GT Buyer's Beware

[PIG-351]

Hi everyone,

Just found out that the XB GT project car I have left a deposit on is NOT such a good bye after all.

Had a look at it & all the parts that come with it friday week ago, went back on the saturday with a relo (who is a panel man) to have a 2nd look & leave a holding deposit. My thoughts were occupied by the fact the body looked so good, even though the hifill primer over it was a terrible half hearted job!!

Rang Ford Australia & organised a verification letter to see exactly what options she had from the factory . . . . because it LOOKED like a highly optioned car.

Letter turns up in the mail a few days latter & the car has quite a few more options these days that are over & above the few options that it was made with back in December 1973!!

About the only things that are correct are the Yellow Blaze colour scheme with black interior & option 52 wheels.

Friends in high places checked out the vin number for me & the car is question turns out to be stolen at some time in the past.

PLEASE BE WARNED . . . . make 100% sure that you check out the numbers with Ford Australia, your state registration department & Police BEFORE you leave ANY $$$$ on a prospective purchase . . . . NO MATTER HOW GOOD IT MAY SEEM.

I left my holding deposit & if it wasn't for the Ford letter of verification turning up which in turn made me start asking questions, I might have had a VERY VERY EXPENSIVE paddock bomb in my possession by now. I am now out of pocket by my deposit amount only thankfully.

Once again, do your research with the numbers 1st & foremost.

Best of luck.

[gcg2503]

When buying a GT a ford customer relationship letter is only 10% of the story

You really need to get a GT checked out by someone in the know

This is an indisputable and irrefutable rule in buying a Falcon GT

Sorry to hear about your lost $

[JG33]

Maybe you should tell the owner the car has been stolen at one time and he should have told you before you gave him the deposit and you want it back.

[351hardtop]

Interesting that you got a verification letter. When I was looking at a car recently, I called Ford about getting one and they said that unless I was the registered owner and sent proof, they wouldn't give me a verification letter. Seems I got a bum steer.

[gcg2503]

Ford will decode a GTs options over the phone

Nine times out of ten they will send you it's details via email if you get a helpful operator

To get a verification letter in the mail you need proof of ownership

[Iggypoppin']

Why didn't you get your money back?
Good to hear you dodged a bullet, and a good lesson for anyone looking at purchasing a GT falcon.

[OLDFORDNUT]

Sorry is car stolen or was it stolen and recovered in the past,if recovered why is it a problem that needed to be disclosed to buyer( if owner even knew),so its got more options added why is that a bad thing? am i missing something here?

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

I too read the above twice and can not see what is wrong with the car unless I am missing something, from what you said it's a genuine XB GT with a few extra factory options added??? So just how did you dodge a bullet??

How exactly did it LOOK like a highly optioned car?? What was it advertised as???

I have had cars stolen in the past and recovered and how does that make a difference to the car?? It's getting rebuild anyway by the sound of it.

When you put it back together just put the options you want on it and enjoy the car, not sure why you lost your deposit and what the actual problem is!?!?!

PS Good Bye means 'see you later" bye bye while 'good buy' is to buy or purchase something.

[Kryton]

Exactly - dont see the big deal.
So what, it has extras - remove them and sell them.
Its been stolen and recovered - big deal.
The owner may not even know this himself.
If you checked with Vicroads (or whatever) and it comes up clean, it makes no difference.
If it still comes back as stolen (which i doubt), you need to notify the Police, in which case, this is the only bullet you dodged.
Seems youve done nothing but wasted the owners time and thrown your deposit away for nothing.

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Correct if the car is still outstanding and not recovered on the system call police (or get the owner to call them) and depending on the circumstances they will just recover the car or they might have to investigate the cars history further.

[Moby Vic]

Potential silver lining: Having a non-original car frees you for further modifications. You don't hurt its value by adding awesomeness.

It won't get you your money back, but it may put a smile on your face.

[DJR-351]

Well i don't know about the OP's car in question, but i would definitely "beware" of this one....

http://www.adpost.com/au/vehicles/9387/

[05_ENFORCER]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

Well i don't know about the OP's car in question, but i would definitely "beware" of this one....

http://www.adpost.com/au/vehicles/9387/

Missed a zero in the price maybe??


.

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by 05_ENFORCER

Missed a zero in the price maybe??


.

And maybe one or two off the Odo reading.....?

[Kryton]

Even if it was $2900 and wasnt a real GT, you could hardly go wrong with what your getting (provided it isnt stolen).
Parts value alone would be worth more than that.

[05_ENFORCER]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

And maybe one or two off the Odo reading.....?

dyslexic??

.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by gcg2503

When buying a GT a ford customer relationship letter is only 10% of the story

true - all the letter really does is let you know a gt rolled off the production line with certain options

they are sometimes used as a selling point when a car is for sale, but they verify nothing about the car that is for sale at all
as george suggested you need to get the car checked out by someone who knows gt's and then if the vin matches the verification letter, the letter only let's you know what options the said car had at the time of production




if the car you looked at was in fact a gt with it's original vin, the letter from ford might have stopped you from buying a collectible car

the letter's can be good, but they are such a small part of the story. in some ways, they are only of use, once you have the car, so you can return it to standard

[302 XC]

If its been stolen and recovered legitimately, theres no issue
Im sure there are many a GT that have been stolen and recovered,wether the plod knew or not,they were the car to steal for many years
That said, if thats all legit,the rest re the otions,your getting a bit hung up on them by the sounds,it really makes no difference unless your doin a 110 % concourse show piece
Id be doin a few more things ,along the lines of the stolen issue ,and holding on to the deal,before running a mile
Someone else mite think its a minor issue,specially with the options

[OLDFORDNUT]

if your reason for not buying is too many options added then thats being very Pedantic

[4vdean]

The main option I wouldnt want added unless it was "FACTORY" is a sunroof, most other options are more easily removed/fixed without to much fuss.....

[SPArKy_Dave]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

Well i don't know about the OP's car in question, but i would definitely "beware" of this one....

http://www.adpost.com/au/vehicles/9387/

Originally Posted by 05_ENFORCER

Missed a zero in the price maybe??


.

Originally Posted by DJR-351

And maybe one or two off the Odo reading.....?

Originally Posted by 05_ENFORCER

dyslexic??

.

No no............ you're all wrong...... it's the chromed slotters.....
or is it the Queensland rego plates.

Or maybe it's the colour coded protection pack bumper bars?
That alone, sets my 'suss' alarm right off.

[JG33]

Originally Posted by OLDFORDNUT

Sorry is car stolen or was it stolen and recovered in the past,if recovered why is it a problem that needed to be disclosed to buyer( if owner even knew)?

Nothing wrong not disclosing if your car was stolen at one time but if the buyer finds out and they don't like it, they should get their deposit back.

It's like buying a house then you find out someone has died in it previously. Some people are funny about that.

[OLDFORDNUT]

Originally Posted by JG33

Nothing wrong not disclosing if your car was stolen at one time but if the buyer finds out and they don't like it, they should get their deposit back.

It's like buying a house then you find out someone has died in it previously. Some people are funny about that.

mate someone dying in house is one hell of a lot different,he has not replied yet which is strange as we can all understand if its on stolen vehicle register now,and he can get deposit back then

[Yellow_Festiva]

Depends on how the deposit was handed over, and what conditions were in place.... If it wasn't worded correctly the deposit is gone.

[MNM96]

Options may well have been added after leaving the production facility, but before sale. The dealer often added factory parts at point of sale. Does not make them less authentic. And, providing it hasn't had a hole cut in the roof, most can be removed and sold for good coin.

[coupe060]

I have a rs2000 that was stolen and recovered before I bought it. I haven't restored it yet but when I asked at the rta (which is what it was called then) they checked the numbers I had given them and according to them it had been stolen many years ago and would be no problem in re registering it again. I would have investigated the GT further before walking away and losing money.

[cs123]

Originally Posted by JG33

Nothing wrong not disclosing if your car was stolen at one time but if the buyer finds out and they don't like it, they should get their deposit back.

It's like buying a house then you find out someone has died in it previously. Some people are funny about that.

Some people are funny about smoking in cars. Would you have to disclose that too?

[Kryton]

Who's to say the owner even knew it had been previously stolen?

[2011G6E]

I wouldn't be worried about what a car left the factory with as options...many years ago when cars were a little easier to slap things onto, many people used to go back in the years after purchase to get things fitted that they couldn't afford or didn't realise they wanted when they bought it.

My late uncle had a VJ Valiant Regal (purple with cream vinyl roof and interior...honestly.. ) which he had since new and only sold a few years before his death back in 2005 (I'm still ****ed that they didn't tell me they were selling it...). He purchased it with only one factory option: air conditioning. But in the years following, he took it back and had power steering fitted, bucket seats instead of the bench (but retained the column shift), a 770 dash with full instruments, and a few other items. None of them were on the plate or would show up in the codes as factory fitted options, but they were, in effect, factory fitted...or at least dealer fitted after purchase.
A neighbour we had when I was younger did much the same with an HZ wagon he bought.

[red_hotxr6]

I cant understand why you couldnt get your deposit back??