need long distance purchase advice

[billwagnon]

I live in sunny St. Louis and may end up buying a 911 in sunny CA. Assuming I have someone in CA drive the car, get the PPI, etc is there any foolproof way to get the car without having to fly out there?

I was told a loan is the way to go for protection of the buyer and seller, but PeopleFirst requires both parties to meet in one location to effect the transfer.

[MarkY]

If it were me, I would buy the plane ticket and look at it myself. It really is pretty cheap insurance in the scheme of things. I have a friend in Phoenix that bought a Vette in New Jersey but couldn't get away to look at it for several weeks. He ended up sending the guy a $1000 (refundable if the car wasn't as stated) to hold the car until he could get out there. Unless you know the guy looking at the car for you, I would make the trip.

As far as money transfer goes, most loan companies that I'm aware of, operate the same as People First. The two parties must come together to exchange funds. An alternative would be to get an unsecured loan OR a second on your mortgage.

[nhromyak]

Southwest.... friends fly free!

[RJ Gilliam]

Several things. First if you buy a car and use People First you have to have everyone there, go to mail boxes etc, wait for return phone calls, etc. BUT if you get a Dealer used check, the interested is lower and you need no one except the buyer to sign the check. It is great for a fly in fly out purchase. There are several companies that will transport in for a reasonable cost.

Also, Since you live out of state there should be no taxes, The owener of the car should be willing to drive it to a mechanic for the inspection. If not then to heck with him.

Just my 2cents

[RJ Gilliam]

Ops forgot....

I looked for months before I got by 930 and learned that if you find one you like, have them email you pics, lots of pic.. if it "looks" good, then have it inspected. Any Porsche dealer will point you to an independant mechanic. If it passes inspection, then go out and look at it and complete the deal... Why fly out if the thing does not even pass inspection....

[Sarah]

We got our 930 from out of state. My husband spent a lot of phone calls, emails & received pictures before he and his brother flew out to look at it. What he did was offer the asking price less what it costed for them to fly out. The previous owner had no problem with that.

I would add that I think it is worth it to go there in person so you feel confident with your purchase. We had a loan check ready for the purchase but they would have turned around and come home if after seeing it he (they) were not sure about the situation.

Good Luck!!

[marc weintraub]

A few things...

First, find out who the mechanic is that has done the work on this car and make sure you don't let him go back to that guy for the PPI. Make sure he takes it to someone that is not overly familiar with the car so there isn't a bias.

I live in new York and bought a car in California. My first step was to have a friend go out and drive it, take pictures of it with the carpets out of the whole car, the complete interior and underside as best he could. My friend liked the car and I had instructed him to leave a deposit on it. The next step was to have it taken in for the PPI and the guys on this board were terribly helpful in advising me who I should use. The original owner was great, in that he faxed me all of the bills from when the car was new so I knew everything that had been done and by whom. My PPI was paid by me with a credit card and I used the inspection that is on the Pelican site and through research I asked for very specific things pertaining to the year of my car.

After I was satisfied with everything, I got a great carrier to enclose my car and truck it across country at which point I had my car. It was a great experience and I have had the car for years.

Best Of Luck,

Marc

[Superman]

Nice to hear from you, Marc.

[mwbaum]

I live in Seattle and bought my car in San Fran. After a lot of phone calls and emailed photos and a PPI (paid over the phone via credit card). Bought a one way ticket and closed the deal in person and drove my baby back to Seattle up 101. If you have the time its a great way to get introduced......

[Jadams1]

I live in RI and bought a 1980 911SC from NC. I spent a lot of time e-mailing the owner with many questions. I found the car on ebay but did not win the auction. I contacted him after the auction closed and made him an offer which he accepted. At this point I had not seen or driven the car or had a PPI done. Very risky and I'll never do it that way again. The story had a happy ending and the car turned out to be everything the seller said it was. After about 1200 miles of driving the car I parked it for the winter. In the spring I installed the chain tensioner update kit and proceded to adjust the valves. I found two boken head studs. I don't know if they were broken when I bought the car but a PPI would have. I decided to pull the engine, tear it down to the case and replace all the dilivar head studs. The chain tensioner kit, updated sprocket support arms, new chain ramps, head studs, gaskets, etc. cost around $900 in parts. I do all my own work so thats all it cost. If I had to pay somone I think it would have cost around $3500. I bought the car for $10,500 so I'm still in good shape.

So definately have a PPI done by someone the board recommends and protect yourself. A good deal can turn bad quickly when it comes to repairs.

When it came to pickup the car, my wife and I rented a car one way and drove back the Porsche (not legally registered). Another leap of faith. We made it with no problems. Transporting the car sounds like a much safer approach. Well that's my story. Good luck on your adventure.

Oh yeah, I paid for the car with cash which made the transaction easy.

[Kevin Stewart]

So here is the horror story, I found my sc on the net through auto trader, had the guy email me pictures, i was stoked, the pictures looked great, But there is always a but right, well i didnt get a ppi bad mistake, i couldnt get a flight so i took a midnight amtrack, i thought great ill get the at noon and drive home, i live in Indiana the car was in washington DC, got off the am trac took the subway, got off the subway and waited, I seen a black sc targa walked over and looked at and thought, no this is not the 12000 dollar car im buying, walked back and set down and waited he finaly shows up, guess what it is the 12000 dollar car i just spent 14hrs to buy, so heres the conversation, hey I thought there was no rust(thats what he said on the phone) he says well you know a couple small spots, more like 5-6 the size of a quarter, i said hey the windshields cracked he said it wasnt, then said not in the drivers area, i said where is the perfect dash you said it had he says its only a 4 inch tare, i said hey where are the arm rest he said i forgot they were missing he says he likes it better without, I drive it i said where is that perfect tranny first gear grinds he says only above 15 mph, do you get the idea here, im 14 hrs from home with no way to get home, o i fogot i asked where the 10 disc cd changer was, he says all the wires are there, im pissed, I say i dont want the car, im trying to find a way home he say you can have it for 9500, i think about pissed tired etc, i write him a check, the car runs pretty good and is fast, but guess what on the way home the car smells like smoke i should have turned around, said f it and stuck to my 944, but i last he will not answer his cell, the valve covers are leaking and filling the heat exchangers and guess where the smokes going, remind you this is January 2 1997, i finnaly get home frozen gased etc, i fall asleep get up and call him and told him to come get his piece of ****, i canceled the check, he freaks he ask what i would pay i told him to come get his piece of ****, i decide to take it to let my buddy look at it some lady pulls out in front of me, guess what, left front fender headlight etc she has no insurance, this is january 3rd, i call him that night he saysgive me 8 what do i do its wrecked, i call his bluff i say 6 he saysno i say comeget it and hang up, he calls the next day and takes the 6, whats was i to do i wrecked his car, since i have replaced everything you can think of rotors, plug wires, seats, dashwassupposed to have perfect sport seats they were junk)almost all the fuel injection etc, , you get the idea, i have since converted it to a wide body, and after all the work and thousands of dollars i really love it, but i wish i would have turned around and stuck out my thumb to get home, i have driven it 30000 miles but i have put 25 in it, i have never had a car this long, but i cant sell it, i would loose my arm and my wife would say told ya so, so take this advise you see it you driveityou get the ppi and have a ticket to get home if you dont like it, this way your not pressured to buy it, all people are not cool porsche people like the guys on this board, some will give you the vasilene, I got the vaseline, but you can bet it will never ever happen again, Kevin

[billwagnon]

Yikes, Kevin.

I usually think too rosy, I'm gonna print out your message and carry it with me.

Just won't let my wife see it...

[Red911t]

I'll add my .02, Its been 5 yrs since I found my 911t on autotrader. The car was located in Oklahoma, after lots of pictures and questions and a few sleepless nights worrying we came to a verbal aggreement on price. I called the PCA regional rep and asked for some recommodations on PPI's in the area. One was the current mechanic and I choose the other. The owner was more than happy to take it for an inspection that I paid for on my credit card. With all the data I talked the results with my wrench and he said that it appears very sound. The next Saturday I flew from Seattle to Oklahoma and saw the car and drove it for the first time. Every thing was as advertized and I paid for the car and got the title and returned to the airport and flew home. The carrier picked up the car the next week and long month wait I finally had my car home. I would also recommend that you have the car looked at by a body shop since they are very good at being able to tell if any panel has been replaced or resprayed.
Ken

[Kevin Stewart]

billwagnon yea its a pretty bazar story, even though all the problems i loved the car from the beginning, my 944 was smoother at 90 on the freeway with cruise etc but, man the 911 is just an awesome car, I will say that if you havent owned a 911 before you will not know the meaning of, Porsche, there is no substitute, till you do, this is my fourth porsche, and i want one of the new s4's real bad, the wife says you have a job (she has a good job) buy it, my knees are shacking, i have never had a new car never really wanted one, we have always had new family cars, just got a s40 volvo what a nice car, i think a 3.6 motor may solve the new car wants, i wish you all the joy in the world with the car you choose, just wait for the right one, itll come, please post a picture when you get it or e-mail me a picture, i have never told that story to anyone before , i dont even think my wife knows half of it, she knows i told him to come get it though, anyway welcome to the world of Porsche, theres not alot of p cars around here and youll find out everyone stares, Enjoy sorry ive been rattling on, Kevin

[Kevin Stewart]

by the way i trust people to much to, i have a tendency to think rosey also, Kevin

[Sarah]

Wow Kevin....that is a horror story...but it seems like you were able to eventually turn it around!! I am sure you have already helped other buyers by sharing your experience!!

[elbean]

Hi Bill
I agree with everyone on the cautions of out of town buying. If you can get some info on where he had his work done I can check the history with his mechanic. Hopefully he has had any work done by the two or three decent mechanics in the city area. After seeing(on the net) the car you are looking at, it seems not to bad a price??, if of course it checks out and doesn't turn out like mine. I paid $2000 for a 69S, with a 2.4, but I knew I had to go through the whole car. Any info you can get me I'll try to check it out. You have my email. Good Luck!
Mark

[elbean]

I just noticed I'm a JUNIOR member. I just had my 48th BD yesterday. Boy the rest of you must be REALLY old!!