Hayelp! - Father has purchased a 78 350sl unseen

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stimpy32

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bmw 2002
Morning folks and apologies for my first post being a cry for help.

I have no idea what has happened but my elderly father has joined ebay and in the very same day purchased a 1978 350 sL - old folk, can't trust them hey?:doh:. He has been after one from the sixties for years but ofcourse they are now unobtanium to regular folks due to cost.

So i wanted to try and organise a pre purchase inspection by a specialist if possible. The vehicle is located in Thirsk - North Yorkshire and i've found a merc indy in York and Pickering but yet to call them.

Any ideas or recommendations very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Seb
 
Update:Have spoken to the one in York - Philip Welch - who seemed to know there stuff and could get it in next week at the latest.

Any others?
 
Maybe your dad is wiser than you think! Good luck to him for following his dream.
 
link to the ebay ad would be interesting!
 
This firm is listed in the gazette advertising section- don't know anything about them.
http://www.smautocare.co.uk/#/about-us/4543966329
I would suggest at this stage you try for an "inspection lite" to get a quick appraisal if the car is worth spending money on rather than the "full fat " detailed appraisal which may be quite expensive. Any decent expert should be able to tell you in ten minutes if you dad has bought a " breaking for spares " basket case or a basically sound car with potential.

added:-
http://www.near.co.uk/3639624-P-E-German-Marques/
 
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Maybe your dad is wiser than you think! Good luck to him for following his dream.


Haha yes! The problem is the 'purchased unseen'. I have classic cars and i think he thought you just buy them and they're fine...

Which just rarely happens in my opinion!..
 
This firm is listed in the gazette advertising section- don't know anything about them.
http://www.smautocare.co.uk/#/about-us/4543966329
I would suggest at this stage you try for an "inspection lite" to get a quick appraisal if the car is worth spending money on rather than the "full fat " detailed appraisal which may be quite expensive. Any decent expert should be able to tell you in ten minutes if you dad has bought a " breaking for spares " basket case or a basically sound car with potential.

added:-
http://www.near.co.uk/3639624-P-E-German-Marques/

Thanks, I have tried these chaps but they're basically busy for a month and don't have experience with the classics.

The car itself 'looks' ok and has had some major restorative works in 2010 but that said i haven't seen the documents or viewed the car yet!

If it weren't for the factor i'm off on hols later this week i'd be going up to view it myself. ( I'm actually off to the south of France touring in my 73 BMW 2002 Baur :) )
 
You do realise that he is now committed to having the car, don't you?

Unless the car is significantly wrongly described, you can't get out of the deal if the seller insists on enforcing it.
 
You do realise that he is now committed to having the car, don't you?

Unless the car is significantly wrongly described, you can't get out of the deal if the seller insists on enforcing it.


Whilst i cannot tolerate the timewasters on ebay and certainly don't wish to start an argument here - you CAN get out of a sale through ebay, usually suffering at worst a bad feedback.

That said, the car is listed as very good and driving well with restoration works and some panel replacement in 2010. So from my point of view i'm expecting as listed - but know classic cars!.

Check the ebay link above out if you like.
 
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Low feedback number overall + "selling for a friend" + "she is too tall".......I would be very cautious with this one.
 
Low feedback number overall + "selling for a friend" + "she is too tall".......I would be very cautious with this one.

Yes. I personally would have approached this very differently should we say...

Hence just trying to salvage the best out of this situation and hopefully help the old duffer realise a dream NOT a restoration nightmare!
 
You will not know what the score is until it's inspected,these cars can suffer serious
corrosion problems,bulkhead,sills, floor etc,which will not show topside.I hope all the
problems were addressed when the car was restored.
 
Speak to our man north of the border Druk - he's got a trifle of experience with early r107's lol. Can point you in right direction.
I have to say that if I had been selling it and it had genuinely had a full bare metal job there would be piccies galore/photobucket account link and copies of restoration documentation etc on the listing.
It could of course be spot on, hopefully so for your fathers sake. Good luck.
 
The listing does scream "scam", but it might be genuine - some people are very laid back about buying and selling things.
 
The listing does scream "scam", but it might be genuine - some people are very laid back about buying and selling things.

Yes. He'd have struggled to pick a more suss listing! But then there are plenty funny buggers about selling cars the wrong way.

I made a purchase recently and the add was frankly horrendous but a viewing confirmed it was an honest example showing all it's faults instead of a polished turd... Still going to cost me a fortune in the long run mind:doh:
 
Whilst i cannot tolerate the timewasters on ebay
You are going to be one anyway....

It's a 'legally binding' sale, once the hammer goes down it's yours, the time to kick the tyres is beforehand.

I've just had to re-list a 58 plate Passat four times before selling because of winning bidders getting buyers remorse after the auction ending and coming up with weak, spineless excuses.

If it was me, I'd either go and collect the car with as little fuss as possible or do the seller a favour, stop the drawn out will-he-won't-he-buy-it, and tell him you won't complete the transaction.
 
I spoke to several SL owners at the Beverley classic car evening last June, it was surprising how many had bought their cars from eBay adverts from private individuals......to a man they had all been happy with their purchases
Some people engage their brains and write a cracking advert......others haven't got a clue, I reckon your Dads seller falls into the latter category

Regards all

John
 
The ebay ad looks fine to me, but as selling for a friend they should have included the 'friend' phone number in the advert.

Every man woman and dog seem to advertise cars that don't belong to them, but that's the only point I would be wary of.
 

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