Found a 993 C2 that I like at Victory. Considering making a play for it (body and interior look to be in A+ condition, at least from the way it shows on the website), but I did a search on this forum to get a feel for what Victory is all about...Whoa...buyer beware it seems....

The negative comments I read range from fairly typical used car salesman tactics like overwaxing and bright lights....all the way to the dark side...i.e. purchasing service manuals under a different ebay ID to "manufacture" a documentation history for the cars.

One thing which appealed to me about the car is that it appears to have a documented service history (with a few holes). When I spoke to Neal about the car he told me that it was a one owner car which moved, along with its owner, from one southern state to Texas, and then he got it...BUT a careful look at the service manuals didn't seem to bear that out and show the car spending most of its time in Florida.

I am also concerned because I live in the North East and would have to arrange a PPI, and then either buy it sight unseen, or take a flight down to Houston. Since I prefer not to buy sight unseen, I am also concerned about wasting my time going down there if his cars in real life don't jive with what is shown on the website.

Anyone have a good experience with Victory?

Also, other than Sloan, can anyone recommend a 993 dealer in the NY, Conn or Massachusetts/New England area who deals in first class reliable 993's?

 

If you are to take a trip to Houston, check out RPM (www.rpmsportscars.com). Ray has some of the nicest 993s you will ever find in the US.
As far as Victory is concerned, you obviously have done a search... I looked at several cars there while searching for mine (I used to live in Houston) but decided not to buy from Victory.

 

I bought my '96 993 from Robert at Victory and have nothing but good things to say about the car and the experience.

I do agree that he does shine up the cars for the web site as much as possible - but I would to.

My car is in great shape visually and mechanically. I wasn't expecting perfection from a 10 year old car with 43K on the clock. In my opinion the car was exactly as advertised.

I negotiated over the phone. Flew to Houston to do the deal and drove home to Atlanta - what an awesome road trip. It was a great experience all the way around.

Bought the car in August and have had only minor issues like window/sunroof switch malfunctions (which is evidently very common). Just had a service done at 50K and my mechanic who specializes in air cooled 911s raved about the car's condition.

Good Luck!

--JC

 

Thanks for the input. I was hoping to hear a few positve words because the guy does apparently sell a lot of 993's and people do tend to pile on sometimes. Plus, these cars are so hard to find, when one catches your eye it's hard to let it go. Did you have a PPI done in Houston?

 

Talk to Phil at www.weissachautohaus.com. I just purchased a '94 964 Turbo 3.6 and couldn't be happier. Weissach is a co-venture between Phil Cracco and Dan Jacobs of Hairy Dog Grrrage---true professionals and a pleasure to do business with. They are located in CT.

Mike

PS F Sloan

 

I knew you were going to ask that so I knew I was setting myself up when I posted my experience.

So get ready to start booing and throwing stuff at me.

Are you ready?....

Here it is....

I didn't have a PPI done.

There. I said it...errr...wrote it. --and I feel much better now.

--JC

 

Sounds like you are trying to talk yourself into dealing with this dealer.... where there is smoke ....
..http://forums.roadfly.com/forums/por...orsche_911_sc/

 

See... I knew I should have stayed out of this.

I've seen all the warnings about Victory. I'm sure every dealer has it's share of unsatisfied people with negative experiences to rant about.

I however am not one of those people.

Should I have had a PPI done. Of course. Do I recommend it for anyone buying a 993. Of course.

But I didn't have one. I'm not unsatisfied. My car is fine. All is good.

--JC

 

Well, I'm sure Victory doesn't purposely screw up good cars if they happen to get them. But looking at what appears to be their process, you were very very lucky. So while you and everyone else should be happy that you got a good one, a rigorous independent PPI is strongly advisable!

One thing that I would be concerned about. If a dealer's primary market is first time buyers and lust-driven buyers, what do you think they'll do if a PPI comes back bad? Very likely say, oh well, I don't agree and wait for the next Ebay bidder. There's no law that says a seller has to lower his price when you find all the flaws in his car. And with Ebay's private bidding, you can't even warn the next guy.

Might be worthwhile to make sure the seller will sell the car at a reasonable price, if the PPI comes back with issues. Otherwise you're out a few hundred bucks and a lot of angst.

 

Yikes!...Like I said, the car looks so sweeetttt in the pictures...the (cashmere) interior looks brand new....almost too good to be true....Ahem...

 

Also, other than Sloan, can anyone recommend a 993 dealer in the NY, Conn or Massachusetts/New England area who deals in first class reliable 993's?[/QUOTE]


Try Holt motorsports near Philadelphia.
I rencently visited and left with warm / fuzzy feelings

craig

 

+1 on buying from a fellow lister.

 

You can't lump Sloan in with Victory. Sloan and RPM sell "sight unseen" cars. Tim Holt is sorta up near you in the Philly(?). He's always got nice 993s. But you're still open to Private Party deals, right?

The other problem with Houston in general is that many Katrina-related cars (of all marques) wound up there...

 

This would be a second P car and would not be my daily driver (which is a '06 Cayenne S). My budget is somewhat flexible depending upon what I find. I'd love a C2S or a C4S, but I'd also be happy with a C2 if it was in really great condition, perfect (to me) color combo (I prefer silver, blue or white, with a cashmere or linen interior).

I know I don't want to spend $60-70K for the top end stuff they are showing at Sloan or RPM, and, on the other end of the spectrum, also know I don't want a high-mileage, not very clean C2, even for short dollars.

The one I'm looking at at Victory is a '95 CS which "looks" VERY clean, has 39K miles and Neal told me the reserve is set at $38,000. I'd prefer a few less miles, and his price may be somewhat high for a '95, but overall that is pretty close to be around the sweet spot price-wise (but for the bad rep he has). Although for the right car, lower miles, '97 or '98, dealer with stellar rep, closer to home, etc.-- I might be willing to move my budget up a higher, especially for the right C2S or C4S.

P.S. I am open to private sales, especially from Rennlisters, and completely understand the wisdom there.

 

Dave is top notch; long time Northeast Region member, club race scrutineer (?) etc.
Nice to hear of another 993 joining us in MA.