Well OK, I guess I am gullible. When someone says something, I tend to take them at face value and believe what they say. One of my major failings, for certain.
In any event, last year when I was looking for a Z06 Corvette, I first saw an ad for one that looked promising on Z06vette.com at this thread (which apparently has since been edited into obscurity):
http://www.z06vette.com/forums/showthread.php?p=976294#post976294
I further tracked down this car to being offered on Ebay. Anyway, yes, I was a complete noob at C5 Corvettes and the Z06 variant, so when I saw this picture among others, it really meant nothing much to me concerning the wheels as I just didn't know enough about the models to realize there was an issue with this car.
http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/rini/z06_original_02.jpg
After all, I had actually been looking at mostly regular C5s and nothing looked out of the ordinary to my untrained eye. And as you will see in some screen shots of the Ebay auction, this seller was presenting himself as a dealer (kellychevroletflorida), and claiming the car was in MINT condition. Now "MINT" to me simply meant adj : as if new; "in mint condition". So quite frankly, with the ad taken at face value, I fully expected that car to be "as new".
So let's look at the pages I took as screen shots from the Ebay auction. First off, I apologize as when I took the screen shots, evidently there was some slight truncating of the right edge of the page. Nothing serious, but it does cut off a few letters of each line.
This page merely shows the ID name of Mike Rini that was being used for this auction, indicating that he was, in my opinion, representing an established dealership running this auction.
=============================
Now in this next page, notice that the ad claims that the vehicle was INSPECTED
Well I find that just a bit difficult to believe. Neither of the front turn signals were working when I picked up the vehicle. Matter of fact, the lamps were clearly shattered as the amber glass was loose inside the housing and visible through the clear cover. I doubt this would have passed inspection. How those lamps became shattered, of course, is matter for some conjecture as well. Secondly, the front tires were bald down to the threads on the inside edges and certainly an inspection would have clearly shown that to be an issue as well.
============================
On page 3, this is the beginning of the actual textual description of the Z06 being offered in this Ebay auction.
Notice that it CLEARLY says CHROME WHEELS. As best I can recall, the 2002 did not come stock (mint) with chrome wheels at all. Even considering that chrome wheels MAY have been on the vehicle at the time of the sale, they certainly were not when the photos were taken.
Also notice the mention of "EZ HIGHWAY MILES", which is quite puzzling because in further correspondence with Mr. Rini, he claimed the car had been taken in as a tradein, and he had no real knowledge of any history at all on this car. I guess "EZ HIGHWAY MILES" has the disconcerting habit of making the Z06 standard wheels change into regular C5 wheels, and cause some sort of impact to shatter the front turn signal bulbs. This apparently also caused very odd wear on the front tires to take the rubber off down to the threads on the inside edges. A curious situation that when I had an alignment done on the car after buying new tires AND wheels, was commented on by the people at Champion Chevrolet in Tallahassee that the current alignment of the vehicle could not have possible caused that sort of wear on those tires. The wear on those tires was done while they were on another vehicle and at sometime put on this Z06 before I purchased it.
Oh yeah, the "SMELLS, RUNS AS NEW!" quote needs mention as well. I never knew a new car to smell like some overpowering strawberry scenting that Mr. Rini had put right at the center A/C vent.
You will also note that Mr. Rini claimed in that ad that this vehicle came with Sport Seats, which is completely untrue. The car has the standard seats within it, but certainly I did not know the difference at the time to be able to tell.
Also please note the comment about the car coming with a "BLACKWING AIR FILTER". This is absolutely untrue. It had something akin to the "wire tie" mod done to the original air cleaner, but was done in such a botched up way that outside completely unfiltered air was allowed to come in UNDER the filter element into the air intake system. I did not discover this one until I replaced the air cleaner system myself. But in any event, any knowledgeable Corvette person would have clearly seen and known that the air cleaner was NOT a Blackwing at all.
=======================
On to page 4 of the auction descriptive text.
In this generic text that was apparently cut and pasted within the ad, there is clear mention (somewhat truncated however) about the Z06 having larger tires with a bigger bite. Obviously this car did NOT have those larger tires, as the wheels and tires were off of a standard C5 and NOT what came standard on the Z06 at all.
And notice that the vehicle condition is CLEARLY noted as being "MINT". Well to me, "MINT" would not have the following issues that I discovered later on when the vette tech looked it over at Champion Chevrolet, as well as my own discoveries:
As for it being "garaged" and "pampered", the number of rock chips on the front of the vehicle belie those statements. And considering the professed lack of knowledge of the past history of this car by Mr. Rini, I would have to wonder how he could even know such a thing to make these sorts of claims.
Well I guess to round this out, I will simply append the various emails that took place between Mr. Mike Rini and myself concerning this transaction.
In any event, last year when I was looking for a Z06 Corvette, I first saw an ad for one that looked promising on Z06vette.com at this thread (which apparently has since been edited into obscurity):
http://www.z06vette.com/forums/showthread.php?p=976294#post976294
I further tracked down this car to being offered on Ebay. Anyway, yes, I was a complete noob at C5 Corvettes and the Z06 variant, so when I saw this picture among others, it really meant nothing much to me concerning the wheels as I just didn't know enough about the models to realize there was an issue with this car.
http://www.corvetteflorida.com/pics/rini/z06_original_02.jpg
After all, I had actually been looking at mostly regular C5s and nothing looked out of the ordinary to my untrained eye. And as you will see in some screen shots of the Ebay auction, this seller was presenting himself as a dealer (kellychevroletflorida), and claiming the car was in MINT condition. Now "MINT" to me simply meant adj : as if new; "in mint condition". So quite frankly, with the ad taken at face value, I fully expected that car to be "as new".
So let's look at the pages I took as screen shots from the Ebay auction. First off, I apologize as when I took the screen shots, evidently there was some slight truncating of the right edge of the page. Nothing serious, but it does cut off a few letters of each line.
This page merely shows the ID name of Mike Rini that was being used for this auction, indicating that he was, in my opinion, representing an established dealership running this auction.
=============================
Now in this next page, notice that the ad claims that the vehicle was INSPECTED
Well I find that just a bit difficult to believe. Neither of the front turn signals were working when I picked up the vehicle. Matter of fact, the lamps were clearly shattered as the amber glass was loose inside the housing and visible through the clear cover. I doubt this would have passed inspection. How those lamps became shattered, of course, is matter for some conjecture as well. Secondly, the front tires were bald down to the threads on the inside edges and certainly an inspection would have clearly shown that to be an issue as well.
============================
On page 3, this is the beginning of the actual textual description of the Z06 being offered in this Ebay auction.
Notice that it CLEARLY says CHROME WHEELS. As best I can recall, the 2002 did not come stock (mint) with chrome wheels at all. Even considering that chrome wheels MAY have been on the vehicle at the time of the sale, they certainly were not when the photos were taken.
Also notice the mention of "EZ HIGHWAY MILES", which is quite puzzling because in further correspondence with Mr. Rini, he claimed the car had been taken in as a tradein, and he had no real knowledge of any history at all on this car. I guess "EZ HIGHWAY MILES" has the disconcerting habit of making the Z06 standard wheels change into regular C5 wheels, and cause some sort of impact to shatter the front turn signal bulbs. This apparently also caused very odd wear on the front tires to take the rubber off down to the threads on the inside edges. A curious situation that when I had an alignment done on the car after buying new tires AND wheels, was commented on by the people at Champion Chevrolet in Tallahassee that the current alignment of the vehicle could not have possible caused that sort of wear on those tires. The wear on those tires was done while they were on another vehicle and at sometime put on this Z06 before I purchased it.
Oh yeah, the "SMELLS, RUNS AS NEW!" quote needs mention as well. I never knew a new car to smell like some overpowering strawberry scenting that Mr. Rini had put right at the center A/C vent.
You will also note that Mr. Rini claimed in that ad that this vehicle came with Sport Seats, which is completely untrue. The car has the standard seats within it, but certainly I did not know the difference at the time to be able to tell.
Also please note the comment about the car coming with a "BLACKWING AIR FILTER". This is absolutely untrue. It had something akin to the "wire tie" mod done to the original air cleaner, but was done in such a botched up way that outside completely unfiltered air was allowed to come in UNDER the filter element into the air intake system. I did not discover this one until I replaced the air cleaner system myself. But in any event, any knowledgeable Corvette person would have clearly seen and known that the air cleaner was NOT a Blackwing at all.
=======================
On to page 4 of the auction descriptive text.
In this generic text that was apparently cut and pasted within the ad, there is clear mention (somewhat truncated however) about the Z06 having larger tires with a bigger bite. Obviously this car did NOT have those larger tires, as the wheels and tires were off of a standard C5 and NOT what came standard on the Z06 at all.
And notice that the vehicle condition is CLEARLY noted as being "MINT". Well to me, "MINT" would not have the following issues that I discovered later on when the vette tech looked it over at Champion Chevrolet, as well as my own discoveries:
- Wheels and tires were not standard for a 2002 Z06
- Both front tires were worn down on the inside edges to the threads
- Both front turn signals were nonfunctional and the shattered glass from the bulbs still within the housing.
- A noticeable scrape mark on the undercarriage of the vehicle.
- The plastic mouldings above both the driver and the passenger doors were apparently cut for some reason.
- One of the floor mat holddowns on the driver side floor was partially ripped out of the carpet.
- The air cleaner was modified in such a way to allow unfiltered air into the engine. The upper portion of the air cleaner is completely missing
- The horn is barely functional, with apparently the low frequenty horn being dead
- The vehicle did not come with the standard Z06 tire inflator in the trunk.
As for it being "garaged" and "pampered", the number of rock chips on the front of the vehicle belie those statements. And considering the professed lack of knowledge of the past history of this car by Mr. Rini, I would have to wonder how he could even know such a thing to make these sorts of claims.
Well I guess to round this out, I will simply append the various emails that took place between Mr. Mike Rini and myself concerning this transaction.
From: <tensecondmonster@hotmail.com>
To: <rich@serpenco.com>
Subject: Re: michael rini jr has sent you an eBay Money Request with PayPal (Routing Code: C840-L001-Q999-T5350)
Date: Sunday, September 25, 2005 8:22 AM
hi.ill need a copy of your:
drivers license:
insurance card:
registration for the tag/plate:
rich.....if you want to consider having the car shipped i can get it to you
for 300.00...trust me, the car is as close to mint as can be
expected.....you got a 1000 mile/1 month warranty thru ebay.i think you have
to activate it?
if you still want to make the drive im looking forward to meeting you and we
can enjoy the z06 together..
thanks,
michael rini.
19203 sw 60th ct
pembroke pines, fl
33332
>From: "serpenco" <rich@serpenco.com>
>Reply-To: "serpenco" <rich@serpenco.com>
>To: <tensecondmonster@hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: michael rini jr has sent you an eBay Money Request with PayPal
> (Routing Code: C840-L001-Q999-T5350)
>Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2005 03:33:58 -0400
>
>PayPalMike,
>
>As you probably already know by now, I paid the deposit you requested on
>that blue Corvette. Thanks for sending the payment request. It's easier
>that way. I got tied up with some work around here and lost track of time.
>
>I've been checking out the map and it appears that Pembroke Pines will be
>close to a 9 hour drive for us. It would be a pretty grueling haul to do
>that trip down and back home again all in one day, so if it is OK with you
>what I would like to do is to plan on getting down there on Friday. We
>would leave here on Thursday afternoon or so, spend the night on the road,
>and get to your place early on Friday so you could call my bank to verify
>the certified check I will be bringing. Does that sound OK to you? I
>would like to get down there earlier, but there are a few things going on
>around here that will prevent me from being able to do that.
>
>I may be able to bring a tag transferred from one of my vehicles. We're
>got two Chevy vans here and are going to try to get rid of the older one
>before we head down there. But I'll have all those details ironed out
>early in the week.
>
>Please let me know what I need to bring down with me to make the
>transaction as smooth as possible. I believe you mentioned a few documents
>I will need copies of, so please itemize those for me so I don't forget
>something.
>
>Thanks.
From: <tensecondmonster@hotmail.com>
To: <rich@serpenco.com>
Subject: Re: michael rini jr has sent you an eBay Money Request with PayPal (Routing Code: C840-L001-Q999-T5350)
Date: Sunday, September 25, 2005 11:40 AM
ebay warranty specifically dont cover zr1 models...i know the car is awesome
so i look forward to driving with you....the vista motor company that sold
it to me took it on trade. they dont have records or history.you might want
to try your local chevy dealer and see if they have any records..ill look
through the books i have and see if there are any records.
friday will be ok....i go to dealer auction in a.m. and am back by 11:00
a.m.////then im home all day waiting for my 4 rugrats to get home
thanks,
mike
>From: "serpenco" <rich@serpenco.com>
>Reply-To: "serpenco" <rich@serpenco.com>
>To: <tensecondmonster@hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: michael rini jr has sent you an eBay Money Request with PayPal
>(Routing Code: C840-L001-Q999-T5350)
>Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2005 11:23:14 -0400
>
>Mike,
>
>Honestly, I would feel like a fool just sending off $28K+ to someone and
>buying something sight unseen. That is a lot of money to me. Maybe not to
>everyone, but it is to me. It would just make me feel better knowing that
>I did everything reasonably possible to make sure I was getting what I
>wanted. So I think that long drive is worth it just for that attempt at
>peace of mind. Hope you understand my position. Hate to put you out by
>having to allocate some of your day for a personal visit. But on the
>bright side (to me anyway) I will get to spend some quality time with my
>new vette on the drive back home on Friday.
>considered, this is actually the fastest way to get myself behind the wheel
>of that car......
>
>I do hope this plan I outlined is OK with you.
>
>BTW, do you have a contact person's name at Vista BMW who you dealt with to
>get this car from? I would like to ask him/her about any history they know
>about this car. I believe you told me it was a tradein, but maybe whoever
>did the deal knows something more about it. Just curious.
>
>As for the Ebay warranty, it specifically does not cover Corvette Z06
>models.Thanks for the third party warranty info you sent me in
>another email. I'll call them on Monday.
>
>Anyway, please let me know about coming down there on Friday.
>
>Oh, did you get the PayPal deposit OK?
>
>Thanks.
From: <tensecondmonster@hotmail.com>
To: <rich@serpenco.com>
Subject: Re: michael rini jr has sent you an eBay Money Request with PayPal (Routing Code: C840-L001-Q999-T5350)
Date: Sunday, September 25, 2005 10:07 PM
my neighbor RAY HOKE is a bigwig with kelley chevrolet and i just found out
he is affiliated with u.s. warranty.....ill have to update all my future
ebay auctions
thanks,
mike
>From: "serpenco" <rich@serpenco.com>
>Reply-To: "serpenco" <rich@serpenco.com>
>To: <tensecondmonster@hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: michael rini jr has sent you an eBay Money Request with PayPal
>(Routing Code: C840-L001-Q999-T5350)
>Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2005 21:48:58 -0400
>
>Hi Mike,
>
>Is there any way to get a GM extended warranty for this Z06 through Kelley
>Chevrolet? I've been checking on some websites and it appears that many of
>the companies offering extended warranties specifically exclude the Z06
>Corvette. I figure since you are a dealer representing Kelley, maybe you
>could swing this.
>
>Are you going to have the gas tank filled up for me?
>
> 2002 Corvette Z06
>
>
> Sale Price
> $28,000.00
>
> Dealer Fees
> $189.00
>
> 6% sales tax
> $1,680.00
>
> Tag Transfer
> $145.00
>
> Subtotal=
> $30,014.00
>
> PayPal deposit
> -$1,000.00
>
>
>
>
> Total due upon delivery=
> $29,014.00
>
>
>
>I worked up the figures for what $$ I need to bring with me, so would you
>mind double checking them and make sure I have this correct?
>
>Thanks.
