How would you approach a dealer who misrepresented a vehicle you bought from him..Here goes,i contacted the previous owner of a car i bought thru a dealer.The owner informed me he sold the car thru e-bay as a Malibu with SS badging(read clone).Dealer then sold it to me as an SS and i have docs to prove it i.e.bill of sale/buyers guide.how would you guys approach this?I know i should have done my research BUT i was almost a 1000miles from home and could not do so in the time alloted to me..Thank you..

Do it through a lawyer. Although if your talking about your "U" code car, it's probably worth as much or more as a non-SS BB car.

Honestly unless you have valid proof the dealer knew he was scamming you, I'd let this go and chalk this up as a lesson learned.

Those classic car dealers have no idea of what they're selling. Because someone stuck SS badges on it they "assume" it's an SS. Hell you could probably even put SS badges on a '78 Malibu and they'd actually believe it was an SS. They're only in the buisness of buying and selling cars to make a profit and I doubt they actually research what they sell.

I don't know about the one you bought from but there's one near where I live that says up front "they can't verify if it's a true SS/Yenko/GT-350/Baldwin Motion...."....but they're willing to let you look at cowl tags, vin plates and such in hopes maybe YOU as the customer might know what you're looking at.....

If I may ask how much did you pay for the car? What kind of condition is this car in? Perhaps you paid accordingly for a nice Malibu when you thought you were getting the deal of the century buying a "supposid SS"?

Call a lawyer....
In most states those in a proffesion (ie dealer) can not claim ignorance...
It is considered their DUTY to know about the products they are selling and the validity of their claims....

Do it though a lawyer. Although if your talking about your "U" code car, it's probably worth as much or more as a non-SS BB car.
Interesting.Yes i am talking about my U code.Could you pls clarify what you mean by "its worth as much or more as a non-SS BB car?".
Honestly unless you have valid proof the dealer knew he was scamming you, I'd let this go and chalk this up as a lesson learned.

Those classic car dealers have no idea of what they're selling. Because someone stuck SS badges on it they "assume" it's an SS. Hell you could probably even put SS badges on a '78 Malibu and they'd actually believe it was an SS. They're only in the buisness of buying and selling cars to make a profit and I doubt they actually research what they sell.

I don't know about the one you bought from but there's one near where I live that says up front "they can't verify if it's a true SS/Yenko/GT-350/Baldwin Motion...."....but they're willing to let you look at cowl tags, vin plates and such in hopes maybe YOU as the customer might know what you're looking at.....

If I may ask how much did you pay for the car? What kind of condition is this car in? Perhaps you paid accordingly for a nice Malibu when you thought you were getting the deal of the century buying a "supposid SS"?
Car is VERY sound both mechanic/body wise..I paid 13.5K with matching to vin 402/TH400 with 85k on the clock.Dealer didnt say he couldnt verify it was true SS,he CLAIMED it was.Thing is the person who sold it to the dealer told me they made the disclosure on the ebay listing(thats where the dealer bought it off of) that the car was a clone..So its not as if the Dealer didnt know it!!

There were few non SS bb cars built....so your car is a rare machine. Since your car is #'s matching with the U makes it rare in itself. Id be interested to see how many non SS BB cars were built. I'll research when I gwet home cause now you got ME wondering.

^^^Much obliged..

I dont know why anyone would give a "professional" salesman a pass when it comes to "knowing" what they have. These guys have been in business long enough and it is too easy to verify if a vehicle is an SS or not. I also know that you cannot sell items in California on false pretenses. If they gentleman who sold them the car; ebay or not, told him that the car was not an SS they must then disclose that to the particular purchaser. And also their "ignorance" by allowing you to view the cowl tag is unacceptable. Hit em up with a lawyer.

Car is VERY sound both mechanic/body wise..I paid 13.5K with matching to vin 402/TH400 with 85k on the clock.Dealer didnt say he couldnt verify it was true SS,he CLAIMED it was.Thing is the person who sold it to the dealer told me they made the disclosure on the ebay listing(thats where the dealer bought it off of) that the car was a clone..So its not as if the Dealer didnt know it!!

Sounds like you got a really good deal, SS or not....

Is the guy who sold to you the very same guy that bought the car? Or was it a different guy? Can you prove this? Can you prove that he purposly jipped you?

So basicly all car salesmen in the classic car auto sales industry are supposed to know every last thing there is to know about a classic their selling? Mechanical stuff I can see.....but options I don't get....

golly that sounds like a nice car, and a pretty decent price. Although if the dealer sold it as an SS and the guy who sold it to him sold it as a "clone" than it's clear the guy knew it wasn't a real SS. However, sicne you seem to have gotten a good deal anyway I'd just let it go.

Just thinking out loud here but it would seem to me that you would need to think about how much too much you might have paid and how much it will cost to try to recover the difference.

Most dealers are pretty carefull to protect themselves against litigation and you would have to prove that he knowingly overcharged you by intentional misrepresentation and probably somehow prove by how much also.

As much as I'd like to see everyone that got screwed by an unscrupulous dealer spend $10,000.00 to get back $2,000.00 just to teach them a lesson, I doubt that very many people would be willing to do it.

Maybe a simple threat letter from a good attorney might do it, who knows.

i think you fell into a deal, even though it's not an ss, it's just as desirable to hard core car guys, and proving the car isn't worth as much as an ss isn't really relevant, there are plain jane malibu 350's going for the price you paid for a rare model. if i was you, i'd start pulling the ss badges, and start getting the car, set more to it's original condition.

let me put it this way, would you be upset if your z28, actually ended up being a copo or yenko? because the dealer clearly didn't know what he had (no matter how he presented it) you are the recipetent of a rare, and desirable jewel. don't waste your time on trying to bag the idiot, spend your time trying to confirm and document your ride. personally if i found out my ride was a #'s matching u-code, you couldn't wipe the smile from my face...by the way, have there been pics of this ride up? did i miss them? could you post a few pics?

I'm thinking like 1BLACKHARLEY,

I would return the car to original, removing the SS emblems.
Original rare big block Chevelle = investment!

Forget the shady dealer and the past. I wouldn't waste your valuable time, energy or money on that shady dealer. Used car salesmen will always be just that. If you really got screwed, it would be different. It sounds as if you may have made out on this deal.

Sounds like you have a bright future with your new gem!

We want PICTURES!

Most sales agreements have enough loopholes and disclaimers in them to CYA of the sleasest salesman!

Interesting.Yes i am talking about my U code.Could you pls clarify what you mean by "its worth as much or more as a non-SS BB car?".

Car is VERY sound both mechanic/body wise..I paid 13.5K with matching to vin 402/TH400 with 85k on the clock.Dealer didnt say he couldnt verify it was true SS,he CLAIMED it was.Thing is the person who sold it to the dealer told me they made the disclosure on the ebay listing(thats where the dealer bought it off of) that the car was a clone..So its not as if the Dealer didnt know it!!

This BB Malibu site might be of interest to you.

http://www.malibu400.com/

This BB Malibu site might be of interest to you.

http://www.malibu400.com/
I just remembered that site.....some good info there & the creator of the site is a member here named RAINER. hopefully he can help.

Wow..i dont know what to say.here are some pics
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/nounou1/DSCF0851-1.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/nounou1/DSCF0962.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/nounou1/DSCF0895.jpg
i have to learn zoom feature but it is there..
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/nounou1/DSCF0938-1.jpg
this is better...
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/nounou1/DSCF0975.jpg
..thing that gets me is hood is domed(not original and i can tell its was originally red from paint peeling on sides)but why didnt they pin it?also car has a 10 bolt which i,m told from another post that could have been possible if car was a late build72??I have to doc. rear axle.It doesnt have F41 suspension and front bar is the smaller one 15/16".SS fender badges are not at the same location on both fenders(i measured).But they did go to great lenghts to clone it.i.e.grill,SS bumper pad,door panels,5 spoke rims(though trunk tire is 14"),4 spoke steering wheel and 3pod gauge cluster with lights.I dont know what i have but my DAD(great guy:waving: )and i plan on working on it this weekend.If we remove the splash shield on a fender and look from the inside might there be signs that a Mailbu400 emblem was once attached to it and had the holes filled with plastic?does that make sense?thanxs again guys.sorry for long post btw..

Enjoy your car. Don't pay a dime to any lawyer over this.

As is where is.:D

Well I think its a bad idea to just let it go. There may not be a need to go after him. The problem here is. If you got decieved. What other customers out there had this happen to them and still believe the vehicle they bought from this place still think thier clone is real?

In my opinion, something needs to be done about dealers that are dishonest. I have never been a fan of buying a classic car from a dealer in the first place but thats just me personally.

Man that's a nice looking ride.....as long as it's as solid as it looks I'd say you paid a very reasonable price.

The rear you have looks like an 8.2. The later 10 bolts used were 8.5's.

I see you are sporting the old school glasspacks.

Not sure why the hood didn't have the lock pins....I'd like to know that one also.

The hood must be off an earlier year car 70,71 because alllllll 72 SS hoods had hood pins

maybe the salesman/dealer thought it was a real ss.
1. the badges
2. matching numbers bb

The hood must be off an earlier year car 70,71 because alllllll 72 SS hoods had hood pins

So 70 and 71 don't come with hood pins?

I was thinking maybe it was an aftermarket hood not drilled for the pins....

btw, use the macro features when doing close up shots. if you can use a tri-pod or put the camera down on something stable

So 70 and 71 don't come with hood pins?

I was thinking maybe it was an aftermarket hood not drilled for the pins....
Only with ZL2 option

:confused: I thought it was only the early 70 cars that didn't get hood pins. Which meant late 70 and all 71 - 72 with dome or cowl hoods got them.

:confused: I thought it was only the early 70 cars that didn't get hood pins. Which meant late 70 and all 71 - 72 with dome or cowl hoods got them.
don't think ALL 71's had them. I've seen 71H/C's that didn't but 72's do.

I found this in the Restoration Shop. It's at the end of the last paragraph for 1970.

"All of the '70-'72 SS cars came with hood pins, except for some of the early '70 models (those built around April of 1970 or earlier) that were not ordered with Cowl Induction."

http://www.chevelles.com/shop/ss_ident.html#70

How cool is this??:thumbsup:
http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/10/30/392-hemi-dodge-challenger-super-stock-concept/

Wow! Thats nice!

that hood scoop and paint scheme are hideous

*UPDATE*..my car has been tagged(vin swap):( :mad: ..Sooooooo my question is..Would you pursue this thru legal avenues?Remember,the dealer is no longer in business. p.s.i,m sorry to resurrect this thread(since i made this disclosure on another)but i,d like to know what you guys now think?

You could loose the entire car.
My family had 3 car lots at one time in the past bought 6 cars at the car auction sold them then a Marshall came around and took the cars from the owners and we had to replace them thank goodness the auction had insurance.

Yea hood scoop sucks. Looks pretty mean though. I prefer solid paint schemes.

I am picturing it decorated in a Sox & Martin scheme.

I am picturing it decorated in a Sox & Martin scheme.
I'm thinking since it's a Dodge, it should be a Dick Landy theme, or maybe Rod Shop.

Hideous???? Sucks???? Maybe.
But a Mopar with a 392 HEMI? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regardless of the name, I STILL think that Ford has hit a home run with their retro Mustang look------------and I understand performance options to back it up are coming.
It looks as if Mopar is serious about getting into that area of the market.
And where is GM? Maybe they're serious, maybe they're not. WHATEVER they're doing, I see it as a piggyback effort rather than being the leader that they SHOULD be!!!!! Dropping the Camaro/Firebird lines was dumb as a rock and twice as stupid to begin with! Where would they be if they had kept those cars and expanded with them. Now they have to play catch up ball!!!!!!!!!
I've been saying for quite some time, and my viewpoint continues to be reinforced, GM has just flat lost it! Their backward trend began in 1973 (although you could see it coming in 71) and continued through the 80s/early-90s. By the mid 90s, they seemed to be reversing the trend and making some positive headway-------------------but now I think that headway is dropping off quickly. They seem so obcessed with the godalmighty $ and keeping the stockholders happy, that they can't get a grip on being the industry leader.
A couple of weeks ago, I read that import car sales accounted for 51% of ALL cars sold in the U.S. this year!!!!!!! There is a message there!

If the vin tag has been swapped, then the big question is "who did it"?

Something tells me it was most likely already swapped before the dealer got ahold of it....not saying they couldn't have done it themselves.

Also how did you determine it was swapped? Non factory rivets? Find the vin elsewhere on the car?