Comments please on my FIRST TIME buying experience...
 

Well I came across a car for sale on the Pelican board (a "unique" 1988 listed at $21,500) so I PM’d the member and this was his response……..

“I am back home now. You can come any afternoon or on Sat or Sun. Weekends would probably be better for both of us. PPI should not be a problem in my area, no real Katrina affects other than people. Other than my mechanic, I don't know of anyone else to do it. Not many Porsche wrenches in the area.
And by the way, price is now $19,000.”
Well this was an excellent deal so after talking to him on the phone several times
I made arrangements to drive up & look at the car fully expecting to buy it.

I rented a car one-way so I could drive my new Porsche home & headed out.
After a 5 hour drive & waiting for the individual to get home from work we started
looking over the car & it was sweet!!

Time for the test drive……he drives from his house about 15 miles & pulls over
to allow me to drive……finally my first time to ever drive a Porsche.

I drive the car back the same route to his house the whole time not being able to wait to drive it to my house.

I pull into his drive way, tell him……. “let’s get the paperwork started” & he says
“Well, lets discuss the price…………………………it’s going to be $21,500.”

My heart sinks & I reply with………”but we didn’t even dicker over the price, you voluntarily dropped it to $19,000 in your PM.”
His response is……”well a guy called me last night & offered me $23,000 for it, so the price is $21,500”

The car was absolutely worth $21,500 & had he never dropped the price (on his own) I would have paid him that amount……
but I got in my rental & drove the 5 hours back home in absolute disbelief that he would allow me to drive all that way & not even call me to tell me the price was now $21,500!!



Thanks alot for nothing.........

Don't feel too bad. I had two guys be absolute pieces of **** when it came to price. One agreed to $19k when it was originally $22k, then the next phone call it was firm at $22, and he doesnt ever remember quoting me $19. As for the other car, I was halfway to his home (3 hr drive) and he tells me on the cellphone that his neighbor offered him $25k for it, but he doesn't want to sell to him because once the car's sold he doesn't want to see it again. MF'ers.
Keep trying...you'll find one :)

Word gets around when a seller acts this way. Saw the thread on the for sale list and he had the car for sale for a long time.

There are ways to sell a car and this was not one of them...

JoeA

Yeah, that was a cheap move from the seller. We'll all send some bad car karma his way. http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/paddel.gif

But keep up with the search. A 911 is worth it . . .

Ian

Did you happen to print out the PM? If so, you might take it to a lawyer, ask an opinion...IF you still want the car, that is...

Believe that the car has been sold. This sounds like the car:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/229799-sale-1988-911-carrera-unique-color.html

As sad as it is, you have to be careful even when dealing with a Pelican. I've been ripped off or taken advantage of by members of this board in some transactions so I now know to be careful. Nothing is sacred anymore... not even this BBS. :(

Post the guys name here. Is it Mark Howard that is shown in that ad? Maybe he is one to be avoided in the future.

We shouldnt have to deal with aholes like that but we do. We try to get things lined up in advance but people still generally can not be trusted.

Ughhh! I know it's a subjective thing but you couldn't give me that car. I positively hate the color. No offense to those who like it.

On deals-While it would be tempting to ask for more after someone bumps the price-a deal is a deal. A guy sold me a boat for "x" amount of $$-the agreement was made over the phone. I went to get the boat and the guy told me that after my call, he was offered his asking price which was "X" + $700.00. However, unlike your bad experience, my guy was honorable and stuck to the deal. Rare. I paid him back by hiring his company to do some contracting work for me. He'll make back the money and then some.

Paybacks are a b*tch and he'll get his sooner or later. Keep hunting. You'll find the right car.

PS-You did the right thing by leaving. Hopefully, you left the guy on the flat of his back in your wake.

So making an extra $2500 was more important than honoring his word?

From the "for sale" thread posted above, the seller certainly "appears" to be a stand-up guy.

Looks like appearances can be deceiving. Too bad.

You were smart to get out of there.

BR,

Kurt

P.S.: If he had any sense of fairness, he should have at least offered to reimburse you for your travel expenses. I guess anyone who would act this way has no sense of fairness to begin with!

The actual PM is quoted in my original post where I have the $19,000 price in bold text.....Obviously I still have the PM.

The link shown in a post above is to the car I was refering to.

Yes, the color is quite "different" & nobody that I showed a picture of the car to liked it....including my girlfriend, lol.

I went back & forth on my opinion of it as well, but in the end as a friend told me........"All that matters is that YOU like it & to hell with everybody else"...... ;)

Thanks for your comments & support.

- Cam

Whoa, although it wasn't the nicest thing to do, it was legal and not necesarily wrong according to contract law. That's the problem with the law IMO, it is not consistant with morality.
When a seller makes an offer to sell, that's all it is. Not binding at all. it is not a contract until the offer is accepted and some sort of compensation takes place.
So while he offered to sell it for $19k he is not obligated in any way, besides that of good character.
yes, I think it was a $hitty thing to do and would not do it myself, but unfortunately that's all it was. If the car was worth $21.5k, then you still had the opportuntiy to purchase it for what it was worth.
If you wanted it and it was worth it, you should have put the emotions aside and made the purchase. if he really did have another buyer at $23k (which I doubt) you did him a favor by backing out.

But, don't sweat it. there are lots more 911s out there, some of them better. All you have to do is be patient and eventually you will be posting pictures of your new 911 that will make us all proud, but not as proud as you will be ;)
good luck

disclaimer: i'm not a lawyer (thank god) and i don't play one on tv, and I didn't stay at a holiday inn express last night.

I understand where Sammy's coming from with this, but I wouldn't buy anything from someone that unethical. Who know's what is concealed under that sheetmetal? I wouldn't expect the seller to be any more honest about the car than he is about the deal.

I'd have to agree with Sammy as well. I looked at a car advertised as $14,000 OBO. The car had some issues so I thought I could talk him down a little. After getting a PPI and offering a lower price he said: " I've changed my mind, $14,000 firm" What an *********. But, It is his car and he can offer anything he likes. Hopefully it will catch up with him someday.

He is without honor and has forgotten the face of his father.

Sammy, cannot disagree with you but if he is going to play this game then he should have told the prospective buyer UP FRONT that he had changed his mind about the purchase price and when he did not he should have paid his travel costs.

Cam emailed him then called him and he was told the details of the car and a certain price. Cam then gets in his car and after 5 hours drive arrives in Baton Rouge. After driving the car the seller plays switcheroo on him and hits him up asking for more money. None of this is moral nor ethical. If Cam drove 20 minutes to see the car, thats one thing, but a 5 hour fricking drive cost him a whole day and couple of tanks of gas to play this game.

If he did as the starter of this thread says, then his actions and lack of a conscience and backbone is not what we need in our community. Hope he buys a jap car and stays away from us. Unfortunately it appears that he still owns two Porsches. We will remember his name, for that everyone can be sure...

JoeA

$21,500??? If its an SC it must have had the $9000 paint job I'm reading about! The $12,000 ones only have $4000 paint jobs!

Look forwards. Not back. Call it a bummer and move on.

THanks Joe & yes, I did not embelish ANYTHING.....:(

????

It was a 1988.....not an SC!

Check out the link provided by Joeaksa.