1939 LaSalle on Ebay - Questions & Issues ??

[Fred Zwicker #23106]

There is currently a 1939 LaSalle convertible on Ebay - At first glance car looks good, but has many non-original issues:

Some of the things that I see wrong:

Exterior color of yellow (data plate calls for #62 Kingston Gray). 
Dash board not woodgrained.
Heater color.
Headlight chrome rings
Antenna wrong and on wrong side of car.
Grille logo in wrong position.
Trunk Emblem
Side Trim under doors.
Parking Lights on fenders.
Rear Window.
Air Cleaner (was noted by seller).
Battery and location.
Trunk lining and carpet.
Rear Seats (should be fold-down opera seats).
Seat and door upholstery.
Anything Else ?


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cadillac-STUNNING-EXTRAORDINARY-39-CADILLAC-LASALLE-CONVERTIBLE-MUST-SEE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6152QQihZ003QQitemZ130195517308QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[STEVE CLC #16187]

Wrong Heater Switch, Antenna on Wrong side? Instrument light switch name plate next to starter button missing?

steve

[Shannon Steele]

Anyone considering this car would do well to arrange a personal inspection in my opinion.  I don't know anything about this particular car, but I do have some experience with the seller.  About 6 months ago, I became interested in a car (not a Cadillac) advertised on ebay by this seller and asked detailed, very specific questions about several issues regarding condition, rust bubbles, and similar things which were of concern to me.  Although he gave me very satisfactory answers, and he sounds like a real nice guy, I decided to go look at the car anyway.  Boy, was I glad I did!  I could see problems from 10' away, and up close it was a disaster, relative to what I had been told. Although I have bought a couple of cars sight unseen and been well-satisified, I'm glad I looked at that one. 

Unfortunately, sellers like this make the ebay process very difficult, because there normally is not time to arrange an inspection or check out a vehicle personally, so you have to hope the seller is accurately answering your questions.  In this case, he didn't.  I'm not necessarily saying he is dishonest, just that his opinion of any visible rust or rust bubbles was different than mine.  In fairness to him, he does qualify his point of view regarding condition pretty completely in his ad.   

Incidentally, while I was there, I looked at another car he had listed, and although I had not questioned him about it via phone, it was not nearly as nice as his ad would let you to believe.  My experience leads me to believe that it is best to proceed with caution with this seller.

[Fred Zwicker #23106]

  For some reason, photos on Ebay always seem to look a LOT better than up close.  While a picture is supposed to be worth a thousand words, sometimes a thousand words might be more accurate than a picture.   I watch Ebay frequently and if I see something that I really like, if it is within 200-300 miles I will drive to take a look.  If not, I lose interest fast.  I would not want to ask a fellow CLC member to look for me, as everyone has a different opinion.  So I stay with my plan of making my own personal inspection and my own decision.

I recently looked at what was supposed to be a perfect 1957 Chevrolet Convertible and since I was in the area (about 200 miles from home) stopped to take a look.  Even up close it looked almost too good to be true at around $75K - the red paint job was outstanding.  I then went out to my the car and got a flashlight and carefully inspected the inside of the fenders and saw a lot more evidence of repair than expected (rivets, screws, patches, smeared on body filler and seam caulking).  Within a year, this car would have been full of bubbles and cracks.  Looking closer, found even more flaws (rough wavy dashboard under plenty of paint, bad door gaps, etc.).  This car was not for me.

Fred