2004 Corvette at Claremont...
Discussion
The 2004 'vette I was going to view at that turned out to be writtn off ( http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0... in the USA appears to have turned up at Claremont!
Here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2004-Chevrolet-Corvette-C5-C...
I've just emailed Tom to give him the good news...
Malc
Here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2004-Chevrolet-Corvette-C5-C...
I've just emailed Tom to give him the good news...
Malc
Good work Malc and the other guys, nothing gets past you does it!!
And yes these forums do help in exposing a cars, and traders(not directed at this car) short comings.
Like the Mustang by the way
Just like to add, all my dealings with Tom at Claremont have been A1,it's possible Tom's just been sold a lemon.
And yes these forums do help in exposing a cars, and traders(not directed at this car) short comings.
Like the Mustang by the way
Just like to add, all my dealings with Tom at Claremont have been A1,it's possible Tom's just been sold a lemon.
ZR1cliff said:
Good work Malc and the other guys, nothing gets past you does it!!
And yes these forums do help in exposing a cars, and traders(not directed at this car) short comings.
Like the Mustang by the way
Just like to add, all my dealings with Tom at Claremont have been A1,it's possible Tom's just been sold a lemon.
Cheers Cliff, yes the Ebay detective is still hard at work! I seriously doubt Tom knows the car's history as word gets around fast...And yes these forums do help in exposing a cars, and traders(not directed at this car) short comings.
Like the Mustang by the way
Just like to add, all my dealings with Tom at Claremont have been A1,it's possible Tom's just been sold a lemon.
Maybe all dealers in US cars over here should register with Carfax...
Malc
It goes to show how careful you have to be these days. I am extremely reluctant to get involved in SOR as I always remember my father asking me rhetorically why I would want to sell something that I didn't have enough faith to write out a cheque for. Even if you are involved in SOR it is always dangerous to get involved in selling cars that you haven't seen or driven. It's always interesting to watch them do the rounds though.
M
M
I agree with that Mitch. If you also buy it outright the customer has committed himself and therefore hasn't the opportunity to change his mind or indeed sell it himself in the mean time, (after the dealer has advertised the nuts off it and spent hours demonstrating it to prospective buyers). The only possible area of change is that the seller wants a bit too much for it and therefore the required figure may have been "agreeable to both parties" on an SOR only basis, or indeed the dealer hasn't got enough funds in the pot to actually buy it.
Edited by G4HKS on Friday 9th May 23:06
Well given you were in 'the job' Martin, you'll understand as well as anyone that your reputation takes years to build but a heartbeat to lose and when you're selling someone else's vehicle you aren't completely in control of your deal which leaves you vulnerable to letting your customer down. Never good. It is a subjective decision though and different traders have different opinions.
M
M
I have had a little dabble in SOR a few years ago and packed it in sharpish.
It looks like easy money at first with someone else bankrollin the stock,but you soon realise that the vendor wants too much which you go along with because its not your money and if the car develops problems they dont want to know."I sold you the car so you sort it out" !
Doh !!!!
It looks like easy money at first with someone else bankrollin the stock,but you soon realise that the vendor wants too much which you go along with because its not your money and if the car develops problems they dont want to know."I sold you the car so you sort it out" !
Doh !!!!
A lot of Tom's cars are sale or return so Tom just takes a commission, so I doubt he knows the cars history and I don't suppose the seller will volunteer that sort of thing. Tom may not have even seen the car as it is possible one of the guys that works for him has put the details up. I hope Malc gets on the phone to him and lets him know the story.
Here's Tom's reply. Seems fair enough and you know he isn't someone who would risk his reputation for the sake of selling a car: basically it's in the hands of the potential purchaser. Unfortunately, partly becuase the world of Vettes in the UK is a small one, this car wouldn't be for me now, and not just because I've just bought a Mustang GT! (handling is abysmal by the way, it's certainly no Vette in the cornering stakes, though there are plenty of aftermarket goodies for Mussies around...)
Meanwhile, back on topic, here's Tom's reply, in its entirety, unedited:
______________________________________________________________________________
Malcolm, thank you for the thoughtful response, which is much appreciated. We were aware that this car was on a salvage title well before we undertook to take it on to sell, and the car was put through our workshops and approved by my team before we started advertising it. Anyone who calls about the car is made aware of the repaired history, and will be shown the report from Carfax.
When we examined it, we found :
One weld on the chassis about 150mm long, where the left front leg had been ‘relieved’ for straightening.
This was left unpainted, but we have now corrected this.
A complete new floor section, both sides, all very nicely fitted.
A new soft nose fascia fitted. All the above is in the sales file.
The Shale 2004 seats leather covers have been replaced by Shale covers out of a 2003, with the wrong ‘50th’ logo on the headrest.
We are trying to obtain new headrest leather with the correct flag logo to replace these.
All numbers are correct, including the RPO sticker.
In the shop, we gave the car a full four-wheel alignment, and corrected the camber and caster, which was slightly out. We also removed some gross Chinese plastic chrome 50th Anniversary emblems.
Thank you for forwarding the link to the Forum thread. I am just finishing ‘Original Corvette C4’ for MBI in the USA, my eighth Corvette book, so I have not had time to check any forums myself since Christmas, let alone watch TV. Despite some of the posts, the car actually drives very well and the panel fit is typical Corvette. Obviously, it benefited from a proper alignment too.
Just as in this country, there is sometimes a new for old policy when a car is damaged while still quite new, and the damaged car is sold to be repaired. This car was damaged in it first 18 months. In over thirty years in the Corvette restoration business, we have repaired or supplied parts to repair hundreds of Corvettes that were much worse damaged than this one. We have tried for a voluntary VOSA test, but that is not available. It has been through and passed both the SVA test, and an MoT test, and any buyer is welcome to have the AA or RAC check it too. It is offered with a twelve month warranty, and the asking price reflects its history.
One last thought: if every Aston Martin DB4, Ferrari 275 GTB or Jaguar E-type that was ever crashed as lightly as this one was then crushed instead of repaired, how many of those gorgeous cars would we still have today? Please feel free to post this letter unedited on the Pistonheads forum. And better still, why not come and have a test drive? Thanks again for your interest
Best regards TOM
Tom Falconer, Claremont Corvette, Malling Road, Snodland, Kent, ME6 5NA, UK
01634 244444
int-+44 1634 244444
______________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, back on topic, here's Tom's reply, in its entirety, unedited:
______________________________________________________________________________
Malcolm, thank you for the thoughtful response, which is much appreciated. We were aware that this car was on a salvage title well before we undertook to take it on to sell, and the car was put through our workshops and approved by my team before we started advertising it. Anyone who calls about the car is made aware of the repaired history, and will be shown the report from Carfax.
When we examined it, we found :
One weld on the chassis about 150mm long, where the left front leg had been ‘relieved’ for straightening.
This was left unpainted, but we have now corrected this.
A complete new floor section, both sides, all very nicely fitted.
A new soft nose fascia fitted. All the above is in the sales file.
The Shale 2004 seats leather covers have been replaced by Shale covers out of a 2003, with the wrong ‘50th’ logo on the headrest.
We are trying to obtain new headrest leather with the correct flag logo to replace these.
All numbers are correct, including the RPO sticker.
In the shop, we gave the car a full four-wheel alignment, and corrected the camber and caster, which was slightly out. We also removed some gross Chinese plastic chrome 50th Anniversary emblems.
Thank you for forwarding the link to the Forum thread. I am just finishing ‘Original Corvette C4’ for MBI in the USA, my eighth Corvette book, so I have not had time to check any forums myself since Christmas, let alone watch TV. Despite some of the posts, the car actually drives very well and the panel fit is typical Corvette. Obviously, it benefited from a proper alignment too.
Just as in this country, there is sometimes a new for old policy when a car is damaged while still quite new, and the damaged car is sold to be repaired. This car was damaged in it first 18 months. In over thirty years in the Corvette restoration business, we have repaired or supplied parts to repair hundreds of Corvettes that were much worse damaged than this one. We have tried for a voluntary VOSA test, but that is not available. It has been through and passed both the SVA test, and an MoT test, and any buyer is welcome to have the AA or RAC check it too. It is offered with a twelve month warranty, and the asking price reflects its history.
One last thought: if every Aston Martin DB4, Ferrari 275 GTB or Jaguar E-type that was ever crashed as lightly as this one was then crushed instead of repaired, how many of those gorgeous cars would we still have today? Please feel free to post this letter unedited on the Pistonheads forum. And better still, why not come and have a test drive? Thanks again for your interest
Best regards TOM
Tom Falconer, Claremont Corvette, Malling Road, Snodland, Kent, ME6 5NA, UK
01634 244444
int-+44 1634 244444
______________________________________________________________________________
Bit out of order advertising the car without disclosing the car's history. It's all very well saying they would make any potential purchaser aware when they call-up, but I always think it leaves a sour taste in the mouth when you call about a car expecting it to be 'as advertised' and find-out (probably after having listened to a 'sales pitch') that the car was a write-off! If the car has a salvage title, say so in the first place to avoid wasting anyone's time / getting someone's hopes up.
Morally I agree with being told about the 'bad news up-front' before you go and see it, but surely its as much the potential purchasers responsibility to ask 'the relavent questions' when enquiring about the sale! The problem is that we don't think to do this (probably would if we were buying cars weekly)
There will not be a car dealer anywhere who will volunteer this information initially, and probably then only when pushed. Its bit like buying a house really, no one is initially going to actively advertise a property and mention in the advert that the house previously had a structural problem (but was repaired), - you find out once you have a survey done. Likewise with the car you will find out once you have a history check carried out. The real p*sser is that it all wastes time, money and creates extreme bad will against the seller (and rightly so in a moral sense I suppose)
There will not be a car dealer anywhere who will volunteer this information initially, and probably then only when pushed. Its bit like buying a house really, no one is initially going to actively advertise a property and mention in the advert that the house previously had a structural problem (but was repaired), - you find out once you have a survey done. Likewise with the car you will find out once you have a history check carried out. The real p*sser is that it all wastes time, money and creates extreme bad will against the seller (and rightly so in a moral sense I suppose)
Actually reading the detailed re-work again, it does make me wonder just how much of a prang it was really in? The entire floor needed replacing - (however "nicely" a floor can be replaced?), the two original seat covers have been replaced - so the side airbags almost certainly popped too and lastly, the chassis needed welding and straightening. What a lovely warm satisfying feeling as you drive your newly purchased Vette round the next corner.
Wonder if there if there are any body parts lurking underneath the floor mats? I jest...
Wonder if there if there are any body parts lurking underneath the floor mats? I jest...
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