Back in the Spring of '95 I found
myself in exactly the same position you are in today.
Like you, I had also discovered what seemed to be
the dream car deal of a lifetime, with just one problem
- it was halfway across the country! I needed to
quickly find someone to go take a look at it, to
confirm that the seller was indeed telling me the
truth about its condition.
I contacted a number of companies who offered appraisal or inspection
services and soon found out three things:
- The prices could vary widely.
Anything from $59.95 for this one company who said they
could appraise the car over the telephone without even
seeing it! "There's something you don't see everyday" ,
I thought "Psychic auto appraisers!" to an
'expert' who wanted to charge me well over $1000 and
demanded to be flown to California to see the car! "Nice
work if you can get it" , I told him, and promptly
hung up.
- The inspections being offered
were not very extensive.
Most used reports that were too short and asked too few
questions, resulting in simply insufficient information,
especially where Exotic or Specialty cars were concerned.
I couldn't help wondering what purpose an incomplete or
inadequate inspection report really served? I felt that
if I didn't get ALL the answers, I may as well have had
none at all, because Murphy's law say's the one thing that
wasn't checked, is the one thing that was going to cost
me thousands to put right! Some companies claimed the use
of 'ASE' ( Automotive Service Excellence ) certified
mechanics from local garages, implying that they would
do a better job - but I wondered if that really was the
case? Modern cars require a mechanic with a totally different
set of skills than those who fixed cars 30 or more years
ago. I wondered when I last saw my local mechanic working
on a '57 Bel Air or a Maserati Ghibli! Yes, he can fix
a Honda Accord, but he probably couldn't tell me what a
Bizzarrini was, much less what it should look or drive
like!
Clearly this wasn't the answer, using someone who wanted
to pick up a few extra bucks after he 'knocked off' work,
didn't set right somehow. I envisaged the guy hurriedly
running around to take a look at my car before it got dark.
Of course, if he happened to be going out that night, he
may give the car a quick 'once over' and be on his way,
numb to the fact that I was waiting for HIS report to decide
whether I should send the seller thousands of dollars!
- None would stand behind their
report.
I think the most shocking part in all of this for me, was
that these 'professionals' could sign-off on a report saying
a car was in 'fine' condition. Then, if after I purchased
it I later found out that it was in fact a piece of junk
- there was nothing I could do, I had NO RECOURSE!
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I eventually hopped a plane myself
to go see the car, and although the seller hadn't
exactly lied, he hadn't been as truthful as he
could have been, either. The car I was looking
at was not in # 1 condition but more like a low
# 2, and not worth anywhere near his asking price.
I returned home very disappointed, having used
up not only two of my vacation days, but with the
airline ticket, over-night hotel stay, taxis, parking,
food and tips about $600 in cash! That day I swore
I'd never do that again. Realizing that I was not
alone in my dilemma, I set about putting together
a group of professionals, to find a better way.
Well, it took some time, but we believe we found the
solution.
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