Doug Davis

Hi,

Saw this car on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEBWA%3AIT



Pictures look nice. Anybody know this car is it worth a 2 hour drive to check out?

Thanks,

Doug Davis

TheOtherEric

Nice, it has that elusive rear seat delete option. If you can stand the interior color, I'd bet you can get a pretty good deal on it despite it being a dealer.

Doug Davis

yeah,

the interior color is a little tough to take, but the miles look good, and if it hasn't taken any hits/bodywork, I might be able to get a good price. A couple of pretty low mileage 993's have sold for low 30's the past few weeks on Ebay ( I track 993s all the time).

Thanks, Doug

Livefreeandrive

If you like that car for around 30K then you would love this one with RSRs and Bilstein Hds with RoWM30 suspension. If you are really serious contact me. John D., Mike S and I checked this one out a few weeeks ago. It is located in southern NH. The owner just moved from CA a couple of months ago.
Steve

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/1996993ps.jpg

Speedraser

Doug,

That dealer is about 30 minutes from me. I may be able to take a look at the car next week if you'd like, with a little luck.

It appears to be an early '95, probably built in early '94, based on the VIN.

Speedraser

Doug, you have a PM.

PorscheDavid

The interior color is a bit better in person...at least it has the black steering wheel.

bnewell

So........has anyone seen this car in person?? Thoughts???

Thanks,

Brian

flatair

Looked at it & drove it briefly on my way out to Westhampton last weekend. Exterior looks good, a few marks here and there, most can probably be rubbed out with light compound. Doesn't seem to be any repaint anywhere, lines look good. Interior color is...different...but not nearly as eye-searing as the photos show, actually sorta looks nice with the polar silver (one of my favorite exterior colors). Suspension felt ok and engine runs nice and smooth, goes like a 95 should, but didn't really 'run it through the ringer'. And sure enough, no back seats (kinda neat!) Couple of minor things that dealer says they'll fix- glove box is broken, parking brake light shows on dash. Dealer says:

1) They sold the car new to the guy, who sold it back to them. They also said they did all of the work on the car, and could come up with records on it. But then again, my wife asked if the car was one ownder to another sales guy inside and he said 'just about' (????). If you're looking to buy the car, I'd get that info straight first.

2) No wrecks, no repaints anywhere, all factory paint.


Just a brief look over (and I'm no mechanic), but for what it's worth the car looks quite nice, especially for a 9 year old car. I'd consider buying it, but timing is not quite right for me, and I'm looking for a varioram car.

Brad

Bob D.

I have not seen it in person, but actually I *like* the interior. Gives the mild silver exterior a little zip. The key is that the steering wheel and some other trim bits are black, which IMHO saves the interior from being "too much." I am not a fan of the RSD, however, and I also do not care at all for 17" cups and I bet many of us would include an immediate wheel upgrade as part of the purchase price budget.

I would definitely at least inquire about the car Steve mentioned, though--it is a '96 (OBDII, varioram, no basket handle, etc.) and has really nice and widely appreciated mods. And for lots of reasons, I prefer buying from a private party. For example, what are the sales tax rules in your state? In Illinois, I saved about $2,200 buying an identically priced car from a private party instead of a dealer.

bnewell

I was also told by one of the salesmen that it was a 1 owner car and that his dealership had performed all of the maintenance on the car. He said that he would call me back this past Monday with the details of the maintenance history.

After not hearing from him Monday, I dropped him a short email asking what he found out. Well apparently he was mistaken, his dealership did not perform the maint. and that another private mechanic had done all of the work on the car. He went on to say that his service manager had all of the records on the car but his service manager had the day off and had the records with him.???!!!

He said that he would call me Thursday with all of the information.

It is now Friday and still no word.

Brian

flatair

Oooh sketchy! when I went to have a look, one of the sales-guy's biggest points that he kept harping on was that they knew the owner, history, that they absoultely did all the work on the car, etc. Hmmmmmm - still the car seemed pretty nice, but that's a red-flag to check out.

Doug Davis

Thanks everyone.

Todd gave me some more details in a PM. Evidently the windsheild has been replaced and it has a few minor scratches/dings but no paint. I think it's worth a look. it's up to 32K on E-bay and reserve is met, so the price could be right. I'm going to shoot up there on Sat.

Doug

bnewell

Funny.........salesman told me that the reserve was somewhere around $43K and that they had the car on their lot for an asking price of $35.9K.

I know, didn't make much sense to me either!!!

Brian

Speedraser

Doug,
When will you be there? I may be in the area and might drop by.

Everyone, here is a copy of my PM to Doug:

Doug,

I was near the dealer today, so I stopped in and took a look at the car. I didn't have much time, but here are my impressions. Unfortunately, I didn't have my digital camera (my wife claimed it for the day).

It is a very early "1995." It was built in January 1994, which I believe is the first month of 993 production for the US market. Based on the VIN, I think it's the 141st US 993 Coupe built (FWIW, my '95 was built in May 1995, and is the 3845th built). It's a one-owner car, sold new by Sportique.

I like the Flamenco Red interior -- it's not too loud, and it's unusual. Also, it's Full Leather, which, IMO, is a significant improvement on the standard Partial Leather interior. The interior is in excellent condition, and shows very little wear, corroborating the mileage.

The Polar Silver paint and the exterior are good, but not great. The car hadn't been washed yet (it was in the shop), so it's hard to say how glossy the paint is or whether there are fine scratches. It looks like it has not had any paintwork, although I'd want to spend more time looking at it to be sure (or, of course, have a pro inspect it). There are several small flaws, though none is huge. There is a deep scratch, approx. 1 1/2" long, on the left rear fender, just behind the door. There are a few scuffs on the rear bumper, and one on the front bumper. There are two dings in a very strange location; under and to the left of the right headlight, just about where the fender meets the bumper. The salesman said they aren't going fix it before they sell the car because the paint is original and they want the buyer to see it and decide what, if anything, to do about it. With a lot of luck, a skilled paintless dent removal guy might be able to access them.

The biggest concern from what I saw is the area around the windshield. The windshield was replaced, and it was done badly (Sportique is going to have it done again). The paint on the windshield pillars, right next to the windshield trim, is noticeably marked. At first I thought it was a tape line from a repaint, but it looks like it might instead be from where the old trim was. This area may have been under the original trim, and was marked by it. Since the new trim is slightly smaller, it's now visible. This would definitely need to be looked at.

The 17" wheels were dirty, so it's hard to assess whether they've been curbed. I think they're not perfect. Apparently, the car also comes with a set of the original 16" wheels, with snow tires mounted. The 17s had (I think) S-02s that looked to have a fair amount of life left. A quick look in the luggage and spare wheel areas showed no obvious causes for concern. The engine compartment needs a good cleaning, like the rest of the car.

That's what comes to mind. Reading it over, it may sound worse than it is, but I guess it's hard to avoid when looking for flaws. I don't know how perfect a car you're looking for.