In another thread, people are discussing the worth of an older Camaro that "the pictures look good." I thought I would start a thread so people could tell their story of a real dog that they purchased.

Perro Plato (silver dog) was a 1985 Chevy Blazer that I first saw late one night sitting at a gas station....it was dark but the bright self-serve station lights reflected nicely in the silver paint. The Blazer was a 4 speed 350 with no big dents and a good price of $4300 on the windshield. I called the phone number and the guy came right away. The test drive showed that it was a bit loose, but it was 15 years old....and the new silver paint looked really good. I told the guy I'd take it....he wanted cash and said he had a clear title. We agreed to meet the next day to seal the deal. RULE 1: Never buy a car at night.

The next day, I had cash and he drove up to our meeting place. Funny, the silver paint looked lumpy some places around the wheel wells and rocker panels...could it be rust? I asked where he bought the Blazer....Ohio, he said. We exchanged cash for title and keys and I drove away.

RULE 2: If you buy a car at night, at least have a flashlight. Well, the next morning she sure didnt look as good as she did the night before....in fact, she looked really bad. The rear window motor was bad (the seller told me it didnt work) so I went to the Chevy dealer and bought one. I took the tailgate apart and found the existing motor unplugged...changed out the motor and tried to close the tail gate....oops! The rear floor of the Blazer was rusted away and the hinges connected to air. The only thing holding the tailgate in position was the latch. Then, I did my pre-purchase inspection (two days late). The truck had a fresh paint job over rust....a lot of rust.....too much rust to fix.

I felt screwed. What do you do when you get hosed on a vehicle? Sell it to someone paying less attention that you did. I promptly parked it near the high traffic area with a SI VENDE (For sale) sign in the window. About 1 am on Saturday night, my phone rang. It was a nice police officer that asked "do you own a silver blazer?" Yes "do you know where it is?" Yes "no you dont", he said. Someone stole it and took it off roading in the desert....with the windows down, with lots and lots of cactus in the desert. They must have been jumping the truck and over reved it.....it had a really bad rod knock when i went to the police pound to look at it.

The insurance lady wanted to total it....she said they would reimburse me $5200 for the loss. I told her that I only paid $4300 for it.....she said "shut up and take the check"
Adios, silver dog.