.99 cent 5.3 engine

[BigMike]

I think Aruba1 has a great idea. Offer up a price for them helping you that you feel comfortable with & see what they say, can't hurt at this point.

Also, the difference between craigslist scams & eBay scams is accountability. Cl scams can be done because someone can just go to an internet cafe and be pretty much invisible and untraceable back to them (IP address). eBay, you have to put in credit card info which traces it back to them. Albeit they could have stolen said card but that is a less likely with this type of transaction. Usually people that do that sell high end laptops, cell phone, easy light portable items. I doubt they'd use a used motor to do so.

As far as them sabotaging the motor, may have crossed their mind but they probably have not acted on it yet. If you can offer up some sort of extra cash for them helping you it may be worth it, if in fact a 5.3 is really what you want & you had the $$$ available to buy one anyway. I know it's BS to have to do but if you want the motor is it worth say a $100 or $200 "fee"?

I lived in Halls Crossroads (Knoxville) back in the late 70's early 80's and went to some far out deep woods sketchy looking places, only to be welcomed by super nice people. Just because it's a sketchy part of town does not mean the people are out to get you. Most are just trying to get by with whatever means they have. I've been had by well to do people & piss poor ones, if a person sucks they suck no matter what income level they are at.

[Socalwrencher]

Best thing is to walk away. When something doesn't feel right it's because it isn't.

[Grumpy old man]

well ... I decided to call a local towing company to go get it and hold it until I can get out there at my leisure and pick it up and theres no bs to get it done ,it will cost a couple bucks but probably the easiest way to get it done . total charges for towing service to pick it up and store for 1 week untill I can get there $40.00 can't beat that with a stick ...

[wreckedchevy]

looks like a good plan to me, good luck with it all

[junksaver]

I'm surprised they would do it that cheap.

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by junksaver

I'm surprised they would do it that cheap.

Me too ! I was ready for $100.00 to do it ,but this way there is no BS to deal with ! Yeah ! a 5.3 for $40.99 I'm guessing that's way less than a core charge !

[Grumpy old man]

Engine has been picked up and stored at a Nashville towing service high and dry waiting on pick up this next week total cost $40.99 + tip to the driver who picked it up from the hood !

[joey8383]

Incredible. WOW...

[bs46488]

That was a great idea.

[Justintime67]

What a great idea, avoid the awkward situation altogether. That's amazing that it worked out.

[GCncsuHD]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

Engine has been picked up and stored at a Nashville towing service high and dry waiting on pick up this next week total cost $40.99 + tip to the driver who picked it up from the hood !

Nice!

[boostedc10]

I would make sure you tear that thing down and give it a good once over just to make sure they didn't mess with it!

[Aruba1]

Paying someone for pickup is a very clever indeed. Too bad for the seller, if he was polite or even just professional, things could have turned a little better for him. It's nobody fault that he did not educate himself on how to list items on ebays and what the risks were when adding a $500 item for $.99 with no reserve. Hope it's a lesson learned for him. Agreed on a tear down, lol. And since he was a a-hole, I probably would report him to ebay, lol.

[Grumpy old man]

Well... I could just see driving for 4 hours and then dealing with a disgruntled seller and by sending a local tow service to get it avoided any chance of conflict and it worked well for all involved , I got it moved ,it was cheap , it's safe and dry and the tow driver offered $750.00 for it he said it looked great and no evidence of sabotage ! He agreed they were PIZZED ! SO NOW IT'S A $40.99 5.3 ENGINE !

[chevy_mike]

If the tow driver offered you $750 on your .99 investment.... I would be laughing all the way to the bank with that $749.01 profit.

You hadn't planned on a 5.3 so what loss would it be to pocket the profit?

Nice score either way.

[Grumpy old man]

WOW ! What a exhausting couple of days over this !,But now it's done and I'll have time to run out there and take my girl for a night in Nashville ! Boy won't she be surprised that were picking up an engine on the way home the next morning ? " No really honey I wanted to bring you here I have just 1 stop to make on the way home "!

[jjzepplin]

Wow! That was a brilliant Idea! Hope it all works out! Need some pics when you get it.

[BigMike]

I'm glad you figured a way to pick it up instead of bailing on it.

A $.99 5.3 + $40.00 pick up & storage = AWESOME!

[tommys72]

Good deal for you, bad for them...nice score

[Grumpy old man]

You know it could have gone a lot different for the seller if they had just talked to me and worked a deal I would have thrown them a few hundred ... BUT NO they started out being uncooperative and stayed that way to no good end for them ...

[franky69c10]

Wow what a come up congrats

[jborders]

Can't believe the tow service was that cheap. Great idea. I'm from that area. There are definitely parts of Clarksville I wouldn't have went in that situation alone. Awesome deal.

[Aruba1]

And if the engine looks really good from outside with no signs of sabotage... I would avoid a complete tear down but perform the following:
-remove valve covers and inspect
-remove the spark plugs and inspect with a boroscope (HF got them cheap)
-rotate the crankshaft with a wrench and listen for funny noises
-and last, perform a compression test (or even a leak down test however IMO that is too much)

Keep us posted.

[thelonerife]

I wish I'd have seen this earlier. I would have picked it up for ya and brought it to Knoxville when we have the next work day on the Underhaulin truck. Glad you got it worked out.

[Woodnears]

One should change the title of this thread now! $40.99 5.3!

Way to go, nice score.