After much deliberating, I feel I need to post this here. I had a PPI done (full inspection including compression and leakdown, $325) on the black over tan 87 cabrio for sale in Florida posted here:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/890713-1987-porsche-911-carrera-cabriolet-air-cooled-g50.html which turned up a number of issues not disclosed in the ad - inoperable convertible top, bad paint work on the passenger door, a small oil leak at the pulley, vinyl (rather than leather) seats and, most importantly, 70% leakage on cylinder #6. It's been pointed out that I didn't pursue the ppi any further so as to get more details on the leakage - it could be something as simple and cheap as a stuck piece of carbon that a good hard drive will fix. It could also require a full top-end rebuild. I don't know. Now, the seller certainly couldn't have known about the engine problem, but he would've known about the other things, plus several other minor issues one would normally expect in a 30 year old car.
The seller doesn't strike me at all as a scammer, but this is really important info that he's now aware of, and still choosing not to disclose. After an email suggesting he update the for-sale ad now that he's aware of the problems went unanswered, I feel it should be made known publicly, in the interest of keeping the Pelican classifieds on a level higher than that of auto trader or ebay. I've been a contributing member here for over a decade and really appreciate the level of discourse here (aside from PARF
), and I'd like to see it stay that way. And to prove I've put my money where my mouth is, here are 2 previous FS ads I've posted here:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/402767-fs-1983-944-a.html
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/528864-fs-1972-911t-w-extra-engine.html
I should also state that the seller thinks the shop is just "hungry for service work". He said when he had an inspection done when he bought the car a year ago all 6 cylinders checked out fine, and he's only driven it a few hundred miles since then. He didn't provide compression/leakdown #s, or anything beyond that statement. I left it at that because I'm no longer interested in the car.
Caveat emptor.