Buyers beware.. Curtis Wheatley and brothers from Tulsa,Ok

[ron herrin]

I recently purchased a 1959 A coupe from Curtis Wheatley of Tulsa Oklahoma. The car was advertised as a barn find on the web site, "The Samba". When talking with Curtis Wheatley I was TOLD that the battery pan, both longitudinals. front and rear floor pans, would possibly need to be replaced, along with some work on the door bottoms, but I might be able to do just the mechanics , motor trans ,brakes and then have yourself a driver. In my opinion, the photos he posted did not reveal that. That should have been my first red flag. After receiving the car I removed the rear tires and to my surprise, the upper shock supports and rear suspension support travel stops, were completely rusted away, with one shock dangling and only attached by the rear swing arm. I immediately contacted Curtis Wheatley to complain, but his answer was ,"I didn`t look there" (red flag # 2), yet there were new tires and freshly painted rims all around the car ,so he absolutely knew, plus Mr Wheatly and his brother run an underground restoration shop in Tulsa Oklahoma . I know I should have done a PPI and I will in the future. I just wanted to tell the Porsche community that Curtis Wheatley runs pretty fast and loose with the facts about the cars he sells,and actually in my opinion flat out lies about them. And I also wanted to add, that he is not returning my telephone calls or texts, so this is his solution to this transaction, by hiding! So BUYERS BEWARE of Curtis Wheatley and his brothers in Tulsa Oklahoma!

[Adam Wright]

Is this the car?

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds ... id=2194040

[Mike Wilson]

Did you ask him about refunding some of the purchase price? If that can't be negotiated, then The Samba should be informed.

You raise a extremely good point: get a PPI PRE Purchase Inspection rather than a POST Purchase Inspection. It is well-worth the money.

Mike

[Ibrahim Kuzu]

Ron,
Very sorry to hear this.
Curtis must return your funds back as long as you are not happy with the car .It is right thing to do.
I visited brothers shop few times and bought a 55 Speedster from Curtis after inspection in his shop maybe 6 years ago.
IK

[ron herrin]

I did ask for a refund and he said the money has been spent and that`s not happening, Then i ask about a partial refund just to cover a fraction of what the additional rust repair would cost . That`s when he shut down all contact.

[ron herrin]

Hi Adam , Yes !

[Ibrahim Kuzu]

Ron,
#1 He should refund you the areas rusted repair cost have not mentioned to you, if you wish to keep the car
#2 As far as i know His father is very ill and he is unloading few cars from his collection to keep up with the bills
I am guessing this,because they had that 59 s/r over 10 years there ,I knew the Coupe when I bought the 55 Speedster and was not for sale.
#3 That 59 sunroof is all numbers matching European model will be a very nice coupe when done.
#4 Give it some time ,Hope and Pray he does the right thing. If I go that direction in future I will speak to him this .
IK

[ron herrin]

Thanks Ibrahim, This really is not my style I just wanted people to know my story and to be aware ... Thanks

[VinceFinaldi]

That's horrible, Ron. Sorry to hear this...

[Mike Wilson]

I have a friend that had a similar experience with a car that was misrepresented. Threatened legal action resulted in a refund of a portion of the purchase price. Something to consider. Then again, caveat emptor...

Mike

[Adam Wright]

I had a car one time I also bought off Samba, a 70 911T Targa. I asked the guy about rust, I told him I'm in the NE, I don't need to import rust. He said there was some bubbling in the doors, nothing major. I bought the car. It arrived and the pedals were floating in mid-air, the floors were gone, the car was very rusty. When I called him he said,
"Look, here's what you do, the car photographs really well, give it a wash, throw it on ebay, you'll double your money."

I asked,
"So you want me to do to the next guy what you did to me?"

He said,
"Look dude, I'm giving you an out here, if you don't want to take it that's on you."

That was the last time I heard from him. My brother got him kicked off Samba, Ebay, Pelican, you name it, he was a pariah. He's changed his name 3 times since then. Those guys always pop back up, like herpes.

But, and this is the big but, the car was $6000, which I pulled out of without losing anything, not $70,000 in this case. Be careful people, do your homework i.e. a PPI if you're gonna spend big money. Taking a few thousand hit is one thing, taking a double digit hit is something else.

[C J Murray]

Sorry to hear of this. I have traveled long distances to look at 356s only to find that the cars were nowhere near what they were represented to be. I didn't buy any of them. One required a cross country flight. Two of the sellers who I had not previously known have become close friends that I spend lots of time with at Registry events. I wasn't happy about the wasted travel but I would have been less happy if Intercity had arrived at my house with a pile of scrap. Let's be charitable and say that I didn't appreciate how nice those cars were, my fault, but the fact is that opinions vary when it comes to the condition of these cars. Unfortunately, some people also use that difference of opinion to rip people off. Do your own PPIs and do them on every car before you buy.

[Ibrahim Kuzu]

OK..Since Adam started... Here is one of my story;

It is late 1980's when I was leaving in Omaha,NE
An Attorney advertised a 1958 Cabriolet
in Ohio
Add was saying ,floor have rust ,Windshield viper does not work.
Called
Talk little
I ask the question;
Can I drive her to Nebraska even floor has rust .
He said no problem

So,
I bought the Cab

Hit the road with my wife in excitement in a hurry she drives back the truck I drive the Cab
arrived the town just sun was setting
As i drove in their lot, i noticed a covered 356 under huge tree
I got out the car walked to the door ,Wife came out ..I asked I am here for the 58 Cabriolet
Can I take a look,..She said please go ahead....

I am walking to the Cab but I have bad feeling in my heart and mind
I uncover the Cab ,I just got my head down under the back torsion tube area ,What I see is 6x6 block holding the body of the cab from falling the ground....Took me 2 min to fully getting the picture....
Than I turned around said " This is the cab we talked on the phone that I could drive to Nebraska from Ohio ?
Said " Thank you for your honesty....I walked back to my car and in a minute turned around and to find first hotel to get a good rest.....

In 38 years I traveled each and every 356 I bought, You must...Each person thinks their 356 is Gold and each persons damage and rust understanding is different.

IK

[Adam Wright]

OK..Since Adam started... Here is one of my story;

It is late 1980's when I was leaving in Omaha,NE
An Attorney advertised a 1958 Cabriolet
in Ohio
Add was saying ,floor have rust ,Windshield viper does not work.
Called
Talk little
I ask the question;
Can I drive her to Nebraska even floor has rust .
He said no problem

So,
I bought the Cab

Hit the road with my wife in excitement in a hurry she drives back the truck I drive the Cab
arrived the town just sun was setting
As i drove in their lot, i noticed a covered 356 under huge tree
I got out the car walked to the door ,Wife came out ..I asked I am here for the 58 Cabriolet
Can I take a look,..She said please go ahead....

I am walking to the Cab but I have bad feeling in my heart and mind
I uncover the Cab ,I just got my head down under the back torsion tube area ,What I see is 6x6 block holding the body of the cab from falling the ground....Took me 2 min to fully getting the picture....
Than I turned around said " This is the cab we talked on the phone that I could drive to Nebraska from Ohio ?
Said " Thank you for your honesty....I walked back to my car and in a minute turned around and to find first hotel to get a good rest.....

In 38 years I traveled each and every 356 I bought, You must...Each person thinks their 356 is Gold and each persons damage and rust understanding is different.

IK

My wife has gone on a total of one car trip with me. I had to get a C Cab in VA, she wanted to go, I said ok. We climbed up this muddy mountain in my truck, I got out and grabbed a saw. She asked about the saw, I said it was to cut the tree down that was growing through the car! She groaned, she saw what she had signed on for, and right when she started groaning, so did the clouds, in a few minutes it was non-stop rain. We loaded the car, after cutting down the tree, it was miserable, we looked like drowned rats. She hasn't asked to go since....
Postscript, the door's popped open on the way home, at this point the rain had switched to snow, I didn't feel like getting out of the truck. By the time I got home the windshield had sunk a lot, the car basically had folded in on itself.

[ron herrin]

Yep... I fell for Curtis Wheatley B.S." been restoring 356`s for 30 years, do all my own metal work and so on". it`s nobody`s fault but my own. Just wanted to give everybody a heads up on his moral compass.