TJsBeer

This is how useless Carfax is:

I just ran a report on the above GTS.
Neither accident appears on the Carfax.

I just bought an '05 Jag from the original owner. The owner told me about two minor accidents that were both insurance claims. Neither of them on the Carfax.

Chuck Z

Ahhhh, guess this validates what I found when I looked at it....funny he never mentioned it to me! So this car has had a total of three accidents? Wonder is there are any of the accident damage??? If you're going to say minor a seller should always have pics of the damage.

hlee96

I think Jeff meant that Carfax is unreliable because his recently purchased Jag also has had 2 insurance claimed accidents not reported on Carfax. Not that the GTS has had 3 accidents. Right?

-Hoi

TJsBeer

Went to look at the white GTS on BaT this morning with @JohnSog. (photos to follow)

Paint meter readings were 6-7 all over the car except the doors which were 3-4. In the garage the doors look a shade off from white. In the daylight it's not noticeable. There is a small bit of damage on the front right corner that looks like someone just pulled a dent out. Very hard to see in daylight and in photos. But in the garage it was very noticeable.

The A/C front and rear work very well. 29 degrees at the center stack.

All of the electrics function. The sunroof switch stays on even after the sunroof is fully opened. Had to push the switch forward to make the motor stop churning. The mirror switch is finicky. Very hard to press, I thought it was broken at first. The power window switches will only work one at a time. (If you push one window or the sunroof switch the other side will not go up or down until you release the other switch).
I did not test the cruise control or horn.

There is an aftermarket alarm and stereo. As well as a random wire coming out of the drivers side door vent going into the door. (see photo)

The interior has some minor issues with shrinking of the headliner in some spots around the sunroof opening and interior lights.

No signs of water, leaks or rust in the spare tire well.

Service records are limited to what is shown on BaT. Only one hard to read record from the previous owner in 2014 showing timing belt.

Ownership history is unknown. (I believe he picked this up at an auction)

Tires are Bridgestone Potenzas dated from the 36th and 37th week of 2013.

The wheels have been refinished and show no curb rash. But one of the wheels is starting to peel. The rear wheel well liners are crumbling like a saltine cracker. (see photos)

Leaks oil BADLY. Everything underneath was wet. And there were pools of oil on top around the manifold. "Low Oil" warning light was on the entire time during the test drive.

Starts up fine. Has a very slight erratic idle.

Engine and exhaust sound good.

Gas pedal is extremely heavy...hard to press. Engine pulls strong once it gets rolling. But takes a bit to gather steam.

Transmission shifts quick and VERY abruptly. Not in a good way. Like when we were teens and would put a shift kit in our Mustangs and Camaros.

The car drove straight and smooth. Very comfortable ride.

Brakes are firm and stops were straight.

When coming to a stop the engine would drop idle so fast and so low that it would almost stall out and then it would catch itself and recover.

Summary: Unless this goes dirt cheap to make up for whatever is going in the engine bay, I'd call it a hard pass.

TJsBeer

Correct on the Jag.
But the blue GTS has known accident history that does not appear on the Carfax

​​​

TJsBeer

Link to photo album of BaT's white 928 GTS

https://goo.gl/photos/ZjCU2L9MJu3eMDK39

hlee96

Thank you so much for the detailed PPI, Jeff! I guess I will not be making time to see it this week when I go pick up Dwayne-IRIS for a drive from my detailer right up the street. Guess a $35k GTS? Sounds like it's going to need complete engine refresh and maybe reseal? ($20-30k)

-Hoi

TJsBeer

Now my dilemma, do I let the prospective BaT bidders know my findings? Or is it caveat emptor?
The last time I derailed an auction for a poorly represented car they gave me a stern e-mail and now they don't let my responses go through without being pre-screened. Anything negative they see is discarded.
I created a different user name and account to get my posts through.

BC

I think that it is an old car with many miles. All of them, save for a few, are. And so what you write would also be written, by me, as "has some easy to remedy issues, normal for the car, and I think it's pretty good"

The actual parts costs of what you were describing is minor. Time, more intensive.

Quite subjective.

Weissach

Don't know, what did you actually think you found? After owning over 45 928's, and seen countless more---I see nothing out of the ordinary. It's an old car witn high miles, I think any bidder is fully aware. This little 'niggles' can be tidied up in a morning. It's not a new car, it's an old timer....and it's beautiful

GT6ixer

First off, very nice report. Thanks for posting. I don't think you have any obligation to post your findings over at BaT. It's up to the prospective buyers to do their own research. I'd imagine any saavy buyer would come here or to Pelican to see if there was anybody talking about any particular 928 for sale in the public arena. No doubt that many of the cars for sale on BaT get PPIs done. I don't follow every auction but I read my fare share and I have never seen someone post as thorough an inspection report as yours, even though you know people have done them.

GT6ixer

I'd agree with you that some of the stuff that Jeff found could be easily remidied, but if there are tranny issues and large oil leaks, that's going to take more than a morning. Definitely something you would want to know more about if possible before figuring out your high bid number.

Weissach

BAT bids are non-binding. Surely the high bidder will get a real PPI before handing over cash.

I think the real question here is how this 'ppi' was performed. Was he posing as a serious buyer? Did he disclose to the seller that he would be posting his pictures online? Did he also disclose that he would be characterizing the seller as dishonest based on these limited pictures? Did he also disclose to the seller that he was banned off BAT? Hmmm

worf928

Based upon the inspection report it *needs badly* an intake refresh. It could - possibly - use an engine-out total reseal. $5k to $20k+ depending upon which and how far 'beautification' is taken.

The hard-shifting is caused by no vacuum to the shift modulator. If this condition has been allowed to exist for a couple of hundred shifts then the driveshaft is probably ready to snap.

Let's also not forget that a crank end-play check is absolutely required before throwing down good money.

Wishful thinking at best.

Regardless, it *is* a nice Auto GTS. Based upon how they've been selling lately, this is a good buy under ~30k even if it needs $20k of work.

TJsBeer

BaT bids are binding in so much as they collect a 5% non-refundable deposit from the winning bidder's credit card immediately upon placing the bid.
PPIs ​​​are to be performed PRIOR to auction ending.
I wasn't "banned" off BaT. But they are monitoring my comments.
I never said the seller was dishonest. The seller is a wholesale dealer whose prices are commensurate as such.
It ​​​​is up to each perspective buyer to do their own homework.
I'd ​​​​​just hate to see someone bid this up to 30 or 40k only up only to find out it requires several thousand dollars in repairs.
Another ​​Rennlister saved me from making the same mistake on BaT before and I was significantly grateful for the heads up.