Complaint Review: Masterpiece Vintage Cars - Whiteland Indiana

We are disappointed the Van Hoosears are not satisfied with their purchase. Unfortunately, they waived their opportunity to view the vehicle in person prior to buying it. They also decided against hiring a third-party inspector to provide them with an independent condition report for the truck they purchased, which is always encouraged. With this being said, we feel that they need to take some responsibility for their actions in this situation instead of putting all the blame on us, as the sellers. They would have benefitted from taking some time to research vintage trucks and educating themselves on what is involved in owning and maintaining a vehicle that it 47 years old.

The customer told our salesman that she was considering buying a new truck but decided on going with something nostalgic instead. The truck in questions is a 1970 Chevy C10 4-wheel drive, which as we stated in the ad was rebuilt on an 86/87 frame and drive train. All vehicle descriptions are based on information that is to the best of our knowledge. We try to provide as many photos on our website as possible. There are numerous photos in the online listing as well as a video. All vehicles are being sold as is with no warranty expressed, written or implied. We do not have a return policy.

Mr. and Mrs. Van Hoosear viewed the truck that they chose to purchase on our website and contacted us to make the purchase. Our website includes the following disclaimers:

General Disclaimer

All vehicle descriptions are based on information that is to the best of our knowledge. The seller shall not be responsible for any incorrect description, authenticity, genuineness, or defects. Although we do our best to explain each car accurately, these are 50-year-old vehicles and there are no perfect cars, please keep this in mind when making your purchasing decision. Any descriptions or representations are for identification purposes only and are not to be construed as a warranty of any type.

It is the sole responsibility of the buyer to have thoroughly inspected the vehicle prior to purchase. The buyer accepts responsibility for all defects known and unknown by the seller at the time of sale. The seller shall and will make every reasonable effort to disclose any known defects associated with this vehicle at the buyers request prior to the close of sale.

The seller should not be considered an expert on every make, model and variation of classic car that we make available for sale. The classic cars available for sale are vintage collector automobiles. They are not new cars. Most vehicles offered for sale are over 50 years old, some are 60-75 years old or more, and as such, have long since exceeded their original life expectancy, and mechanical tolerances. If you drive them, they may break and require mechanical repairs. Seller assumes no responsibility for any repairs regardless of any oral statements about the vehicle.

This is what was said in email correspondence to the customers by a member of our sales team before they decided to purchase the truck:

"I've owned 11 of that body style 7 of them being 69's. I said all that to say this, this is a nice truck. It is not a bondo baby. It is not a NV, AZ, MT, NM dry perfect rust-free 69 like grows in abundance out there, I've heard. Being in this business, I can tell you, it would be a $30-40,000 truck if it was, not a $15,000 one. So if you see it first time in person here, or have it delivered, I don't want you to think it's going to be this laser straight truck 30-40K if it was, and be disappointed when you really put a critical eye down the side of it and can see that it has been worked. It is a pretty straight old truck not full of putty, but not

laser straight. To the average person, it looks like an expensive truck. To a body man type perfectionist, he would not care for it. A guy that knows cars and trucks for their value, he would say it's a darn good truck, good look-in truck, and you couldn't come close to building the truck for that."

After numerous phone calls and emails between the customers and the dealership we consider this a closed issue. We have gone above and beyond in an attempt to appease these customers, but they have changed their story on each occasion that we have tried to come to terms with them. They agreed to our terms in order to return the truck, although we don't have a return policy on classic cars. We were waiting for our lawyer to prepare a legal document that all parties would have to agree on.

They were trying to rush the process and Mr. Van Hoosear said there was no need for that and they should just send the truck back and get a check in return. Mr Van Hoosear stated that we were making this process much too difficult. It's a vehicle not an item that you return to Walmart. We felt that after all we have gone through with these customers that we needed a lawyer for our protection. Mrs. Van Hoosear verbally assaulted one of our employees screaming profanities and making threats saying "I will ruin you & you'll be out of a job" therefore at this time we are no longer willing to take the vehicle back.

Our experience with these customers has been very frustrating and disappointing for all the members of our team. We strive for our customers to enjoy the unique experience of owning a classic. The classic car lifestyle clearly is not for them and they have an obvious case of buyer's remorse.

They have placed countless complaints against us, including contacting the Indiana Secretary of State and the Consumer Protection Division in Montana as well as our local BBB. Our employees have spent several hours responding to their complaints. We also have a reasonable suspicion that the Van Hoosears are behind the numerous fake negative google reviews that have been left for our business. Our lawyer has contacted a forensic IT professional to track the IP addresses because at this time we consider this to be harassment.