cRaZySHO.
New Member
Recently purchased 1995 Blue 3.2 MTX from the classifieds.
From the ad/emails he made this car out to be flawless with a few minor exceptions.
It was listed with these problems-
-intermittent ignition switch (he said car wouldnt shut off all the time, ignition was fine, car had a remote start system he didnt even know how to work)
-driver window sometimes wouldnt roll down, listed as possible window track problems? it didnt work due to faulty/poorly wired in AUTO DOWN modules (more on this later)
-AC compressor clutch seized
This is fair. I knew of these things going into it. Here are my issues with the sale, that if someone had been driving this car and owned it for any more than a weeks time would have noticed-
-driver window not intermittent, just plain dead. partially due to installation of AUTO DOWN modules that were wired in with electrical tape, and nor formal electrical connectors. These were also not secured, they were just hanging from the harness behind the door panel.
-passenger front window, rolled down, and not up. On my way home with the car I rolled it down for some fresh air, and it stayed that way all the way home (might have just happened, but seeing that this door panel had MANY broken tabs, and two missing screws, I assume this happened in the past.
-driver door panel hanging on by merely the door handle and the lock. I opened the door and it nearly fell on the ground. Not one of the tabs that pushes into the sheet metal were intact, and two screw holes were stripped out.
-driver door speaker is dead, havent traced the problem, but I have replaced the stereo since I bought the car, so it isnt the stereo. Probably due to the hack job wiring on the door harnesses.
-Car listed with an LPM, I asked about it after getting the car home, and I was told he forgot to take it out of the ad. I told him I think he should rectify this and all he said was, "its only like $70 for an unprogrammed LPM anyways". Probably why the car drove like @$$ with an 80mm MAF with no tune and failed emissions horribly.
-Stereo wiring, car listed with an IPOD jack. Im no electrical engineer, but I install radars, GPS, autopilots, fishfinders, LCD TV's, and stereos in boats as one of my main job duties at work. And at no point in time would I ever be proud of a wiring job like this. There were an EXCESSIVE amount of wires stuffed behind the radio. The power connections were made by stripping back the wire, and putting electrical tape over the connections. This is not safe, in a car, in a boat, in a house, or anywhere! If a 12V+ connection were to chafe through a piece of tape, THAT ISNT FUSED, and touch 12V- (ground), that wire WILL catch on fire/melt/burn until something gives. Not cool.
-Power steering reservoir merely zip tied to the wiring harness. Bracket missing. Reservoir sitting on its side, basically dangling from its hoses.
-ATX coolant bottle installed. Because of the shoddy workmanship of this, this is why the power steering reservoir is hanging, AND the battery tray is out of place, and the top bracket that actually holds the battery is no longer bolted to the fender wall.
-Power antenna does not go down, and intermittently goes up. Very annoying for the car wash.
-This is minor, but the car was listed with brand new Blizzaks (which are pretty pricey), and it has a much cheaper model Hankook tires.
-The car was originally listed with Cobra wheels, and the slicers were put on at one point. Fine. BUT WHEN YOU PUT THE SLICERS BACK ON CHECK ALL THE LUG NUTS!!!!!! Two lug nuts, one on left rear, and one on the right front were barely hand tight. I noticed this by seeing that the lugs were barely sticking out of the end of the nuts, when tightened down all the way, the lugs stick out about 1/4"-1/2". I noticed this after driving the car home.
-Emergency brake cable gets stuck once depressed. It does not release at all. I thought the car lost a cylinder the first time I drove away after using. Then the smell of hot brakes led me onto that. Also the e brake pedal is very loose, and does not return to the full 'up' position. Which I have now found to be part of the problem why the remote starter is so testy.
-Last but not least. It may be the smallest thing, but this one got me the most. Car has two gauges, oil pressure and volts. Car listed with the oil sender not installed, ok fine. I asked about a day after I got home. Its been over a month. And I still haven't received. Heres the kicker- I told him I was upset about the LPM and the sender. Thats when he told me, "im not trying to be a paint, buts its only a hundred bucks dude". Thats when I realized what kind of person I just bought a car from. Obviously he wanted to get rid of the car (dropped the price nearly in half in 6 months), and probably hoped no one would catch on. Well I did.
In the end- shame on me for not looking the car over more thoroughly during the sale.
And shame on him for not enlightening me to the obvious issues the car has.
At $3480, some may think I got a good deal. Realistically, $2800 is probably fair considering the SAFETY issues I found, along with the headaches and misc. parts that I will need to make the car what it was listed as.
I really hate when people play up things to be something that they arent.
From the ad/emails he made this car out to be flawless with a few minor exceptions.
It was listed with these problems-
-intermittent ignition switch (he said car wouldnt shut off all the time, ignition was fine, car had a remote start system he didnt even know how to work)
-driver window sometimes wouldnt roll down, listed as possible window track problems? it didnt work due to faulty/poorly wired in AUTO DOWN modules (more on this later)
-AC compressor clutch seized
This is fair. I knew of these things going into it. Here are my issues with the sale, that if someone had been driving this car and owned it for any more than a weeks time would have noticed-
-driver window not intermittent, just plain dead. partially due to installation of AUTO DOWN modules that were wired in with electrical tape, and nor formal electrical connectors. These were also not secured, they were just hanging from the harness behind the door panel.
-passenger front window, rolled down, and not up. On my way home with the car I rolled it down for some fresh air, and it stayed that way all the way home (might have just happened, but seeing that this door panel had MANY broken tabs, and two missing screws, I assume this happened in the past.
-driver door panel hanging on by merely the door handle and the lock. I opened the door and it nearly fell on the ground. Not one of the tabs that pushes into the sheet metal were intact, and two screw holes were stripped out.
-driver door speaker is dead, havent traced the problem, but I have replaced the stereo since I bought the car, so it isnt the stereo. Probably due to the hack job wiring on the door harnesses.
-Car listed with an LPM, I asked about it after getting the car home, and I was told he forgot to take it out of the ad. I told him I think he should rectify this and all he said was, "its only like $70 for an unprogrammed LPM anyways". Probably why the car drove like @$$ with an 80mm MAF with no tune and failed emissions horribly.
-Stereo wiring, car listed with an IPOD jack. Im no electrical engineer, but I install radars, GPS, autopilots, fishfinders, LCD TV's, and stereos in boats as one of my main job duties at work. And at no point in time would I ever be proud of a wiring job like this. There were an EXCESSIVE amount of wires stuffed behind the radio. The power connections were made by stripping back the wire, and putting electrical tape over the connections. This is not safe, in a car, in a boat, in a house, or anywhere! If a 12V+ connection were to chafe through a piece of tape, THAT ISNT FUSED, and touch 12V- (ground), that wire WILL catch on fire/melt/burn until something gives. Not cool.
-Power steering reservoir merely zip tied to the wiring harness. Bracket missing. Reservoir sitting on its side, basically dangling from its hoses.
-ATX coolant bottle installed. Because of the shoddy workmanship of this, this is why the power steering reservoir is hanging, AND the battery tray is out of place, and the top bracket that actually holds the battery is no longer bolted to the fender wall.
-Power antenna does not go down, and intermittently goes up. Very annoying for the car wash.
-This is minor, but the car was listed with brand new Blizzaks (which are pretty pricey), and it has a much cheaper model Hankook tires.
-The car was originally listed with Cobra wheels, and the slicers were put on at one point. Fine. BUT WHEN YOU PUT THE SLICERS BACK ON CHECK ALL THE LUG NUTS!!!!!! Two lug nuts, one on left rear, and one on the right front were barely hand tight. I noticed this by seeing that the lugs were barely sticking out of the end of the nuts, when tightened down all the way, the lugs stick out about 1/4"-1/2". I noticed this after driving the car home.
-Emergency brake cable gets stuck once depressed. It does not release at all. I thought the car lost a cylinder the first time I drove away after using. Then the smell of hot brakes led me onto that. Also the e brake pedal is very loose, and does not return to the full 'up' position. Which I have now found to be part of the problem why the remote starter is so testy.
-Last but not least. It may be the smallest thing, but this one got me the most. Car has two gauges, oil pressure and volts. Car listed with the oil sender not installed, ok fine. I asked about a day after I got home. Its been over a month. And I still haven't received. Heres the kicker- I told him I was upset about the LPM and the sender. Thats when he told me, "im not trying to be a paint, buts its only a hundred bucks dude". Thats when I realized what kind of person I just bought a car from. Obviously he wanted to get rid of the car (dropped the price nearly in half in 6 months), and probably hoped no one would catch on. Well I did.
In the end- shame on me for not looking the car over more thoroughly during the sale.
And shame on him for not enlightening me to the obvious issues the car has.
At $3480, some may think I got a good deal. Realistically, $2800 is probably fair considering the SAFETY issues I found, along with the headaches and misc. parts that I will need to make the car what it was listed as.
I really hate when people play up things to be something that they arent.
