F@cked

Warden

Warden

Dedicated LVC Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2005
Messages
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Location
Bellingham
My new LSC - Well.
Buyer beware.

Bought the car sight unseen (my bad - and it hurts).
Finally had a mechanic and body guy look at it - the unibody is rusted beyond repair!!! Splitting and stretching. Car is apparently worthless. I am going to puke.
Was led to believe it had minor rust underneath as any 13yo car would and it was nothing to be alarmed about.

I am going to take it to another place that my company goes to and see what they say.

12k down the drain purchase and parts. But what really kills me is that I don't have a mark VIII now! I am actually crying right now. Quietly of course and to myself!:bash:

Oh how life sux! I am an idiot!*owned*

I can't sell the car to anyone without telling them about it. So therefore I will not be recovering much. Try to sell it for under book? and see if max can take back the parts.
 
This is all I have of the underbody.
When I bring it to the other place myself I will take pics.

IMG00104-20090409-1753.jpg


IMG00106-20090409-1754.jpg


IMG00107-20090409-1754.jpg


IMG00109-20090409-1755.jpg


IMG00111-20090409-1756.jpg


IMG00112-20090409-1756.jpg


IMG00114-20090409-1756.jpg
 
Did you purchase from a dealer or private seller?

Depending on how the laws work up your way, you may be able to go the avenue of deceptive selling tactics or something along those lines. Down my way, within the first 30 days the dealer has to correct it or the customer may take legal action for misrepresentation of the vehicle.
 
Bought it in november and let it sit untill the good weather came around. Private sale.
 
Well it does not look THAT bad. Maybe its the pics, but the rust looks normal for a 13 yo card driven in the winter. Of course letting it sit all winter did not help - unless it was garaged?
 
He bought that car from a fellow LVCer....

It can't be THAT bad mang, anything car be fixed... trust me, sheet metal repair is my specialty :)

I would be really bummed though at that price...
 
Unibody and frame is splitting. I am told it would need to go onto a rotissary and completely redone.
I am going to take it to another and see what they say. If my guy is wrong then I will be happy again. But I trust him.

If I am wrong and jumped the gun then I will be very happy. I can handle minor rust.
I was told that it would be near impossible to replace the rear axels.
Bolts are so rusted you can't get to them.
I want to see for myself. Get it up on a lift and snap pics.
If I am wrong then I am wrong!

I don't think the LVC'r did this intentionally, I see that he truly loves Marks too.
It is what it is!
 
I've lived with rust my whole life... that kind of stuff is just another day in MN... I just don't see how it could be that bad being only a 96...
 
I am by no means an expert, nor have I been under the car myself. If the car sat on dirt of grass for a while - it has only been driven barely 1500 miles since the previous owner bought it - it goes pretty quickly.
We'll see - but the new OEM air, front end rebuild and brakes have been put on hold indefinately untill i get the underbody blessed.
 
devilchild said:
car is from ohio/pittsburgh area to the best of my knowledge..

only underbody shots i have are the ones of my exhaust in my gallery..

undercarriage does have some slight surface rust.. i was told by my body guy a palm sander and some spray-on protectant would cure the problem.. he said none of it was bad enough to be alarmed

but as for the body "shell".. i havent come across ANY rust.. not even 1 spot..
Click to expand...

Does that sound accurate?
 
I'd like to see some more pics... the few pics you have so far looks like every other Mark I've been under in MN, and none of those were even close to be ruined, or unsafe to drive...
 
Lets put it this way. Mine is worse, or appears so. But its all solid. I really hope its not as bad as the first guy says.
 
I agree but we have not really examined the car.
I trust this guy with my life - he is so good to me. Words can not express the admiration for how much of a 'good guy' he is.

I have no clue about the other mechanic and body guy that he took it to though? But everyone respects him. I have to believe him untill I see for myself.

I apologize, I am too negative at the moment to see any light!:cool:
 
Also keep in mind these cars are galvanized so surface rust is usually that. Most car guys dont know that. Experience does not equate to wisdom.
 
I'm going to agree and say from the pictures it doesn't look that bad. That said these rockers can really go to muush.


Does look like the rocker seem is pretty soft and crushed in that one pic. 5th pic
 
Max is the man. No restocking fee if it comes to that.

You guys are encouraging me.... I thank you for that.
If my computer crashes today though I might just jump out the window, after I throw it out first.
 
i would love to see more pics, or hear the second opinion...for some reason what I have seen so far does not scare me in the least (then again i have this thing for custom fabricating)

keep this updated cuz if you decide to walk away I would be more than interested in buying parts from you
 
I'm sorry but that guy must have been full of it. There is a lot of surface rust but I doubt its as bad as they say. I'd like to see pics of the stretching. Worst case you cut out and weld in some braces, would end up being stronger than stock. My car is the same underneath, driven every winter, and very solid. Get more opinions You could drill into areas to check but make sure you spot fill them afterwards. Thats a very nice looking gen 1, don't loose faith yet.:cool:
 
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