Buy this C4?
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Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Florida
Buy this C4?
Hi Folks,
Longtime lurker and newbie seeking your guidance. Anyone familiar with a Yellow 96 C4 recently advertised on EBAY by Bert Smith in St. Pete?
VIN: WPOAA2995TS320423
Car has 12.8K mi and includes 6 speed, 17" Cups, leather, dual power seats, CR210, sunroof, and motor sound. Car is Porsche certified with new SO2's, recent "full" service (?), and a respray of the front bumper for stone chips.
Dealer tells me Carfax is clean, was originally sold by Champion and purchased by the dealer at auction.
Does certification/one year warranty eliminate the need for PPI? If not, any recommmendations for PPI in St. Pete area? Should I be concerned about car being bought at auction and resprayed?
Dealer is asking 45K? Is that about right?
I know I'm asking a lot of questions and appreciate your insights greatly. Want to join the club, but want to do it with the right car.
Thanks a million,
Steve
Longtime lurker and newbie seeking your guidance. Anyone familiar with a Yellow 96 C4 recently advertised on EBAY by Bert Smith in St. Pete?
VIN: WPOAA2995TS320423
Car has 12.8K mi and includes 6 speed, 17" Cups, leather, dual power seats, CR210, sunroof, and motor sound. Car is Porsche certified with new SO2's, recent "full" service (?), and a respray of the front bumper for stone chips.
Dealer tells me Carfax is clean, was originally sold by Champion and purchased by the dealer at auction.
Does certification/one year warranty eliminate the need for PPI? If not, any recommmendations for PPI in St. Pete area? Should I be concerned about car being bought at auction and resprayed?
Dealer is asking 45K? Is that about right?
I know I'm asking a lot of questions and appreciate your insights greatly. Want to join the club, but want to do it with the right car.
Thanks a million,
Steve
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 975
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From: A small horse farm in VA
I am to a degree....did he also mention the new clutch, brake pads and rotors....Tires etc...
I passed on it....it must have been very tired when it went to auction....as in not well cared for by prior owner.
Also they will come off the $45,000 number and
, it does have lower miles and Factory warranty for one year...This is one you ought to go see in person if possible <img src="graemlins/wave.gif" border="0" alt="[byebye]" />
I passed on it....it must have been very tired when it went to auction....as in not well cared for by prior owner.
Also they will come off the $45,000 number and
, it does have lower miles and Factory warranty for one year...This is one you ought to go see in person if possible <img src="graemlins/wave.gif" border="0" alt="[byebye]" />
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From: Michigan
If it needed a new clutch, brake pads etc. at 12,000 miles, I'd pass. Whoever had that car really had to mis treat it to require those kinds of repairs.
I'm not painting all dealers with the same brush but I would never buy a Porsche from one. They're in it for the $$ which is fine and you're paying. I'd wait until I could find one I like offered by a private seller who cares about their car.
I'm not painting all dealers with the same brush but I would never buy a Porsche from one. They're in it for the $$ which is fine and you're paying. I'd wait until I could find one I like offered by a private seller who cares about their car.
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Racer
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 251
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From: Tampa, Florida
Bert Smith does commonly list cars on ebay to drum up interest, though they set high reserves and don't sell many that way. I could take a look at it if your interested. Email me. I'm on a bidness trip and will be back in Tampa on Thursday PM.
JK
JK
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From: Boston
I had a less than stellar experience buying a car from Bert long distance ... and that was a NEW car (2001 Boxster 2.7). Flew down and discovered that even though my credit union had paid for the car a few days before, the paperwork wasn't complete and I got to spend five days in Florida driving a Pontiac Grand Am while my new Boxster sat on the showroom floor and mocked me. (Mass. laws won't let you drive insured without the car being registered and three weeks lead time wasn't enough for Mr. Smith to send one Fedex. And Bert wasn't offering up a dealer plate, either.)
Let's just say that those Porsches are sharing space with VWs, Isuzus andSubarus on that showroom floor. And they were right in there with the Oldsmobiles before they went belly up. And while the sales staff is responsive before the buy, the experience afterwards is strictly GM. They didn't even offer to pick up the rental charges for me.
You would think taking delivery of a new Porsche would be a heck of a good day, but the whole experience was aggravating.
Sell those Isuzus, Bert. But not to me.
Vic
95 C4
Let's just say that those Porsches are sharing space with VWs, Isuzus andSubarus on that showroom floor. And they were right in there with the Oldsmobiles before they went belly up. And while the sales staff is responsive before the buy, the experience afterwards is strictly GM. They didn't even offer to pick up the rental charges for me.
You would think taking delivery of a new Porsche would be a heck of a good day, but the whole experience was aggravating.
Sell those Isuzus, Bert. But not to me.
Vic
95 C4
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Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Florida
Thanks for the offer to check the car out. I just moved from Boston to Tampa so I'm going to drive down to St Pete to satisfy my curiousity. That said, doesn't soiund like this is the right car.
Is there someone in the area who people would recommend for a PPI, be it this car or something else I come across. Knew who to use in Boston, but new kid on the block here.
Thanks again for all of the great input.
Steve
Is there someone in the area who people would recommend for a PPI, be it this car or something else I come across. Knew who to use in Boston, but new kid on the block here.
Thanks again for all of the great input.
Steve
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From: Boston
Ha ... I moved to Boston from Tampa Bay. You're going to love what you can buy for a house down there comparitively ;-)
The man you want to see is Joe Vatter in Largo; he runs German Tech and is an importer of TechArt tuning components, but he is from Germany, has connections with the factory, is extremely knowledgeable and the most straight-up guy I've ever dealt with.
His number is (727) 547-0818, and he's quite near Bert Smith Porsche, and he knows all the people there (he was the Porsche service advisor years ago). If he says that 96 is a straight car, I would buy it sight unseen.
I drove from Kansas to Florida just to have him do the clutch in my 930, and he did it for half the price that the dealer in Kansas wanted.
Tell him Vic says hello if you call. I last saw him when I picked up the Boxster from Bert last year.
Other big independent shops in the area are Eibell Performance in Clearwater and Dave White Autosports in Tampa. Both are good shops, but I think once you deal with Joe you won't want to go anywhere else.
Vic
95 C4
The man you want to see is Joe Vatter in Largo; he runs German Tech and is an importer of TechArt tuning components, but he is from Germany, has connections with the factory, is extremely knowledgeable and the most straight-up guy I've ever dealt with.
His number is (727) 547-0818, and he's quite near Bert Smith Porsche, and he knows all the people there (he was the Porsche service advisor years ago). If he says that 96 is a straight car, I would buy it sight unseen.
I drove from Kansas to Florida just to have him do the clutch in my 930, and he did it for half the price that the dealer in Kansas wanted.
Tell him Vic says hello if you call. I last saw him when I picked up the Boxster from Bert last year.
Other big independent shops in the area are Eibell Performance in Clearwater and Dave White Autosports in Tampa. Both are good shops, but I think once you deal with Joe you won't want to go anywhere else.
Vic
95 C4