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anyone have any ideas on this Bobcor 69 gtv?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Alfa...020QQitemZ300160956296QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Alfa...020QQitemZ300160956296QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
Considering the car is located in Walnut, California; I'm assuming it has a California title, which is indicated on the e-bay listing as "salvaged." In California that means the car was "totaled," bought back from the insurance company, and repaired. That would explain the hodgepodge of pieces and why it appears to be originally a 1969 by vin number and a kind of 1971 in appearance. If the rear appears to be 1971, my best guess, is that it was involved in a rear end collison so you might want to check the interior trunk for crushing, squareness, or repair, depending on how the clips were used or welded in place; and determine if the doors open properly, but the impact of the collision may not have shoved it forward enough to affect them, where it would be more likely to be readily apparent on a sedan. Depending on how skilled the weld was you may be able to find the weld marks of the clip(s); a poor job you'll be able to see, a better job you may be able to feel as you run your hand along the car. By all means, if you're already suspicious of the car take a magnet and check for bondo, you may discover that it has been repaired in other places than the obvious based on appearance.Chassis number is a 1969 but someone went to some trouble to make it appear to be a 1971. Wonder why? Possible 71-up rear clip as it has large taillights. Wrong sidemarkers and no Bertone badge indicate additional bodywork. Not sure what the thing in the center of the rear bumper is. Lots of other mods too especially the interior.
I agree, there are probably other reasons that California issues "salvaged" titles but that is the primary and predominant one.Some states have very strict guidelines for salvage titles. The Texas document for salvage title is 174 pages.
I agree with you totally, you should never buy a car, whether for $500 or $200,000, sight unseen or without having someone you trust inspect it for you by your criteria and standards, which to me means you have to know that person pretty d*mn well.I have an Idea about this car! If you don't like it, don't buy it! It has always amazed me the number of people on this BB bagging on a car they have NEVER seen. We are not talking about a $200,000 car here folks. We have bagged on Bobcor on and on. Time to move on. I was personally slammed in the past for saying DON"T BUY ANYTHING WITHOUT SEEING IT. DON"T SEND MONEY WITHOUT SEEING IT! I stand by my words today. I can only say, again, like I said over a year ago, look at the car. If you don't like it, don't buy it. Personally, I could care less if Bobcor "restored" the car. I could care less if Mr. Stephens (who has a great reputation) rebuilt the engine. I want to see it with my own eyes. I have seen plenty of cars that have won plenty of awards that were left for dead. A salvage title is mostly an insurance issue. Half the cars in Akitamans shop would qualify for salvage junk until he is done with them. The "scratches" from the pictures look more like paint shrinkage to me, but what do I know. Only been around collector cars for 35 years.
I concur. I am also in possession of the above information that I received a couple of days ago, but I was in hope that someone else would post it. Thank you. I was also told that when this person owned the car the title was "salvaged" and he sold it with a "salvaged" title; since the car is in California the title is still "salvaged." My question, has anyone notified e-bay that the title is indeed "salvaged" and not as indicated as "clear" on e-bay now, in case the bidders are not bb readers?I've come into some information about this car that a previous owner (not the seller or Bobcor) modified the external appearance of the car to that of a 1971 model year by choice, not out of necessity. This means that the rear valance was modified to accept 71 & up tail lights. There was also evidence of body repair on the left rear quarter. This vehicle was a theft recovery which perhaps could account for the salvage title?
In this case the car was a stolen vehicle recovery, the rear of the vehicle had been modified, but it was also broad-sided in the rear side panel and repaired.papajam is correct. "clear" could mean there is no lien holder like a bank or credit union. "Salvage" could mean it was stripped to the point where it would cost the insurance company more to put it back together than it was worth. Especially when these cars were not worth a whole lot. It could have also been hit with enough damage, the insurance company felt it cheaper to total it rather than fix it. A few years back, that wasn't alot of money. Always best to personally see the car, get the story from the owner and then decide if the story "feels" right.
If you are talking full coverage, i.e. theft and collision, IMO you are totally wasting your time and money getting any car more than 10 years old covered by a regular carrier. They now have so many exclusions that if, say, the car is stolen, your payment would be in the neighborhood of $5000 on a restored GTV!The hard part is getting an insurance company to insure it.
I concur, Pat and I never had any trouble getting insurance coverage on our "salvaged" title vehicles through our regular insurance carrier, Farmers; however, I looked long and hard for an agent that understood how often we switched cars and how many we had. Furthermore, we did not carry comp, collision, fire, and theft on each vehicle; it was included in the umbrella policy since the only Alfas we ever had "stolen," as in removed from our property without permission, were parked at our house; not out on a public street or public parking area. It takes all kinds, and yes, we did get them back, not exactly in the same condition, though.If you are talking full coverage, i.e. theft and collision, IMO you are totally wasting your time and money getting any car more than 10 years old covered by a regular carrier. They now have so many exclusions that if, say, the car is stolen, your payment would be in the neighborhood of $5000 on a restored GTV!
The only sane way to insure any older car is with an Agreed Value carrier. Those guys would, I am almost sure, have no qualms about salvage or no salvage. They are going to inspect the car anyway.
The only exception to the above is with an older car that is completely stock and has always and only been serviced at the dealer. Not really possible with an Alfa, I guess!In that etremely rare case a regular carrier could probably be muscled into paying something like the car's actual value if you had a claim.
Liability coverage, on the other hand, should not be a problem to get.
Oh, yes Ma'am, you said a mouthful there! Only now the state cries "havoc" if every single car that you own is not covered, whether you are driving it or not. My green Spider was trailered to my garage and has been up on jackstands since I bought it. Now, they are threatening to "Suspend" my registration.however, I looked long and hard for an agent that understood how often we switched cars and how many we had.