Buyer beware

[Peter Easton]

Sorry if this is a bit long winded, but I feel that this is the only way to convey what happened to me regarding my very first purchase of a Mustang & hopefully, this won't happen to anyone else.

Late last year I realised a lifelong dream of owning a classic Mustang. My car was imported through some people in Queensland Australia who specialise in finding & bringing cars out from the U.S. I rang them through the second half of last year & told them what I wanted & over a period of time they provided me with details of cars from different sellers in the U.S. One of these was a man by the name of Ron Miller from California (some of you may be familiar with him, he trades under the name of RPM Ron Miller Mustangs) who sent me photos of a few Mustangs he had for sale. I was interested in a nice looking black '66 convertible he had & in his blurb about the car, he mentioned that it had power disc brakes & was a rust free California car & after phoning him a couple of times & conferring with the agents , I placed a small deposit to secure it. Just to help assure me, Mr Miller sent me an email describing his many years of selling Mustangs all over the world (including many to Australia), how trustworthy he was & how he was an expert in these types of cars. I was going to get the car independently inspected but after talking to him & reading this email I decided to put my trust in him. He also told me the car had Kelsey Hayes disc brakes & had been restored by a buddy of his & had new floors put in, was totally rust free but had a few minor things to be done to finish it off which I did not mind doing as I wanted a bit of a project car. He also promised me that the car would not have any nasty surprises.

When the car arrived at the end of November last year it was sent to some people near where I live for the roadworthy & registration plus the fitting of a few goodies that I had sent over with the car. The morning after it had arrived at their premises I got a phone call urging me to come over & see the car as it had quite a few issues. When I got there, the car was up on a hoist with the wheels pulled off & the first thing I noticed was that it had 4 wheel drum brakes. Then the people started pointing out all of the rust in various places, plus many other things that were not evident in the many (small) photos that were sent to me my Mr Miller. I went home totally gutted & rang him & told him about what I had just seen. He virtually just laughed it off & tried to blame me for not looking at the pictures he sent a bit better. Incidentally, the brakes were not visible in the photos because of the styled steel GT wheels that were on the car. I then threatened to expose him on Facebook & any other social media if he did not pay me back some form of compensation to help with repairs to the car. I made the decision to pull the car apart so we could rectify the many problems & quite frankly, the more we looked, the more we found.

Over the next 6 months I stayed in constant contact with Mr Miller, sending him many photos of the rust affected areas we uncovered, plus all of the other things that he should have picked up on & he promised me that he would refund me some money (the amount he did not disclose) as long as I did not go public with what he did to me. He kept stringing me along giving me many excuses why he had not yet done his proposal & I gave him an ultimatum that if nothing was done my the end of May this year I would start exposing him.

The car has undergone a total rebuild & is just about ready to hit the road. The whole process has stretched me emotionally & financially but I have a "lets turn a lemon into lemonade attitude".
I hope that anyone who has aspirations of buying their first Mustang can learn a bit from this. Always, always, always get an independent inspection & if the seller says "trust me", do not trust them. Spend the money & go look at the car yourself & if you are not sure what to look for, take someone who knows something about these cars with you. It could save you a lot of heartache & a lot of money.

As far as Mr Miller is concerned, he is dishonest & certainly not the Mustang expert he claims to be. Had he even bothered to get a flashlight & shone it underneath the car he would have easily seen the problem areas including the front drum brakes. He falsely advertised the car & I believe that he knew all along what the car was really like & also took advantage that I was a first time Mustang buyer. Anyway, lesson learned but I now know every inch of this car. I am looking forward to getting it on the road & start enjoying it.

After posting this story on the Mustang Owners Cub of Australia website, quite a few other people responded who were also "touched"by Mr Miller. Seems he has quite a bad reputation over here!

 

[KBMWRS]

Well sorry for your troubles but it sounds like you didn’t do your homework. Stating that it has drum brakes and you only saw pics of the wheels. It had new floors but had no rust issues. New floors scream rust issues. And you last statement that the MCoA knows of this guy being unscrupulous. I’m guessing you didn’t check with them first.
It’s all a learning process. We see that classic and we get the “I gotta have it” itis.
I too bought my ’67 and then learned that all the mechanicals were slapped together. Over the years I’ve fixed it all….its mine to fix right now. I know how you feel but sometimes we have to look at what we did wrong first.
I hope others learn from your experience but this has been going on for years…

 

[Peter Easton]

If I could turn back the clock I would have done things entirely different but we all know what they say about hindsight. The fact is though, Mr Miller had the car advertised stating that it had power disc brakes. During one of our many phone calls he even assured me that it had Kelsey Hayes front disc brakes & that the car had undergone restoration by a buddy of his & gave me the distinct impression that any rust issues had been dealt with. The bottom line is, he could have dealt with this matter in a much better way rather than the dishonest path he ultimately chose. Just proves he is nothing short of an idiot & a crook!

 

[kb3]

I have no room in my life for crooks. It is too bad you didn't find us sooner as anyone of us here would have been happy to take a look at the car for you. I appreciate you sharing the story and giving us a head's up about this guy. I truly believe in the power of the internet when it comes to shutting guys like this down. I am sorry you have had to deal with this, but in the end you should end up with a great car.

 

[Peter Easton]

Thanks kb3. The car arrived home last weekend & I just have to finish off fitting it out & putting the top back on. It turned out absolutely beautiful & every bit of rust has been dealt with & the body is laser straight. I will post some pics when it is completed. As for Mr Miller, the word is getting around & Kharma is a wonderful thing.

 

[KBMWRS]

The things I would like to do to scammers who prey on over seas sales...grrrr....but noting them here would only be evidence against me later....hehehe

Peter....you now like me have YOUR car in your hands and corrected the way you want. Good on ya.

 

[Peter Easton]

Here is Mr Millers response when I was going to back out of the deal last year...
From: Ron Miller <rpmron@gmail.com>

Subject: 1966 Mustang Convertible purchase reply

Date: 26 August 2014 16:35:19 AEST

To: Peter Easton <kanyini12@bigpond.com.au>

Cc: "Stephen & Jennifer Struyf AOCS" <adultsonlycarshop@bigpond.com>



Hi Peter,



I can fully understand your reluctance and your second thoughts... buying for the first time a car out of the country can be very scary...especially if someone tried to scare you out of it.

I have no doubt that you can find people that can tell you horror stories about buying cars from out of the country without physically seeing them or having an independent inspector checking the car first. I have a few more stories that I could add to whatever you have heard!



This is why it is so important to deal with trustworthy people with whom you develop trust over the years like I have with Steve who was very satisfied upon reception of his cars.





You don’t know me but my business is based on word of mouth of satisfied customers over the years. It is based on trust in my integrity that I send parts and cars all over the world since 1977. France, Germany, New Zealand, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Chile, Canada, England, Japan and naturally quite a few to Australia.



All my out of country customers make their decisions based ONLY on the huge amount of pictures that I usually take, and the fact that I am an expert on Mustangs. I used to own a Ford only Speed Shop for 32 years. They also trust me to handle all their financial transactions, and afterward bring the car myself to the shipper of their choice. I also always take new pictures upon drop off at the shipper for insurance purposes.


Furthermore, a lot of my out of country customers trust me enough to send me to inspect cars that they find themselves and even give me the power of decision to negotiate and leave deposits on their behalf.


Now, in relation to the second part of your email, your “hope that your withdrawal will not cause too much trouble”... I am sorry to say, but this is definitely not the case.

1. 1. In relation with the owner of the car, it will creates a real hardship for him because he already left a cash (non-refundable) deposit on another car based on my written contract that he would receive the remaining of the cash this week for his convertible.

2. 2. The owner is a good customer of mine and this is the first time that a situation like this has occurred. It will seriously negatively affect my future professional relationship with him.

3. 3. It will also have negative consequences on my future professional relationship with Steve.

4.4. No need to mention, about my time invested in making this deal happen as well as investigating the new parts that you were interested to have me order for this car.

Peter, allow me to be a little puzzled about such a sudden drastic change of heart because, from the very beginning, I provided you with every possible element to make an informed and rational decision.

- - 200+ pictures of the entire car top to bottom.

- - I honestly disclosed to you the little things that need to be fixed.

- - Video of the car with engine running.

- - I agreed to have this car inspected by an independent inspector of your choice, which you declined.

- - You committed to a $500.00 (US $) non-refundable deposit.

- - After being already fully committed, suddenly you chose to believe that the car is overpriced. I have sold over 250 cars (most of them 65-70 Mustangs) and I can assure you that it is not the case for a car of this caliber...you wouldn’t find a fully restored V8 1965-66 Mustang Convertible in today’s US market for less than $38k.

Then ...you wait one full week to change your mind, creating problems for everyone involved.

Peter, may I suggest that you look more closely to what could be the motive and subtle agenda of the person(s) that seemed to scare you so much...



Regardless of your late “cold feet” that I can understand, I believe that you are a man of your word, and I suggest that, for the sake of everyone involved, and for the good of all concerned including yourself, you reconsider your position.



For your peace of mind, I have also forwarded to you my business references; among which John Fleming from Sydney to whom I have sold many cars and parts to, and who has referred dozens of his clients to handle inspections, towing and purchasing of cars.

Please feel free to contact them before you make you final decision.



Because I understand your predicament, I have not informed yet the owner of the car.



From my reference list, I also suggest that you call Marcel in Germany (who speaks perfect English), who buys 2-4 Mustangs per month from me and has me inspect at least 3 Mustangs per month.



After thorough investigation of my references, I will expect to hear from you promptly to finalize your decision.



Sincerely,

Ron Miller



cc: Steve,Adults Only

 

[Fst Blk]

What a dbag. Coached you right out of your money. I wouldnt have bought from him after that pushy email.

Living the dream or running it down... Haven't figured out which yet.

 

[Peter Easton]

I like the bit where he states that I "declined to have the car inspected". After I received that email I rang him & we had quite a lengthy conversation about the car he told me how trustworthy he was & I distinctly remember saying to him...."Ron, if this car is everything you say it is & you can promise me that it will come with no surprises, I will buy it", to which he replied "I promise you it is a real nice car & will not have any surprises". That is when I made my fateful decision.

 

[KBMWRS]

Dammmmm A**hole
And he still sells cars like he's doing all a favor.

 

[Peter Easton]

Here are some pics of the car. It is almost completed with only a few minor things to do.

 

[RyanG85]

Nice! That is one sharp vert! Its a shame that you had to go through what you did.

 

[Ponyman66]

Very nice looking. More correctly I should say still very nice looking as these are the same pics you posted last October. Could we see some "before" shots? It'd be a nice contrast to showcase the work you've done!

 

[Peter Easton]

I forgot I posted those pics. Not much has changed since then as I have been busy with other projects over the last few months. Here are some photos of the car when it was first received after arriving from the U.S, & during the build process. Even though the car looked OK when it arrived we uncovered a lot of nasty little problems when we got it up on the hoist. I quite enjoyed the build process (I dare not add up what it has cost) & the car has taken on a much more aggressive & cleaner look than when I first got it. I am still considering getting some very subliminal Shelby type stripes put on it to break up the black but still not sure yet. Unfortunately a lot of the photos of the problem areas were emailed to me by the guy doing all the body work from his iPhone & I don't know how to convert them. I have included some I took while I was helping him with the car.

 

[Peter Easton]

Nice! That is one sharp vert! Its a shame that you had to go through what you did.

Thanks Ryan. I always reckon something good comes out of something bad & I am quite proud of my "little creation." We had to rebuild the top end of the engine as it developed a water leak from the intake manifold. After we pulled the heads we discovered it was not a 289 as advertised but a very fresh 5 litre engine with new pistons, camshaft, lifters etc so I was quite pleased. I chucked out the crappy low compression smog heads & bolted on a set of Edelbrock alloy heads which bumped up the compression quite considerably plus some Crane roller rocker arms & hardened pushrods. I then swapped the 600 Edelbrock carb for a 600 QuickFuel & Pertronix distributor & MSD coil so it should go a hell of a lot better than it did before. Just can't wait to drive it now.

 

[Ponyman66]

Whole lot of work there Peter! The paint came out gorgeous, well done!! You have every right to be proud.

 

[RagTop]

Peter: In future make the seller commit to all of these things in writing. A simple e-mail confirming some of the things you indicate he said to you on the phone would be great in pressing a small claims suit to recover some of the money you have had to spend on this car as a result of this Miller guy's misrepresentations. My limited experience with exporters of American muscle and pony cars indicate that they are all basically con men. Many years ago I was riding my bike past a neighbor's house and there was a guy with a Brit accent loading the neighbor's Triumph Stag onto his flatbed. He told me he was buying the Stag to restore and give to his wife as a sentimental anniversary gift because they had first done the deed in the back seat of his Stag years ago in England. About six months later I was playing golf with a buddy of mine whose wife owned a Stag. He told me all about this Brit who had purchased the Stag as an anniversary gift for his wife because....well, you know. While he was there he also bought my friend's original owner '68 Dodge Charger for his brother in England who had always wanted one. He bought both cars for a paltry sum. I told my pal that he had been hornswaggled by this grifter. Confirmation came when my pal received an email from the Netherlands where his Charger now resided with someone who was not Brit con man's brother. The guy had managed to trace my pal as the previous owner and just wanted to get some information about the car.

 

[Peter Easton]

I hear what you are saying. We all know what is said about hindsight but at the time I was totally new to all of this & he led me to believe that he was a very knowledgable & trustworthy person, even sending me names & email addresses of several of his business references from around the world to which he had previously sent cars to. I contacted each & every one of them after he ripped me & told them what had happened & a couple of them also backed me up by saying that they also had a bad experience with him & after hearing my story would never deal with him again. I have learned a valuable (& costly) lesson but now have a beautiful rust free car that I know every inch of & hope to get many years of enjoyment with. One day I should recoup all or most of my money when I finally decide to sell it as old Mustang prices over here are rising rapidly, but then I did not buy it just to flip it. I believe that Kharma will take care of Mr Miller as I have posted this story on several forum sites all around the world & am far from finished with him. As far as making a claim against him, the only financial winners out of doing that would be the lawyers & I have better things to do than going around in circles with all that legal crap, especially since he is on the other side of the world. If it happened over here, there are people I know that would take real good care of a scumbag like him.

 

[RagTop]

Again, you are assuming things not in evidence. First, you should have checked the references, "each & every one", prior to doing business with this creep instead of after the fact. Who knows, you might have discovered something that would have impacted your decision to do business with him? Second, the small claims process in the U.S. specifically prohibits lawyers from being involved. Usually the recoveries are limited to a specific maximum dollar amount, such as $5,000, and you have the right to lien his property if he doesn't pay up. I just wouldn't be able to trust in Kharma to settle the issue.

 

[Peter Easton]

I was advised by someone to make a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but then a couple of other people told me that would be a waste of time. I went on their website anyway but found it only catered for complaints within the US so didn't worry about it. The way I look at the whole situation is that a couple of thousand other people have read my story on the different forum sites & no doubt a lot of them would/could have been potential customers of Mr Miller.
If the worst thing to happen in my life is that I got taken, like a lot of other people, by a lying asshole & I had to spend a few dollars more than I planned to create what I consider a drop dead gorgeous car then my life is not too bad. I have learnt a lot about Mustangs through this experience which in turn helped me greatly when I purchased the 641/2 D Code coupe. This is one nice car (built 15th April 1964) & has a very low build number. It is time for me to move on & enjoy my cars, after all, the only thing you get if you keep looking back is a stiff neck!