[Wawa]

Okay I got so damn ripped of that I feel I need to share this with you guys!

Let’s make the story short.
Few months ago I was looking for a BMW 3-serie on ebay, found a guy that was selling one but I passed to buy it. Here comes the BIG mistake I did, I contacted this ebayer by the nick name silviogallone aka Convoy Motors LLC.

Anyways we started to email and he explained he repaired salvage BMW and he did excellent repairs that couldn’t be spotted, he also tested the cars for 2 weeks before he sold them, so that everything worked proper.
So we decided on a car and I gave him a deposit that it would be mine. Anyways one day he emails me that the transmission didn’t work as smooth as it should, so he will need to fix it and the price would be higher because of that. I did not want to pay that price so he would now try to sell it to someone else. I tried to get my deposit back but he refused and said that he must sell the car first and then he would pay me back. Weeks were passing by and he is still working on the transmission and he already has a buyer he told me.

As for now I felt I would not see my deposit that was almost $7k!
So a couple months later he emailed me and told me he had a BMW 3-serie for sale that was loaded with options and had only a few miles on it. It was soon to be finished and it was in "excellent condition", that was his own words. I thought maybe I should take it and maybe not lose my deposit as I felt I would if I wouldn’t get anything (stupid me). So I decided to buy that car and he would get the check for the rest when he delivered the car to the freight company.

Now here comes the BIG surprise of my life.
The car arrives I go and pick it up, I notice FLAT TIRE is symbol is on and the Car service Engine also. I thought what kind of dealer sells a car with warning lights on! Anyways I drive home and try not to think much before I inspect it closer.

I get it home and look it up, I got so pissed of that I understood I got ripped BIG TIME by this Silvio Gallone aka Convoy Motors LLC.
I found so many errors that I couldnt belive there would be someone out there that would sell a car for that price in this condition, it looked as it was repaired by a 5 year old kid. The front bumper and hood was not aligned, could find cracks in paint and see the filler underneath the paint, horrible look! Also one side, both doors were not aligned at all, really looked like sheit. The best of all was the fender were it seemed to been hit, that was really bad repaired with filler that it looked like a kid just thrown some filler balls on the car and no paint after it (I got picture to show you guys).

It doesn’t stop here, no no, I try out some stuff in the car to see if they work, I try the washer and nothing happens, after I step out of the car I finally see where everything goes, everything pours out on the floor by the wheel, NICE! Oh I hit the horn, doesn’t work?! wtf...
Next day I demount the bumper and fender etc and find out that the washing system didn’t have 2 hoses so it was not even connected. And behind the bumper I find that there are only cables and no damn horns installed, I buy and install them and still don’t work, after a few hours I find a broken cable, wow!

Okay this will never stop guys but let me tell you this one too, when I get the car up on the lifts I get another surprise, the whole damn plastic cover that covers the car from under is all missing! So I go and buy all the plastic covers from the rear to the front and when installing them I find out that I even missing a frame that goes from one wheel to the other that stabilize the car and that I need it to attach the plastic!

This story goes on...

So anyways I emailed this Silvio Gallone and tell him what is up, how come he screwed me over like this? I get an email back like 3 weeks later and this is his words "I know the car left in a big rush but still we have no excuses to have delivered a car that needed finishing and details to be done."
Is this guy a joke or what, it left in a rush? What dealer would send a car in this shape, big scammer!

In the last email he wrote "I would like to straight things up with the BMW" after I emailed him there is no more response at all.
Anyways I spent like $4k on parts and $2k on labor to get the car fixed proper, and not even mentioning how much time I had to spend by running around to get everything done.

So I just warn you guys for this dealership or whatever it should be called CONVOY MOTORS LLC aka Silvio Gallone = BIG ASSHOLE!

[jeremicium]

Probably wise to avoide buying a car from ebay...even wiser to avoid giving money to someone for a car that you haven't seen. Sorry you got taken...look at this as a lesson on being an informed consumer.

[Chriztofor]

Wow, Germans must be gullible! 1st mistake: you bought a 3 series on eBay 2) you knew the guy sold salvaged vehicles that was a big red flag to stay away. I hope you learned a lesson.

[EYE4SPEED]

Lesson learned: you get what you pay for. For a car that is over a few grand, it doesn't hurt to buy a plane ticket and do a pre-purchase inspection. At minimum, you should have an independent local forum member do a visual. I flew to NY to buy one of my cars and drove it back. Another time, I had a local member do a visual inspection at the dealer - guy found damage underneath the car that was never pictured.

I hope you get everything worked out.

[John 070]

Here's another lesson: When I was 19, I bought a used Volvo and on my way home the head gaskets (note plural, it was a V6 264) blew. Unlike all the other guys from prep schools whose mommy and daddys bought them BMWs and Porsches and wrote blank checks, my dad told me junk that car and accept that you got taken. You had to have a Volvo and that's why you're in the predicament that you're in. That's how my folks were, and sometimes, it's a harsh response like that builds character (how cliche).

I sued the guy in small claims, and guess what? I lost.

[Casca]

Did you at least see detailed pictures of the car before purchase? Was everything paid through ebay via paypal? It is always best to see in person, but ebay does have protection for you if you worked through them. If you sent him money outside of the auction, then you are SoL.


I bought a car sight unseen through ebay before. Lots and lots of detailed pictures. Also had the option to hire a mechanic of your choosing local to the area the car is in to go inspect it. You win the bid and pay $500 usually, then the rest within a week. I flew down to drive the car back and it was as advertised. If it wasn't, I could refuse it and been out a plane ticket and maybe the $500 (and a bad review) depending on ebay.

Lol at the "excellent repairs that couldn’t be spotted". I don't do autobody repairs, but am pretty sure I could do a better job then that while drunk.

[fdriller9]

eBay......

[CINCYFAN]

I'm sorry to read about your experience but I think most people on this forum would have said to never buy a car with a salvage title. I checked out the dealer's website and that's about all they sell.

[chazzz]

Wawa, Are you in Germany? Why did you buy a Bimmer from silviogallone (aka Convoy Motors LLC) which is located in San Diego, California? You could have bought a Bimmer in Germany, there's plenty of them in your country.

[mricorp]

I have to disagree with the people saying don't buy cars on ebay. There are a lot of good ebay'ers out there and yes there are some bad ones as well. I have sold quite a few cars on ebay and purchased a few as well.

It's all about being smart and looking for the signs of a bad deal or a bad seller. In my opinion (and no offense to the originator of this thread) there were a lot of warnings that this buyer should have picked up on early in the transaction.

[positiveions]

dude, why do you guys do that? why do you purchase a car on Ebay and the seller is like miles and miles away. I don't care how much thousands of dollars cheaper, I wouldn't pay a dime, not even a deposit 'til i see, drive, and take a look at the records of the car. It is not worth the headache and the pain.

[Hedges]

I just read this, "Few months ago I was looking for a BMW 3-serie on ebay," and I already knew what was about to come of it!

[MapoftheEarth335i]

I had a similar experience a while back on a ebay car buy. It was a great deal on a STS that I knew I could turn around and sell with a profit when I got tired of it. The engine blew on the STS the same day I received it. I threatened seller with Ebay's protection clause for autos sales and the outcome was the seller forked over 9k to get the Northstar engine replaced at a dealership. After I got the new engine I sold it and never looked back. Also I paid via credit card for protection. Never pay with check for that type of transaction, at least Paypal.

[singhbmw23]

A 7000 dollar deposit????? Used dealers are satisfied with a 500 dollar deposit you sent this guy 7k.

[MediaArtist]

Credit card companies will let you pay 9k for a car purchase?

[D.B.S]

Originally Posted by MediaArtist

Credit card companies will let you pay 9k for a car purchase?

I bought my first car with a credit card... Granted it was only 7k, but I had a 10k limit on my credit card..

As for the OP... I'm sorry you got jerked, but I hope you learned a lesson... If you can't visually inspect something before buying it, it may not be worth your time... Or you should have contacted a local member on here, to see if they could have checked it out for you before hand...

[Alexander]

Ouch.

[oomikeyboy]

Sorry to hear. This is one of the reasons why i won't ever buy used/pre-owned. Normally if you find a deal thats too good to be true, it is.

[bsamoul]

Well that's no bueno!!

[e90David335i]

Sorry OP. There were red flags all over the place.
Common sense should have entered the equation at some point.

Regardless, you did get fucked.
Hopefully no more future issues.

[andrewket]

Sorry to hear that you got ripped off, but as others have stated you had a bunch of warning signs. I've successfully bought and sold a few cars on ebay. Ebay itself isn't the problem. There are people out there who want to rip you off, and ebay just makes it a bit easier. Look at the feedback of the person. Have the car inspected, either by a 3rd party or yourself. Several of the cars I've sold have been to people in different states, and they flew here to buy the car. I picked them up the airport, took them to the car, they got to see it, drive it, etc., and then handed me a certified check. I call the bank to insure its valid, and the deal is done.

Did you check the better business bureau for any complaints on this "dealer"?

Andrew

[Lexi]

why would u buy from a salvage dealer????

I dunno how much you spent, but I wouldn't even pay 5000 for that junk.

But anyway good luck with repairs