would you buy a 993 sight unseen???
02-17-2006, 06:06 PM
#16
Race Director
Nope, I bought my RUF site unseen from Germany. I had serious rust issues but that's something I'm willing to live with knowing the car spent it's entire life up in the German mountains.
Given that the car needed a lot of 'curing' I'm still extremely happy with the purchase. I cannot replicate this car however hard I try.
CP
Given that the car needed a lot of 'curing' I'm still extremely happy with the purchase. I cannot replicate this car however hard I try.
CP
02-17-2006, 08:27 PM
#17
Rennlist Member
Buying from the US and bringing the car to Canada required a patient seller who was willing to deal with me. I made my choice based almost entirely on several lengthy telephone conversations through which trust was established. It turned out he was honest, and I feel lucky.
02-17-2006, 08:52 PM
#18
Rennlist Member
found my car on ebay, but did not meet the sellers min bid. Negotiated with him anyway, had a local ppi done first, then had the banking all squared away. Now up to this point, I hadn't actually bought the car, but flew to Scottdale with the check in pocket and only had a one-way ticket. So, for all intents and purposes, I bought it sight unseen. But, if I had to turn and run, I could have, and then turn it into a nice weekend away with my wife as my downside.
02-17-2006, 09:17 PM
#19
Rennlist Member
No I wouldn't ever buy a 993 unseen, not driven or completely checked out.
I looked at about 15 993 before buying mine. Most were advertized as excellent condition.
There was nothing excellent about them. At a local Maserati dealer there was a white 95 for $32K.
The manager gave me some story that the car belonged to a good doctor customer who has purchased several cars from them and he had just traded it in for a new Maserati. He also told me that they always did the service for him and the car was always a South Florida car. Carfax said the car had 5 owners and it was from Ohio and NY. It was sold one month ago through the auction. I noticed a small bubble at the bottom of the windshield when I pushed on it it was rust hole. The price dropped to $27K when I showed the manager the rust hole and my carfax report. He then told me that the car was in an accident right in their lot and they had just fixed and painted it about two weeks ago. I guess that explains the 3 shades of white that I was seeing.
He made sound like it was a ding. Later I found out that it was much worse. A SUV had jumped the curb and smashed into it at about 30mph.
This car ended up back to the auction and sold. I saw it on Ebay later that month. It ran 4 times with no buyer. Several other 993's I went to look at were poorly repaired accident victims. Mostly dumped at auctions and purchased for $15-20K
Lot of northern cars end up down here in Florida because most true Florida cars demand premium prices, no rust and no pot holes so the body and suspension is usually good.
The engines don't suffer from extreme temperature variations from cold start wear and tear.
So a true Florida car is much better deal than buying one from Detroit!
You really need to spend some money ahead to make sure you are getting a good car with a clean record from an honest, enthusiastically **** type owner.
Chris
I looked at about 15 993 before buying mine. Most were advertized as excellent condition.
There was nothing excellent about them. At a local Maserati dealer there was a white 95 for $32K.
The manager gave me some story that the car belonged to a good doctor customer who has purchased several cars from them and he had just traded it in for a new Maserati. He also told me that they always did the service for him and the car was always a South Florida car. Carfax said the car had 5 owners and it was from Ohio and NY. It was sold one month ago through the auction. I noticed a small bubble at the bottom of the windshield when I pushed on it it was rust hole. The price dropped to $27K when I showed the manager the rust hole and my carfax report. He then told me that the car was in an accident right in their lot and they had just fixed and painted it about two weeks ago. I guess that explains the 3 shades of white that I was seeing.
He made sound like it was a ding. Later I found out that it was much worse. A SUV had jumped the curb and smashed into it at about 30mph.
This car ended up back to the auction and sold. I saw it on Ebay later that month. It ran 4 times with no buyer. Several other 993's I went to look at were poorly repaired accident victims. Mostly dumped at auctions and purchased for $15-20K
Lot of northern cars end up down here in Florida because most true Florida cars demand premium prices, no rust and no pot holes so the body and suspension is usually good.
The engines don't suffer from extreme temperature variations from cold start wear and tear.
So a true Florida car is much better deal than buying one from Detroit!
You really need to spend some money ahead to make sure you are getting a good car with a clean record from an honest, enthusiastically **** type owner.
Chris
02-17-2006, 09:25 PM
#20
Addict & Guru
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Would I? I did - 6 years ago. Maybe I was just lucky, but there were absolutely no issues. You can do a surprising amount of long distance due diligence.
02-17-2006, 09:37 PM
#21
I have purchased 4 that I can remember. Three were fine and one wasn't. I would purchase again sight unseen, but only from dealers with reputations beyond reproach. The one I purchased from that didn’t meet this criteria, was the one that I wish I hadn’t.
02-17-2006, 10:06 PM
#22
Rennlist Member
site unseen
Found my 97 C2 on auto trader. Negotiated a deal based on a clean PPI and made all the arrangements for the inspection. Found a few things on the PPI and renegotiated the deal by phone......but I did spend a few bucks to fly up and see the car before I made the swap.
Airfare is cheap.
Airfare is cheap.
02-17-2006, 10:18 PM
#23
PS Armorer
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Yes, I did, and I was nervous as hell about it. Luckily it worked out.
I would make every effort to have it checked out as thoroughly as possible. A PPI is an obvious must, but even better is having someone you know take a look at it in addition to the PPI.
I would do it again if the story checks out, but only if it was really difficult for me to get out and see it.
Jason
I would make every effort to have it checked out as thoroughly as possible. A PPI is an obvious must, but even better is having someone you know take a look at it in addition to the PPI.
I would do it again if the story checks out, but only if it was really difficult for me to get out and see it.
Jason
02-17-2006, 10:50 PM
#24
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I bought my 964 and my 993 on eBay, sight unseen. Both were excellent cars and I would do it again. Here's what you need to do.
1)get a PPI. Find a shop either through a fellow Rennlister or call a local PCA member for a reference.
2)talk to the shop that has maintained the car. If the owner wont give you permission to talk to the shop, or if the shop can't remember the car, is evasive, etc. then find another car.
3)run a CARFAX. It should be clean as a whistle (just because it's clean doesn't mean there aren't issues, but you don't want to buy a car with recorded problems).
4)Talk to the owner, more than once. Have a list of questions and go back again (a few days later) over the same questions. If there are inconsistencies, find another car.
5)Ebay is a way to wholesale a car. A sight unseen price should be lower than a price you would pay at a dealer. Factor in that something probably will need repair. (on the first car I bought I ended up with a couple of minor fixes that cost less than $500.00. My 993 it was perfect (but I think I was lucky); can't count on that every time. Sometimes can be big dollars wrong, that's why you need a PPI you can trust.
6)If you are the **** type looking for perfection, probably not the way to go.
Good luck
EB Fox
97 Coupe
1)get a PPI. Find a shop either through a fellow Rennlister or call a local PCA member for a reference.
2)talk to the shop that has maintained the car. If the owner wont give you permission to talk to the shop, or if the shop can't remember the car, is evasive, etc. then find another car.
3)run a CARFAX. It should be clean as a whistle (just because it's clean doesn't mean there aren't issues, but you don't want to buy a car with recorded problems).
4)Talk to the owner, more than once. Have a list of questions and go back again (a few days later) over the same questions. If there are inconsistencies, find another car.
5)Ebay is a way to wholesale a car. A sight unseen price should be lower than a price you would pay at a dealer. Factor in that something probably will need repair. (on the first car I bought I ended up with a couple of minor fixes that cost less than $500.00. My 993 it was perfect (but I think I was lucky); can't count on that every time. Sometimes can be big dollars wrong, that's why you need a PPI you can trust.
6)If you are the **** type looking for perfection, probably not the way to go.
Good luck
EB Fox
97 Coupe
02-18-2006, 12:07 AM
#26
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Like several others, I too bought mine unseen. I had a local Dallas Porsche dealer perform the PPI and had them commit (in writing) to their work for 2 years. They also guaranteed thier work at any other national porsche dealership should anything go wrong. I was certainly stressed out about the whole idea but I befriended a great mechanic and he went to bat for me regarding the dealer to pick up necessary maintenance.
I think the most important thing when buying unseen is to do as much homework as humanly possible and be able to sleep at night with certain uncertainties . I called every local pcar dealer to see if my car had been serviced there. I asked for faxes of the maintenance records and what ever the had on file. Fortunately, it had only been serviced at two local dealerships and they were able to provide most of the important records.
All in all, I got very lucky. Good luck
I think the most important thing when buying unseen is to do as much homework as humanly possible and be able to sleep at night with certain uncertainties . I called every local pcar dealer to see if my car had been serviced there. I asked for faxes of the maintenance records and what ever the had on file. Fortunately, it had only been serviced at two local dealerships and they were able to provide most of the important records.
All in all, I got very lucky. Good luck
02-18-2006, 01:19 AM
#27
Burning Brakes
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Originally Posted by c993k
No I wouldn't ever buy a 993 unseen, not driven or completely checked out.
I looked at about 15 993 before buying mine. Most were advertized as excellent condition.
There was nothing excellent about them. At a local Maserati dealer there was a white 95 for $32K.
The manager gave me some story that the car belonged to a good doctor customer who has purchased several cars from them and he had just traded it in for a new Maserati. He also told me that they always did the service for him and the car was always a South Florida car. Carfax said the car had 5 owners and it was from Ohio and NY. It was sold one month ago through the auction. I noticed a small bubble at the bottom of the windshield when I pushed on it it was rust hole. The price dropped to $27K when I showed the manager the rust hole and my carfax report. He then told me that the car was in an accident right in their lot and they had just fixed and painted it about two weeks ago. I guess that explains the 3 shades of white that I was seeing.
He made sound like it was a ding. Later I found out that it was much worse. A SUV had jumped the curb and smashed into it at about 30mph.
This car ended up back to the auction and sold. I saw it on Ebay later that month. It ran 4 times with no buyer. Several other 993's I went to look at were poorly repaired accident victims. Mostly dumped at auctions and purchased for $15-20K
Lot of northern cars end up down here in Florida because most true Florida cars demand premium prices, no rust and no pot holes so the body and suspension is usually good.
The engines don't suffer from extreme temperature variations from cold start wear and tear.
So a true Florida car is much better deal than buying one from Detroit!
You really need to spend some money ahead to make sure you are getting a good car with a clean record from an honest, enthusiastically **** type owner.
Chris
I looked at about 15 993 before buying mine. Most were advertized as excellent condition.
There was nothing excellent about them. At a local Maserati dealer there was a white 95 for $32K.
The manager gave me some story that the car belonged to a good doctor customer who has purchased several cars from them and he had just traded it in for a new Maserati. He also told me that they always did the service for him and the car was always a South Florida car. Carfax said the car had 5 owners and it was from Ohio and NY. It was sold one month ago through the auction. I noticed a small bubble at the bottom of the windshield when I pushed on it it was rust hole. The price dropped to $27K when I showed the manager the rust hole and my carfax report. He then told me that the car was in an accident right in their lot and they had just fixed and painted it about two weeks ago. I guess that explains the 3 shades of white that I was seeing.
He made sound like it was a ding. Later I found out that it was much worse. A SUV had jumped the curb and smashed into it at about 30mph.
This car ended up back to the auction and sold. I saw it on Ebay later that month. It ran 4 times with no buyer. Several other 993's I went to look at were poorly repaired accident victims. Mostly dumped at auctions and purchased for $15-20K
Lot of northern cars end up down here in Florida because most true Florida cars demand premium prices, no rust and no pot holes so the body and suspension is usually good.
The engines don't suffer from extreme temperature variations from cold start wear and tear.
So a true Florida car is much better deal than buying one from Detroit!
You really need to spend some money ahead to make sure you are getting a good car with a clean record from an honest, enthusiastically **** type owner.
Chris
02-18-2006, 06:00 AM
#28
Rennlist Member
site unseen
Originally Posted by jhale
Like several others, I too bought mine unseen. I had a local Dallas Porsche dealer perform the PPI and had them commit (in writing) to their work for 2 years. They also guaranteed thier work at any other national porsche dealership should anything go wrong. I was certainly stressed out about the whole idea but I befriended a great mechanic and he went to bat for me regarding the dealer to pick up necessary maintenance.
I think the most important thing when buying unseen is to do as much homework as humanly possible and be able to sleep at night with certain uncertainties . I called every local pcar dealer to see if my car had been serviced there. I asked for faxes of the maintenance records and what ever the had on file. Fortunately, it had only been serviced at two local dealerships and they were able to provide most of the important records.
All in all, I got very lucky. Good luck
I think the most important thing when buying unseen is to do as much homework as humanly possible and be able to sleep at night with certain uncertainties . I called every local pcar dealer to see if my car had been serviced there. I asked for faxes of the maintenance records and what ever the had on file. Fortunately, it had only been serviced at two local dealerships and they were able to provide most of the important records.
All in all, I got very lucky. Good luck
