narkose

I have read a couple of bad reports about Victory Motorsports.

Can anyone provide me with actual personal bad experiences with them. The reason I ask is that there is a 930 for sale that I may be interested in, but being my first Porsche, I don't what to get bitten.

Andrew

3.2SLANTNOSE

Do a search for them on this board and on Pelican. I am sure that you will find a lot of info about them. Tony.

500

I'll preface this that I have no real experience with them. I did talk to Robert Neal on two occaisions and, although polite, he was not completely forthcoming on some questions.

However, a car is a car and I think it is possible that Victory will have some nice ones. The preponderence of "evidence" from my own readings suggest that Victory is not very comprehensive in how they select or prepare cars. That on its own, does not rule out that they may have some nice ones.

Treat it like buying from an individual - do not take anything at face value and scrutinize everything.

Absolutely get a very thorough PPI and NOT from the shop they recommend. If they balk at having the PPI done at your shop, that would be an instant deal-breaker for me. I would say that it is important to make sure the shop you select is top-notch for this work. Ask people from Houston here and on the regional forums for recommendations.

Other than your own in-person inspection, check the car's history through Carfax and any DMV information that might be additionally available.

Another very good idea is to take numerous high-res photos of the car, including nooks and crannies, engine, suspension etc. A lot of this may be more easily done during the PPI. Post those pictures here and let the masses tear them apart. There are many people on this board that have a very intimate knowledge of these cars and may be able to spot questionable details (I've seen it really work). Besides here, check out the Pelican forums too, the 911 area is very active.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/index.php

At the end of the day, you could find a nice car there, but be very careful.

old man neri

Have you called them and asked if they still have that exact 930 you want for sale?

narkose

THanks for the input - I will be looking elsewhere

Ed Hughes

A buddy looked at a Carrera recently that was purchased from them about 18 months ago. There is clear coat peeling like sunburned skin over the entire car. Makes you wonder IF they may've shot a quickie coat on to give the car that nice shiny appearance.

500

That sounds like exactly what you describe. Cheap, quick clear over a surface that has not been adequately prepped. If that is indeed the case, then it is very disturbing. Overall, you are probably right to just not bother with them as you have decided.

Of my two P-cars, one was bought from a Rennlister a couple of thousand miles away and the other was bought locally from a PCA member. In both cases I found buying from an enthusiast worked out well.

Edward

Hi Andrew,

Welcome! There are lots of potential pinfall$ in purchasing a Porsche. In reality, no more than any other used car (and in this case, "old" car ), but the caveat here is that a Porsche will be far and away more costly to "make right" than a like-age "whatever" car. Add to that the propensity for young, clueless buyers of 930s back in the day who wanted the allure and "cool factor" of a 930, but had zero notion of how to care for it, let alone drive it ...and the latter point had resulted in more than a few getting smacked and then fixed on-the-cheap to look cosmetically "cool" again.

You are on the right forum. Get lots of advice, read up on the specific car you're interested as each specific model year has their +/- to them. And once you feel adequately armed with knowledge, then go on the hunt. You will quickly find that with a few choice questions, you will eliminate 95% of the cars you're looking at over the phone. The ones that rise to the top of being worthy, you can then scope out and apply what you've gleaned from what you've learned. The short version for these cars is (IMHO, anyway):

- Documented records ...if it ain't recorded, just assume it wasn't done.
- PPI (pre-purch inspection) from a qualified shop that has good street cred among those who know (which almost entirely disqualifies dealers, again, IMHO).
- Gut instinct about the owner ...where a 911 enthusiast is more likely to know how to properly care and feed these things (and will by nature have every receipt known to man).

Hope that helps you a bit. Good luck, and post your progress ...and eventual success.

Edward

User 4221

Ask yourself these three questions.

1) Are you prepared to have Robert yell at you when negotiating price?
2) Are you prepared to have Robert yell at you when you ask for an independent PPI?
3) Would you do business with a person who disparages other business owners in Houston (Re: PPI)?

If you are OK doing biz with this type of individual...... And willing to roll the dice on a car with "cleansed" history....... Caveat emptor.

I speak from direct experience in October, 2004

joey c

robert lied to me...all the options he was bragging about did not work..
he said the car was bone dry..after the ppi, it had a bad leak..he came back and said that all 911s leaked oil...we went on to say ..its a 20 year old car..blah blah blah..
i would stay away...just because he lied

GothingNC

run Forrest run !!!

John