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Great advice and I just need to calm down a bit and be patient. The car for $30k has lots of little red flags but at $30k one should expect that. The other one at $35.5k is a lot nicer but again, as mentioned here, prices may get a tad more digestible after Labor Day. This will give me a chance to save a few more pennies as well.
I really appreciate all the help here, very nice of you guys !
Goofy wheels with cheapo tires = big red flag, not little
"Cheapo" tires can denote several things, not always bad as regards the attached vehicle. Often it comes from an owner who doesn't drive aggressively even though they are driving/selling a sports car, combined with an attitude that good tires are overpriced and the cheap ones are "almost" or "just" as good.
I have bought a couple of used performance/sports cars that had tires like that (Kumhos, for example) and it didn't mean anything about the car itself. Goofy wheels indicates bad taste, which is more common than you might think :-) Also, they could have come from a former owner.
Of course it's always bad. And we're not talking about Kumhos, here.
Any choice that an owner makes means something (why does it matter if it was a previous owner? We're evaluating the car, not putting the current owner on trial).
Furthermore, incorrectly-sized wheel/tire combos can cause problems with the AWD on these cars, so it is not simply a matter of "bad taste."
Of course it's always bad. And we're not talking about Kumhos, here.
Any choice that an owner makes means something (why does it matter if it was a previous owner? We're evaluating the car, not putting the current owner on trial).
Furthermore, incorrectly-sized wheel/tire combos can cause problems with the AWD on these cars, so it is not simply a matter of "bad taste."
"Always "and "never" should not be used in general discussions about used car purchases. My comments were not about the specific car but instead to a post which I quoted which in my opinion generalizes too much, Obviously, I would not recommend improperly sized tires or wheels to any used car purchaser. Ugly wheels and substandard tires can both be replaced should the underlying vehicle merit consideration for purchase.
Sometimes you will get a car that was modified before and the seller then parts out all the salable stuff before reselling the car; this can even include the stock wheels, which might be replaced with whatever the seller can find that is ultra cheap and that can theoretically be mounted on the car. If you have reason to believe that a car you are looking at fits that description, then run, don't walk, away.
A lot of stock wheels are not that attractive, and after they get curb rashed are even less so. Some owners will replace them and not all owners have good taste in car wheels. A car that is being resold by a second hand car dealer might have cheap Chinese tires put onto it if the existing tires are bald. This would not trigger alarm bells to me other than the alarm bells that should sound by virtue of the sales channel, e.g. by a 2nd hand dealer who probably has no history on the car, which for many, including me, would probably be enough in themselves to make me decide not to purchase.
But everything has its price and even a car with serious problems might be attractive to a home garage mechanic at the right price.
These two pix are from under the motor & seem to be showing corrosion on the case. What do you guys think and anything else that you are possibly seeing which would be of concern ?
That looks pretty normal for a 996TT with slightly higher miles. I don't see a problem there. But wow, how do those rear tires hold air, I would be afraid to drive on those...
These two pix are from under the motor & seem to be showing corrosion on the case. What do you guys think and anything else that you are possibly seeing which would be of concern ?
It might not be corrosion, it might be just a bunch of stuff adherent to the undercarriage in a car that has not had the undercarriage washed off. Sometimes it could even be road salt, but depending on what material the undercarriage is made of, that might not matter. I have seen cars that look like this underneath, that once they are sprayed underneath with water from a pressure washer, it all, or nearly all, disappears.
Here are pictures of undeniable rust on the undercarriage of a car:
Lots of good advice in this thread, to which I would add, "buy the seller," as much as the car.
Find a seller who is so ****, that you wonder how anyone could live with him or her :-) Someone who can't tolerate something wrong with their car even as long as it takes to wait for a service appointment to get it fixed.
That's your car.
That's me and great advice. I just bought near mint gt2 and I'm going thru this thing with a fine tooth comb trying to make it as new as a 2017. Lol
06-05-2017, 04:34 PM
