Yesterday, I took 2 Porsche 914's out for a test drive.
These cars offer a wonderful road experience.
They're capable of going 150mph, and get 33mpg.
They're a dream venture between Volkswagen and Porsche, and I believe in the next couple of years,
That they were the cars of the future.
One was a '74 Porsche 914 1.8 ltr.
It was at a car lot.
I could have taken it out the door for $2,500. It looked like it was in excellent shape.
The salesman was reluctant to let me take it anywhere further than around the block.
I didn't even get it into 3rd gear. The steering was hard, the shocks were mushy, the transmission ground a lot.
When we came back, I talked to the manager. He insisted we take it out for a longer test drive.
This time, I got it in to 3rd, and I'd figured I'd seen enough.
The next one was across town. It was advertised on EBay, as in good condition.
The pictures on EBay looked pretty good, but they skipped all of the can spray painted areas that were more than obvious.
The rubber seals on all the windows were shot.
I took it for a test drive, and through the first mile, something was clanging around until it fell off.
It was beautiful ride though...It drove like magic!
However, the generator light kept coming on, the blinkers and break lights didn't work, the left headlight didn't pop up, the stereo didn't work, the door handles didn't work. Not much worked on it.
He had the windshield wipers off for some unknown reason.
When I got back to the owner's house and started to back up, the engine died.
It wouldn't start again for another 30 minutes. The gas pedal fell off while he was trying to start it.
During this time, I the owner talked about all of the things he was going to fix in the car.
He said he was a helicopter mechanic and knew electrical systems. That's just plain scary!!!
Now, why, why, why, do people, when they sell a car, turn into complete liars and assholes?
I just don't get it.
If I knew honestly what was wrong with the car, I could make an honest bid.
Now some poor guy in California is going to win the bid on EBay, come all the way out here, just to find out the seller was lying about almost everything, and all of that time, money and effort will have all been for nothing.