Frustrated shopper

[bikebird]

I'm still looking for my bird but getting frustrated and leery. 1. Called on 1 in Miami an ice blue and the salesman wanted to know who made the t-bird. Then when I asked if about the hardtop, he said oh no, its a convertible. ahhh they all are convertibles, the hardtop is the option. 2. Called on a bird in Chicago and asked if it had a hrdtop. His reply was yes and no. They gave a tradein to someone who said it came with and had not been on the car since purchase and it was to be brought in later but has not showen up yet. This car was on e-bay and the auction was ending in 6 hours now. He also said I should hurry and put my bid in as there was someone looking at car and he might sell before auction was over if he met his price. It is hard to find the car from a private person that happens to fit my color , price , miles and this side of the Mississippi. Has anyone bought a car site unseen? and from so many miles away?

[donfox]

Re: Frustrated shopper

Good luck Lynn. I wish you well in your search. I believe there are several cars for sale right here on this website. Check the classified forum. You may have a better chance of finding a nice car here. We're TBird afficionados here and most of us take really excellent care of our Birds.

[My Raven]

Re: Frustrated shopper

Lynn, what exactly are you looking for? Specific color choice? Year? partial accent, full accent or none? mileage? etc. If you have posted this previously and I missed the post I apologize. In any case we can keep our eyes out for you. Joe

[JAB02LHS]

Re: Frustrated shopper

Has anyone bought a car site unseen? and from so many miles away?

I live in Cleveland Ohio and bought my car on ebay in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 1050 miles away.

I had it inspected by
SGS Vehicle Inspection
Prior to purchase

http://sgs-ebay.sgsauto.com/

• Nationwide staff of trained inspectors
• Thorough but rapid inspections
• Reports available online within 24 hours of your inspection
• 150-point inspection report
• Interior and exterior photography
• Only $99.50 for most vehicles

It cost $475.00 to ship it via http://www.dasautoshippers.com/
Top rail open carrier.
You want top rail so nothing drips on it from a car above
and to avoid stone chips from other trucks..

[SR-71]

Re: Frustrated shopper

I'm still looking for my bird but getting frustrated and leery. 1. Called on 1 in Miami an ice blue and the salesman wanted to know who made the t-bird. ...

Geez. Was the guy old enough to shave? Your experiences are actually not much different than some of ours even when the cars were in the showroom. The lack of knowledge even in many Ford salespeople was surprising. When I fist started calling dealerships, one salesman asked me if I was interested in the convertible or the coupe! Another told me that if I waited awhile, I could probably get an '06. Ummm.... OK. Next.

As a suggestion Lynn... if you locate a bird someplace where you can't easily get to, you might check to see if theres a TBN member nearby who would be willing to go check it out for you... take pictures, test drive it, etc. Most of us are pretty picky about what is or isn't good quality.

You'll have one in time. And then you'll absolutely love it!

Cheers,

Kevin

[VABird05]

Re: Frustrated shopper

Hi, Lynn. WELCOME to TBN, you've come to the right place!

Yes, I bought mine sight unseen, from a dealer in Ohio, after I reviewed the CarFax report, and had their assurance it was in excellent condition. I live in southern VA, and didn't want the car transported on a carrier, so I got them to drive the car to me, at their expense - about 700 miles. Of course, I made certain the car was covered under their insurance until it was delivered to me in my driveway. That was written on the sales contract, and emailed to me before I finalized the deal. All I had to do was then drive the driver to the airport about 30 minutes away. He had even stopped at a local hand car wash, and cleaned it up before arriving at my house. At the time, I had never driven a TBird, or even sat in one, but once I saw those portholes, I was sold, regardless. The car was as described, and I am still thrilled every time I sit behind the wheel. You just can't help but smile ~ it's a love affair!

Good luck in your search. I'm sure you'll find one soon. Be sure to keep us posted on your success.

[EllisonCal]

Re: Frustrated shopper

Lynn (ownerwannabe). Try this: Go to AutoTrader, put in a search for a Certified Ford Thunderbird with the year parameters you want, i.e. 2003-2005 or 2002-2004, whatever. Put in your zip code and the distance of the search. You can make it unlimited or just 25,50 or 100 miles. They will come back with the number of Tbirds that fall into the year range and distance you've specified. When I did it last summer, I found over a dozen within 100 miles. That will probably not be the case today, but you just have to extend the distance for the search. From then on you can use other TBN members nearby to check out the vehicles you're interested in.
Good Hunting.
ellisoncal
P.S. At this time there are 937 used, and certified Thunderbirds listed nationwide.

[SR-71]

Re: Frustrated shopper

Hi Lynn,

Good advice from Cal. You can also use cars.com. Note that when you set up iyour search, there's usually an "advanced search" or "more search options" link/button that you can click, so that you get additional controls to better define your search (if you get a list of options that don't use some sort of check box, then hold down the Ctrl key to highlight multiple selections... like the "Year" at cars.com).

Some searches to get you started:

Cars.com finds 9 02-05 T-Birds within 50 miles of zip code 48042. Click here.

Autotrader.com finds 17 02-05 T-Birds within 50 miles of zip code 48042. Click here. If you specify "Certified" instead of just "Used" it'll narrow down the results quite a bit. Autotrader.com reports 3 T-Birds within 300 miles of zip code 48042. Click here. At Autotrader, you can also "Set up an alert" so that you'll get an email message if someone adds a new listing that matches your search criteria. You can set up multiple alerts... do it from the results page of your search.

Hope that helps,

Kevin

[Johnny TBird]

Re: Frustrated shopper

Lynn -

There is a 2005 Cashmere with hardtop at :

PATTON WRIGHT FORD
701 E. HIGHWAY 114
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS 76051

817 481 3531

817 424 2521

IT LOOKED VERY GOOD....THE PRICE WAS $ 28,000.00 I BELIEVE YOU COULD GET IT FOR MUCH LESS.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED .... WHEN YOU CALL ASK FOR AND TALK TO MY SERVICE MANAGER " DANNY EVANS" HE MAY VERY WELL GET A BONUS CHECK IF YOU PURCHASE THIS CAR.

GOOD LUCK.

HAPPY TRAILS

[5bird7]

Re: Frustrated shopper

Hey, Johnny, George stopped by there yesterday and saw that car. It does have 45K miles on it though. General manager didn't know the color name nor that it was a serial #'d car - guess there's not much info left on those at the dealers.
ps - George was asking about that very large yellow tbird poster they have on the main room wall but after seeing and hearing what tthe dimensions were, decided he couldn't even fit it in the garage - and the owner's not willing to part with it either.

[JAB02LHS]

Re: Frustrated shopper

. General manager didn't know the color name nor that it was a serial #'d car - .

Thanks Dot now the price will be up to 38K

[EllisonCal]

Re: Frustrated shopper

Lynn, I checked one of those links to auto trader with your zip code and saw a 2005 with 2600 miles on it. It is identical to my "Annie" but I have 16000 miles on her.

When I bought "Annie" last August, I drove about 70 miles from Charleston to a dealer in Beaufort, SC. I traded in a 2000 Taurus SEL with 34,000 miles on it and gave them a check for the $26,000 cash difference, which included a Ford Premium Extended Care warranty.

I recommend getting the extended coverage when you buy any late model car used. It is generally only about $1000 or so and you will sleep better if you have it.

If you find a Thunderbird you can love, you will be a happy camper. Trust me, it will change your whole attitude towards life!

Cal

[ScottyNeutron]

Re: Frustrated shopper

Lynn,

As stated above, try Cars.com.

Also try Autotrader.com

I live in Southern California and purchased mine without seeing it from a dealer in Florida. However, I had th ebenefit of 1) it being a new car with a warranty, and 2) had the dealer send me a TON of pictures.

Regardless of whether you buy it site unseen, make sure you have it inspected, and buy the the CARFAX report.

Good luck!

[SR-71]

Re: Frustrated shopper

... make sure you have it inspected, and buy the the CARFAX report.

Good advice. Seems I recall that some members have paid commercial inspection services to check out a car in another state before buying. And heck.. I bet there're a couple of members around here who already have CarFax accounts and might look up a VIN or two for you.

[My Raven]

Re: Frustrated shopper

Good advice. Seems I recall that some members have paid commercial inspection services to check out a car in another state before buying. And heck.. I bet there're a couple of members around here who already have CarFax accounts and might look up a VIN or two for you.

Lynn, or anyone for that matter, if you need a Carfax report send me the VIN. I can save you a few bucks.