Complaint Review: Coyote Classics

September of 2008 I purchased a 1955 Ford Customline 2 door sedan that I found on the Coyote Classics web site. I had been searching for this model year for several months hoping to replace a motorcycle that I can no longer ride due to disabilities.

The sell price was appx. $10,999. After researching values I offered less than $10,000, & settled on $10,300.
The actual purchase took 3 or 4 months, as I wanted to make certain that I was not going to be burned in my selection of this 55 Ford.

The seller posted many photos of the car which I studied carefully for hours every day. There were several items in particular that I found troublesome.

In every instance I asked for explanations. In every instance the explanations given turned out to be bold faced lies. This car was claimed to be a great running car & a show winner. The list of glaring flaws is lengthy, but a few of the worst are as follows:

Engine is powerless & smokes heavily
Transmission wines & clunks
Paint is poor amateur quality at best, full of horrible patches, runs, overspray, & chips.

Upholstery consists of cheap seat covers over broken down springs, several tears, & a near comical headliner installation.

I have been able to drive the car far less than 100 miles since I got it, & it sets in my garage broken down again as I write.

Trim pieces, emblems, armrests, sunvisors, air breather, trunk liner, bumper jack, usable spare, & bumper guards are missing.

Visible rust at the rocker panels & along the roof lines continue to cause destruction. Gaps on panels & doors seem to indicate a front end crash in it's past
The bumpers are both rusted & apparently sprayed with paint in an effort to cover.

The front crossmember is rusted through, steering is very sloppy, & brakes are bad.

All of these items were explained as normal for a car this old. All of this after I was assured that the cosmetic items were bad camera lighting & mechanically it was perfect. Prior to discovering that this car is way, way, way, worse than described I accepted appx. $700. from seller in order to pick up missing trim & misc. parts. I was to quit complaining & leave Coyote alone. A year later knowing that I have been totally ripped off I must make every effort to remedy the situation.

Wife is recently unemployed & as I was at the purchase time I am disabled.

This owner (Mr. Chad Austin) knew my dire financial & medical situation & not unlike the Madoffs of the world he allowed greed to disrupt my life, empty my life savings & cause repurcussions far beyond anything I imagined.

Eddie
American Canyon, California
U.S.A.