Complaint Review: Dream Classics-Robert Foster - St. Cloud Florida

 Charging top dollar prices for antique cars and claiming that they are in perfect condition, but cars have very bad, expensive problems. I purchased a 1968 Mercury Monterey convertible from Robert for $18,000. He said that if I wanted to negotiate, he would not sell the car so right off the bat, I knew that i would probably have to pay the full amount in order for me not to lose the car. He claimed that the car was very sentimental to him and that the car was in very good condition. Robert claimed that God had turned his life around and made him really successful and how he could be a mentor to me so that I could have great success like him. I kind of felt like he was a good guy so when he was telling me how good the car ran and this and that, I kind of took him for his word. Also, he said if I ever wanted to sell it, that he would buy it back and all this other stuff to make me feel comfortable in buying it. I bought the car and had to sign all these documents saying that I couldn't sue him, papers that stated I was buying AS IS and all kinds of documents that took away any responsibility Robert would have if I wasn't satisfied after buying it. That should have been a red flag but Robert seemed like a religious man that wouldn't screw anybody over and I really wanted the car so I paid the extremely high price even though I only make $30,000 a year. I had been saving money forever.

Anyways, the first time I drove the car, the motor almost jumped out of the engine compartment because the motor mounts were broke. That was like a $400 fix. The transmission linkage also came undone because the motor jumped so much. That had to be fixed also. Then I realized I was leaking oil so I had to change all the upper gaskets on motor. That was like another $500. The brakes needed new rotars and pads. Another $400. I started driving it after fixing all these problems and noticed that the engine was pinging. I added an ignition box and a new distributor thinking it would fix the problem but it didn't. That was like $400 just for parts. I think I will have to get a new carburetor and maybe change some valve seals or something to remedy the problem. There is also a lot of blow by which means that a lot of smoke is coming out of the engine which indicates bad seals. All in all, the car was significantly over priced and by the time I fix everything, I will probably have spent close to $6,000 fixing something that at $18,000 should have ran perfect.

He also told me that he owned the car for 20 plus years but after I felt ripped off, I started doing some research and I found out that the car was imported from United Kingdom and that he paid around $8,000 for it so basically he lied about it and threw another $10,000 on it to sell. I feel very, very ripped off. I had wanted the car so bad because I had one when I was 17 and now that I am 36, I wanted to have something nostalgic to remind me of my younger years. I should have been more cautious but I felt like if I rubbed him the wrong way or said the wrong thing, that he would not sell it all so I was really apprehensive to negotiate or have a mechanic look at engine.

It is a shame that someone would use religion to make it seem like he is a good person when in actuality, he is the devil and ripping some young guy off like me that doesn't even make that much money. If he ripped off a rich guy that could afford to lose a little, it still is messed up but at least the rich guy can recover easily. I don't have the capability of recovering like that so buying this car was a big mistake and I will have to put so much money into the car before I can actually enjoy it. Be careful of this guy Robert. He is a con artist that will rip you off so quick and claim that he is a religious man. Purchase date was around 10/31/16. VIN# 8Z45Y507506. Purchase price was $19,000 after taxes