there was any leak from the water pump, hoses, crankcase or radiator, this SEALED system would have lost pressure within an hour!

The cars cosmetics were nothing that could not be easily and readily repaired. The front bumper as stated was refinished and repaired. The seat bolster still shows slight wear as the interior is so nice and original and I dislike the use of dyes etc, it still remains. The leather is very soft and supple and not dry cracking or have any tears anywhere. The chips on the car are part of the cars character and were not touched up and remain as well, they do not deter from the cars presence. But I am not here to defend the car, because it is as described.
I have been doing vintage and classic cars for many years, I take my reputation and my vehicles very seriously. We have sold some members here vehicles with nothing but praise as well as world record sales at major auction houses. I stand behind my vehicles and how they are described. You seem to have the assumption of a seller that is not us, that you seem to have issue with, and you claim of a vehicle you used to own but yet did not even bother to ask me or contact me directly to clarify any concerns or questions you may have had.

I ask anyone that wishes to have more detail or has any concerns about the car to contact me directly or can put you in contact with the service shop/tech that did all the mechanical work to the car.

Mario

Ideal Motorcars, LLC

 

Additionally i have been a member since 2009 and this is a wealth of knowledge for DIY on certain vehicles. I have always enjoyed being apart of the community, although not enjoying posting as much as I would like. I do respect everyones ability to share experiences, but not to attack a business or a person that has nothing to do with the issues you state. In this case Me and my company.

If the OP had contacted ME directly to request information or get more detail, it would have been easily clarified. But instead, due to an issue with the person they bought the car from and than sold the car back to , again NOT IDEAL. But yet still made the attack on myself and the company questioning my integrity and honesty without so much as making a simple phone call to get the update or whole story of the cars current condition.

 

`while i have no knowledge of this car or this dealer. I do find it curious that you do seem to miss the bad spot in the drivers seat in your photos of the interior just for example .. i notice the damage is somewhat noticable in one photo it is apparently cut off or perhaps it is just my computer from the two other photos of the seat.. As a buyer that frequently has bought cars site unseen as most of the dealer sites are set up for I pay very close attention to cut
off photos as I know there is a possiblity that a photo is cut off to hide a defect .. I am not accusing you of anything just pointing out that all is not as clear as it could be....

 

You can see the bolster in both full side photos of the interior. Both drivers side and Passenger side. Bolster wear is normal and not something to be ashamed of My photos are all done by 1 photographer and he remains consistent with the major bullet point aspects of a car he shoots. No editing is done and with a car of age, I like seeing natural correct wear. Its the cars with "2,000 miles" or the Ford GT with "50 miles" on it but the seat looks like it was dragged face down across brillo because so many people sat in it just sitting in the garage.

 

As i said I have no connection with this .. I only point out my observation of your photos in comparision with the ops .... if you are good with the photos fine with me.. and I agree bolster wear is fine but I would hope it would be clearly shown..in the photos.....

 

There really needs to be a "Bad Dealers Thread." I think there is one on Pelican Parts. This is why a PPI is essential. I'd say both parties are to blame- maybe a little more the dealers fault for the picts

 

At fault for the pics of a repaired car? If your referring to the bolster, it's still there & visible in multiple photographs out of the 60 photos of the car provided... Not just a handful of sporadic shots...

 

Lesson to all...if you're buying an expensive car out of state, a plane ticket to go see it is much cheaper than a lawsuit. If you're "too busy," then send a friend. Always touch the car before sending your hard earned cash!

 

Disgusting!

 

In fairness to the dealer (and I rarely defend dealers) I don't think there is any evidence of them doing anything wrong or shady. I checked the listing pictures and description and it clearly calls out that the front lip was painted. Maybe, just maybe, calling all the items "excellent" for condition sounds a bit of a stretch, but I've seen dealers call things that may be "good" or "very good" excellent instead... and clearly someone could and should ask for more pictures or details when about to pull the trigger.

Sounds more like the original owner was a bit crappy if they showed those pics up top from 2011...

To the dealer: my personal advice is to do what you already did, stating what changes were made, and then thank the original poster for pointing out there experience but noting that the car has been partially restored for some of those issues. You and the poster have no connection other than the car, and the OP's situation sounds like it was pretty unfair and surprising, given the pics they saw originally. Also, the OP did clearly state that they did not transact with you. Maybe they implied a bit too much, but they just told people here to do their homework...

To the OP, thanks for flagging something like this since it is always better to have more info than less.

Now everyone, just get along and move on.

 

AMEN

 

BUy a car sight unseen....look in the mirror and blame that guy....

 

Hello Mario,
Actually we have spoken a few times about some of your personal cars(Countach and LM) as well as some previous cars you sold(red Jalpa,) but I wouldn't expect you to remember me or that so for the sake of argument let's just say that we have never spoken about this car.

I don't believe that I have attacked you or your company in any way. As a matter of fact I even said that I did not purchase this vehicle from your company. Maybe you over read that part in my post.

I am glad you agree that the vehicle arrived to you as well in less than fair shape, as you stated. You also stated that nothing is as detrimental as I stated. I was led to believe the photos I received were the condition of the car. I am sure you received the same photos that I got. I guess you and I would have a difference in opinion on detrimental, especially when the car was advertised as in mint condition with no known problems.

Again, the reason for this post was not to attack you or your company or even the previous owner, but for the next buyer to do his due diligence on this vehicle as I should have done better. I have no problem admitting my faults. Again, I just knew the condition of the vehicle when it left my possession on April 12th.

I found it very impressive and outstanding that you have done so much work to this vehicle in a weeks time. I know personally that I would love the contact info on the service shop/tech that did all the work as we live so close I could possibly use them as well.

I too have always enjoyed these beautiful vehicles as well as being a member of this community and also agree with you about not posting as much as I would like to. You have a PM with my cell.

 

Appreciate the further clarity. Will call you shortly. I apologize if I do not recall speaking with you regarding the other vehicles. The body work and repairs are done by our body shop and the mechanical work I will give you all the information so that you may use them as well. Happily.

 

So who was the actual seller? Sounds like they are the shady ones, not the place that has the car now. And how did you get "most" of your money back? Did they take the car back?

 

Agree regarding the photos supplied from years back by the previous seller but need to ask questions & specify any issues. I did receive the same photos and recognized the backdrop immediately, Crave did not own the car recently so presumed they were dated.

Regardless, Thank you for your kind words.

 

Just recently got off the phone with Mario from Ideal Motors in Allentown, and after a bit of a lengthy conversation I want to clarify again that I did not purchase this vehicle from him or Ideal Motors. Mario and myself both have agreed that the car was not advertised accurately and very misleading with the photos provided to both of us. Mario and his people obviously have put some time and money into fixing this car up rather quickly as he must have the resources to do. I personally would still recommend that all buyers should do their due diligence when purchasing any vehicle. Like I mentioned, I am at fault as I just took somebody's word on what I was purchasing and got burned.

 

Maybe a Moderator can delete the "Ideal Motors" from your Title post

Sounds like a very nice car now

now gather round the fire " Kumbaya........."