Stephen Porter

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...NA:MOTORS:1123

At first I thought somebody got a really good deal and wished I had been "watching" it more closely. Then, for the hell of it I ran a Carfax on the VIN. Turns out car was registered in Baton Rouge, LA in 2000 with 61K miles. Then reported in 2004 with 134K miles. THEN...in June 2005 was reported with 84K and noted "possible odometer rollback." Sold to a dealership, then auctioned to another dealership, which sold the car on eBay. eBay ad swears they would never sell a flood-damaged car, EVER, but they say nothing about the mileage discrepancy. Katrina hit on August 23, 2005, so odo replacement/rollback because of flood damage doesn't tie in. It sure LOOKS nice, and I guess if someone had it inspected carefully and it checked out it would still be a nice deal... I guess another example of the difficulties of buying "long distance."

stolarzj

Even if it didn't have ODO problems the price isn't bad since it needs the pinion bearing which is like a $2k or more bill..

Josh

mikew968

I was watching the car and thought seriously about buying it. The TA/rear end noise could be a lot of things or even minor. For me it was some of the scratches and bad repairs that made me suspect. Plus, with the trans damage I would have had to trailer to FL and back and that would not be fun especially if I declined on the car. Now you say there are odometer issues...why am I not surprised!

Mike

FRporscheman

carfax saves the day

JPR

The suspension had a bad noise in the front left and the exterior paint was toast, the rear noise..pinion bearing. I went to seen it down in ft.lauderdale and ran away.

Jpr

waynelambright

I bet we see that car in about 90 days. That should give the new owner time to get price quotes then figure, its better to cut the loss and sell it as is. Thats my guess.

ScottS

How much would you wager- maybe it's a guy who wants to track it and the mods negate the cost of the work. At that price, Iwould have bought it....

0.02 plus service costs

S

sdstimson

It's back on ebay again haha, we were looking into buying it then saw this thread, it would not have been fun coming from california to get a bad car.

H2

You're almost always "ahead" to pay more (sometimes quite a bit more) for a well maintained car than gamble thinking you're getting a great deal on a car that's not been meticulously checked out.. Buying without doing your homework often does not pay off. Pre-purchase inscpections can save you a lot of money and pre-empt you cutting your wrists.

People who buy cars on eBay without checking them out carefully probably also believe that the next lottery ticket they buy will be a winner.

H2

waynelambright

I said we would see it in 90 day's. Lo and behold, we have it 20 days later.

I suspect its not the ring and pinion.

ScottS

Looked at it if anyone needs more info, PM

StewHatch

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I have a noise coming from my rear end (insert your own joke here) that I thought it was my pinion bearing. You say you don't suspect that is the problem in this car's case. I realize it is difficult to diagnose what I have w/o hearing it for yourself. It is barely audible and only occurs at speeds over 60mph and is like a low moan. I would really appreciate any feedback you guys could shoot my way. My car is a 6 speed '93 coupe with LSD. To date, the info I've gleaned from (all) your experience has been invaluable.

waynelambright

Hi StewHatch,

My comments "I suspect its not the ring and pinion." was made because I suspect that the problem is bigger. To me, just my opinion, but I would just fix the noise and sell the car without duress. this way you'll get top dollar for your 968.

Consider this: How much MORE would you get for the car if you fixed the noise.

Suggestions: Buy used trans and drop it in, then sell the old trans for parts.

I hope that helps.

StewHatch

I never considered that Wayne. Thanks a million. How much is a 968 t/a worth - a good used one and my "moaner"?

stolarzj

You can get one rebuilt for the price that some of the used 968 trasmissions on Ebay have been listed for. You could have one rebuilt for $1500 to 2k depending on what needs to be replaced.