WARNING ABOUT AN EBAY 88 535i GARFIELD HTS OH.. MAJOR MISREP

[WhgHouseCat]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Absolute ... dZViewItem


This car is horrendous... a TRUE DEATH MACHINE. The car has MAJOR MECHANICAL ISSUES .. it stalled when he started it, then it ran REALLY HARD like it was struggling.

It has an exhaust that doesn't even match the car... not one that fits it. It is some other kind of exhaust that didn't have the muffler to the rear... apparently it was "customized" because the owner didn't want to shell out the dough for an EXPENSIVE matching 88 535i muffler/exhaust. I have an 88 and I know they are expensive...but this was a rig job in my opinion.

The suspension appears to be original. The rotors and brakes are so bad that the car shakes REALLY HARD (the steering wheel visibly darts back and forth on braking) and pulls.

The only upgrades are cosmetic; this car was not taken care of. The guy admitted that he got it from a guy who got it at an auction. I know he didn't own it for two years.

The passenger seat was broken, but the interior was ok...fairly soft. The clutch was rumbling.

Oh, and the kicker? Every time it was shifted to another gear on the highway it felt and sounded like you were running over a BOULDER!!! Truly a frightening experience.

Also, there are dings, dents and rust spots consistent with the age... even the pin striping is screwed up. The rims have major road rash. The brakes and other components had a solid coat of very orange-brown rust, consistent with the car sitting for a long time... I assume this is how it ended up at the auction.

Front sway bar link was MISSING from the car!!! Pitman arms were bad. Suspension was bad, and the car appeared to have original springs and shocks. And we didn't even jack it up to check the rest. There was rust on the frame too.

BUYER BEWARE... that guy was REALLY SHADY... his feedback speaks for itself. He even showed up 10 minutes later than he said he would and the car wasn't where he said it was going to be in the first place. We drove 6 HOURS total to look at the car, expecting to find a true gem. NOT AS DESCRIBED--not at all!!!

The poor soul who wins this auction is going to be SO UNHAPPY!!! I don't want any of my fellow board members to wind up with this fate by getting screwed big time!!!

I wouldn't even pay 500 for it.

[WhgHouseCat]

sellers who lie on ebay should be penalized... this was a real waste of time and money to look at... and it was only 3 hours each way for me!!!

Anybody else who looks at it... please reassure all that I am not exaggerating on this one!!!

[robeyff]

I stopped reading and moved on at the first sentence in the description " . . . of all the things I've sold on Ebay" with a feedback of 2 - nutcase or changed his ID.

[wkohler]

Don't forget the carefully worded "of all the things I've tried to get rid of"

[WhgHouseCat]

Exactly... but I had to look, you know? There are very few of the cars around here...

It looked nice from a distance, but that is about it.

If it sounds too good to be true...it probably is. Unfortunately, that was true.

[Mr. E28]

How could you pass up "powered alluminum wheels".

[M. Holtmeier]

This sounds like my car! I had already won the auction, I think it something like 5 hours each way. Not even close to the car advertised. The ebay pics had the license plates of when HE bought it! Paint was shiny and interior was clean-go to get it, paint is shot, completely faded and interior is trashed. Father let his high school freshman drive it to school everyday. I drove the sucker home and been having a blast rebuilding her. At least when I'm done I know what I got. --I got ripped off!!
These cars are hard to find in my area- and I think the guy I bought it from would shit his pants if he could see it now...

[Bryan in SB]

[b[therefore the output is well placing helping to not have anything[/b] restrict you from leaving the following parties in the dust.

Ummm, yeah. An ebay auction filled with this much grammatical spaghetti should be enough to stay away.

[C.J.]

Haha, grammatical spaghetti, I love it!

[Truedynasty]

Let's start at the beginning. An interested person comes from Wherever they reside. They Test Drive the Car, That they don't know how to drive. They make mention of things they don't understand and they complain about issues that they know nothing about and you the public listen to them?? Sounds like the idiots on Reality TV. Well First off this Ebayer couldnt Shift a 5 speed Short Shifter, with a PERFECT Clutch, so that when they come off the clutch the vehicle Jumps with each gear change. Then if you Come Down from 100 to 20 MPH with both feet SLAMMED on the BRAKES the wheel will shake in ANY car. You don't look ahead when you see stopped Traffic then when you realize they're there and your wife is commenting on your horrible shifting, it too late. I fastened my seat belt and prayed we'd make it back for the sake of your two innocent children.
Lessons for life: When Test Driving a Vehicle Know how to first. MEANING Don't own a Auto and try to Learn to drive a Stick on the Test drive not the best time. Lastly Don't pretend to be knowledgable about a car, then name parts some made up names and claim them to be the ones that need to be replaced. And Last BUT NOT LEAST. DONT LIE. Grow Up and Learn these lessons and I assure you your life will be long and fruitful. NO RESERVE MEANS THAT! I Reserve nothing in this vehicle Buy at ur own risk, in an AS IS Status.

To Those stupid enough to not comprehend words when arranged in sentences. Yes I've had other EBAY accounts, ones that specialize in a certain field, one that I won't use to sell anything through. This name fits all my products. All my Customers are Satisfied, includes my current ones. Your words of hate don't affect those strong enough to rise above them, think about that.

[Johnny Rocco]

[skip535i]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Whether that was true or not doesn't make a lick of difference, it was FUNNY!

[C.J.]

ZEE PLOT THICKENS!

[option00002]

I wonder... http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=32781

[DCB535is]

"Then if you Come Down from 100 to 20 MPH with both feet SLAMMED on the BRAKES the wheel will shake in ANY car"

So what you're saying is that this occured on the test drive?
Wow.
If someone did that on a test drive I'd kick them out on the side of the road.

It's EBAY. You sold your car. Get over it.

[wkohler]

"Then if you Come Down from 100 to 20 MPH with both feet SLAMMED on the BRAKES the wheel will shake in ANY car"

So what you're saying is that this occured on the test drive?
Wow.
If someone did that on a test drive I'd kick them out on the side of the road.

It's EBAY. You sold your car. Get over it.

The 100-20 thing sounds like it was lifted from a Car and Driver issue where car sales people discussed their bad experiences. The brake thing was on a SHO.

[C.J.]

Dude, SHO Tauruses were cool. Family sedan with a Yamaha motorcycle engine. How genius is that?

What were we talking about again?

[wkohler]

This was one of the uncool ones - the blob with the auto.

I still think it's funny Ford had to go to Japan to get super high output - hell, it even sounds like it was marketed by the Japanese for super fun happy time.

[DCB535is]

I still think it's funny Ford had to go to Japan to get super high output - hell, it even sounds like it was marketed by the Japanese for super fun happy time.

Something like this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uIRESS6 ... ed&search=

[seabiscuit]

Brak is good. I wonder which e28 he would like the most...and what color?

[option00002]

I still think it's funny Ford had to go to Japan to get super high output - hell, it even sounds like it was marketed by the Japanese for super fun happy time.

Something like this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uIRESS6 ... ed&search=

Brak is good. I wonder which e28 he would like the most...and what color?

I consider myself quite a sporting gent, but I want 5min. 11 secs of my life back (I skipped the credits). I realize the very admission of attentions raggedly launches me out of the the gate, but I held strong to a belief throughout that there would be some redeeming quality to it ... instead I had a seizure. I challenge anyone to last through the 5 min. of that numbing torture.

.

NOTE: BEWARE.

[Truedynasty]

DAAAAANG, Turns out my man drives all over the country and test drives whips he can't afford and then, comes on here and disses them. S and H, their hyjinx would make for a Great Reality tv show. I'd watch it, through all that lying and complaining, I not only sold the car, but my buyer took it to a BMW Specialist and he said that car was in "Impeccable" condition, and that he was getting it for a steal at 2 G's sooooooo I'm sleeping great tonight car sold and your still carless!

[wkohler]

DAAAAANG, Turns out my man drives all over the country and test drives whips he can't afford and then, comes on here and disses them. S and H, their hyjinx would make for a Great Reality tv show. I'd watch it, through all that lying and complaining, I not only sold the car, but my buyer took it to a BMW Specialist and he said that car was in "Impeccable" condition, and that he was getting it for a steal at 2 G's sooooooo I'm sleeping great tonight car sold and your still carless!

(Confusion ensues)

[option00002]

DAAAAANG, Turns out my man drives all over the country and test drives whips he can't afford and then, comes on here and disses them. S and H, their hyjinx would make for a Great Reality tv show. I'd watch it, through all that lying and complaining, I not only sold the car, but my buyer took it to a BMW Specialist and he said that car was in "Impeccable" condition, and that he was getting it for a steal at 2 G's sooooooo I'm sleeping great tonight car sold and your still carless!

Hmmm... somewhere around "DAAAAANG", "whips" and "disses" I lost you.

[WhgHouseCat]

I purchase e28s and currently own an 85, 86, 87, and 88 528e. I am a collector. My hope, based on feedback from others in the Wheeling area, is to get others hooked on the look and feel of these incredible cars. Having said that...I recently purchased one from David Czarnecki who purchased the car from Teak Ackman in Rhode Island... 2 inch stack of receipts and David's entire description of the car was correct, enabling me to make a truly informed decision on his car. I gladly handed him cash for it and was pleased to meet such an honest and respectable my e28 board member. We will continue to be in touch in the future.

Like fellow board members, I am an enthusiast who has put many thousands of dollars into my cars and I have the receipts to prove it. Furthermore, I am an ebay buyer and seller (99.2% for close to 400 transactions) and value integrity and honesty in other buyers and sellers.

The ebay experience, evidenced by the seller of the 88 535i from Cleveland (Aaron Carter) cost me much time (5 hours) money (in the gas tank), and heartache. Ebay encompasses a worldwide market of buyers. His car was listed before this audience for at least 7 days. It reached 2025 with the above mentioned conditions (I swear on my life that all I said was TRUE). If the buyer is happy, then different strokes for different folks.

This car has major issues with brakes, tranny, and other issues with motor and exhaust, as well as various cosmetic problems. If the major system issues are not fixed IMMEDIATELY the car could leave someone dead. I think that this guy doesn't actually have a mechanic... I think that was added for flourish as is his flowery language. Take a look at the listing to see what I mean...

It is the "best thing he's ever had to get RID of" (Freudian slip)and he has 2 or 3 feedback, including an electronic that was broken. While speaking with him, he said that he doesn't know anything about BMWs and that he sticks to HONDA's...yes, to HONDAs!!!

Furthermore, he stated that the reason he is getting rid of the car is because he owes the IRS money and if he doesn't get rid of it they will take it. If we trust the seller's statements, we must look at the whole picture as an assembly of its parts. Does this sound like an honest person to you? None of it is good.

The only reason I even looked at it is because it is an 88 535i, the most desireable in my opinion (other than an 88 is) of the old school BMWS and because if was relatively close by. I took a chance, knowing that it may not pan out. It did not, but I wanted to let everyone else know of my experience in great detail, esp. since Skip asked about the car. Skip was considering getting it for Molly!!! My statements are totally true.

Furthermore, he says that Scott didn't know how to shift a short shifter. (???) Scott is an established mechanic who specializes in BMWs. He owns an 87 528e and an 85 318i ---he does all work on mine and his own. Furthermore, he drove David C's from Hoboken NJ to Wheeling WV (about 8 hours, give or take an hour) while I followed in the Benz; David's car has a properly operating short shifter. He used the short shift fine. You know when things aren't right!!!

Also, to gauge the problems on a BMW, YOU MUST DRIVE IT on a highway. In Cleveland, on the interstate, to keep speed with other vehicles, you have to do 60-70. Any slower and you present a danger to yourself and other drivers. Our seller and anyone with common sense knows this.

Our seller exaggerates in his estimation of the speeds... he was frightened of the car too but tried to keep his cool. I was not frightened by Scott's shifting of the very much grinding clutch; I was terrified of the thud that could be felt through the floor with each shift. It literally felt like you were running over a boulder, all the way down to feeling it through the floor. This is an eminent danger to all passengers...it felt like the car would let loose and self-destruct at any second!

Anyone who has purchased cars on ebay and has been misled knows the sinking feeling you get when you look at the car and the way the seller is acting combined with what you observe firsthand does not match up to the listing that you print out and take with you. This is such a case. Aaron, send us a copy from the professional shop of the estimate on it. Why did you take it back the very next day to your "mechanic"? Why did you rattle off specs on the car like a recording when we got there and then admitted you didn't know a thing about working on them? Things just don't add up.

I was very much thankful to get my feet back on solid ground--I really felt like the car might kill us on that very short test drive.

My statements are true and accurate.

Heather
ebay id: sillyhousecat

p.s. I welcome further comments and questions...I should start taking a camera to post to photobucket so my board mates can see what I come across when looking at the cars, including pictures of the seller(s).

[Johnny Rocco]

[John SCB]

I purchase e28s and currently own an 85, 86, 87, and 88 528e. I am a collector. My hope, based on feedback from others in the Wheeling area, is to get others hooked on the look and feel of these incredible cars. Having said that...I recently purchased one from David Czarnecki who purchased the car from Teak Ackman in Rhode Island... 2 inch stack of receipts and David's entire description of the car was correct, enabling me to make a truly informed decision on his car. I gladly handed him cash for it and was pleased to meet such an honest and respectable my e28 board member. We will continue to be in touch in the future.

Like fellow board members, I am an enthusiast who has put many thousands of dollars into my cars and I have the receipts to prove it. Furthermore, I am an ebay buyer and seller (99.2% for close to 400 transactions) and value integrity and honesty in other buyers and sellers.

The ebay experience, evidenced by the seller of the 88 535i from Cleveland (Aaron Carter) cost me much time (5 hours) money (in the gas tank), and heartache. Ebay encompasses a worldwide market of buyers. His car was listed before this audience for at least 7 days. It reached 2025 with the above mentioned conditions (I swear on my life that all I said was TRUE). If the buyer is happy, then different strokes for different folks.

This car has major issues with brakes, tranny, and other issues with motor and exhaust, as well as various cosmetic problems. If the major system issues are not fixed IMMEDIATELY the car could leave someone dead. I think that this guy doesn't actually have a mechanic... I think that was added for flourish as is his flowery language. Take a look at the listing to see what I mean...

It is the "best thing he's ever had to get RID of" (Freudian slip)and he has 2 or 3 feedback, including an electronic that was broken. While speaking with him, he said that he doesn't know anything about BMWs and that he sticks to HONDA's...yes, to HONDAs!!!

Furthermore, he stated that the reason he is getting rid of the car is because he owes the IRS money and if he doesn't get rid of it they will take it. If we trust the seller's statements, we must look at the whole picture as an assembly of its parts. Does this sound like an honest person to you? None of it is good.

The only reason I even looked at it is because it is an 88 535i, the most desireable in my opinion (other than an 88 is) of the old school BMWS and because if was relatively close by. I took a chance, knowing that it may not pan out. It did not, but I wanted to let everyone else know of my experience in great detail, esp. since Skip asked about the car. Skip was considering getting it for Molly!!! My statements are totally true.

Furthermore, he says that Scott didn't know how to shift a short shifter. (???) Scott is an established mechanic who specializes in BMWs. He owns an 87 528e and an 85 318i ---he does all work on mine and his own. Furthermore, he drove David C's from Hoboken NJ to Wheeling WV (about 8 hours, give or take an hour) while I followed in the Benz; David's car has a properly operating short shifter. He used the short shift fine. You know when things aren't right!!!

Also, to gauge the problems on a BMW, YOU MUST DRIVE IT on a highway. In Cleveland, on the interstate, to keep speed with other vehicles, you have to do 60-70. Any slower and you present a danger to yourself and other drivers. Our seller and anyone with common sense knows this.

Our seller exaggerates in his estimation of the speeds... he was frightened of the car too but tried to keep his cool. I was not frightened by Scott's shifting of the very much grinding clutch; I was terrified of the thud that could be felt through the floor with each shift. It literally felt like you were running over a boulder, all the way down to feeling it through the floor. This is an eminent danger to all passengers...it felt like the car would let loose and self-destruct at any second!

Anyone who has purchased cars on ebay and has been misled knows the sinking feeling you get when you look at the car and the way the seller is acting combined with what you observe firsthand does not match up to the listing that you print out and take with you. This is such a case. Aaron, send us a copy from the professional shop of the estimate on it. Why did you take it back the very next day to your "mechanic"? Why did you rattle off specs on the car like a recording when we got there and then admitted you didn't know a thing about working on them? Things just don't add up.

I was very much thankful to get my feet back on solid ground--I really felt like the car might kill us on that very short test drive.

My statements are true and accurate.

Heather
ebay id: sillyhousecat

p.s. I welcome further comments and questions...I should start taking a camera to post to photobucket so my board mates can see what I come across when looking at the cars, including pictures of the seller(s).

This has to be one of the best replies (most believable anyway) I've seen on this forum. To the casual observer, it would appear that this car may not be everything the seller proclaims it to be.

To fully appreciate the integrity of this seller, we need someone else from the board to get a look at this car and render a final opinion. The buyer doesn't necessarily appear to be the best person to get this information from.

C'mon, there must be SOMEONE else that knows this car or can check it out on the quiet.

p.s. I really would like to see someone get

both feet SLAMMED on the BRAKES

on an e28 manual transmission brake pedal. My toes hurt just thinking about it.

[WhgHouseCat]

That is a great idea, John!

One further stipulation... it should be a current established board member, not someone the seller adds on under his own id to do this. And he would try to pull something like that.

I wish someone else from here had looked at the car to confirm my statements...

Can't believe it has gotten to this point...

[option00002]

X2 http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=32781




<-------- ME...going to a cabin for three days internet free... good luck.

[M635CSi]

That is a great idea, John!

One further stipulation... it should be a current established board member, not someone the seller adds on under his own id to do this. And he would try to pull something like that.

I wish someone else from here had looked at the car to confirm my statements...

Can't believe it has gotten to this point...

Heather,
You're not by any chance a blonde are you? This isn't complicated so it shouldn’t have caused such drama. There's a guy with an E28 over there and he's got an ebay account. He decides to list his old E28 on the auction site to see what it will bring. I read listing and had zero interest so what was it about that mysterious ebay listing that held yours.?