Smokin deal on eBay - too good to be true?

[Wayne 962]

Okay everyone, criticize this car. Right now, it has a buy-it-now of $7650.00.

If the paint is good, I'd say that this car would be a steal at this price. It's got a bad transmission, but those are easy to find these days...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1859997480

What do you think? If it was in LA, I would probably buy it...

-Wayne

[Chuck Moreland]

Wayne, what do you think it is worth with a good trans?

The appealing thing is the new engine/MFI.

If it cost $2k to put in a trans then you are at $9500.

You can't test drive the car so you may find some other surprises.

[Rot 911]

Also missing the heater hoses and where is the MFI Thermostat hose connected? Sure isn't where it is supposed to be.

[nostatic]

I saw that one last night...pretty tempting if it is clean and straight. As usual though...big ifs.

[Neilk]

The right side of the car looks a little off. The door is poorly aligned and it looks as if there might be a bit of bondo on that side as well. On the left side, there seems to be a small amount of rust on the b pillar. Not very good signs for a "restoration".

I would question the quality of the recent engine rebuild.

[Jim Sims]

I bet there's more rust than he knows (giving him the benefit of the doubt). It snows in Utah and there's deicing chemicals used on the roads. I predict rust in tank support area, rocker panels, front fenders and forward of rear fenders. Jim

[Jim Richards]

Here's what I know so far. No records. Iffy description about what was done on the rebuild (seller thinks they used P's&C's), only had it since this summer.

Aren't there any good early cars out there without all these kind of stories?

[silverc4s]

I would agree with Wayne, that this car is worth the money in the 7 to 8K range. 1 to 2K more with a working 915 installed & running..
If it indeed is not a rusty car - It does seem to have had some bodywork, and the white paint looks like a less that concours repaint, but overall the car appears to be pretty unmolested. (original steering wheel, fuchs, door pockets, seats, air cleaner, etc...)
Has the potential to be an enjoyable daily driver / fun weekend play toy, for not a huge investment....

I noticed that one as well. The "$1500-$3000" new paint would worry me a little too- who knows what is waiting to surface. Looks very clean in the photos though... would be worth a look.

Andrew

[KTL]

This is the type of seller that kinds makes me wonder. Immaculate is not an accurate description of this car. The front seat bottom is split, the lug nuts look like someone's been gnawing on them (nice choice of tires BTW), crappy engine bay crossmember finish and decals, FRAM oil filter, strange panel gap on passenger door, inoperative odometer, etc. etc. None of which are all that difficult to address. His description of the car and the work he's put into it seem to contradict the Buy It Now price, no?

Don't get me wrong. For the price it looks like a decent car. Though certainly not immaculate and 99% restored. Wait.......... "99% done restoring" just means he's 1% away from doing no more to the car, regardless of what it is, right? Somehow I don't think the things I mentioned above, plus the trans., don't fall into that 1% figure?

[Wayne 962]

I merely pointed this car out as what seemed like a good deal. It's difficult to tell stuff from photos, however, I did notice the following:

- Rip in passenger's seat
- Rusty bolts/hardware and crappy looking fan. This would make me question who did the rebuild that they would put that POS fan on there.
- Bad 915? Here's one on eBay right now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1859960964

I give 915s a value of about $500.

At $7650, this car seems like it would be a good deal. If there is no paperwork with the car, then you're taking your chances. Indeed if it's true that there is no paperwork, there is no reasonable explanation for that, considering the rebuild was done 50 miles ago?

Still at $7650, it seems like it would be a good deal to me. Add $500 for shipping, and $500 for a used 915...

-Wayne

[CamB]

Geeeez, the glass is half empty this morning.

If I was shopping, I would be looking very hard at this one. It is Pomona pricing and cosmetically it looks to be at least as nice as my car...

[Wayne 962]

Agreed, it could be a very nice car at this price. If the car is good (no lies, etc.) the price is depressed because of the transmission problems, which as we all know are a 1-weekend swap/fix...

-Wayne

[DavidPorter]

The "new original rims" look a little moth-eaten . . .

[Wayne 962]

It's for this reason, I never bring my cars to any Porsche events - only the truck. Too many pundits...

-Wayne