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You know, it had occurred to me he could be worried you're looking to sue if he admits to anything. Are you willing to put cold water on that theory or is that your end game?
End game isn't to sue the guy. That would be a waste of time, money, and effort. End game is for the guy to admit he heard the knocking and lied about its condition.
He thought masking the problem with thicker oil would buy him enough time. Little did he know I am an ******* that enjoys getting to the bottom of problems. I plan to let the guy know I have zero intention of suing him. With him knowing this and taking it as fact, he might open up and admit guilt. If i can get him to give me a little bit of money back, so be it.
It will be telling if the past owner even answers my call.
Hate to hear about your story, but it seems they're more common than many believe. Not just Porsches, but many of the cars that end up on craigslist and yes even dealers... e.g. Carmax. Have you heard of the Max Attack? Well, never buy a M96/M97 based 911 at Carmax unless you have a weird fetish of flushing money down the toilet. Unfortunately, the laws don't protect buyers in direct car private car sales unless there is clear evidence of fraud and even then, fighting it in court can cost more than it's worth. Plain and simple, when it's sold as-is, the car is yours warts and all. I know hindsight is 20/20, but if it were me, I would have called him as soon as I heard the knocking noises, turned around, and asked for my money back. If he was a decent guy, he would have obliged, but in most cases, once you drive off, it's yours.
My advice... Move on and enjoy the car once it's repaired.
Hate to hear about your story, but it seems they're more common than many believe. Not just Porsches, but many of the cars that end up on craigslist and yes even dealers... e.g. Carmax. Have you heard of the Max Attack? Well, never buy a M96/M97 based 911 at Carmax unless you have a weird fetish of flushing money down the toilet. Unfortunately, the laws don't protect buyers in direct car private car sales unless there is clear evidence of fraud and even then, fighting it in court can cost more than it's worth. Plain and simple, when it's sold as-is, the car is yours warts and all. I know hindsight is 20/20, but if it were me, I would have called him as soon as I heard the knocking noises, turned around, and asked for my money back. If he was a decent guy, he would have obliged, but in most cases, once you drive off, it's yours.
My advice... Move on and enjoy the car once it's repaired.
That phone call was made immediately after hearing the noise. I posed the exact same question to the guy and he turned me down. I agree with everything posted above. It is what it is at this point, but I will be reaching out to the the past owner one last time.
That phone call was made immediately after hearing the noise. I posed the exact same question to the guy and he turned me down. I agree with everything posted above. It is what it is at this point, but I will be reaching out to the the past owner one last time.
Oh goodness, I wasn't sure from your original post when you talked to the owner. That really sucks especially when you had a mechanic check the car out beforehand. I wouldn't hold my breath on getting any money out of him, but mention his comment about not wanting to screw anyone over and see what he says. Maybe he'll split the repair bill? I wouldn't bet on it.
Curious, do you have an estimate of what it will cost to repair the engine? Care to share?
Oh goodness, I wasn't sure from your original post when you talked to the owner. That really sucks especially when you had a mechanic check the car out beforehand. I wouldn't hold my breath on getting any money out of him, but mention his comment about not wanting to screw anyone over and see what he says. Maybe he'll split the repair bill? I wouldn't bet on it.
Curious, do you have an estimate of what it will cost to repair the engine? Care to share?
I purchased a 1999 996 C2 6 speed with 113k miles.
There have been other cases where sellers have obviously misrepresented what they were selling and/or what they'd done to the car mechanically - but in this case, the seller even disclosed that he'd listened to the car with a stethoscope, which sounds like typical 996 terror-of-ownership to me. Unless there is more evidence to support some kind of cover-up or conspiracy, I'm not sure why the seller is obligated to refund the purchase price. The car was running soundly when he sold it, and nothing turned up during whatever happened as part of the PPI/test drive. If this was MY car, and it left my driveway in what I thought was proper running order - and then I subsequently received a phone call saying the car busted on the way out of town and the buyer wanted his money back, I would be disinclined to take back a now-broken vehicle in exchange for a full refund, especially given the pending move.
This is a 20-year-old car with over 100,000 miles on it, with the incorrect oil (for Arizona, even though the car wasn't GOING to Arizona) - but even so, OP noticed nothing amiss until it had been inspected, serviced by, and extensively driven by someone who isn't a Porsche mechanic...
OP, regardless of whether someone TRIED to screw you over - or if it's just fate that screwed you over - I'm sorry for the hassle and the heartbreak of finding out that your new-to-you 911 isn't right.
There have been other cases where sellers have obviously misrepresented what they were selling and/or what they'd done to the car mechanically - but in this case, the seller even disclosed that he'd listened to the car with a stethoscope, which sounds like typical 996 terror-of-ownership to me. Unless there is more evidence to support some kind of cover-up or conspiracy, I'm not sure why the seller is obligated to refund the purchase price. The car was running soundly when he sold it, and nothing turned up during whatever happened as part of the PPI/test drive. If this was MY car, and it left my driveway in what I thought was proper running order - and then I subsequently received a phone call saying the car busted on the way out of town and the buyer wanted his money back, I would be disinclined to take back a now-broken vehicle in exchange for a full refund, especially given the pending move.
This is a 20-year-old car with over 100,000 miles on it, with the incorrect oil (for Arizona, even though the car wasn't GOING to Arizona) - but even so, OP noticed nothing amiss until it had been inspected, serviced by, and extensively driven by someone who isn't a Porsche mechanic...
OP, regardless of whether someone TRIED to screw you over - or if it's just fate that screwed you over - I'm sorry for the hassle and the heartbreak of finding out that your new-to-you 911 isn't right.
I don't necessarily believe anything is owed to me. I purchased the car and signed off on the PPI knowing what you have included in the above post. I do however believe the owner was deceptive with how he represented the vehicle in his bill of sale.
Anyways, the car is going to be 100 x what it was in it's stock form. I at least have that going for me after all this drama.
For those that have been with me since day one this has been a long time coming. Failure and initial thoughts are confirmed below. The seller imo definitely knew about the knocking. People are douche bags and some have a gigantic dose of karma coming their way. Without further ado....
Failure point wasn't too apperant until some measurements were done. 3 out of 6 cylinders were no longer round, all on bank 2. Two of these cylinders were several thousandths of an inch too larger near mid bore. Cylinder 5 was a hundredth of an inch out of round at mid bore.
With this being said I think it's safe to say joe schmo pulled one over on me.
I'm going to talk to the seller one of these days before I get the car back. I'd like to see if I can get him to admit. I don't really care too much about the money. I just dont like being fleeced and lied too.
Any tactics or suggestions are welcome. I'm pretty good at getting people to open up anyways, so I'm not too worried about it.
Cheers folks and Happy New Years!
Technically, It's not considered waterboarding.... if you use vineger and oive oil
Technically, It's not considered waterboarding.... if you use vineger and oive oil
Originally Posted by gnarbowski
"Any tactics or suggestions are welcome. I'm pretty good at getting people to open up anyways, so I'm not too worried about it."
I still stand behind my suggestion...it will definitely "open him up"...
One of the things I've learned in life is that I tend to have bad luck in everything outside of women and work. My situation could definitely be worse.
Fun times are approaching. First crank of the new engine should occur later on today. My patience was tested over the last 10 months, but it looks like the waiting has paid off. Enjoy folks!
You must be feeling pretty good if your engine pics are any indication. Glad you are so excited about your Porsche 911. Can't wait to see your completed project.
01-05-2018, 09:18 AM
