Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

EricDresde · Joined: 02 Dec 2009 Posts: 2

Hi

I purchased on e-bay in September a 1951 MG TD supposed to have a freshly rebuilt engine and body in a very good state. Due to shipping and customs delays, I received the car about 3 weeks ago, and inspection showed it had aboslutely nothing to do with description. For those who are interested, I have wrote a document which can be dowloaded at the folllowing address :

http://freetzthecat.free.fr/PurchaseMG.pdf

Thanks

[title edited - have to be careful re allegations made about others etc etc RJ]

peter scott · Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 7219 Location: Edinburgh

Hi Eric,

Welcome to the forum.

The engine certainly needs a bit work and may be cracked and the car has the wrong steering wheel but you haven't paid a concours price for the car so it might not be as bad as you think.

Peter
_________________
https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

gresham flyer · Joined: 06 Sep 2008 Posts: 1435

I would never buy anything on ebay,above say £20.00 to £30.00 without looking at it in the flesh first. Cool

It is your hard earned money,there are people out there who can take it away from you quicker than you think. BEWARE!!!! Sad

If it is at a distance either look closer to home or arrange a preliminary inspection by someone you can trust, if at this point things look ok then proceed further. Smile

I have imported two vehicles from the United States Of America. Cool

These vehicles were sourced by trustworthy persons who`s business is to repatriate vehicles into the UK and other parts of Europe. Smile

I asked as many people as I could at events up and down the country who had imported vehicles from the states,about the pitfalls of buying "blind" so to speak. Confused

I then found a trustworthy "Finder" to track down what I was looking for. Rolling Eyes

With the aid of the internet very detailed photo`s were taken of the vehicle,not just the good bits, but also the areas where the vehicle was vunerable to corrosion and damage repairs. Rolling Eyes

Transport to the docks,paperwork,and shipping etc was dealt with by them. Razz

I was so impressed that a year later another vehicle was brought back,it turned out to be a lot better than described,which saved me a lot of time and money. Very Happy

Purchase from an accredited person who has a reputation to think about, not an opportunist who can hide behind Ebay or other internet sites. Cool

A bit like me,I could have made all of this up!!!! Honest guv it`s true Cool

ukdave2002 · Joined: 23 Nov 2007 Posts: 4287 Location: South Cheshire

I have bought and sold loads of stuff on eBay. My observations is that its little different to buying or selling in any other way, instinct will tell you if its a bargain or you are about to be ripped off!.

Looking at the sellers feedback its prtetty good! if you were unhappy have you discussd this with the seller ? and if still not satisfied then leave him negative feedback to protect others.

Dave

BigHealey · Joined: 19 May 2008 Posts: 76

Same here really, I have a 100% feedback score of 455 which I know isn't massive compared to a lot, but the vast majority is from purchases (about 420) and I have to say I have never had a bad experience, I think that it is all down to knowing how to judge the seller to ascertain what you are likely to get. I don't think I would purchase a car without having seen it first before handing over the cash, but I do sympathise with the OP as it must be very upsetting to spend so much and be disappointed. The biggest alarm bell for me would be the amount of effort they went to with the description - two lines about the car that don't really tell you anything.
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Garage: 1939 Morris 8 Series E, 1942 Morris Z Van

victor 101 · Joined: 03 Apr 2009 Posts: 446 Location: East Yorkshire

While I sympathise with you, it is obviously not an award winner, the front bumper has been removed and just rested on the chassis rails, it has no battery or spark plugs, the wheels and tyres look in poor condition, the headlights are out of alignment and it looks in need of a wash and polish, did you not ask any questions before bidding?

Rick · Site Admin Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 22834 Location: UK

I agree the bumper looks like it was just rested in place, on top of the bumper brackets.

I've bought quite a few things on ebay too - there look to be quite a few problems with the MG - the photos do show a few possible issues, ie enough to make me wonder about the rest of it.

Probably fair to say that the photos didn't make enough of the faults, but we need to be careful about accusing the vendor without knowing the full story, facts, and seeing the car itself. I'm grateful to Eric for not making any accusations on the forum itself, and instead putting them into a pdf document of his own creation and in his ownership.

When I bought the utes from Oz, a trusted friend of mine did the actual purchases and collections on my behalf. If they'd been worse than described, he'd have soon let me know.

R
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lowdrag · Joined: 10 Apr 2009 Posts: 1600 Location: Le Mans

A story of carbs - expensive carbs. Some months back this photo appeared as part of an Ebay advert:-

The manifold and the three carbs were sold for over £7,000. Turned out they were complete forgeries - DCOE45 carbs with a home made sand cast top and false plates. The buyer has reported the seller to ebay and tried to get his money back, as far as I am aware with no luck. However, the same photos appeared on Ebay several months later to sell them again, even though the "seller" didn't have them. I reported this to Ebay and didn't get a reply. I then wrote saying I was a journalist and would be writing about the matter and then, finally, they replied. But they didn't halt the auction and they sold again for an indecent price. I have no idea what happened in the end but am following the matter up. I know who the original seller weas and he runs a classic car garage in the west of England. I am very careful of Ebay purchases. Last week there was an original C-type steering wheel for sale but it was similar but not a C-type one at all - it was for an aston. Despite me telling the seller he didn't change the advert.

Rich5ltr · Joined: 28 Mar 2008 Posts: 681 Location: Hampshire, UK

47Jag · Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 1:07 pm Post subject:

Eric seems to me to have been a victim of his own desire for this car. It looks like his first E-bay purchase and he has been carried away. I think there were only a couple of other bidders. He must surely have a case against the seller who blatantly stated it was a 'zero miles rebuilt engine'.
The seller who seems to specialise in wartime memerobilia has a 100% feedback record on 75 transactions. It will be interesting to see if he continues using this name.

Art

peter scott · Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 7219 Location: Edinburgh

I imagine the zero miles since rebuilt is quite correct!

The bearings have a few scratches but they could easily have got them just running in the garage.

So the engine was run with water as coolant then stored. The water then seeped into to cylinders by route unknown and rotted the bores.

Peter Shocked

_________________
https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

47Jag · Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 5:41 pm Post subject:

Peter,
It doesn't say when the engine was rebuilt.
I cleaned out all of the engine and rebuilt the head on my Buick 25 years ago and it sat in my garage on a trolley (you saw it) until the spring of this year. I decided to try and get it going but to my horror most of the valves were ruined with big rust scabs on the seats and faces. This was due to condensation over the years. Cold engine and warmer moist air condensing but the rest of the enine was OK. In the case of the MG, I rather doubt if the head gasket on all four cylinders would leak enough to cause this amount of damage. That engine looks like it's been in a flood or similar with the plugs left out and a while ago at that.

Art

peter scott · Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 7219 Location: Edinburgh

Art,

Yes it certainly would be surprising if all four pots had suffered from a head gasket failure. Your flood suggestion could well be the problem.

Peter
_________________
https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

EricDresde · Joined: 02 Dec 2009 Posts: 2

oldgoaly · Joined: 06 Dec 2007 Posts: 28

Eric,
I have to say if this person "owned " this car and stated there was 0 miles on a rebuilt engine, they are 1 a liar or 2 got scammed by the rebuilder. There is a large Chicago MG club, you might investigate their website http://www.chicagolandmgclub.com/home.html I certainly would file a complaint with Ebay. Take care! tt