Buying without looking or meeting the owner

[pauls911sc]

Hi

I live in Germany - the home of Porsche - but I cannot afford to buy one here. The prices range for a driver between 13 - 22K Euro and most of these cars are Targas and US imports. It appears that there are a lot of dealers over in Germany buying from the US, shipping the car over and selling them at an extortionate price. Presumable because the dollar price is so low. What I want to do is cut out the middleman and buy myself, but considering this acquisition will leave a big hole in my life savings I am, as you can understand very wary of being ripped off.

I have posted this thread to hear what advice you can offer to me and while I am about it I wanted to post information on the car I am looking for maybe a trustworthy member has what I am looking for

911 SC Coupé 78 - 82 mechanically sound with maintained history records. Of course no rust or major customization - basically close to the original as possible. My budget is around 17k USD. Will pay more for a exceptional one.

Many thanks in advance for your kind assistance

[hcariss]

PM sent

[french911]

Hi

Have you tried Europe especially ouitside Germany. Remember your $17K will translate into $25k plus once you add shipping, insurance VAT duty etc. Try PistonHeads.com :: Speed Matters for a good selection like this one Moston Car Sales Ltd : PORSCHE 911 SC 3.0 also look on DDK-Online
Buying unseen is always a risk but there are many good dealers in USA plus I have never had problems with Pelicans.

Barry

[Christien]

This place is a good place to start, compared to, say, eBay. You'll find a higher %age of honest, trustworthy people here. That's not to say everyone is, just more here than ebay or craigslist.

That said, there's no substitution for a pre-purchase inspection at a qualified shop that the current owner doesn't use. Expect to pay between $300 and $400 for a full inspection, including leakdown and compression tests, and results will be sent to you directly, not via the seller. First ask the seller for recent service receipts, so you can see what shop(s) he deals with. Next, locate a shop nearby (ask here for recommendations) and choose one other than the shop(s) the seller has used. Then call them and give them the seller's contact info to setup an appointment for inspection. Any seller that refuses an inspection is suspect - walk away. The inspection will tell you everything you need to know. Personally, I would feel confident buying long-distance, sight-unseen, on the basis of inspection results. In fact, I will be doing so shortly when I decide which car.

Good luck!

[umfan866]

Hi

I have been looking for 7 years here in California - mostly 84-89 911 coupes for 15-20k. For 18k US, you should be able to find a VERY nice almost exceptional 78-83 SC. A few years ago a nice SC fetched 15k, and that seems to have gone down to like 13-15k!. Many trashed/high miles SC's are going in the range of 8k-10k.

I am PM'ing you a local example you might like.

[wgwollet]

The SC cars in the US are the lowest of all Porsche 911's now...great car but not as nice as the 3.2 models

Please keep checking all the US web sites... for private owners only.....private owners can be very honest and know the car better then any dealer....I looked for two years for a 1973 911T which is very difficult with all the BS on Ebay today. I only use Ebay to see what cars sell for.....most do not make the reserve...we are in very good times to buy cars just like real estate prices are soft but very hard to find a "no stories cars in any model".......my 73 was brought from a 3 owner in up state Michigan....which is the rust belt for early 911's but the car was well taken care off with only 53,000 miles no winter.....but still early cars show rust easy..

As we know SC are less rust proof and are not highly desired in the US market many were sold....he had trouble selling his Porsche up north because of where he lived.....he thinks it was the only Porsche in town.....remember half the cars were sold in Calif.

Calif cars bring more money usually with a good history but the SC can be bought anywhere...remember most US sellers do not understand how to ship a car overseas you must help them....not a problem...find a private owner on this site or other sites and talk back and forth get to know the person....maybe spend $600 for a plane ride.....but if you get photos and do much talking it can be easy

[Halm]

I don't seem to keep my cars very long so I responded to his WTB. Based on his reply he seems like a solid guy and very professional.

Just know he doesn't want a white over blue car.

[davidbir]

Or a black one