So had an interesting test drive....

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RabidScott

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Sooooo..... I found a promising looking Duster online, slant six auto, seemed like a good start for me.

Check the car out, there's some random funkiness about the car and things I see wrong but easy to fix but I'm not there to fix it, that's something I'd do after I own it.

We go for a test drive, take it on the freeway, everything is cool so far so the owner heads back to his house. I want to test drive it myself, so we're cruising around his neighborhood, I notice the brakes are firm and pulling (drum brakes probably improperly adjusted) and the thing keeps dying (I knew why when I watched the guys messing with the engine, but again, why fix it when I can use it to get a better price on the thing).

After it dies the third time we've got the hood up, my girlfriend is bitching at me because we've been there an hour and the kids are going nuts so I just let the dude drive the thing home.

We're a few blocks from the dude's house when the steering wheel COMES COMPLETELY OFF and he mashes the brakes while trying to put the wheel back on and hits a freaking parked car.

I feel lucky because it didn't happen a few minutes ago when we were doing 70 MPH and I wasn't driving at the time.

What a freaking experience!!!!

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I'm still thinking about making an offer on the car but haven't yet. What a disaster.
 
Let us know! Looks like it was rallye red originally, but I love black on a grandma option duster. What year is it?
 
That experience is going to get a lot of miles being told for decades by you.
 
Best test drive story of all time! Lol. Like mentioned a great bargaining tool.
Do you think he will "fix" everything for next prospective buyers test drive? Doubt it. So any other buyer is putting life in danger. If u want the duster you now have your best opportunity for a low ball offer.
Go get it, bring a trailer of course.
 
It just needs a bumper....fender is easily fixable. Glad you're ok....and good luck on the purchase while simultaneously surviving the wrath of the GF!!!
 
That’s some funny stuff glad nobody got hurt !
 
Guy I know claims "they" used to drive around with vise grips instead of the wheel and wave the wheel out the window at people. That wasn't very funny one day, when the vise grips popped off...............
 
we can laugh now... but that could have been fatal ! Wow, never know about what somebody has going on, never thought about loosing a steering wheel on a test drive....
 
A weirdo guy that I used to know once lived in Alaska. He had a 68 Firebird for sale. A guy came to look at it and started it up. It ran fine, the guy asked to drive it and the owner obliged. On the test drive, it blew a head gasket. The guy offered half price and a deal was made.
 
Back in the day I had a crazy friend who put a custom steering wheel on his coronet. He lost the big nut that held it on, so it never got installed. He drove like a maniac most of the time. When people would complain, he waited for a straight piece of road and would pull off the steering wheel and try to hand it to them and say “why don’t you drive if you don’t like it?”. Instant shock and terror by the passengers.
 
I'm surprised the owner didn't offer a lowball "take it now dammit" price on the spot.
 
Sooooo..... I found a promising looking Duster online, slant six auto, seemed like a good start for me.

Check the car out, there's some random funkiness about the car and things I see wrong but easy to fix but I'm not there to fix it, that's something I'd do after I own it.

We go for a test drive, take it on the freeway, everything is cool so far so the owner heads back to his house. I want to test drive it myself, so we're cruising around his neighborhood, I notice the brakes are firm and pulling (drum brakes probably improperly adjusted) and the thing keeps dying (I knew why when I watched the guys messing with the engine, but again, why fix it when I can use it to get a better price on the thing).

After it dies the third time we've got the hood up, my girlfriend is bitching at me because we've been there an hour and the kids are going nuts so I just let the dude drive the thing home.

We're a few blocks from the dude's house when the steering wheel COMES COMPLETELY OFF and he mashes the brakes while trying to put the wheel back on and hits a freaking parked car.

I feel lucky because it didn't happen a few minutes ago when we were doing 70 MPH and I wasn't driving at the time.

What a freaking experience!!!!

View attachment 1715602804

View attachment 1715602805

I'm still thinking about making an offer on the car but haven't yet. What a disaster.

Lowball for sure , no telling what else he`s messed up.
 
we can laugh now... but that could have been fatal ! Wow, never know about what somebody has going on, never thought about loosing a steering wheel on a test drive....

This was my thinking!! I was just on the freeway with this idiot or it could have hit children in the neighborhoods we drove through.

Let us know! Looks like it was rallye red originally, but I love black on a grandma option duster. What year is it?

It's a '70, it has the little square Valiant badge on the fenders. It could be, I was thinking the orange but never got a look at the fender tag.

Lowball for sure , no telling what else he`s messed up.
My thoughts exactly!!
 
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