I cannot fathom anyone buying a car close to 40 years old without looking at it PERSONALLY and DRIVING it. There is simply no substitute for an up close, first-hand examination of the vehicle and a good test drive. If the trip to see the car seems too expensive, then wait until a suitable vehicle closer and more convenient surfaces. All sorts of vehicles, including Imperials, come on the market.
Melissa should have sensed the storm flags flying on this particular car from the outset. When she first raised the notion of the purchase, she low-balled what she was willing to spend. Then she and her husband went after a car that was close to her budget and expected to get a first-rate vehicle at a bargain price. When trashing the dealer in her e-mail, she pointed out that the vehicle they bought had sat at the dealers a long time. Hey! Cars like this in first-rate condition and close to budget prices don't sit around on lots for a long time. There had to be serious flaws with the car for it not to sell. One of life's simple lessons is that Real Bargains don't sit around unsold for long.
None of this excuses the dealer's actions. But it still takes two to make a car sale. Rather than venting spleen and rancor over this most unfortunate incident and writing to everybody under the sun and suing everybody else, my advice would be to learn from the school of hard knocks and move on. There are unscrupulous people in every profession; there are unscrupulous salespeople selling virtually everything. The point is not to be gullible and not to set yourself up to be a victim.
The important thing is that Eric and Melissa have their Imperial and can fix it up and make it the dream car that they sought originally. This will take time and patience, but there can be a great deal of pleasure and sense of accomplishment in such an undertaking.
The school of hard knocks is a tough one, but the lessons learned there can be highly beneficial in every walk of life.
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