Give me your opinion(s) on this car

[PeterK]

I made my first bid on E-bay several days ago on a 79 911SC Targa.

The bid was made more out of my need to run a test than anything. But..... after a couple days I am still the high bidder !!!

Now I am wondering, are there red flags I missed on this car ?

Give it a look if you get a minute and tell me what your thoughts are.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1842476080#BID1

If it does look like I am going to win this bid, I am going to try to modify it a bit so I can receive a PPI to detect major flaws.

Thanks for your input and the clock is ticking

[Moses]

So hard to tell on e-bay. Beautiful car, same color as mine. Go kick the tires. $10K seems low to me with only 80K miles.

[nostatic]

I don't think you'll have to worry about remaining the high bidder...it *looks* like a nice car, and there are 4 days left. That is, unless you bid $15K or something.

The dash is warping around the vents...odds are it is warped/pulling/cracked elsewhere. It might just be me, but it looks like the passenger door has been reshot. Also, the gap on the driver's side door looks off, although it might be that there is a protector on it.

Bottom line is pictures can tell a different story than reality. It appears to be nice w/decent low mileage, but only a close inspection and PPI can tell that. I also am very leery of dealer cars, but some here have bought without incident.

Have you asked all the usual questions? Engine updates, records, number of owners, any accident damage, etc? It is almost impossible to spot bodywork/paint in pictures.

Of course it is a targa, and no amount of bodywork can fix that (ducking to miss a swing from Michigan)

[carnut169]

You can still cancel your bid, but I would bet you get out-bid before the auction ends. People will wait until the last second to out-bid you. Write the seller and ask him if the sale could be pending a PSI if you are the high bidder. Tell him you will pay for it- but you don't want a car that has major problems and you are buying this car sight- unseen.

[surflvr911sc]

It looks nice but there might be a couple issues. Without a PPI you have know way of knowing if there are any broken head studs, a must know. I can't tell from the pictures if it has had the Carera Tensioner upgrade. If it doesn't you'll need to do it. Paint look pretty in the picture but is it original? New paint can hide a lot in a picture. I noticed that it's missing an air box strap. No big deal but what else has been overlooked? The antenna is up in all the pictures. I believe it should have an auto antenna so it may be broken or changed out. Again, no big deal, but? I would want a PPI for sure. If the engine is sound and that’s the original paint I would say $10,000 is a good price w/o the Carera Tensioners and maybe up to $12,000 if it has them. I do like that color. Good luck!

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Are those the original center A/C vents? My '81 vents don't look like that.

Looks pretty good though. I wouldn't be surprised if you're out-bid at the end.

[dosie]

I live about six miles from this dealer, and if anybody wants to bid, I will give it a look. This dealer has a good reputation...but ymmv...
Jim Dosen
sta@wi.rr.com

[stone43]

Very, and I mean Very cheesy repair job done on the center A/C vent. Not original, and if you look closely, some dumbass actually tried to staple the vinyl back to the dash.

Bubble gum repairs on the dash--one can only imagine what other mystery repairs took place in important places......like the engine!

Man, you guys who bid thousands of $$ on cars you have not driven have much larger balls (and perhaps checking accounts) than I. It is amazing how many many bad 911's I had to wade through before I was able to find one good enough.

Anyway's, if it what you want, then good luck.

[old_skul]

Well, the first thing you missed was the fact that you were bidding on a car sight unseen on Ebay.

Rule #1: Don't lift in a corner.
Rule #2: Don't buy a car off of Ebay.

It kinda goes on like that. Sorry, my opinion!

[zuerchers]

i didnt notice the "staples" on the dash my first time through. unbelievable! it really mkaes you wonder about the stuff you can't see.

[curtisaa]

You seem to be jaded by the fact that ALL SC's need tensioners. This is hardly fact: The truth of the matter is, first: If you have a good mechanic, he'll suggest rebuilding the factory ones only if needed. Second: You don't fix tensioners unless there is reason to think they could be failing..

As far as the Targa goes, the color combo is one of the best, other than Bl/bl.

I don't hink you'll get this car for less than $14,000.00..

[Eric Coffey]

Well I am no expert, but here is my take on this car:

Opinion #1: Mileage may have been rolled back. The numbers on the speedo should line up better, even with it being ".982" away from 84k. I would run the VIN through Carfax.com, if you haven't already.

Opinion #2: Interior has issues: Warped (non-original?) dash, warped door pocket lids, rear seatback bases falling apart, etc.

Opinion #3: This car has had previous (bad) body work. The left rear quarter panel does not line up at all with the rear deck lid and left tail light assembly. The front left fender does not line up at all with the hood.

Opinion #4: You should definitely retract your bid if you are not out-bid!

I made these observations in about 5 minutes by looking at all of the pictures in the listing. Just imagine what you will find out when you look at the car in person! I apologize if it sounds a bit harsh, it's just that I would hate to see you get the shaft on a sub-par 911.

On a positive note: The Fuchs wheels appear to be in good condition!

[JackT]

You can definately get out of this for fraud. There is no such thing on a 911.

[PeterK]

One of the nice Pelican Heads who shall remain unnamed for fear of litigation or possible leg breaking, happened to drive by this car and give it a look see.

While not going into great details, let's just say I have retracted the bid, and appreciate all of the comments that everyone has given.

It goes to show you though that two heads or in this case, many Pelican Heads are better than one.

Thanks again for all the comments.

[rstoll]

I would be concerned about the alignment of the driver's door. All other nits can be cleaned up. Don't think you have to worry about winning it at $8600. Probably go for about $10,500.

[nostatic]

Originally posted by PeterK
One of the nice Pelican Heads who shall remain unnamed for fear of litigation or possible leg breaking, happened to drive by this car and give it a look see.

Without naming names, you should post his findings. I always think it is instructive to see what people actually find when looking at a car, particularly when the pics look good.

[pbs911]

This is the statement that scares me:

we would be glad to assist you in making the car as perfect as you and your budget allows.

With all the repairs that are "no big deal" for their guy, I wonder why they wouldn't make these "simple" repairs to offer a car in perfect condition and obtain a higher price. Sure the paint could be repaired by them for $500, but it would probably cost them $75 in parts and labor to do it and increase the value of the car 4x that amount.

Also what is with the oxymoron "ice cold factory air conditioning"?