unixadm
05-23-2004, 05:55 PM
I'm a new member here and I just found out something pretty funny. See, I've only owned one previous Ford product and that was a 99 CVPI. It was slow, but a good solid reliable car. It was a former Renton Washington patrol car, dark blue. I cleaned it up, drove it for about 9 months and sold it and made about $1000. So that worked out well.
Fast forward to earlier this month. My dad wants to buy my '01 Tundra Limited 4x4 from me. So I started looking for another car and I didn't want anything too fancy because a big car payment isn't the way to go for me. So I located a very nice, low mile '03 CVPI, never used for police service on Ebay. I talked with the seller and everything seemed to be in order. Phone conversations, email, etc. I asked all the questions and got all the answers. So I'm the high bidder on this 10 day auction for about 5 days. 15 hours before it's due to close, I get an email to call him. The car is at 15,650 or so on Ebay and I had bid up to $16,500. I figured maybe he wanted to end the auction to get the ball rolling. However he tells me - Sorry David, but I'm going to sell the car to a guy who's closer on Ebay so that you don't have to worry about shipping the car. I'm like WTF? Mean while, he cancelled my bids off (I have 100% positive feedback) and now this other guy who was bidding against me is the high bidder.
I was pretty pi$$ed off and dissapointed because I wanted the car. I spent a lot of time doing shipping quotes, talking with the guy, etc. Then to be less than a day away from the auction ending to have it yanked out from under you really ticked me off. But hey - everything happens for a reason right? So the car sells for $15,450 the next morning. :mad2:
Upset - I begin looking for another '03 but I can't find anything that looks good. My buddy at work says, why not try that 'Mercury' that seems a lot like you old Impala SS? I said - Oh yeah, the Marauder. I was really interested in the car when it came out - however the sticker was a bit high. But low and behold I found several on Auto Trader for 22-23k with under 15k miles and finally found the car I ended up buying here on the forums with 1975 miles on it for ~21k. To me, the $5-6k over what the CVPI would have cost me was worth it as I probably would have spent 2-3k just making the CVPI better.
So I buy the Maruader (well we're doing the paper work now) and I decided today to do a search on Ebay to see if any other CVPI's had popped up. You know - what if I didn't buy the Marauder what would I have found?
Low and behold the '03 CVPI I was going to win is back on Ebay! Turns out the guy who was 'closer' didn't have the funds because his wife said NO 2 hours after the auction. Long story short, deadbeat bidder. Here I am sitting with a check in my hand and this guy had nothing. So it's been relisted!
The really funny part is that at the time when I told my friends and work buddies what had happened with that CVPI, they all thought it was BS. They all knew I really wanted that CVPI - and when I told them the guy cancelled my bids they couldn't believe it. They all hoped and prayed the 'new' buyer wouldn't come through and I figured - yeah right. But it did happen and that is how I became an '03 Marauder owner. LOL
Long story short I'm glad I'm getting the Marauder. I think I'll have a lot more fun with it - but there is something to be said with a CVPI with dual spots clearing traffic on the freeway too. That '99 got me to work faster than anything else I've ever driven! :D
Fast forward to earlier this month. My dad wants to buy my '01 Tundra Limited 4x4 from me. So I started looking for another car and I didn't want anything too fancy because a big car payment isn't the way to go for me. So I located a very nice, low mile '03 CVPI, never used for police service on Ebay. I talked with the seller and everything seemed to be in order. Phone conversations, email, etc. I asked all the questions and got all the answers. So I'm the high bidder on this 10 day auction for about 5 days. 15 hours before it's due to close, I get an email to call him. The car is at 15,650 or so on Ebay and I had bid up to $16,500. I figured maybe he wanted to end the auction to get the ball rolling. However he tells me - Sorry David, but I'm going to sell the car to a guy who's closer on Ebay so that you don't have to worry about shipping the car. I'm like WTF? Mean while, he cancelled my bids off (I have 100% positive feedback) and now this other guy who was bidding against me is the high bidder.
I was pretty pi$$ed off and dissapointed because I wanted the car. I spent a lot of time doing shipping quotes, talking with the guy, etc. Then to be less than a day away from the auction ending to have it yanked out from under you really ticked me off. But hey - everything happens for a reason right? So the car sells for $15,450 the next morning. :mad2:
Upset - I begin looking for another '03 but I can't find anything that looks good. My buddy at work says, why not try that 'Mercury' that seems a lot like you old Impala SS? I said - Oh yeah, the Marauder. I was really interested in the car when it came out - however the sticker was a bit high. But low and behold I found several on Auto Trader for 22-23k with under 15k miles and finally found the car I ended up buying here on the forums with 1975 miles on it for ~21k. To me, the $5-6k over what the CVPI would have cost me was worth it as I probably would have spent 2-3k just making the CVPI better.
So I buy the Maruader (well we're doing the paper work now) and I decided today to do a search on Ebay to see if any other CVPI's had popped up. You know - what if I didn't buy the Marauder what would I have found?
Low and behold the '03 CVPI I was going to win is back on Ebay! Turns out the guy who was 'closer' didn't have the funds because his wife said NO 2 hours after the auction. Long story short, deadbeat bidder. Here I am sitting with a check in my hand and this guy had nothing. So it's been relisted!
The really funny part is that at the time when I told my friends and work buddies what had happened with that CVPI, they all thought it was BS. They all knew I really wanted that CVPI - and when I told them the guy cancelled my bids they couldn't believe it. They all hoped and prayed the 'new' buyer wouldn't come through and I figured - yeah right. But it did happen and that is how I became an '03 Marauder owner. LOL
Long story short I'm glad I'm getting the Marauder. I think I'll have a lot more fun with it - but there is something to be said with a CVPI with dual spots clearing traffic on the freeway too. That '99 got me to work faster than anything else I've ever driven! :D