Just saw this one over on the Pelicans (no affil): http://www.mohrimports.com/view_inve...php?car_id=517

Now and again we hear from folks who want to daily drive their 993, and my contention is that cars in the 70K-90K range are the ones on which to focus. This is one of those. Popular Polar Silver paint with the only acceptable color for the black interior fetishists. Decent service history. Seat bolsters in good shape. PSS9s done. Steering wheel crest is hopefully easy to pry off.

Money's a bit strong, but this dealer's in the ballpark.

 

A few red flags. The car is from Florida, nothing unusual about that. Except that the car has new carpets and Florida is one of those states where you can "wash" a salvage title and make it "clean". My first thought was that it was a flood victim. I clicked on the photos and the option sticker on the inside of the hood has mold spots growing on it. No thanks. Even if that is not the case, too many risky things to move on it.

 

The ad doesn't say the carpets are new, it says they're "as new" -- i.e., in like-new condition. And are you really sure that's mold on the options sticker? Seems like some really thin evidence on which to assert that a dealer is swindling the public.

 

You're kidding, right? I assume that with any car at any dealer. Guilty until disproven, but that's just me.

 

It kind of does look mold...

 

Most of the cars I have seen at Mohr Imports have been pretty rough looking and priced quite high.

 

Meh, It's close enough I may run up and see it this week. Couldn't be worse than the crap I have seen over the past few months of my search.

 

Paint around window seals looks suspicious, as if it has been taped off for paintwork. Car may have had a respray. If so, would want to know why.

 

Saw that, but also saw the misfitting of the front cover with all the scrapes on the underside. If a respray why would you not fix that while you're at it, who knows? Thinking it's just bad wax??

 

Like I said, that might not be the case, I certainly could be wrong (I hope I am). It only takes one or two red flags for me to look elswhere.

Still looks like mold...

 

The car averaged about 8k per year for the first 12 yrs then only did 8k in 5 yrs which in itself is not too unusual but it would cause me to look a bit deeper into where the car had been the last 5 yrs.

 

+1 on what pirahna said, and the sticker DOES look like its growing mold.

Personally, I stay away from ANY vehicle that spent ANY time in Florida for reasons previously stated. It's as if the whole state has turned into a pain pill mill, and a destination for whitewashing of titles for vehicles with less than a clean past. For this same reason, I don't trust the stated mileage on cars that have spent any time in Florida. There are just to many other cars to consider...

I have tried to deal with Mohr previously, and if they have a nice car, it is priced accordingly with very little flexibility on price.

If after you examine the vehicle and believe it may be the one, a PPI by a respected independent would certainly be the next order of precedence.

 

"There are just to many cars out there"...Man if I had a dime every time I have read that same statement, the fact is, there just isn't!! I don't feel like paying over 40K+ for a garage queen NB, but don't want one with over 100K mi. that has been neglected and then some jerk still wants over 30K for it. Sorry to vent, I'm just really frustrated with my search recently. I'm tired of being lied to by sellers and being disapointed in the cars. As you all know this is also a time consuming effort, and with work and family it's hard to enjoy sometimes. If money was no object I would just go drop cash on a sub 40k mi. car stop my cryin' and be done with it. Gonna go stare at photos of all of your cars now.

 

Chuck, you missing it already???

Don't get discouraged. Your car's out there somewhere. You'll know when you find it. Just remember that even the newest 993 is 15 years old at this point, so expect some warts here and there. Pretty much all of our cars here exhibit some "patina." Especially if they are taken out of the garage every once in a while.

 

For202FLY:

Be patient and learn to enjoy the search for your 993. Just found my 6th 993 (a two owner '98 C4S) after passing on 3 others, the process took about six months.

Let the forums (rennlist, pelican, pca) know what you're looking for, sometimes people own these cars and don't advertise them when they're thinking of selling.

While some dealers have great cars, there is a price premium that comes with it. Just don't expect private sellers to be too far off the dealer price mark, dealers keep these cars at premium prices and everyone, including the owners (yourself withstanding someday) benefit.

Don't be afraid of high mileage if the car is well sorted...search Rennlist archives for what constitutes a well sorted 993. There is more information on this forum than any place else for all things 993.

You're right in terms of available cars out there. The search to find a replacement for my last 993 was the hardest yet. Choice of decent cars seemed to be on the decline and prices did not have the winter drop I've seen in the past. My thought is that more and more of these cars are getting into the hands of owners who buy them to keep them.

That said, be patient. There are still a lot of guys like me out there, I'll probably get bored of that '98 C4S in less than a year after getting it well sorted and want to move onto something else ....or maybe 6th time is a charm?

p.s. to commemorate this 550th post.....