Used Vehicle Buying Horror Stories

[MtnBronco]

I'm sure that we all have them.

I just want to whine and comiserate with others who found out afterward that the previous owner screwed up their new pride and joy.

I have had my Bronco for over a year, and the non-factory trim was coming off.  I knew the Bronco had been repainted, but it was only a couple of months ago that I realized only the TOP HALF was repainted.  Well, I pulled off the rest of the trim, and where the trim came off, so did where the two paint jobs met.  Got to figure out what to do with the bare metal patches.

The rear u-joints were bad from the first day I had it, so was the fuel pump.  It had 3 different kinds of sparkplugs (two different brands, plus one was platinum) and three different brands of shocks (Which were all bad).

It got is cheap enough ($3K), but it was not kept up like the previous owner had said.

Share your stories.

[MuddyMike]

Dunno about used car stories, but my new company provided Ford had to have new number plates when it went back to the main dealer for its first service. The silly sods had put the wrong reg on it, and this silly sod drove it for 12000 miles without noticing.

Mike (silly sod)

[landroverkeith]

found out that i had leaking sunroofs in mine the hardway  :shock:  6 am on a cold wet winter morning i had a shower on the way to work  

[simdeb]

yes simons firm did this but foundd out when they went to tax it!!

[blackbob]

:D i worked for rover and we had a mini that pulled to the right when you braked we put it on the ramp and i looked at one side and my apprentice looked at the other he said that the pads were ok and i said that the shoes were ok
it came from the factory with drum one side and disc on the other






think someone was having a laugh at the factory

[thermidorthelobster]

I bought a Toyota van in New Zealand that had 3 different sized tyres on it - small in one corner, medium on the diagonals and large in the opposite corner.  On the other hand, I sold it back to the same garage sight unseen, with a desperately ill wheel bearing and a big dent all down one side where my friend had rolled it, so I think I had the last laugh.

[Range Rover Blues]

:D i worked for rover and we had a mini that pulled to the right when you braked we put it on the ramp and i looked at one side and my apprentice looked at the other he said that the pads were ok and i said that the shoes were ok
it came from the factory with drum one side and disc on the other






think someone was having a laugh at the factory

Heard of Escort vans being the same

And several attempts at the 4-door hatchback from BL (go on, think about it )

My problem at the moment is every time I find a car I like the sounds of some sod beats me to it.

[MtnBronco]

The rear u-joints were bad from the first day I had it, so was the fuel pump.  It had 3 different kinds of sparkplugs (two different brands, plus one was platinum) and three different brands of shocks (Which were all bad).

It got is cheap enough ($3K), but it was not kept up like the previous owner had said.

Share your stories.

Do you know anyone who changes shocks one at a time and at different times?

Do you know anyone with a V8 who changes out plugs only a couple at a time, and then doesn't care if they match the ones that were in it?

I just got back from a parts house and Walmart trying to find some stripe that I can put down the side of my rig to cover the bare metal until I can save to get a decent paint job.  Could't find anything.  I do have a friend who does cut vinyl graphics and I'll see if he can do something for me, and if not I'll try to find something off of Amazon or Ebay.



I liked the 3 different size wheel story and the mixed drums and discs.  Thanks!

[Sharpshooter]

Dunno about used car stories, but my new company provided Ford had to have new number plates when it went back to the main dealer for its first service. The silly sods had put the wrong reg on it, and this silly sod drove it for 12000 miles without noticing.

Mike (silly sod)

I followed an astra van once, and the front and rear number plates read the same. I.E. the letters and numbers on the rear were reversed. I dont know how they did that???

[Karen696]

Worst one I ever bought was a Peugeot 206, it blew the head gasket on the way home (only 3 miles....)

Best one, I ever 'sold' was under an HP agreement, where you could hand the car back within x years with nothing more to pay so long as the car had been looked after.......  Well I'd owned it for less than a year and it was a HC engined Metro van, the piston rings went - thats a whole half engine job which at the time was going to be about 1500 quid - the car was only worth 2000 when I bought it.   Put 2 cans of  STP 'goop' in and returned it , never paid a penny more....

Thats why its all 'personal credit' now....

[wing nut]

not quite the same ,but my brother and i decided a few years back to buy a salvage renult clio 16v stolen recovered, all that needed doing to finish it off was replace all the plastics and clips ,half way through the job i noticed the plastic shields that butt up to the windscren didnt fit properly and after a little scratching of heads we discovered that the car was also a cut and shut and there was an inch difference on the passenger side ... shoulda looked a bit closer when we bought it  :lol:  took it back and got a bmw instead ..  :lol: