1974 Buick Estate Wagon

Discussion in 'Station Wagon Auctions, Craigs List and Other Stat' started by jwdtenn, Jan 1, 2016.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. jwdtenn

    jwdtenn Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2011
    Messages:
    21,286
    Likes Received:
    1,414
    Trophy Points:
    746
    Location:
    Nashville
    Glide-Aways likes this.
  2. jaunty75

    jaunty75 Middling Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2010
    Messages:
    5,900
    Likes Received:
    800
    Trophy Points:
    410
    Location:
    Southeast Michigan
    Not to disparage the ad of another member, but if the A/C "just needs a belt," how difficult is it to go the local auto parts store, spend $10 or whatever on a belt, and put it on the car? Presumably the A/C would then work?
     
    Thunderwing likes this.
  3. AK27

    AK27 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 16, 2012
    Messages:
    2,906
    Likes Received:
    85
    Trophy Points:
    110
    Location:
    Fairview, Illinois
    I've owned this car for 3 years and never turned the A/C on so I really don't care if there is a belt on it or not. I was just letting people know that it needed one. I would also have to drive 30 miles round trip to the nearest town to buy one and then put it on in a nice ice cold garage.
     
    WagonKiller likes this.
  4. WagonKiller

    WagonKiller Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2012
    Messages:
    1,921
    Likes Received:
    88
    Trophy Points:
    110
    Location:
    greenville pa
    Always liked this wagon. Mine had air and a belt and worked. I never used it.
     
  5. jaunty75

    jaunty75 Middling Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2010
    Messages:
    5,900
    Likes Received:
    800
    Trophy Points:
    410
    Location:
    Southeast Michigan
    I'm sorry, but this is nonsense from beginning to end. A potential buyer doesn't care whether or not you care if there is a belt on it or not. What a potential buyer DOES care about is the truthfulness of the statements made in your ad. Your ad is misleading because it implies that all it takes to restore the air conditioning to working condition is to put on a belt. But you don't know this as the air conditioning has never worked in the entire time you've owned the car. For all you know, it could take well more than a new belt to get it to work. All you know for sure, and what your ad should say, is that the A/C system needs at least a new belt.

    The statement that you live 30 miles from the nearest auto parts store and it's thus too much bother to go get a belt is too silly to believe, too. You've owned the car three years. In that time, have you never done any maintenance to it? Never once changed the oil, changed the oil filter, changed the air filter, did a tune-up, or whatever? Surely you've done some of these things. Where did you get the parts? Out of thin air? More likely you had to go to an auto parts store to get the needed parts. While you were there, you could easily have picked up the needed belt at the same time. Even if the store is too far away, there is such a thing as mail order.

    It's sad to see a long-time, respected member of this site post an ad that is as misleading as many of the craigslist ads we talk about and criticize on this site.
     
    Thunderwing likes this.
  6. jaunty75

    jaunty75 Middling Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2010
    Messages:
    5,900
    Likes Received:
    800
    Trophy Points:
    410
    Location:
    Southeast Michigan
    Who cares? For MANY people, air-conditioning is an important option, and any number of people on this site have rejected a car shown in a craigslist or ebay ad precisely because it doesn't have air conditioning, especially people who live in the south. More to the point, the issue here is not whether or not the OP uses the A/C. The issue is the veracity of his statement that the A/C "just needs a belt," as it says in his ad. He has no idea if this is true.
     
    Thunderwing likes this.
  7. wagon1

    wagon1 Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2014
    Messages:
    188
    Likes Received:
    22
    Trophy Points:
    35
    Are these pictures from 3 years ago?
     
  8. jaunty75

    jaunty75 Middling Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2010
    Messages:
    5,900
    Likes Received:
    800
    Trophy Points:
    410
    Location:
    Southeast Michigan
    They were certainly taken at different times of the year.

    In this one, the field in the background does not have any snow in it.

    [​IMG]


    But in this photo there is what looks like snow in the field and in the grass in front of it visible out the rear window.

    [​IMG]


    There is nothing inherently wrong about using photos taken at different times as long as they are an accurate representation of the car as it currently exists, but it would be nice to know which of these photos are recent and which are older.
     
    Thunderwing likes this.
  9. SwannyMotorsports

    SwannyMotorsports Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2011
    Messages:
    1,845
    Likes Received:
    281
    Trophy Points:
    196
    I owned this car and I know Andy very well. The A/C in fact does WORK but leaks down over a 3 month time frame, this car is stunning to say the least. I love this site but I am getting tired of how people attack others on stupid little things. And it appears it's always the same few people

    And this car has t changed one bit in 3 years. It looks to me like he backed it out of the garage to get a few interior pictures and the others were taken this summer.
     
    Gitsehtmai likes this.
  10. AK27

    AK27 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 16, 2012
    Messages:
    2,906
    Likes Received:
    85
    Trophy Points:
    110
    Location:
    Fairview, Illinois
    I am terribly sorry jaunty as I did not realize that my wagons appearance would change that drastically in a month. I will rush right out there and take new exterior photos immediately!
     
  11. AK27

    AK27 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 16, 2012
    Messages:
    2,906
    Likes Received:
    85
    Trophy Points:
    110
    Location:
    Fairview, Illinois
    If the $10 A/C belt is a deal breaker for someone that is just fine. Maybe for some it will be maybe for some it won't be. Only time will tell.
     
  12. azblackhemi

    azblackhemi Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2008
    Messages:
    1,064
    Likes Received:
    199
    Trophy Points:
    177
    Location:
    Just West of Phoenix Arizona. In the Desert.
    If you install that $10 belt and the A/C works your selling price should increase by hundreds of dollars. Sounds like a good investment to me.
     
  13. AK27

    AK27 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 16, 2012
    Messages:
    2,906
    Likes Received:
    85
    Trophy Points:
    110
    Location:
    Fairview, Illinois
    What I forgot to mention through all of this debate over an A/C belt is the fact that I really don't care if this wagon sells or not. If it does I get to buy the other wagon that I want and someone gets this awesome wagon. If it doesn't I get to keep this one. Either way I win!
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2016
    WagonKiller likes this.
  14. wagon1

    wagon1 Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2014
    Messages:
    188
    Likes Received:
    22
    Trophy Points:
    35
    Usually the belt isn't on the A/C because the compressor is burnt out. It also means that without the belt one would assume it doesn't work, but the price would have to reflect that. A conversion to 134a or a complete A/C system isn't cheap. For $10, I agree, put it on regardless. Pretty awesome wagon.
     
  15. jaunty75

    jaunty75 Middling Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2010
    Messages:
    5,900
    Likes Received:
    800
    Trophy Points:
    410
    Location:
    Southeast Michigan
    Now the truth dribbles out. It doesn't "just need a belt." It needs a belt, a recharge of the freon, and probably repair of whatever caused the freon to leak out.

    This is a laugh. To YOU it may be a "stupid little thing," but if I buy a car and the seller assures me that it "just needs a belt" to get the A/C working, and I get it home and discover that it needs well more than just a belt to get it working, I call that significantly more than a "stupid little thing." I call it deception.

    It may look like that to you, but to the rest of us, who aren't clued into the little cult that apparently surrounds this car, it looks like the photos were taken at different times of the year. We don't know if they are recent or from years ago, as wagon1 asked. The point is, it raises a red flag because it calls into question how recent the photos actually are and which ones are the recent ones and which ones are from some time ago, if any are.
     
    Thunderwing likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page