Value of doing a PPI

[sand_man]

I'll keep my eyes peeled!

[btsave]

Thanks! Motivated to buy ASAP. Selling my 944 & a 73 MG Midget so looking for a nice 911 to be a "weekend" driver..

1991 (no newer)
911
C4 or C2
60k or less mileage
dark exterior,
light interior
coupe
service records
fair market value

[sand_man]

PM sent

[allaircooled]

Have you also noticed that some people on eBay will keep user ids private. I find this to be a red flag as well. It makes me believe that if someone finds something wrong with the seller or their products, there is no way for you to contact those people to let them know that they are about to get ripped off. I have been ripped off this way from someone selling painted crest wheel caps that I was buying for my Dad's 993. So if I see a auction where they keep the user ids private I do a 180 and find what I am looking for somewhere else.

[btsave]

Interesting, in this case, it was the same.

I believe the rationale given was, by this person, or someone else, I cannot recall, was that the bidders were being contacted by other sellers & trying to undercut them.

IMHO, I think the true reason is so that they can have shills bidding up the price on their cars. I cannot say that this happened here, and it really didn't matter as I was willing to pay what the car was advertised for on their website, but I can see where that could happen easily.

What a mess!

[trader220]

Is there anything this guy in TX wont try? He's the kind of guy that gives other used sellers a bad name.

[btsave]

Originally posted by trader220
Is there anything this guy in TX wont try? He's the kind of guy that gives other used sellers a bad name.

Now, for the record, I never said he/she was in Texas or that he/she is a he. All I said was a large southern state. So don not falsely accuse any one dealer or individual.

In answer to your query... who knows.



I am certain that most of the time he/she has no problems and honestly represents his/her cars. I think a lot depends on the product he/she's selling. If the car is a gem, then there is no problem, even if the sales pitch is miss-leading. Its only when there's a problem with the car that the miss-information causes issues. If someone sells me a great car, for a fair price, would I care if he/she lied about the service history or condition of the sunroof bag.. of course not. But if they sell a POS and then we find the same problems, it's a major issue.

Probably the seller doesn't even know anything about the car he/shes selling.

Remember, even though its a Porsche, its still a used car saleman. They couldn't care whether they're selling Porsche's or Kia's. All they want is to buy cheap & sell high, keep the profit and move on. It's the nature of their business. Repeat customers will occur on the Gems and not on the pos's. Obviously some of these people are smart enough to "manage" their feedback so the problem trades are not widely known & the positives are shown.

The smartest dealers sell hundreds of cars a year, while we buy 1 or two every few years. They know how to play it better than us and, in most cases, understand how far they can go without getting caught. It's a game we cannot normally win since we play by the rules and they don't.

I think the real question is why we all continue to bid & buy from people like this. I am as guilty as anyone else.. I hope to find the gem in a bag of manure, knowing the odds are against it. I bid knowing the feedback # was low & probably rigged, I bid knowing the number of times they stopped the auction early, I bid knowing that they were hidding the bidders identities. The only answer is for a boycott of sellers who use these types of practices on a consistent basis... or, and this would be hard, owners should refuse to sell to dealers who use these methods and only agree to sell to private owners. hmmm, I like that idea! Maybe eBay should have a seperate section for dealers and a seperate section for private buyers/sellers!

[RallyJon]

Past registration in a Gulf state is one thing that Carfax WILL have a reliable record of.

[btsave]

Originally posted by btsave
.....Oh, and this is the best part, the carfax indicated that the car came from an area in Louisiana which had been clearly identified as a flood area & had only been in the owner's hands since February 06.

yup

[trader220]

Btsave,

I was totally speculating on which dealer you had the bad experience with. You in no way indicated specifically which dealer it was. By the way he has NO legal recourse as far as I know. I am not an attorney but I bounced it off one of my partners who is a non practicing attorney.

Not all dealers are as crooked at this one and some people don’t have the time, patience or skills to seek out and sift through all the stuff out there. Dealers, at least the good ones provide a valuable service to those kinds of people. We’re getting car allowances from our firm shortly and I inquired about a cayman from one of the local dealers which was followed up by no less then 5 phone calls from them in 2 days which is what I wanted to avoid by making my inquires via email. I can’t see buying a car from a dealer but that’s just me.

Regardless we all know very well the kind of integrity a certain shop in a large southern state has. I am glad to see you did not get taken to the cleaners, enjoy the search for a good car.

[btsave]

Originally posted by trader220
Btsave,

I was totally speculating on which dealer you had the bad experience with. You in no way indicated specifically which dealer it was. By the way he has NO legal recourse as far as I know. I am not an attorney but I bounced it off one of my partners who is a non practicing attorney.

Thank you

[trader220]

No sweat, we all know there is a dealer in a large southern state thats been caught in a lot of bad dealings and likes to make threats about keeping his repuation clean ( as if anyone who checked would believe him) there is no reason to drag you through his garbage.

[msterling]

Hey here's a "nice" 1991 C4 for sale on Ebay! Imagine that.
Ebay Link

I smell Jambalaya.

[RallyJon]

I smell Jambalaya.

Last registered in Harvey, LA

09/16/2005 CARFAX AdvisoryTM This vehicle was registered in a county declared a flood disaster area by the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ).

Although most vehicles may not have sustained any damage, CARFAX recommends checking for flood and/or other damage during your pre-purchase inspection.

[trader220]

Well the pictures are nice.... as far as whats under the wax and armourall who knows?

[btsave]

Originally posted by msterling
Hey here's a "nice" 1991 C4 for sale on Ebay! Imagine that.
Ebay Link

I smell Jambalaya.

[btsave]

Originally posted by RallyJon


Last registered in Harvey, LA

09/16/2005 CARFAX AdvisoryTM This vehicle was registered in a county declared a flood disaster area by the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ).

Although most vehicles may not have sustained any damage, CARFAX recommends checking for flood and/or other damage during your pre-purchase inspection.

Now, Now, Now, you're being much to assumptive here.

That car probably has no flood damage. Wouldn't a refutable dealer be able to determine that by its condition & not want to try and sell it? I mean, really, if it was flooded, wouldn't there be evidence, such as interior corrosion or wiring/electrical problems, maybe even the need to repaint the car?

That would be obvious to any dealer who's been in the business for any length of time as well as any potential buyer. I have to believe this refutable dealer would stay away from such a car as a PPI would easily be able to raise some red flags.

I'm certain this dealer wouldn't want to handle such a car as it would only come back to bite him in the long run when someone leaves a negative comment on eBay.

Plus, it must be a great deal. Look at how many bids it has on it now!

Let's not issue unwarranted negative inferences.

[RallyJon]

There is one thing you can do. Carfax reports have several links where they ask you to report anything you know about a particular car. They have a web form to report known mileage, the vehicle's condition and your opinion if you saw/test drove it, and general comments, "Tell us what you know about this car. Was it well maintained? Has it been damaged? How did it drive?"

You could use this to report the results of your PPI.

[defcon65]

I think we all know precisely the used exotic car dealer in a large southern state, er, republic to whom we are referring here. I spoke with this individual on the phone twice regarding an 86 turbo look Carrera. After talking up the copious maintenance records and virginal condition of the sled in question, he/she demurred specific questions I had with a curt "well, you'll just have to come down, take a look and decide for yourself...." What an ass. Consider yourself wiser for the experience.

[aleng888]

This might be a dumb question. but i kind new to this board and porsche. so here it go.

What is PPI ?