philzone

I am looking at a 83 911SC and want to get a report like carfax but when I put in the VIN the carfax website tells me the VIN it invaild. The current owner check both the door and dash and they match. The VIN starts "WPOZZZ". He is saying that the ZZZ is a Euro model. Is this correct? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
mitch

J richard

Mitch,

First 3 digits (WPO)is the world producer number.
Fourth digit body code would of been A for US Z for ROW.
Fifth and Six were for US engine and seatbelt codes so ZZ here means you have a Rest of world car.
Check to make sure the O in WPO is not a zero when you enter the code. If you are in the states you may want to have a grey market car checked out pretty carefully.
Also could be a barganing point
good luck.

philzone

What is meant by "gray market"?

Greg-slant/cab

Be careful with Carfax, it is a great service but as the cars get older their data base is not as strong. Remember 20 years people would have never thought of a service to track a complete car history. Their records are only as good as the hand that enters them. I know even cars from the seventies are not even in it. I do believe that your vin number represents a euro model. I would not get to caught up on a CArfax for that car. Get a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) done. This is a very common procedure done on Porsche vehicles. Take the vehicle to a reputable Porsche shop and have one done. These can run from $100-$250. It is money well spent. It could save you thousands of dollars. Good luck on your search.

J-RAD

The seller is giving you correct information. It is a "rest of world" car (i.e. grey market) as indicated by the "ZZZ" (a number of good books about purchasing a 911 are available and detail the de-coding of VIN#'s). As the owner of a euro-SC, I will state that the previous posters gave very good advice (Greg's points about Carfax are particularly valid...while it is a good tool in theory, it still has MAJOR gaps/flaws). Grey market cars shouldn't necessarily be feared anymore than a U.S. spec car (IMO)...provided quality conversions were done! And that is the catch. However, a good pre-purchase inspection will give you an idea of the condition of the car and uncover any problems or potential issues. A PPI should be done regardless of whether it is a grey-market car. Also, it is a good idea to have a body shop that specializes in 911's take a look at it for structural damage. Bottom line, is this: a U.S. spec car can have all the same problems (or more) of a grey-market car. Just the same, a grey-market car can be every bit as good or better than a U.S. spec car (it does have a little more hp!!! ). Regardless, you need to be an informed buyer! I LOVE my euro-SC...and, quite frankly, I think it is better than the U.S. spec cars (of course, I'm biased)!

[ 07-09-2001: Message edited by: J-RAD ]

BrianKeithSmith

An excellent post by J-RAD.

I own a 1983 930 (grey market) and am happy to see someone else agree that there is nothing to be feared with a non-US car, as long as the coversion was performed appropriately and the PPI checks out OK.

Thanks for you posts J-RAD!

Brian