NC TRACKRAT

One thing that hasn't been suggested yet has to do with the misfiring. If your distributor drive belt is broken, that would most definitely cause misfiring. Check this forum or P-Car for DIY instructions for how to check for this.

einreb92

Again I want to thank all of you for putting your collective brain power into gear to help me figure a way through this problem. Yes, I am smitten with the vehicle and would like to continue my stewardship for as long as possible. In my twisted mind, I think the car and I are starting to resemble each other, warts and all It breaks my heart that on this, the first really nice weekend since the car came to me, I cannot bring myself to explain to my teenaged son why we didn't take the Pcar out yesterday or today. Someday I will share with him my take on the perverse nature of human interaction and possibly share some lessons about trust, but for now, I couldn't find the words; I too am stunned! He was kind enough not to push it - a rare achievement for a 17 y.o. BTW, he loves this car, helped me with the on-line search for vehicles fitting my requirements and has looked at me with new appreciation since the thing rolled off the carrier and into our lives. I got COOL all of a sudden! That has GOT to be worth something!

The irony is of course, that despite that I was so careful and waited so many years, nevertheless, I still end up on the spear point of either deceit, ignorance or intentional self-serving behavior on the part of the PO who, by the way, I have not yet contacted about this development. Robby Burns nailed it; the best laid plans of mice and men....

I have thought long and hard about what I should do. Some of my fellow 993 owners here have pointed out many variables and have pointed out the following: I have proof someone did the wrong thing and it is possibly of significant financial consequence to me and there could be legal standing - whether or not I can afford to correct it; despite the fact that someone's actions caused the car to fail state inspection without disclosure, to intentionally alter safety equipment is against the law and to hide such information as a condition of a sale is a federal crime. These things are true.

What I am sure of is the result that I cannot drive the car as it and that is suffrage. But the bottom line is I don't yet have a real diagnosis for the problem and will have to wait at least a week (if I choose to go with the Pcar mechanic my good friend uses in my area) before I will really know what I am facing in terms of cost to code and decipher the code to determine what is wrong. I'm hoping the cheap bastard didn't want to pay for a new set of wires/caps and we can call it a day!

I think I have a sense that there were a few things (spare tire and records that were promised but not delivered) that signaled to me that any compensation from the PO will require legal intervention or help from ebay (who does have a policy against this kind of thing). It is interesting that the PO has an ebay store and so may be more inclined to "dance." I don't want to be a test legal case. I only want to drive the car I have saved and dreamed of for longer than I care to detail and wish (like many of my supporters here) that this had never happened and that I could concentrate on improvements and maintenance instead of dealing with life support issues!

To me, it is not a question of how much I paid for the car but that in this world of specialized addicts, failing belief systems and the breakdown of the economic support of families, where there are folks standing in food lines while I contemplated a purchase of a tertiary acquisition that costs more than many people could afford to spend to stay alive, that I had the audacity to engage in horse trading for a car that I could not afford to buy three years ago, one would think we Pcar folks would be honest with and trust each other in a sale in much the same way I take to heart and have trusted the information given on this forum. Naive? Probably! Should I expect less than honesty; hell no! Of course the reality could be very different. I will contact the PO (and the mechanic that did the PPI) and depending on their collective responses consult with my attorney and rely on his advice. I'll be sure to pass on developments as they unfold. Again, I relay my thanks for all input and suggestions and hope to soon be able to join the ranks of happy 933 owners and not be related to tje ranks of those who got an end of the stick so short, they felt that were the butt end of a joke!
Regards


Bernie

Geets

Bernie,

Well said, hope it all works out for you in the end.

Definitely start that ebay claim before it's too late, it can't hurt anything and you have your conversations documented by a third party. I would start there first.

In the end you will be happy again when the car is all sorted out.

Mike W

As everyone, I am really sorry to hear about your difficulties. As one who has been through a bit of this I know how stressful it can be. As someone who is going through an upper rebuild clutch etc I know how expensive it can be.

But as others have said don't panic - wait till you know what's wrong. You might be luckier than you think. Once again most 100,000 cars are going to have some problems , but one thing is for sure, once you get the problems sorted it out it will be worth it.

One last thing - who was the wrench in florida who gave you the PPI. He obviously is someone to avoid........

AOW162435

+ 1,045


Andreas

RallyJon

Wow. That's a lot to lay at the feet of a 100k mile used car transaction.

If there are, in fact, major problems that will ruin your pleasure of ownership, you can deal with it through the legal system.

If you're generating this much angst over what turns out to be the usual old-Porsche fix-up stuff, you should just let it go, fix the little crap and enjoy the car.

friar93

I understand the position that this is a 100k car and typical issues, move on.

BUT, the 2 key examples here seem to indicate that there was intentional fraud or at least massive negligence.

1) The CEL bulb was missing.....theres no way the PO or the mechanic didnt know or realize this after working on or owning the car for so long. period. the removal of it was clearly intentional to either mislead a buyer or circumvent an inspection. these bulbs dont fall off like a piece of missing trim

2) Obvious oil leakage(up for interpretation, I know). If true, theres no way that shouldnt be mentioned even if its a 2 point inspection.

The mechanic should be publically exposed even if in no other way than the BBB

The owner, who could have been clueless(although a mechanic removing a CEL bulb without owner knowledge is a stretch), should at least be willing to accept the car was misrepresented and pay up.

go after them....what if the owner was selling one of his planes and ' forgot' to mention a couple of safety items. a little more at stake than missing a nice day in the PCar

einreb92

I agree with you Friar. The incidental items (including the leak) are of less concern to me than the missing bulb/CEL issue and what that might indicate. I have contacted the PO and ebay. The PO says he has no knowledge and the wrench in Fla has not returned my calls. I'll have to wait until next week to find out the real deal because my Porsche mechanic is backed up. Arrghh!

mjsporsche

Good start. You are appoaching this situation smartly by putting on notice the PO, the PPI wrench and ebay.

Lets hope for a minor issue as your mechanic decodes the mystery. If it is more than minor, then you can deal with those challenges via legal actions.

Be patient and calm...and enjoyment will be around the corner for you.

einreb92

RallyJohn. That quote you identified was more in response to something someone else wrote. My point is just that in this horrible economy, someone has taken advantage of the trust I placed in them by misrepresenting the condition of the car and that I expected more from a Pcar owner (which shows my naiveté). I am more than prepared to deal with the little crap, as you put it. But a major engine overhaul will put me under. That is the source of my current angst.

Thanks for the encouragement Mark. I am looking forward to that silver lining in the present cloud.

Nickels

You're going to be SOL with e-bay since you circumvented their purchase process. Therefore, any buyer warranty does no apply. Seller knew the car had issues, he got the exposure from e-bay but he never intended to sell it through them. I'm sorry for your bad experience but the writing was on the wall in capital leters.

nile13

I would disagree. If I understand correctly, Bernie did not circumvent anything. He bought the car via eBay. Whether he pays via PayPal or not is is own business, eBay does not require that.

PayPal gives certain financial protection, yes. But eBay, even though they own PayPal and try hard as hell to funnel all payments through it, has its own protection policies, whatever they might be.

fnckr

If you won the auction on eBay, then you bought it through eBay. It doesn't matter how you paid for the car. It only matters that the transaction was registered on EBay as an agreement between buyer and seller either through Buy It Now, winning the auction, etc. If the item appears under your registration as an item that you won, then it's an eBay purchase and you're covered. File the claim and let them deal with the seller. They can cause more pain...

jw97C2S

A link to the auction in question might help us to guide you.

Nickels

"The PO asked me not to pay him through ebay or paypal because it would cost him and he really needed the bulk of the money to salvage his business, so I sent a bank draft/wire transfer. It would seem at this juncture he asked for that so he could escape the ramifications for a lack of candor and robbed me of the protection "

Sounds like he circumvented E-Bay