Nightmare!!!

[BigCarrot]

I've been looking for a GTS for a few months now, and I thought I'd found the one. 99, red ACR, supposedly in showroom condition. I ended up not buying the car. I flew to Florida with a check in hand, only to find that the car had been wrecked. I had spoken with this guy on numerous occasions, so I trusted him. He TOTALLY misrepresented the car! It had a horrible paint job with runs all over the place, and over spray where the runs weren't! He told me that he was the second owner and he wasn't aware of any damage. Nobody told him. BULLSHITT!!! I first started to worry when he picked me up at the airport and proceeded to tell me that he was an ex CIA operative. He told me he had to sell the car because he was involved in a plane crash in Bolivia that hurt his back. He couldn't get in and out of the car. He then took me to a business that he was a partner in. He said it was a dealership, and he took the car there to let his guys clean it up for me. It was a SALVAGE YARD!!! I walked up and immediately saw 6 huge runs on the panel behind the drivers side glass. The entire car was horrible! He refused to buy me a plane ticket home because he didn't think he lied. He thought the car was beautiful and in showroom condition! I yelled obscenities at the guy for a good five minutes! I was so pissed, that I walked to a gas station in this shady part of town, LITERALLY through a CROWD of drug dealers and hookers, and called a cab to take me to the airport. When I got there, I called 15 hotels in the area and didn't find a single vacancy, so I slept on the floor in the airport! I have no idea what was going on in Tampa last night. It was probably the worst night of my life! I spent $650 each way for my friend and I to fly, plus a hundred or two for other expenses, and all for NOTHING! I really feel like a complete idiot for trusting this arshole! I think I'm gonna buy a Honda Civic!

 

[ElDiablo Viper]

If you were in NY I would let you sleep in my house.

How did you find out about this car?

 

[BigCarrot]

I saw it on Ebay and called the guy. Sorry if my grammar isn't too great up there, I slept on a concrete floor. lol

 

[DodgeViper01]

[******] that really sux. How can someone do something like that? What was the item number for the auction?

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Tampa??? Too late now, but I wish you would have contacted me. I would have checked it out for you. That's what this board is for. What was the name of the salvage yard?

 

[MichaelP]

That is bad.

Post the link to the auction so other people know.

Also post the guys name and address so we can warn others.



I, Chuck or Gerald etc would probably been happy to check the car out for you before you wasted your money.

Also let this be a lesson for us all. Have someone from the board check out your car BEFORE you fly to see the car.

 

[MichaelP]

[******] you Chuck you beat me by 1 minute.

 

[BigCarrot]

I don't know the item number, but I have it at work. I saw it on ebay a couple of months ago and I've been in contact with the guy since. He said his name was Dr. Mike Fallon. I think the name of the place was Adkins Repair??? Some black dude was supposedly his partner. It was on E. Hillsborough near the intersection of 46th street maybe??? I'm trying to recall this from memory. ******** of a place! You guys don't live near that do you? I honestly thought they were gonna try to steal my cashier's check! Like I said, it was a nightmare! Any of you guys want to chunk a rock through the window of that place? I'll gladly pay you a buck or two!

 

[MichaelP]

Not getting much on it.

Chuck might know more.

Is this the Dr?


M Fallon

1210 Davies St
Tampa, FL 33602-0000 (map)

Tel.: (813) 684-1477

 

[BigCarrot]

I don't know, the title said FS Fallon Jr. I don't know where he got Mike? His address is 7320 Brookview Cr Tampa FL 33634, or at least that's what he told me to put on the check. All I have is his cell # 813-842-2269. He didn't answer when I called last night after I left. I just wanted to tell him what I thought of him one more time.

 

[Vipermed 97.01]

East Hillsborough and 46th you were in a sh..hole section.I wouldnt stop for gas in that area.I have heard of this place as they advertise many cars in the local paper.I believe they do a lot of clean title rebuilds.I just cant imagine there even being a Viper in that section of town.Dont let this bad experience hinder your search.just research or post here before traveling as there is a lot of clean Vipers out there.You no what they say,"cost money to go to school"Class is out.

 

[genXgts]

Wow BigCarrot,

Sounds like a wingding of a deal. Ex-Cia, Bolivia, did you ask him if The Falcon had landed? haha

You have to look on the brightside though, your out a few days and a grand or two total. Think of the many people that buy Vipers sight unseen from an unknown source. Imagine the legal implications of trying to prove different opinions of mint condition etc, compounded with the distance involved, messy, messy, and it happens.

My advice shell out the bucks and get a VCA owned car, I did. Out a few K more for solid peace of mind, and hopefully the knowledge from this site to improve the car in instances where leaving it OEM damages the car. (ie, melting side sills with OEM cats, front fasica bolts piercing overflow bottle, marginal cooling systems, etc, etc, etc.)

Of course if the number is low enough it's tempting to roll the dice!
You still own the Rt/10, this is to add to the stable?
Dam multiple Viper owners........

 

[BigCarrot]

Yes it was a shitheap! Sadly, I have been schooled!

 

[Tom Welch]

[******],

You were only a few minutes more than an hour away from a pristine 97 GTS that you could have drove home and ran a 9 second time!

*****!

 

[BigCarrot]

I din't realize so many of you guys were in Tampa! Man! I wish I'd had someone go look at that piece of chit before I came all that way! It's 20/20 now!

 

[MichaelP]

Big Carrot you selling your RT10 or you going to have 2 Vipers like Chuck.

 

[BigCarrot]

No, the R/T is now gone! Always wanted a GTS!

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

There aren't many areas worse than East Hillsborough Av. Sorry about the hassle. I'll cruise through sometime.

 

[picflight]

Bigcarrot,

Sorry to hear about your experience. In the future if you need to have someone look at a car for you in S. California, let me know, I can to a quick inspect for you.

 

[BigCarrot]

It looked pretty bad! You know, at least I had a $1500 lesson and not a $50,000 lesson. At least there weren't any bars around the concrete floor that I had to sleep on! Trying to look at the bright side. lol

 

[Diablo Joe]

Sorry to hear about the bad experience.Had I known you would be going to Tampa,you could have stayed at my place.

Joe

 

[Birvini]

Sorry to hear that! As previously stated, have someone check it out for you!!!! I'm always happy to check out a Viper!!!

 

[DEVILDOG]

BigCarrot,
Check with Danny Baum of our local club. He sells preowned Vipers that are A1 condition.

 

[BigCarrot]

I looked at one he had. It had some paint work too. He said he wasn't aware of it, but it was there. I just want a nice, clean car. It seems that finding one like that is easier said than done!

 

[monnieh]

I tell you, knowing without any doubts, the exact history of a used Viper is work at least $5k extra to me.

After my 97 RT/10 I wanted to know the background of my next car completely. Fortunitally I was able to purchase a Viper that I knew everything about.

Hey DD, I saw you on Hall Johnson the other day. You live right down the road from me!

 

[Vic]

Big Carrot, why don't you tell him you've had a change of heart, tell him you still want to buy the car, fly down there, and give him a fake cashiers' check for it, and drive it away?

Revenge too sweet for words! heee-hee!

just kidding

 

[Daffy Duck Viper]

That SO bites! If blatant dishonesty (lying basturds!) like that doesn't make you want to take them out back and beat the living hell out of them, I don't know what does. Jeez! Just hearing about that makes me livid. I detest unethical things like that beyond words. If I was on heart medication, I'd need to pop a few pills right now, I tell you!

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[98MODMTR]

I won't even drive down that part of tampa in my mustang, let alone try to make it out of there with a viper! My guess, that thing was hot...no vin #s and they wanted to get rid of it?!?

Chuck, lets grab a game of pool in that area LMAO!!!

 

[Janni]

We've looked at many Vipers for folks and it always amazes me the crap that people try to pass off as "excellent condition". We've had both out 1996 GTSs for sale for the psat couple of months and I have tried to go out of my way to over emphasize the issues with the car. The slight cosmetic damage to Henry's car was fixed for just under 2K and you cannot tell it ever had a could of small cracks in it. And no - it wasn't the least expensive Viper out there, but the new owner is getting a $0 deductible DC service contract, all the original records, all the take off parts, window sticker, etc.

Big Carrot, if you don't mind me asking - what was the selling price for this car? Was it low enough to throw some red flags?

Unfortunately, Florida cars seem to be problematic when advertised / sold through dealers.

Buying a car from a VCA member is a much safer bet. VCA members as a rule, seem to be genuainely interested in the car and have taken care of it like they were keeping it. They don't look at it like a short term relationship. They hang out here and get stuff done to it that needs to be done. And no - they may not be priced too good to be true, but they are solid, reliable, truthfully represented cars.

Don't be discouraged - check the classifieds and have a club member sheck out the car for you. Then, when you buy - JOIN the VCA!

 

[BigCarrot]

The price was $48k, which is a decent deal on a 99 ACR, but nothing spectacular. I called the guy back and he didn't answer. I told him I'd changed my mind and wanted him to call. I just wanted to cuss the guy a little more, but he never called back.