First and foremost; this is the worst car experience I've ever had by far. I've owned about 7 used cars in the past, both European and American and never have I been plagued with so many issues.
I purchased a 1965 Ford Mustang from Dennis, and literally from the first day I bought it, it's had non stop issues. These are the problems in chronological order:
1. It wouldn't start as soon as I got it home. Immediately had to have the Solenoid and Alternator replaced.
2. Soon as I got it back, and tried to drive it to work, it overheated in traffic and wouldn't move. This will be my 2nd time having it towed in less than 5 days. They charged me $150 for a new radiator cap and thermostat, for parts they paid about $10 for. Considering he has his own mechanics on site, I realized how particularly egregious this charge was later on. I also realized this would not be enough to completely fix the problem, and had a new aluminum radiator with custom hoses put in. Even more $$$.
3. Later that night, upon leaving work, I notice the head lights flickering on and off. Had to bring it right back in, in the morning. They thought it was the light switch in the floor. They replaced that, but as soon as i turned the car on, lights still cut on and off. After another day or so, the issue was fixed by replacing the headlight switch.
4. Immediately after getting the car back for these fixes, I noticed the brakes felt spongey. The brakes completely failed on me the next day and I was lucky that I did not crash the car into the curb trying to stop it. This is now the 3rd and 4th time I'm having the car towed in less than 2 weeks time.
5. I already had a new water pump in hand, so I asked that the Mechanic shop next door, install that along with the new power disk brake upgrade kit I paid $1100 for. The back drum brakes ended up having to be repaired/rebuilt along with the front drums I was having replaced with the kit. An unexpected added extra cost. Made 100x worse by the fact that Dennis assured me the brakes were at least 85% and in great condition. The car was in the shop for almost 2 WEEKS on this fix. 3 days for the parts to come in, then the kit Dennis ordered didn't have all the parts, so extra cost + time for brackets and other misc pieces for the brake kit.
6. The mechanic shop ended up finding there was a rusted bolt from the water pump that broke off in the engine block. This one was just the nail in the coffin of an already AWFUL time with this car. I don't know if Dennis' mechanics tried to take it off and broke it or if this is something that happened prior to them buying the car. Either way, this should have been fixed or at least diagnosed before the car was sold. I'm lucky that another mechanic I brought it to, was able to extract the bolt with some welding/taking engine apart, for another $500+ dollars.
7. Upon fixing the broken bolt, the mechanic shop found that the transmission was also leaking, another $200+ dollars to rectify this issue. At this point, I'm so furious, I've just thrown my hands in the air and given up altogether.
I will be selling the car as soon as the registration comes in the mail.
The last month or so that I've had the car, i've only been able to drive it maybe 3 full days without it being towed or taken to the shop. This is extremely frustrating, considering Dennis told me they "completely went through the the whole car" and it was in great condition, ready to go. This was a bold face lie.
Word of advice to any future customers here, DO NOT trust that the car you're getting is sound. I wanted to get a full inspection done and he assured me it wasn't needed. IT IS! It's worth spending the $150-$250 for a classic car inspection, and in retrospect, I could've saved myself so much money. You will end up paying for it on the back end anyway.
The reasons this review is 2 stars and not 1, is that they didn't charge me for the solenoid and alternator fixes. He also kept his word on fixing the broken driver side window regulator, as well as the fuel gauge. They fixed the headlight switch, which was another annoying problem. The driver side door also didn't close well, and they kind of fixed that, but the lock still annoyingly pops out of the car door. They also gave me a fair trade in value on my 99 Porsche Boxster. His assistant Bianca is nice, and the service helped bump this review up 1 star.
This should have been a fun first time classic car experience for me. But, thanks to Dennis, it has been an overall horrible time. It will probably be years before I purchase another classic, if ever again. Future buyers beware! read more