[BUYING] how to approach when car is not advertised for sale

ard · 11-29-2006, 04:05 PM

Hi,

2 disclaimers right up front:

1) this post is somewhat speculative
2) I usually lurk on this forum (oh and the engine rebuilding forum when the going gets good there

- I have a 993

An early 911 has caught my eye. I have driven past where it is located on several occasions and it appears to not be driven. It always sits in the same spot and the windows look rather dusty.

How do I both determine what the very rough upper / lower bounds on the value are and approach the owner? There is no for sale sign on the car.

There may be many reasons why the car sits as is and it may not be for sale at all. OTHO, I have heard of people accepting unsolicited purchase offers for cars.

I am guessing that attempting to gather any information other than the VIN from the car without the owner's prior consent might not be at all welcome, but I don't want to approach the owner completely unprepared in terms of price range and encouter someone who does want to sell.

If the car is in the condition that its appearance suggests then substantial work might be needed to make it a good driver. I am not at all certain whether engine rebuilding work is within my ken but I would not necessarily be deterred from buying a car that needed work.

Would fellow pelicanites care to chime in how they would / have handled these types of situations.

TIA

/alex

racer · 11-29-2006, 04:11 PM

You could take some pics and share them here, no? How "early" a 911 is it?

Leave a business card under the windshield wiper asking if its for sale. The worst they can say is "no" its not for sale, well maybe it would be worse if they shot at you at the same time

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

h20cooled7 · 12-14-2006, 04:09 PM

just knock on the guys door and be straight up that your interested in the car .they might just want ot unload it .
im currently trying to buy a 930 in texas sight unseen and its killing me .
I dont think buying a house was this stressfull
pete

real550A · real550A's Garage

If the owner is available, I agree, just ask him if he's considered
selling? That won't hurt.
I have been successful with the note under the wiper trick on two
occasions. " If you ever think about selling, please contact____"
Scored my last 356 that way. Good luck!

Rick K · 12-15-2006, 05:43 AM

To access value, you can do a few things:
-If its a driver - take it to a local reputable shop for a PPI, and have the shop do some visual inspections for the usual rust areas and other issues - that will give you a very good sense of the $ you need to put into it.
-If its not a driver, take detailed pics w/ a digital camera and post on this forum - opinions will be plenty