Who the f**k does this guy think he is?

[Christien]

Saw this on rennlist Canada this morning:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Donate-Donation-Charity-To-Repair-my-Porsche-Engine-996_W0QQitemZ270427525818QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_Def aultDomain_2?hash=item3ef6bc92ba&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1215|293%3A1| 294%3A50

Ebay item 270427525818

Here's the text of the ad:

Hello to all and thank you for coming this far and reading my auction. If you have found this auction it could be for many reasons, but the idea behind my auction is solely to raise money to repair my Porsche.


I recently bought this 2002 Porsche C4S that had been sitting all winter long. I started the engine and ran it for a short time of 15 minutes and parked it in the garage for another 2 months as I was away for a family matter. I have since returned and started the car to find it was running very rough. I have sought a mechanic to diagnose my car's problem and unbeknown to me, the valves have bent on cylinder #1 causing extensive damage. The mechanic estimates if it is a straight valve replacement and install to cost around $5000.00 total with parts and labour. This seems quite reasonable considering Porsche wants $39,000.00 for a new engine and around $17,000.00 for a rebuilt engine with the exchange of mine.

I have sunk my life savings into owning this car a a long time dream, but this appreciation to finally own one has financially depressed me. I have read forums and these engines from 1999-2004 seem to be prone to failure for several reasons, but Porsche AG does NOT own up to any liability and often has no comment on the issue. The fact is, these were $100k+ cars, and with mine having only 67,000km on the engine there is NO reason why it should fail. After all, it's a seasonally used car and many people store theirs too.

I have sought the use of Ebay as an advertisement tool in hope I can receive monetary donations via PayPal or better yet, grab the attention of a Porsche engineer who can better explain why these engines fail ... even if it's anonymous it would be good to hear from someone. The best situation would be if Porsche saw my Ebay auction and decided to replace my engine free of charge, but that's a long shot based on other peoples' stories I have heard.

I thank all those who bid and I wish I could provide some type of tangible item or service for your help. If there is something I can do or provide please ask. Perhaps if you're local, I could offer a day trip of driving with me in the Porsche when it's repaired for those who donate a substantial sum.

Thanks

[legion]

I'm sure its the same in Canada, but a valid contract in the U.S. requires mutual consideration (something of value exchanged for something of value).

[slakjaw]

Yeah.
Good luck dude.

[m21sniper]

It's a good idea as far as i'm concerned.

If someone (really filthy rich- like Jay Leno) sees it and decides to help the guy out, it was well worth his time.

Good for him for his cleverness, i say.

[legion]

Maybe he should check out the tech forum and learn to do it himself...

[71T Targa]

Originally Posted by legion

I'm sure its the same in Canada, but a valid contract in the U.S. requires mutual consideration (something of value exchanged for something of value).

But he'll give your a ride once his car is fixed. Isn't that something of value?

[mossguy]

I'm with Sniper on this one!

Best,
Tom

[Neilk]

Same thing happened to my parent's Porsche, except they only went out of town for a couple of days.

Me might want to do a little in depth questioning of the children in the house might reveal whether anyone drove the car, and say accidently shift from 3rd to 2nd at redline... ummm that wasn't me....

[Zeke]

Neil nailed it. The "conttibutions" should come from whomever bent his valves. At least it seems that while he was away, something occurred.

What gets me is his ignorance. Why should Porsche AG be blamed or even mentioned?

I have to note that I have many times thought about placing a sympathy ad in kind. Never did it though. I just thought it would be interesting to see who and how many would send a buck if for no other reason, than being entertained by a fascinating story.

And that in itself could be the basis for a decent book. Hell, if you can spend $80K on a 20K 911 and write a book about it, you can just about write about anything.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Hmmmm. What to do with my charitable donations...

Starving kids in Africa, homeless puppies and kittens, battered women, foundation or help some guy repair his $100,000 sports car. That's a tough one.

[HardDrive]

But guys, the valve just bent itself while sitting there! Can't you feel the human tragedy!

What an utter douchebag.

[Schumi]

Originally Posted by legion

Maybe he should check out the tech forum and learn to do it himself...

+1.

If something I bought breaks and it's out of warranty or it broke because of something I did, I buck up and f***ing fix it myself or throw it away and get a new one. This applies to everything. Televisions, computers, and cars. I take pride in not being retarded. Cars were built to be worked on by humans in most cases.

I understand people who are time-constrained to where they cannot work on the things themselves but jesus people... have some tact, pride, and common sense...

[widebody911]

Cyber-begging is sooooooo 2003

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by widebody911

Cyber-begging is sooooooo 2003

Hah! I guess that's where the idea went. Out of style.

[Rick Lee]

He needs to read that old thread titled something to the effect of "I played the Porsche lottery and lost."

Edit: Found it.

***Lost the porsche lottery (long)***

[legion]

I thought 911s had timing chains. I thought only us water-pumper (well, the older kind) had to worry about bent valves!

[Christien]

Originally Posted by Schumi

I take pride in not being retarded.

I love that!

[M.D. Holloway]

large set of nads if you ask me

[Z-man]

I have sunk my life savings into owning this car a a long time dream, but this appreciation to finally own one has financially depressed me. I have read forums and these engines from 1999-2004 seem to be prone to failure for several reasons, but Porsche AG does NOT own up to any liability and often has no comment on the issue.

I see two major problems here :

1. One should never sink their life savings into what is best described as a 'toy' or 'pleasure' car.

2. Apparently, he knew the 996's motor was prone to issues. Not sure if he came across this knowledge before or after his valve got bent. If he already saw the forums, then he should have known to be a more thorough PPI. If he didn't see the forums, then shame on him, in this day and age when you can find just about anything on the web....

I wonder if this guy knows the dolt trying to sell 'shares' of a '91 C2? Linky here.

Just goes to show - you can't fix stupid.... In both cases...

-Z-man.

[lane912]

this is a expensive hobby. that is why i have a 912, not quite the level of a 90's 996. if you cant pay to maintain it, do it yourself or sell it to someone that will. this is also my philosophy on children