In September of last year, I bid on a 280SL on eBay. I was the high bidder when the auction ended, but the car did not meet the seller's reserve. The next day I had an email from the "lister" who put up the car and was paid a fee by the "owner". The lister said that I was close to the reserve,that we could work out a deal, and arranged a conference call with the owner who answered all my questions (falsely as it turned out) and we made a deal. Within 10 minutes of receiving the car I was on the complaining about gross misrepresentations. The sheet metal was not original, the A/C did not work, the upholstery was not leather, there was no documentation to verify the claimed original milage, etc, etc.
The lister said don't worry and the seller never responded. After two fruitless months of phone calls and emails, I filed suit against both in Cook County, Ilinois. Since the lister was in Indiana and the seller was in West Virginia, prosecuting the suit was going to be lengthy and costly. Both parties ignored the complaint, so on May 20th we had a court date to obtain a default judgement for the amount paid plus fees and costs. A few days before the 20th, the lister called my attorney and offered a settlement. Eventually a satisfactory arrangement was reached.
I have today received the money and am in the process of buying a 1968, signal red, 280. It is a super solid car which has spent at least part of its life in Arizona and is a marked contrast to the first car. As soon as I am sure I can reliably make the trip (and if Joe has room for one more), I hope to meet some of you at Blacklick.
Gus
