"This car is perfect, just like new"

[Gerald Levin]

\"This car is perfect, just like new\"

Well, that is what this ebay auction says. Check it out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2413647840&category=6209
What's going on around the drivers side headlight? Supersize that first photo. ***? I can stick my head in that space. Sure looks like its been in a heck of a wreck. How can this be advertised as "perfect, just like new"? I wonder what a carfax would say on this car? Sure does not look kosher to me.

 

[Seifer]

Re:

Maybe they forgot to close the hood?




btw, thats the ugliest Viper I think I've ever seen (minus a wrecked one....wait, I take that back. I seen a red rt that had the rear end mashed that looked better than this one )

 

[Seifer]

Re:

Upon further inspection, that looks awful. Look at the 4th pic (left side view). definately aint right.

 

[genXgts]

Re:

Sweetness, ram air above the headlight!!

 

[JoeB]

Re: \"This car is perfect, just like new\"

Well, that is what this ebay auction says. Check it out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2413647840&category=6209
What's going on around the drivers side headlight? Supersize that first photo. ***? I can stick my head in that space. Sure looks like its been in a heck of a wreck. How can this be advertised as "perfect, just like new"? I wonder what a carfax would say on this car? Sure does not look kosher to me.

I saw that car a few weeks ago I asked the guy if he wanted to come out to Sears Point on April 19 and 20th. He was a no show. Anyway he said he just got the car from his wifes boss and he used to track the car quite a bit. Thats why the 5 points, Radiator, etc.

Joe B (Just tellin what I know) 01

 

[melzer]

Re: \"This car is perfect, just like new\"

For what it's worth, I pulled a carfax on this car. No salvage title reported, was initially reg as commercial, which is not unusual. Mileage as of 4/22/02 was 38,587 (reported by Vehicle Repair Center Belmont, CA - vehicle serviced)

History shows 3 owners:
1st owner 05/06/1994 California
2nd owner 11/18/1998 California
3rd owner 01/07/1999 California

All other hits were unremarkable...I certainly wouldn't buy this car, but hey, someone on a tight budget who wants to own a 'driver' Viper may bite.

BTW, if anyone reading this post has a need to run a carfax, I have almost a full 30 days left on unlimited account and would be happy to run it for you. Drop me an e-mail and I will return report via e-mail as well.
[email protected]

 

[Gerald Levin]

Re:

Melzer, So you are saying that no accidents showed up on the carfax? Hmmmm, wonder if they were drunk at the assembly plant when they put this one together? I guess you get what you pay for with a carfax, nothing more.

I wonder how many here, when faced with a car that has been involved in an accident, and had a choice to take the car for repairs to 2 shops where one would document the repair and would appear on a carfax, while the other would do the paperwork to keep it off a carfax, who would you go to? The answer is obvious.

 

[SylvanSRT]

Re:

I know a guy w/ a vette who near totaled the car and his ins. record was horrible. He took the car to a shop and paid cash for the repairs(24,000+) to keep from making a claim. My guess is that this accident/repair will never show up on a carfax. I am also sure this type of action is pretty rare, but it does happen.

 

[ViperJoe]

Re:

Not ALL wrecks get to CarFax. Still could have been crashed and not on CF.
Cheers

 

[BlueGTS]

Re:

That gap is so bad that I am willing to bet he did not close the hood all the way. If he has only been an owner for a short while it is very easy to not close the hood properly. Even worse if you start playing with the hood latch height you can make it so one side will never fully latch. I did that and it took me a lot of hours of playing with fitment to get it right.

The bottom line is I could make a 1-mile, no accident viper look like this just by wrongly adjusting the hood latches.

 

[melzer]

Re:

Gerald,

Yes, that's exactly what carfax reported. From the posts and comments by yourself, SylvanSRT, ViperJoe and BlueGTS, it certainly confirms what most of us in the supercar sector already know......don't rely on carfax to reveal all problems with a potential car. Take it at face value for what it is, I use it to establish the ownership chain and mileage (if the seller is shooting strait about his position in the chain and mileage, it's a good indicator of the seller's integrity) Beyond that, carfax is only as accurate as the information reported (or withheld) from other sources.....as all have indicated.

 

[ThinkingViper]

Re:

Ut oh.... you mean the hood's not supposed to look like that!

 

[Gerald Levin]

Re:

TV, I'm not an expert but if you look at the 3rd to the last photo on the above auction, supersize it, the space around the passenger (right) headlight looks decent. The left headlight has 4 times that space. The spaces should be symmetrical and not excessive. HTH, Gerald

 

[MichaelP]

Re:

I know a guy w/ a vette who near totaled the car and his ins. record was horrible. He took the car to a shop and paid cash for the repairs(24,000+) to keep from making a claim. My guess is that this accident/repair will never show up on a carfax. I am also sure this type of action is pretty rare, but it does happen.

Paid 24K out of his own pocket to avoid an increase of probably about 2 or 3K a year. hmmmmmmmmmmm

Have your friend give me a call I have a GREAT investment plan for him.

 

[motor602]

Re:

if those stripes are paint and not vinyl, perhaps the body shop didnt align the front correctly when they put it back together???

 

[Seifer]

Re:

I emailed the seller, she replied back:

"Nothing is wrong with it, it opens and closes perfectly."

[email protected] wrote:

Whats wrong with the hood on the black viper?

 

[Seifer]

Re:

"we had the hood opened to take pictures of the engine for someone who was here and wanted to take some pictures home with him and didnt realized the hood was not all the way shut. It closes perfectly there is nothing wrong with this car, runs perfect, body is perfect, interior is perfect."



Too bad its still kinda ugly :/

 

[BlackVenom]

Re:

Still seems odd to me that she would post multiple pictures of the car on-line with the hood half closed. Is she really that dumb or is something else going on here? Has anyone seen the car with the hood closed properly?

 

[Gerald Levin]

Re:

BlackVenom, I agree, how do you have one side close and the other side open and not realize it and then snap photos? Smells funny to me.

 

[BlueGTS]

Re:

I looked at a 98 GTS at a dealership that had some pretty bad pictures online. It turns out the guy taking the pictures did not know how to close the hood so he took the pictures with only one side latched. That hood fit perfectly in person because it was closed by someone else. This car does not sound too fishy to me, more ignorance about the car than anything else IMHO.