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05 / ABOUT

A dealer that publishes the failures

Most of this trade runs on information asymmetry: the seller knows what is wrong and the buyer finds out later. We make the asymmetry smaller on purpose — it costs us sales in the short term and it is the only reason people drive three states to buy here.

EST. 2009 · ORLANDO, FL

STORY

Why the numbers are public

This started as one bay and one lift in 2009, correcting cars that other people had already sold. The pattern was always the same: the faults were known, they were cheap to fix before the sale, and nobody had bothered.

So the protocol came first, then the refusal rate, then the publishing. Every unit now arrives with compression figures, pad depths, tyre dates, paint depth readings, alignment angles, battery conductance and a full scan — and every unit leaves with the same sheet, including the findings we decided not to repair.

Publishing failures is commercially stupid in a good month and commercially decisive in a bad one. Buyers who can read the defect log stop negotiating on the wrong things and start asking about the right ones, and the cars that were going to be trouble go to auction instead of onto this lot.

What we are not: a restoration house, a classic broker, or a place to buy a project. If a car needs more than correction to be honest, it is not our inventory.

Since

2009

Bays

4

Lifts

6

Sold this year

214

GAUGES

The business in five numbers

THIS YEAR

82%
SELL-THROUGH IN 30 DAYS
8 of 9
CARS REFUSED AT INTAKE
41 d
MEAN DAYS ON LOT
94%
UNITS DELIVERED OUT OF STATE

TIMELINE

How we got here

5 MARKERS

  1. 2009

    One bay, one lift

    Started buying and correcting one car at a time, mostly trucks, mostly for people who had been burned by a forecourt.

  2. 2014

    Second lift, first technician

    Volume grew enough to stop outsourcing the hard work. The refusal rate at intake started climbing the same year.

  3. 2019

    The protocol

    We wrote down the 120 points and the pass thresholds, mostly so two technicians would grade the same car the same way.

  4. 2023

    Sheets published

    Inspection sheets and defect logs went onto every listing. Three units sold in the first month did not sell in the second.

  5. 2026

    Telemetry page

    Our own trade journal went public: price index, days to sale and reconditioning spend, updated monthly and never revised upwards.

FACILITY

The building

4 BAYS

100 Example Avenue, Suite 100, Orlando, FL 32801 — four bays, six lifts, a dedicated inspection lane and a documentation desk. Visitors are welcome in the workshop; nobody will move you into a cubicle with a coffee.

EQUIPMENT THAT MATTERS

  • Two-post lifts, 9,000 lb and 12,000 lb
  • Four-wheel alignment system with printed angle sheets
  • Borescope, compression and cylinder leak-down kit
  • Paint depth gauge and structural measuring tram
  • Battery conductance tester and parasitic draw meter
  • Two-channel oscilloscope for intermittent faults

TEAM

Five roles, no sales floor

WHO DOES WHAT

  • ROLE-01

    Intake technician

    Runs the protocol, refuses roughly eight cars in nine, signs the findings.

  • ROLE-02

    Powertrain technician

    Timing, internal engine and transmission work, with a borescope and a torque wrench, not a parts cannon.

  • ROLE-03

    Diagnostics lead

    Electrical faults, module scans and intermittent problems that survive a code reader.

  • ROLE-04

    Title and documents

    Lien checks, title transfer, tag work and the paper file that travels with every sale.

  • ROLE-05

    Logistics

    Carriers, loading photographs, delivery receipts and export paperwork.

HOUSE RULES

  • Readings, not adjectives. “Runs great” is not a measurement. Every claim on a listing is attached to a number, a date or a photograph.
  • Defects published. The defect log on each unit lists what we found and what we chose not to fix. You decide if it matters to you.
  • No pressure pipeline. No lead forms, no drip sequences, no “today only” pricing. Contact happens on your terms, by phone or email.
  • Title in hand. Every unit we list has a clean, transferable title in the file. No liens, no “title comes later”, no auctions with stories.

PROCESS

Five stages, every car

NO EXCEPTIONS

  1. 01

    Acquisition screen

    We buy at auction, from leases and from private owners — but only units with a clean title path and a service trace. Roughly one in nine cars we look at is bought.

  2. 02

    Teardown & measurement

    Into the bay, on the lift. Compression and leak-down numbers, brake pad depth, tyre dates, battery conductance, alignment angles, fluid condition — all written down, not eyeballed.

  3. 03

    Correction

    Anything under our threshold gets fixed before listing, not after. Timing components, cooling, brakes, suspension bushings, fluids, and the small trim nobody photographs.

  4. 04

    Instrumented listing

    Every listing publishes the readings: condition scores by system, days on lot, price against the live market band, and the full defect log — including the things we did not fix.

  5. 05

    Handover

    Two keys, the paper file, the digital inspection sheet, and a 30-day powertrain window. Delivery nationwide; you can also fly in and drive out.

FAQ

Questions we answer most

8 ANSWERS

Q Can I see the inspection sheet before I travel? SHOW

Yes — it is attached to every listing and we email the full PDF on request. It includes the readings, the photographs and the defect log with the items we did not repair.

Q Do you take deposits? SHOW

We take a refundable hold only after you have the inspection sheet in hand and we have agreed a pickup or delivery date. Nothing is charged to look at a car.

Q What warranty comes with a unit? SHOW

Thirty days on the powertrain, stated on the purchase order, and any remaining manufacturer coverage transfers with the car. Extended coverage is available through a third party if you want it.

Q Do you buy cars outright? SHOW

Yes. We buy clean-title units with a service trace, and we pay at the counter or by wire the same day. If the car is not for us, we say so and tell you who might want it.

Q Can I have my own mechanic inspect it? SHOW

Encouraged. Bring your inspector to the shop, or send a mobile service — we hand over the lift, the readings and the file. We do not rush the visit.

Q How is the price set? SHOW

From the live market band for the exact trim, mileage and condition, weighted by the work we did. Each listing shows where it sits against that band.

Q Do you ship outside the United States? SHOW

We handle export paperwork and container loading, and we ship through the port you nominate. Duties and destination charges are yours.

Q Why does this site have no forms? SHOW

Because forms are where enquiries go to die. Call the number or send an email; the same person who inspected the car answers it.

Direct line

Talk to the person who inspected the car

No forms, no lead queue, no callback script. The number below rings in the workshop, and the email lands in the same inbox the inspection sheets come from.

Answer in under four business hours, from the person who inspected the car.

+1 (555) 010-4270 info@torquealleymotors.site

Mon–Sat · 09:00–19:00 ET

Sample data — brand, telephone, email and address are placeholders until the business record is supplied.