I purchased a 1953 Dodge Army Ambulance from Carson Restoration (K2 industries) in June of 2016. We found it online the ad said it runs and drives. Eric Howard is the person who handled the sale. We paid the 4500.00 asking price which we felt was fair for the vehicle as described. The pictures we got were pretty vague but it didn't look bad. We were told it was complete, it was running and driving and had very little rust. We were also told that the shop would go through it to make sure it was mechanically sound. We sent an immediate 500$ deposit and were told a receipt would be emailed shortly after. We never got the reciept and requested it 3xs. We paid the remaining 4000$ roughly a month 1/2 later. Again we never got
the reciepts we were told we would get but were informed they mailed the title out. We got the title but it is not registered to Carson's or Eric. Thats not a bad thing but we have nothing to tie the vehicle sale to them for recourse. The shipper he recommended gave a great price but we were told it would be 2 weeks and it took 2 months. I wanted to use a different shipper a few times but Eric always calmed the waves and got it delivered by his buddy. I now know why. Any other shipper would have refused because of the non running condition. The rust and body were as described, couldn't be happier in that area. As for complete, it was not. The hard to find parts are missing. The stretcher bin was empty and both stretchers are
missing. The folding rear step/attendand bench is also gone. The only thing remaining are the bunks. I specifically asked about the stretchers and was told they were in it. To br fair, that may have been because he thought the bunks were the stretchers. Not that big of a deal, I'll live. Running and driving is the issue. When it arrived it was dead, one battery was missing and the other is 12 years old. That means his truck has not run in 10yrs. The brake system is trash. No brake fluid in the system and the master cylinder and wheel cylinders are rusted solid. All need replacement. All the the rubber lines are dryrotted and clogged and need replacement. The radiator is completely full of rust. The intake tube that runs to
the carburetor is full of water. The fuel tank was bone dry so I know they never tried to start it. The tires are dryrotted to the point of falling apart. The deep cracks were not evident in the pictures. Then the kick in the gut, while doing a tear down on the rear brakes I found the right rear axle is broken and the rear end is chewed up. It was 5200$ for the truck and shipping. We were expecting to drive it to our paint and body guy for a quick repaint and seat covers. That is how it was described and thats why we bought it instead of one locally. We paid 5200$ for a running driving truck but we got what most would consider a 1500$ parts truck. If you buy from them, invest in an airline ticket. Go look at it in person.
We are looking at a 3000$ investment to get this vehicle into the condition it wad advertised as being in.
Carson Restoration Reviews
I purchased a 1953 Dodge Army Ambulance from Carson Restoration (K2 industries) in June of 2016. We found it online the ad said it runs and drives. Eric Howard is the person who handled the sale. We paid the 4500.00 asking price which we felt was fair for the vehicle as described. The pictures we got were pretty vague but it didn't look bad. We were told it was complete, it was running and driving and had very little rust. We were also told that the shop would go through it to make sure it was mechanically sound. We sent an immediate 500$ deposit and were told a receipt would be emailed shortly after. We never got the reciept and requested it 3xs. We paid the remaining 4000$ roughly a month 1/2 later. Again we never got
the reciepts we were told we would get but were informed they mailed the title out. We got the title but it is not registered to Carson's or Eric. Thats not a bad thing but we have nothing to tie the vehicle sale to them for recourse. The shipper he recommended gave a great price but we were told it would be 2 weeks and it took 2 months. I wanted to use a different shipper a few times but Eric always calmed the waves and got it delivered by his buddy. I now know why. Any other shipper would have refused because of the non running condition. The rust and body were as described, couldn't be happier in that area. As for complete, it was not. The hard to find parts are missing. The stretcher bin was empty and both stretchers are
missing. The folding rear step/attendand bench is also gone. The only thing remaining are the bunks. I specifically asked about the stretchers and was told they were in it. To br fair, that may have been because he thought the bunks were the stretchers. Not that big of a deal, I'll live. Running and driving is the issue. When it arrived it was dead, one battery was missing and the other is 12 years old. That means his truck has not run in 10yrs. The brake system is trash. No brake fluid in the system and the master cylinder and wheel cylinders are rusted solid. All need replacement. All the the rubber lines are dryrotted and clogged and need replacement. The radiator is completely full of rust. The intake tube that runs to
the carburetor is full of water. The fuel tank was bone dry so I know they never tried to start it. The tires are dryrotted to the point of falling apart. The deep cracks were not evident in the pictures. Then the kick in the gut, while doing a tear down on the rear brakes I found the right rear axle is broken and the rear end is chewed up. It was 5200$ for the truck and shipping. We were expecting to drive it to our paint and body guy for a quick repaint and seat covers. That is how it was described and thats why we bought it instead of one locally. We paid 5200$ for a running driving truck but we got what most would consider a 1500$ parts truck. If you buy from them, invest in an airline ticket. Go look at it in person.
We are looking at a 3000$ investment to get this vehicle into the condition it wad advertised as being in.