ebay action question

You friend screwed up.

It does not say anything about matching numbers. Why would he assume that HUGELY important point would be left out? You can bet if they were matching the seller would make a big deal out of it.

Sounds like the seller had a honest description. Your friend needs to honor his commitment.

I can't stand people that weasel out of a contract.

 

Unless the seller wants to take legal action against your friend, worst case is being banned from ebay.

I would think your friend should have asked the question explicitly during the auction.

Chances are your buddy doesn't follow through, gets negative feedback and is reported to eBay. The seller then gets to relist the car for free due to non paying bidder. However, the seller may decide to seek legal action as a civil matter. Doubtful but possible, I have no clue on the chances of that as I am not a lawyer.

-dsd

 

I'm sure he can flake and there's not much the seller can do about it. This would be breach of contract on the buyer's side. This just sounds like some buyer's remorse and an excuse to get out of it. Verifying matching numbers on a collector car is pretty basic stuff.

 

Uro's right. Your statement that "some information was not disclosed" makes no sense. The seller is under no obligation to say if it's not a number-matched restoration, but certainly would have touted it if it had been.

Why on Earth would your friend have jumped to the conclusion that it was a number-matched restoration?

It sounds like a nice car, for those who like that sort of thing. I don't know what the consequences of attempting to back out would be.

This doesn't seem like the correct section for this...

 

Your friend should have known that Chev didn't make a 348 CID motor in 1958. I believe it would have been a 265 CID or maybe a 283CID . The 327 CID didn't come out until 1963 in the Corvette. So the 348 didn't come in until the early 60's. I may have a foggy memory of this but I think I'm close. So if that's the case there would be no numbers match to even consider.

 

Ken,

Most sellers are good people. If your friend doesn't feel comfortable with the sale then he should discuss it with the seller. He should also be willing / expect to cover the costs of inconvenience if he backs out. Most sellers will work with you. Good communication is the key.

Good luck

 

The 348 is from a completely different engine family than the small block chevy. They existed in 1958.. Ever heard of a 409? She's real fine......

 

This is an improtant question/topic, but not a Ferrari specific topic...can get good answers in the "other cars" or "off-topic" sections as well.

But as long as we are here...

1. I think it's lame that the seller would not clearly disclose the non-macth#'s issue. Perahps he assumed people would understand given his despription, but there are many buyers out there who would simply lack the knowledge.

It can be said he's under no obligation to disclose every fact, fault and issue, but if your dealing with something of a fairly high value I'd expect full disclosure whether the seller is obligatied to or not.

2. I think it's a huge mistake to spend anywhere near that amount of $ without a personal inspection or at least someone you trust in that area to look for you.

3. If you need to buy sight unseen, then communication is truly the most important part of the sale.

Back to the orginal question. Negative feedback to the buyer, possible ban from E-bay.... AFAIK, people have the ability to comment on negative feedback and provide their side fo the story.

Legal action from the seller.... IMO, flimsy foundation to stand on. Poorly described item in comparison to value, a reasonable (car collector) would assume matching #'s unless stated.

I think that the buyer has amble reason to void sale.

 

Everyone has an opinion but nobody bothers to actually check the ebay rules!

http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/questions/unwanted-item.html

Basically, a bid is a legal contract, but the buyer can beg the seller to let him out of it. If the seller refuses, and the buyer reneges on too many auctions, he may be banned from ebay.

 

Here is what the auction said: " I have owned this classic Chevy for 15 years. I had a complete frame off restoration done to original condition. Everything is new, rebuilt or restored. Car has been very well cared for and professionally restored.

I think your friend can back out no problem. The words "restoration done to original condition" explicitly indicates the car has the same parts it came from the factory with. If you bought a ferrari based on a representation that it was restored to original condition I think most of us would be outraged to learn later the motor wasn't the original block.

At the very least, after stating the car is in "original" condition the seller has an obligation to disclose any exceptions to this broad statement. I would not lose any sleep if I was your friend.

 

I think you're right. This could be a perfect opportunity to grind the guy down

 

It's been a few years since I owned a "domestic" car, but the term "numbers matching" doesn't really apply to most cars made in the 1950s. It would be more correctly considered a "correct" car than a "numbers matching" car. The 348 was based mainly a torquey motor used for trucks and had a strange cylinder head configuration...the combustion chamber was actually in the cylinder bore and not in the head. The 409 was an advancement of this basic engine and didn't really have a lot of potential from a mass production stand point. Yes....I know the 409 could be had all the way up to 425hp for a dual 4-barrel engine in the early 60s. But that was just about the limit.

If this 58 Impala convertible is really nice and pristine with the 348.....the price was pretty good I'd say. These cars have quite a following and I've seen auction prices near $100k for exceptional examples sporting the tri-power. So if everything checks out mechanically and cosmetically - your friend will be fine and should be very happy with the car. If this is the case he certainly won't loose anything in the future....so he should sleep well.

 

You are using the wrong logic. The Impala used the W-series big block engine from 1958-1965(?). From 1958-1961 it was 348 c.i.d., from 1961-65 it became the famous 409.

And the 327 came out for the 1962 m/y. You were close though.

 

Hey Ken, that's great........ I've done 260+ transactions on Ebay over 9 years with 100% pos. feedback. Communication is the key.

 

'original condition' doesn't mean the actual original parts that were on the car when manufactured.

in ebayland, if it ain't in the text, assume it ain't in the item being auctioned.

that said, there is a procedure to request backout of the auction(don't remember where it is on ebay); have your bud contact the seller and work sumpin' out.

Not the first or last time an auction went down incorrectly...i see this stuff all the time, as i've bought/sold a lot of stuff(musical instruments) on ebay over the last 8 or 9 yrs or so...

 

It's lame, but ultimately if the seller didn't lie about it then it seems like it's incumbent upon the buyer to ask.

But I think Letsjet is right, most people are reasonable so cool-headed communication is likely the way to go. Unless he does want to buy it after all.

$65K. You'd think the buyer would ask a basic question like whether it's "numbers matching"... and verify. My .02.

 

+1,

after 11 years on eBay I've see it happen all the time. Back out of the bidding and if the seller reports it to recover his listing fees then you get a "pop up" window the next few times you bid telling you you haven't paid him. No big thing. I believe if you do this many times within a short period of time then eBay can ban you.

Feedback is a game and the seller is at a disadvantage. If he leaves it for you then retort in fact rather than emotion as that is far more crrdible, perhaps osmething like:
Seller was not forthcoming in the details and omitted that the car was not a numbers matching vehicle"

 

Quite so. Anyway, what numbers did not match? The engine block, perhaps?

There are a lot of "numbers matching" Corvettes out there that have had the engine block stamped to the "right" number.

The point being - why does this really matter all that much so long as the restoration is reasonably authentic and any parts replaced were NOS or genuine?