Why can't we find "cool" cars with miles like this :(

[jeffs396]

Lookey at this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AMC-Pacer-12-7-miles-original-barn-find-survivor-new-/110716785496?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item19c73c1358

[Jordan White]

12 miles? That engine's probably toast!

[SuperStockAndy]

Because it's only driven 12 miles since '77! :lol:

[Jordan White]

Seriously though, I wouldn't trust a 30 odd year engine that's barely been run and just sitting.

[62rebel]

i installed an engine i had sitting under a tarp in my back yard for four years..... it had been sitting idle in a pickup truck for who knows how long before that.

that car, with that engine, is still daily driven.

of course, the engine in question here is a Ford 390 and expected to do miraculous things.

the AMC engine has a reputation for withstanding outstanding levels of owner neglect and abuse without failure.

personally, even though the Pacer isn't by far my favorite AMC, i'd rather have IT that any new car made in the past twenty years.

[Harry P.]

I find it very hard to believe that the car only was driven home from the dealer and then sat for 34 years.

Why would anyone buy a car, drive it home, and let it sit?

I severely doubt this story...

[charlie8575]

Who says this isn't cool?

Too bad it's so nice; I'd actually consider driving this.

This car would only come out on special occasions if I owned it; like the AMO meet.

Charlie Larkin

[SuperStockAndy]

I said that wrong.

I meant that being constantly driven, it only went 12 miles.

But Pacers are cool! They make KILLER drag cars

[Guest]

Harry, i'm sure there is some story or history that will explain why it sat instead of being driven. you still hear of those cars bought by soldiers in Vietnam or before they left that ended up sitting because they died in action and never returned. parents or family members held onto those cars in many cases because it was thier connection to a loved one lost.

not saying that's what happened here with this one but it's one situation that could explain why its got the incredibly low mileage that it does.

Not in this case. It's a 77, and all Vietnam Vets were home in 75. If you read the story, it's certainly a possible one. Here is a quote from it. "The woman who owned the vehicle passed, leaving no will or estate planning, so the car was sold at auction by the Queens County Public Administrator, along with all of her other possesions." Certainly seems believable to me.

[Harry P.]

"The woman who owned the vehicle passed, leaving no will or estate planning, so the car was sold at auction by the Queens County Public Administrator, along with all of her other possesions." Certainly seems believable to me.

She bought a brand new car, drove it home, and then never touched it again???

And then she died (story doesn't say when)... and the car was sold at auction. Sold to who???

And the buyer also let the car sit and never drove it?

The story states the car was delivered in 1977, yet there is a NY inspection sticker on it from 1978. It had to have been driven to the inspection station. Or was it levitated there???

And how did the current owner get it? And with still only 11 miles on it, as he claims???

Also... do cars come from the factory with wheel balancing weights?

This story seems pretty fishy.

[highway]

She bought a brand new car, drove it home, and then never touched it again???

And then she died (story doesn't say when)... and the car was sold at auction. Sold to who???

And the buyer also let the car sit and never drove it?

The story states the car was delivered in 1977, yet there is a NY inspection sticker on it from 1978. It had to have been driven to the inspection station. Or was it levitated there???

And how did the current owner get it? And with still only 11 miles on it, as he claims???

Also... do cars come from the factory with wheel balancing weights?

This story seems pretty fishy.

Honestly, it sounds fishy to me too, BUT

1.The woman may have been elderly, and just so happened after she bought the car and drove it home, bought the farm.

There is also, elderly or not, she could have had a number of illnesses take her, maybe came down with something then passed from her illness without ever being able to drive her new car. You never know, maybe buying her first brand new car gave her a heart attack.

2.Who cares who bought it at the auction!?!?

3.Maybe the buyer bought the entire estate, including home and out buildings, and maybe that buyer never checked to see what was in the garage the car was supposedly inside of.

4.I don't know how they do (or if they do) state inspections in Illinois Harry, but here in West Virginia our yearly inspection stickers have the year they EXPIRE on them, not the year of issue. I would guess the New York sticker is the same, which would mean the state inspection was legal until Oct 1978. That, guessing again the same is true for NY as it is here, means the car was delivered in Oct 1977! At least here in WV, dealers do not inspect the vehicle until it sells in the case of a new car. It's a little hard to see in this pic, but it is the best I have right now of a WV inspection sticker, but the date on the sticker is 11 10, for it's Nov 2010 expiration date. I looked back through the folders of my pics on my computer and this pic was taken in Jan 2010.

Oh, by the way, at least here the stickers change colors in June. The stickers expiring the last have of last year was blue, and the sticker that replaced it is now orange.

5.Have you ever heard of a tow truck!?!? Seriously though Harry, I must agree this DOES sound fishy to me, especially when the seller states "It had only 11.8 miles when I first saw it, so yes, it does run and drive and smell like a new car!" and "I was able to drive the car perfectly." and the pic of the dash shows 12.2 miles on the odometer. The last I checked, unless there is some strange new school math I've not heard about, that is only 4/10ths of a mile. I know I'm not going to be able to tell you how great a car drives in less than a half a mile!

6.I'm not 100% sure, but I'm sure since the tires are already mounted to the wheels and the wheels are on the car when it leaves the factory, I'd guess they would balance those wheels too!!

[Dragline]

This story seem legit. I bought a 88 Dodge Omni with 4,300 original miles on it in 2001. The lady had passed [97 yo] and her son didn't want the car. Still smelled brand new inside and ran like a swiss watch. The guy who has it now enters it into shows and wins stuff with it. I'm not sure what he wins but the car is in PERFECT shape.

Bob

[Junkman]

My aunt in Milano, Italy, got a new Alfa Romeo 2600S Spider in 1963 as a valentines day gift. Soon afterward she broke up with the guy who gave it to her. The car is still sitting in an enclosure in the underground parking of the appartment block she lives in - with less than 400km on the clock. It wasn't exposed to sunlight in almost half a century.

[David G.]

Maybe the woman bought the car, drove it home, then had a stroke or some other health issue and was unable to drive it. Having no relatives, to make her get rid of the car, or take it from her, the car sat undriven until she died. As to why she let it set for more than thirty years- maybe it was a symbol of accomplishment- her first new car bought with cash. Maybe it was an incentive for recovery, "Some day, I'm gonna drive that car!"

Who knows, I think I'll bid on it if it comes back up again. I'll have my brother in Jersey pick it up for me. If I get it, I'll let everybody know what I find out.

Later,

David G.

[highway]

Actually, I had forgotten about this 1980 Trans Am I ran across at a car show last year.

While it is not as low mileage as the examples Bob and Christian have mentioned, it still has very low mileage for it's age and as of the time of the show, the odometer read 38,185.1 miles. This is the closet shot I have of it, but if you zoom in (how do you think I read it ) on the odometer, you can clearly read it.

According to the lucky new owner, he was doing work at the former owner's home and seen the snowflake wheel peaking out from under a car cover, and asked if he could take a better look at the car. The story behind the car that he told me was that the former owner was a doctor's wife, and the doctor had bought the T/A for her as a gift. She did drive the car occasionally, but just never really cared for it and the poor T/A spent most of it's life locked in that garage. At least now it is with a loving owner who lets it out to see the light of day!

[Junkman]

Then we have this baby sitting at a US car dealer in Stoke-on-Trent:

It was sold new to your proverbial old lady in Phoenix. After 3 years, it was sold to a gent from England, who shipped it back to Blighty and put it in his car collection. It had around 3000 miles on it when he bought it and it now has slightly over 6000 miles on it.

[Harry P.]

Seriously though Harry, I must agree this DOES sound fishy to me, especially when the seller states "It had only 11.8 miles when I first saw it, so yes, it does run and drive and smell like a new car!" and "I was able to drive the car perfectly." and the pic of the dash shows 12.2 miles on the odometer. The last I checked, unless there is some strange new school math I've not heard about, that is only 4/10ths of a mile. I know I'm not going to be able to tell you how great a car drives in less than a half a mile!

That's the biggest problem I have with this story. Old lady buys car, it sits untouched for 34 years... she dies, has no family or relatives, so the car is sold at auction, and the new owner also never drives it (why did he buy it???), then this ebay guy mysteriously gets his hands on it, claimes it had 11.8 miles on it when he got it, then decided the A/C works, the car drives fine, etc... and he figured this out all in 4/10ths of a mile (as he claims the car now has 12.2 miles on it).

As far as the inspection sticker... ok, so maybe it expired in '78. So a brand new car had to be inspected by the state? Nor sure how/why that would be. But still, the car had to go to the inspection station, didn't it? Oh wait, let me guess... the inspection station was across the street from where the original owner lived!

[highway]

As far as the inspection sticker... ok, so maybe it expired in '78. So a brand new car had to be inspected by the state? Nor sure how/why that would be. But still, the car had to go to the inspection station, didn't it? Oh wait, let me guess... the inspection station was across the street from where the original owner lived!

Actually Harry, and this is going by WV inspection laws, one since I don't live in NY and two since in 77 I was one year old , but the way it is done here even a fresh of the line new car must have an inspection sticker. If someone buys a car in our area in the northern panhandle of the state across the river in Ohio, the car must get a WV inspection within 7 days of purchase. Usually the sticker is more of a compliance thing when it comes to a new or nearly new car, if a car is only a year old, there are places that may only check the lights. As for driving to the inspection station, all the new car dealers here have service departments, and one of the services their service departments offer are, you guessed it, state inspections!!! When you take delivery of your shiny new baby, it already has the inspection sticker and temporary license plate on it when you grab the keys to drive it on its maiden voyage off the dealer's lot!

You know, I just thought of something too on the mileage issue, didn't it even get taken on a test drive by the original buyer?? I know there have been times I've put 2 or 3 times that many miles on a car just taking it for a test drive!

[Harry P.]

If we're to believe this whole ebay scam, we must believe that:

A woman bought the car brand new and never again touched it for 34 years (1977-2011).

The woman dies, has absolutely no living relatives, so the car is sold at auction to owner 2.

Owner 2 bought the car but also does not drive the car, ever. At some point the car comes into Ebay guy's possession.

Ebay guy (owner 3?) obtains the car with a claimed 11.8 original miles on the odometer. He claims the car drives fine, the A/C works, all is like brand new despite the car having sat idle for 34 years! Apparently he just turned the key and it started right up, running on 34 year old gas! Just like those 34 years of sitting and rotting away never happened. And he comes to the conclusion that all is well and the car drives like new after driving the car four blocks. He now claims the car has 12.2 miles on it.

[Junkman]

If we're to believe this whole ebay scam, we must believe that:

A woman bought the car brand new and never again touched it for 34 years (1977-2011).

The woman dies, has absolutely no living relatives, so the car is sold at auction to owner 2.

Owner 2 bought the car but also does not drive the car, ever. At some point the car comes into Ebay guy's possession.

Ebay guy (owner 3?) obtains the car with a claimed 11.8 original miles on the odometer. He claims the car drives fine, the A/C works, all is like brand new despite the car having sat idle for 34 years! Apparently he just turned the key and it started right up, running on 34 year old gas! Just like those 34 years of sitting and rotting away never happened. And he comes to the conclusion that all is well and the car drives like new after driving the car four blocks. He now claims the car has 12.2 miles on it.

That would be correct, Sir. And never mind the petrol, he did it with 34 year-old brake fluid, coolant, and 1977 air in 34 year-old tyres.

Edited July 23, 2011 by Junkman

[Harry P.]

That would be correct, Sir. And never mind the petrol, he did it with 34 year-old brake fluid, coolant, and 1977 air in 34 year-old tyres.

Exactly!

[Harry P.]

Just checked to see how the bidding was going.

"This listing was ended by the seller because the item is no longer available."

The item is no longer available? Did it disappear?

I just re-read Ebay guy's description. He says when the original owner died, the car was sold at auction. He doesn't say that HE bought it at that auction, but presumably Ebay guy is the one who bought it at the auction, making him the second owner. Maybe.

Still, I don't believe the story.

[Chuck Most]

Just checked to see how the bidding was going.

"This listing was ended by the seller because the item is no longer available."

The item is no longer available? Did it disappear?

I just re-read Ebay guy's description. He says when the original owner died, the car was sold at auction. He doesn't say that HE bought it at that auction, but presumably Ebay guy is the one who bought it at the auction, making him the second owner. Maybe.

Still, I don't believe the story.

Perhaps it was sucked back into the same mysterious time-rift where he found it...

[sak]

In my opinion, nothing cool about a pacer, whether 12 or 12 million miles.

[Junkman]

In my opinion, nothing cool about a pacer, whether 12 or 12 million miles.

That's an entirely different story altogether. My mother once bought a new Levi's Pacer (the one with the denim seat covers), which were sold through the Renault dealer network over here. I think few people realize what utter rubbish the cars really were. They looked spiffy and had quite a novelty factor, but build quality was atrocious and how you can tweak so little power from a 4.2 litre six is beyond me. The clearcoat didn't survive the first winter, the car was tricky to drive on snow, since it strangely had rear wheel drive, and after three winters it was so rusty that it didn't pass another test.

But be it as it may, any old car in time-warp condition makes me sit up and notice. I restored and owned so many cars in my life, that nowadays I'm more fascinated with the condition of an old car, than with what car it actually is. Last year, I came across a 1982 Talbot Solara of all things, which had less than 6000 miles on it and just looked and smelled new. I passed on it simply because I thought it's just a Solara after all, but now I have this strange feeling that I made a mistake.

Edited July 24, 2011 by Junkman