Lemon Proof

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

BUYERS BEWARE

I have decided to start posting pictures of some of the vehicles people are trying to sell that should never see the road!

This is a 1995 Firefly....looks good right??


After lifting the vehicle this is what I found........even after telling the seller exactly what I do, he allowed me to continue the inspection and take these pictures.

What you are seeing is the actual structure of the vehicle. Someone with absolutely no welding skill tried to repair some kind of accident damage by attempting to weld the wrong gauge steel to rust. Believe it or not this vehicle is already CERTIFIED!!!

This is a 2004 Intrepid. Seller said, 'it is mint and was barely winter driven'.

Body looks good....





Look at the condition of the exhaust, power steering line and rocker covers.


Looks like this vehicle was winter driven to me.......

Here's a 2004 Honda Civic Si. This vehicle was in an accident. The seller was honest enough to tell me yet shocked to learn what I found...... He had paperwork to show that all these repairs were supposedly done.

This is an airbag sensor that has been reused despite the fact that it is broken.


If that isn't bad enough, look at the crack on the transmission case. They figured a little JB Weld would remedy this damage......





To top it all off, how is this for a ground? Not only is the connection not secure, it is grounded to plastic!!!!

Look closely and you'll see in the background a temperature sensor that was also damaged but reused.

Here is a 1995 Neon, the seller was also disturbed by the quality of repair to her brake lines. As these pictures show, the lines were repaired with pressure fittings rather than a flare fitting.

These type of fittings are designed for low pressures. If you were to slam on the brakes in a panic stop, you could blow the lines right out of the fittings disabling your complete braking system!!!

I cannot emphasize how dangerous and irresponsible this repair is.

2001 Dodge Caravan:Here we go again. This is the vehicle that inspired me to offer my new service of repair verification. It was purchased from a body shop.

The following pictures depict what I would consider horrific wire repair procedures.

This client called me after they were charged for repairs that seemed to have remedied their complaint..... except for when it rained.

The damage to these wires, I'm assuming by the evident body work, was caused my some kind of accident. Looking at the body repair again, I am assuming that the repairs to this harness were done by the same body shop.

The reason the symptoms returned in the rain is because of the lack of insulation to the connections. Keep in mind that this is the wheel well and in wet conditions water would be constantly splashing around. Eventually soaking the harness causing them to short.

I am not going to comment on the body work. The pictures say enough!!!

I will say this, I would not have recommended this vehicle with repairs like this....

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