One Man's Treasure (may be another mans JUNK!)

[bigvin]

Just a tad bit of (I should have known better),...

So I have my "vintage" for sale on a couple of sites,....
and after today,... I should re post it as Better Than New (Mint)
LOL!

I was looking for a "Larger" Vintage to haul my arse around for many years to come,..
and of course at a Reasonable price.
Funny what people think a reasonable price and other things are,... isn't it?

I saw a sled on Vintage Sleds very similar to mine for $1600 bucks!!!
It WAS nice and totally re-conditioned with a matching pull behind (cute),...
Then I saw one that looked like it fell from an airplane and even said it needed
to be gone through,... for yet $400!!

Long story longer,...

I saw one that peaked my interest (just like the very first sled I took a loan out to buy back in 1980)
The pictures were kinda far away but it looked sweet. Made contact with owner,... and asked the usual
questions when inquiring about one,... and He basically said,... If you put some WAX on her,... she would
be BETTER than MINT!
Wow! Awesome!
So I hooked up the trailer and headed South of GB (all the way,... re-living those '80's memories!)
and when I pulled up,....
Well,... lets say there was a REASON the photo's were taken a bit farther away!
But OK,... lets look closer!
Met the guy (nice guy,..) and points out,...Here she is! Ain't she a beaut!!!???!!!
Well,...
I said "I thought you said it was MINT",... Look at the seat,... staple are out and it is HANGING there?
"OH,.. I guess I didn't NOTICE that,..." Lets start it up! Hmmmm seems to be only running on ONE cylinder?
We'll just change the plugs,.... Hmmmmm,.......Something seems,....Hmmmmm?
Take her for a spin an CLEAN her out!! glugggg Blluh,....Bluh,..... wow,...runs like crap! 800 actual miles???
NO SALE

I said Dude? You originally wanted 800 bucks? I talked ya down 200 on the phone,.... This thing isn't going to bring you
200 bucks!
"Really? he says,...well,.. I guess don't know much about these things,... sorry for misleading you" UGH!

So since I am in the area,.... I call on another that looked interesting (first one was a Polaris) (this one a Kawasaki),..
We had them as a kid also,... nice sleds,....
Picture looked OK so I said to myself,... lets check her out!
Well,... If they had snowmobile demo derby's It might be nice,... The engine DID run sweet,....
But DUDE????
You want HOW MUCH????

UGH!

Interesting day.

Good thing I describe things the WAY THEY ARE!!!

Pull into the yard,.. put trailer back,.. and go into the garage to point my tractor in the right
direction for some nice snowblowing (finally) Later,.... and look at my 71 sitting there,.....
Saying to myself,...these people would ask at least a Grand or more for THAT beauty! What the heck?

Good thing they weren't fixing anyone up on a DATE!!!!
Lipstick on a PIG is still a PIG!

Oh well,...interesting day off anyway! LOL!

Note to "some" ding a lings,...

MINT= Showroom floor condition
Excellent= Just bought and rode a couple times condition
Very Good= Wow! This is really cool,.. with just a "little" touch, she'll be like new
Good / Nice= Will definitely do the trick,... trail ready,... cosmetically ok,...
Fair / OK= Good runner,...nothing to write home about,..

Could use a motor, new seat, suspension, cogs,...track,...hood re-fiberglassed and painted,..ect.,..
IS NOT A REAL GOOD CONDITIONED SLED!!!!!

Always something,....
(just sayin')

NICE IS NICE
JUNK IS JUNK

Be honest out there!

Think * Snow!

 

[wirev]

Loved the story.

 

[lenny]

Great write up as usual. Hope to see you at our vintage ride!

 

[skiroule]

Funny story but pretty much on the mark. I think a rule of thumb on photos is that a good share of the vintage machines look twice as good as they really are and the descriptions are often unreliable. I bought a sled from a fellow that advertised it as "correctly stored". I would hate to see his "incorrectly stored" sleds. Even so, if you beat the bushes enough you do run across a good deal now and then and a seller that doesn't sugar coat it. The seller of the last sled I bought took photos of every bad spot on the sled - very helpful in assessing the true condition.

Don't give up the fight Vin. There's one out there with your name on it.

 

[renegade600]

Been there, done that many times over the years with my Vintage obsession...... I'm glad I'm not as crazy as i used to be, and more into selling now than buying....

 

[scoot]

Been there too. I've pulled up to a seller's house and just kept on driving after seeing a not so "mint" sled from a distance. You can only ask so many questions over the phone. And I've learned, if a pic was taken outside, surrounded by weeds, with a sun faded tarp in the background, that means "stored inside" to some people.

 

[bearrassler]

Great story Bigvin, one pattern that I found taking trade ins on different items over the years was when someone says that the item is perfect or in mint or showroom condition watch out. If they say it is nice but has a small scratch or blemish here or there it is exactly as they say. Years ago, before cell phones, they would sometimes bring a picture of the boat that they wanted to trade in, I would have to look at other things in the picture to figure out how old it was. Sometimes the picture was taken 10 years ago and the condition had changed.

 

[snobuilder]

Look at all of the CL auto/truck ads that show you the back seat is in pristine condition.....LOL