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I took a look at 2 cars today. First was a 2000 with 76k miles and the other an 03 with 80k. Surprised to find the 00 drove better. The 03 seemed harsh and not as tight as the 00. A few rattles and the car seems to wander. The asking price on the 03 was $4,600 more too. Neither car's interior was pristine but the 03 had a stuck open cup holder, hand brake piece missing, a window delete button missing. Also I could be wrong but it looked like he car had flood damage or at least been left out in the rain with the windows down. The pics show mold on the mats, spare tire cover and the sticker looked to have been soaked at one point. Would that indicate the car sat in 18" of water...? There were a few idle stumbles present, and the hood and drunk struts wouldn't keep the panels up. I don't know if I'm being too picky but I expected more for $22k. The 03 was a dealer, the 00 private party. The 00 had a bad front bumper paint job done at some point but did have records. Am I being too picky??
Mold=RUN!
But seriously, a good PPI can look in areas to confirm flood damage. There are so many cars for sale, I'd keep looking unless there is something really special about this one.
If they neglected that stuff, imagine what else they neglected. Mold = problems. I would take a badly painted bumper any day over the neglect the other car has suffered.
It is your money and you should find the car for which you can hand over a bunch of money with no pangs of regret or any real doubts.
You are doing the right thing, looking, really looking, hard at a car. You are spotting issues that have you rightly questioning the desirability of the car. You are as a used car buyer doing that you should be doing.
Vitamin C, I'm looking for a clean, well maintained car in the 75k mile range. I had thought I would prefer a 996.2 but after driving both, there's not much difference between the 3.4 and 3.6 motors. I like the gen 2 headlights better but you can't see them while driving so really why should I care about them? Being the 996.1s can be had for $3-$5k less that's a plus. I've looked at 8 or 9 cars and driven 4. Will keep looking till I find the right one and get a PPI. This will be a weekend car so I'm in no rush.
Were the mats in the frunk or were they in the car? If they were in the frunk it could be that the frunk was left partially/fully open and got wet. Maybe they detailed it and didn't let it dry properly before closing it back up. If it's just in the frunk, it's not the end of the world. Pull the carpet and mats out and replace them after giving the tub and everything in it a good scrubbing.
Pulling up the interior carpet as part of the PPI is an absolute must though. If there is any hint of mold inside, Bill is right. Firebomb that thing and run!
No you are not being too picky. I was the same way when I was shopping for a car. I passed up a low mileage 50K MK2 for low 20s because the front bumper had some scrapes, and general wear and tear didn't align with a low mileage car.
I was looking for that one car that didn't look worn.
I think part of the problem is that 996s has been cheap for some time, when most people buy them--then neglect them because everything costs above average to keep them running and serviced. I see a ton of these cars.
A well kept 996 is hard to find, but when you do find one. They are absolutely worth the extra coin. You can get so much driving pleasure and performance for such a low cost.
1. Not everything shows up on carfax. We had some fairly significant body damage on a Jaguar repaired and the shop never reported it. Some shops will do so if asked. Carfax will also not honor their guarantee in that case. If you had a moldy car and just traded it in for whatever reason it would not show up as an issue.
2. My car's ashtray also stays open. The trick is to pop the whole thing out (it just lifts out if you pull up on it) and then close it and then pop it back in while only holding the edges. I don't use the ashtray so no biggie, but whenever someone else gets in the car they invariably seem to push the button and it opens...
3. You aren't being picky. That '03 in its present condition screams "walk away". My car is not pristine but I could not imagine selling it with that kind of damage being visible and not disclosed before you came over to look at it.
12-27-2016, 04:43 PM
I'm I being too picky???
