The Ford Barn

hueyhoolihan · 03-03-2025, 08:23 PM

there's a very nicely restored '41 Ford convertible that i'm seriously considering making an offer on. trouble is that it's being sold on consignment and the one-man shop that's selling it hasn't informed the owner that it will no longer start and consequently cannot be driven, meaning that i can't evaluate the brakes, or the steering, or the transmission, or practically any moving parts. and the consigner is not willing to lift a finger to address the issue. he said he would have it looked at the next day, but after a two week interval i went back and he said he hadn't touched it. and implied that he didn't plan on doing so anytime in the near future.

when i did make an offer commensurable with a non-running car (about 20% less than the asking price) i don't think he even informed the owner).
of course, this means that, as is, the car is way over priced.

i would happily pay the asking price if i could just drive it at a moderate pace for about 15 minutes and determine that the brakes, transmission, etc. actually work.

the engine did run, but the consigner couldn't get it running again so driving it was not possible. he eventually had to have a fork lift push it back into the garage. although i did determine, before the fork lift arrived, that it wasn't getting any spark, but that's as far as i was willing to go with problem determination on a car that i didn't own.

any suggestions?

03-03-2025, 08:23 PM	#1
hueyhoolihan Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2024 Location: central coast california Posts: 256	looking at purchasing a 41 convertible... there's a very nicely restored '41 Ford convertible that i'm seriously considering making an offer on. trouble is that it's being sold on consignment and the one-man shop that's selling it hasn't informed the owner that it will no longer start and consequently cannot be driven, meaning that i can't evaluate the brakes, or the steering, or the transmission, or practically any moving parts. and the consigner is not willing to lift a finger to address the issue. he said he would have it looked at the next day, but after a two week interval i went back and he said he hadn't touched it. and implied that he didn't plan on doing so anytime in the near future. when i did make an offer commensurable with a non-running car (about 20% less than the asking price) i don't think he even informed the owner). of course, this means that, as is, the car is way over priced. i would happily pay the asking price if i could just drive it at a moderate pace for about 15 minutes and determine that the brakes, transmission, etc. actually work. the engine did run, but the consigner couldn't get it running again so driving it was not possible. he eventually had to have a fork lift push it back into the garage. although i did determine, before the fork lift arrived, that it wasn't getting any spark, but that's as far as i was willing to go with problem determination on a car that i didn't own. any suggestions?