patela

So I contacted someone about a '95 C4 which has sidemarker lights and cloth seats. Here's the response I got.... Do you think it's worth following up on, or should I stay away. What other things to I have to worry about in terms of parts availability and registration in California. Thoughts on a fair price?

Thanks!!!

This car was purchased new by an Army doctor stationed in Germany who used it as a high speed commuter on the Autobahn. He brought it home with him when he was reassigned to Fort Lewis, WA. It had about 60,000 miles on it when a good friend of mine In Tacoma, WA purchased it. When I finally talked him into selling it to me it had about 75,000 miles on the clock and I took it home to Reno, NV.
It was part of my friend's collection that included a Speedster, a '63 split window and a Z06 Corvette, a 355 Ferrari, an SS396 and other muscle cars. He was very meticulous about the care of his cars and because the paint on the 911's bumper and hood had experienced some wear from the Autobahn runs, he chose to have the whole car redone. A shop in Lakewood, WA that specializes in show cars did the work and it looks fantastic. This car has never been damaged or been in an accident of any kind and this work was purely cosmetic and done only to enhance it's appearance.

The oil (Mobile One Synthetic) has been changed about every 3500 miles and the BFG kdw tires, which have only 15000 miles on them, are in great condition. The only records I've kept, however, are relative to the warranty for the maintenance work that I had performed about 3000 miles ago to have the upper and lower valve cover gaskets, lifters, all three drive belts and the battery replaced. Other than that, this has been an entirely trouble free, dependable and enjoyable car.

DAVISRILEY

Sounds fishy to me, but, with a good ppi and a good look over, could be nice.

MDamen

A carfax report will generally tell you where the car has been all its life. It should show when it was imported and what states it has been in and mileage at each of those transition points. It may also identify if the respray was due to a major accident. This is fairly cheap information before looking further.

ppashley

Sounds more fishy than a mermaids armpit.
These stories about car collections always make me think trouble.
And a "doctor" quote too.

Get a PPI from a well known (i.e. rennlist reccomended) shop, and see what their verdict is.

Good luck!

ilko

Only 15K miles on the tires - it's a steal go for it!!

Nickels

This is probably a "gray market" vehicle. Being an Insurance Agent, these cars are difficult to insure. If you move forward with this, the seller should have some sort of documentation that the car was brought up to North American specs.

inkatouring

I wouldn't be any more skeptical of it than with any other arm's length deal. Proceed with a CarFax, PPI, and a healthy does of caveat emptor. But, don't forget: cars are like buses (are like women); there'll be another one coming by in about 10 minutes.

Mark in Baltimore

That part raised warning flags to me, too.

Dr. No

What's the VIN? If it's a "ZZZ" VIN its not a US car. Then, especially in CA, you would need a sticker showing it's OK to register here. Could cost $$$ to comply. Probably not worth the effort unless it's special in some other way.

patela

VIN is a ZZZ. What's involved in getting the sticker?

Dr. No

For that, I'm afraid, you will have to ask . . . the DMV

kjr914

My car was repainted by the PO who thought he was keeping it forever, subsequently had kids, got married and his plan changed. No signs of accident damage, clean carfax, clean PPI, so I bought it.

Why would you change Mobile1 every 3500 miles???

Those aren't the most expensive tires out there. However I know some people running the less expensive BFG and they like them for the cost/performance trade-off. At 15K mi, I HOPE he's talking about the fronts... You WILL be needing new tires.

I can't imagine cloth seat being very desirable when you go to sell this car sometime in the future.

my 2c...

patela

According to the Carfax, the car was imported to the US in Feb. 2002, and declared to meet US safety standards by the DOT at that time. Would that suffice as documentation for insurance purposes?

AOW162435

The PO, if he's not FOS, would have documentation describing the full respray (not a small undertaking). Also, the presumed 'doctor' would have been required to meet DOT regulations - one should presume that those records transfer as well.

As for 'only 15,000 miles' on the tires - they must look like drag slicks.

Parts availability should not be an issue - very liitle separates a U.S.-spec 993 from a ROW-spec 993.

Any pics?


Andreas

RS 197

I think it is really cool...Pictures... Not very many Euro 993s in the country... If you don't buy it pass the info on to me...