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Did he pay for the car before taking it to the mechanic?
effectively, yes.
I had a cash offer from him, I wrote up a Buyer's Purchase Order & Bill of Sale with a 50% cash down payment and the balance in a Cashier's Check (made payable to him) which he'd endorsed on the back of the Check. The Purchase Order is a legally binding sales contract with specific performance ... I give you identified y/m/m serial # car with proper signed over Title paperwork and you give me legal USA funds for the amount of the sale.
The fine print of the Sale was the contingency of his mechanic's report on the condition of the car that specified an inspection of the compression. I wasn't going to take the car to his Ace mechanic for a fishing expedition for just anything he decided wasn't up to snuff. IF the compression was OK, the deal was solid. The compression was good, all cylinders within 10 psi of each other. "Ace" got to deal with his client re the damage to the car. It most certainly wasn't going to be driven anywhere after his botch job on the car until the cooling system was repaired ... and I don't think that the hood was going to get closed again without a lot of work or replacement. (apparently, "Ace" didn't know that the hood opened forward on the E-type cars, he was jacking the car up with the hood closed and latched on both sides. As much flex as was built into these cars, not releasing the hood latches prior to lifting the car was ... IMO ... a risky thing to do if you wanted to open the hood)
Of course, if the deal had fallen through ... I'd have had to returned his cash and CCheck. But the deal held.
Ever buy a car, new or used and regretted it almost before you even got it home?
I thought I was going to love it. I sold it and hope I never have that feeling again.
Almost always. That doesn't mean I made a mistake in buying it.
We had a '75 Volvo 242DL that it took about 2 years to realize that it was a mistake. Although solidly built, the fuel injection was very finicky and mechanical parts of it were a big disappointment. After it left us stranded several times, a couple time in very cold weather, I was ready to drive it over the cliff. Parts were expensive and it cured me of Euro cars. Sold it to a guy and then bought a '83 Accord thinking it would explode in 4 years. Ended up keeping it 14 years and sold it to the first guy that looked at it. Bought 2 other Accords and now have a Lexus.
We had a '75 Volvo 242DL that it took about 2 years to realize that it was a mistake. Although solidly built, the fuel injection was very finicky and mechanical parts of it were a big disappointment. After it left us stranded several times, a couple time in very cold weather, I was ready to drive it over the cliff. Parts were expensive and it cured me of Euro cars. Sold it to a guy and then bought a '83 Accord thinking it would explode in 4 years. Ended up keeping it 14 years and sold it to the first guy that looked at it. Bought 2 other Accords and now have a Lexus.
You do realize that all cars have improved since 1975.....euro cars included!
I bought a new 72 Datsun pickup back then. Up till then I had V8's all my life and traded a 390 Fairlane Ranchero for it which would be called a muscle car now.
4 cylinder cars back then just didn't have the technology of today and probably had 80 HP or less. I quickly grew to hate the gutless pile. I rode my motorcycle most of the time and after awhile it wouldn't start unless I coasted it down a hill I lived on. After the 1st start after sitting then it started normally. It was at the mechanic a lot with carburetor trouble.
2014 Ford Focus with DCT transmission. My 2011 Focus had gotten wrecked so I thought I'd just by another Focus. Big mistake. The DCT transmission (grasping at CAFE standards) makes the car annoying to drive in town traffic.
You do realize that all cars have improved since 1975.....euro cars included!
Yes, but I am spoiled with with not having to pay expensive service fees and buying expensive parts. After reading about what people pay for service on BMW or MB, only way I would have one is to lease. And I keep my cars longer than a lease would be. I am allergic to car payments or what lease payments would be. I get that "you have to pay to play" with Euro cars and I can readily afford it but I choose not to "play".
I also have noticed that Consumer Reports has never rated Volvo any higher than average reliability and even that has not been consistent through out the years.
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