[romroc]

I just won the bidding on an '89 Milano on ebay. The Vin no. was found to be incorrect. Although the seller has now supplied the 'correct' vin, I'm now expecting him to supply a car fax or similar report. No money has yet changed hands. Why would a dealer post a wrong vin number? Ebay is not very responsive to complaints, BTW. I'm posting this as a cautionary tale. I also bought another Milano from a private seller last month for my son and so far so good. We have the car and are awaiting title from DMV. All I can say is BUYER BEWARE is in full force on ebay. I still do not see the kind of consumer protection that I'd like on that venue.

 

[164 FAMILY]

Looks fishy 3 feedback seller and a whole bunch of -1 and low feedback bidders!
Use caution.

 

[romroc]

I bought the Milano anyway. What an underrated automobile. I'd forgotten just how exciting it is, even to this day. Far more comfort than a Porsche 968, which my son has, even though the Porsche has gluelike handling. I'd take the Milano any day as my bones cannot take too many beatings anymore.

I shipped an '87 Milano to my son two weeks ago, picked it up for $1000 including a new hood in its' original box. It's now in a shop in Vegas getting a clutch disc and a donut. With coffee of course.

 

[arocvegas]

Hey Dad!

DAd,

I just joined the BB per your recommendation...I would love to try to tacke this clutch job myself...

What am I nuts?

son...

 

[romroc]

Am I Nuts?

You're not nuts at all my son, just realize that some things are better left to others with the proper tools, a lift, plus that most sagacious of teachers, namely EXPERIENCE.

Welcome to the bb!

 

[AlfaTango1]

I just won the bidding on an '89 Milano on ebay. The Vin no. was found to be incorrect. Although the seller has now supplied the 'correct' vin, I'm now expecting him to supply a car fax or similar report. No money has yet changed hands. Why would a dealer post a wrong vin number? Ebay is not very responsive to complaints, BTW. I'm posting this as a cautionary tale. I also bought another Milano from a private seller last month for my son and so far so good. We have the car and are awaiting title from DMV. All I can say is BUYER BEWARE is in full force on ebay. I still do not see the kind of consumer protection that I'd like on that venue.

I know that Ebay must get thousands of complaints a day but they could at least respond SOME DAY! I recently won a new radiator from a very reputable seller/store on Ebay. They only do radiators so I felt really confindent that I would get this item. Well they sent me an invoice, I pay through the link from Pay Pal and three days later Pay Pal informs me that the payment has not been accepted yet. I wait a week and when still not accepted I email seller. They respond saying that they do not know how that radiator got on their site since it's not in their system. They also say that the email address is wrong and that they cannot accept payment and that I should just cancel it. Well that's conveinent for them right? Since I won the radiator for $99.00 and that the going rate is $300 or more! Well, Ebay never responded to me and allowed this seller to give me a negative feedback saying I sent payment to the wrong address, an address that they generated!

 

[romroc]

Ebay

I have to agree with you on Ebay. Pay Pal at least was quick to remove an erroneous charge for a deposit that I sent to what I thought was the seller's Paypal account. Ebay I have found to be somewhat ineffectual in handling disputes; Pay pal is otherwise but can be slow and deliberate. I give Ebay a c- overall; you might consider filing a dispute in the state where your seller resides. After all, an auction is a contract binding on both parties.

In my case I was able to ascertain that the seller has a legitimate used car business, after the bidding was won. I still don't have the Milano, the seller is out of town. Ebay overall is a work in progress with a long way still ahead.

 

[rcess]

Rock,

Are you Bob originally from LI? If so send me a PM.

 

[eight-o-one]

Try going these routes w/ebay: [email protected] In space for 'subject' type in
"attn:SafeHarborteam"...OR Try 1-800-717-3229. With the 'latter' method I've had pretty good response which is taken care of quite swiftly..............Ed K.

 

[romroc]

I now have the '89 Milano off ebay. Today I found an owner marking on the transmission stating that the lubricant there was changed in '04 at 37500 miles, so I'm now thinking that the 38k the car is showing is authentic. It's no concours job but for sure it can be brought back to full health. It needs ball joints. Today I removed the rear brakes and rotors as the calipers are shot and one disc needs to be changed. Pretty soon this Milano will be in full gallop. I got lucky, as the sellers were not very trustworthy or reputable. The wouldn't know an Alfa from an onion. Maybe that's a good thing as it appears way undervalued relative to the wannabe cars out there for sale, or I'm hallucinating. It took twenty years for the Milano to 'look' right. What does that tell you?

All's Well That Ends Well.

 

[romroc]

Milano update. I've replaced the rear brakes complete, rotors, calipers, pads, springs and pins, misc. Handbrake is now connected and working. Front alignment and ball joints are now thought to be good, both calipers are shot and rebuilts are on order. Trunk cable replaced. Car should be mobile now, oil pressure sender suddenly doesn't work. Still a great car.

 

[La Voce]

Congrats on the Milano, glad it worked out. They are great cars.
I have had to use the PayPal Dispute Resolution process twice for eBay issues and both times it worked out well for me.

 

[romroc]

Gonna check out the pay pal avenue. I'm getting into the $600.00 range on brake repairs.

 

[universible]

Interesting, I've never had a response problem from eBay...by the way, even though they seem somewhat separate, eBay and PayPal's response people are all the same. Meaning they are actually the same people. I recently had an issue with someone on eBay and got very quick customer service from them. You can even try their live chat. Having bought and sold cars on eBay I can say its like its always been, due diligence on the part of the buyer/seller is the key.

 

[romroc]

Thanks for the advice. Car is still an Alfa, and that's a great thing.

 

[romroc]

ebay milano photo

Was it worth 2k? YOU decide!

 

[romroc]

Oops. The attachment didn't take. Another try.

 

[romroc]

ebay milano

I just wanted to post one last time. After $1300 in various parts and very little paid labor, the '89 Milano is finally roadable. Trying to get some satisfaction from the Wash. DC consumer affairs, but it doesn't look promising. At least they are polite. For a total so far of 37k including shipping, not completely done, it's a genuine 39k on the miles, strong drivetrain, this car urges you to move NOW! "The air blows cold." EVERYONE is looking, this is one rare, unusual car that I'm now proud to own. Better than a clapped out bimmer with over 150 on the clock by far. I like that the A/C has a circuit that steps up the idle when A/C is running. No whiplash/clunking in the drivetrain at all. Kudos to Ruth Yeager for giving me the radio code. This Alfa has Irish eyes and they're definitely smilin.' Would I do this again? I'd answer that one, but might tend to incriminate myself, so I'll pass.