Do you know this car? 85 911 speed yellow w aftermarket wide body

gliding_serpent · gliding_serpent's Garage

Photos of a 1985 Yellow Porsche 911 Carrera for Sale in Miami, Florida - Automobile Magazine WP0AB0918FS120684

The car has a history of left side damage when you run the vin. Strikes me i saw this car in the market earlier in the year. Trying to find out who the previous owner was for more info. Dealer says it came from another dealer out west.

Thanks for any help. My goal is for a nice driver/track car with an eventual 3.6 conversion. Figured the wide body if done right would make a good platform.

gliding_serpent · gliding_serpent's Garage

I fully expect multiple offers on this car by tomorrow... which should solve my dilemma, as it will be sold. ;-)

Mehoff · Mehoff's Garage

If I'm not mistaken (and I very well could be) this car or one very similar to it was sold for a song after a PPI discovered the motor was in very bad shape. I think it was a private seller in SoCal, though I don't think it had the Carrera script on it

I'd ask for paperwork on the full rebuild or move on (assuming it's the same car).

gliding_serpent · gliding_serpent's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mehoff

If I'm not mistaken (and I very well could be) this car or one very similar to it was sold for a song after a PPI discovered the motor was in very bad shape. I think it was a private seller in SoCal, though I don't think it had the Carrera script on it

I'd ask for paperwork on the full rebuild or move on (assuming it's the same car).

The current dealer said it was from a west coast dealer. I personally remember seeing this car this spring, or maybe even late winter (just can not remember where it was advertised, but I remember it having a duck tail... so I think they have been sitting on it... probably for good reason). They would not give me the name of the west coast dealer however, saying they likely would not be interested in helping me out (Irony...). I said, give me the dealer name, and let me try. They would not.

The current dealer claimed to have added the duck tail themselves (poor fit sadly). They did originally tell me they had a receipt for a top end rebuild at around 88k miles (I got them to say this before asking about prior owners, but to his credit, they have a lot of cars, so it could be easy to get mixed up). I asked for it, but they sent me the service slip for the service they had done after getting the car, and the work is done under their dealer name. He did say he had old receipts for parts from pelican parts... thus me coming here for info. I suppose they could argue protecting the previous owners privacy by not giving me a name or mechanics shop. Thus, while waiting to see what they will disclose to me, I figured I would come here and test my luck.

They advised a few local shops for me to get my ppi done at... I politely asked for them to send me a copy of the receipt for the top end rebuild as I figured it would give me a name of a prior owner (who could confirm the extent of prior damage, and would not longer try to hide the bad, if any as they would have nothing to loose). He seemed helpful, but my polite questions made him dig his heals in a bit. He said if a PPI was not enough to reassure me about this car, that maybe this was not the car for me.

Then I found out about the left damage by running the vin. They were forthcoming with the VIN however as they display it on the site.

I will give them the benefit of the doubt, but as as I explained to him, I would be buying sight unseen, and need a bit of extra reassurance. If he plays ball and all checks out, I am sure it will be a cool car. If not... there is likely a reason why such a good looking car has been around so long unsold. Probably looking for that "right buyer" who is satisfied with a PPI form their business buddies...

Do I should cautious enough? Jaded enough? About right? ;-)

I am not trying to paint the place as dishonest, maybe they will come through with the info I am requesting. He did seem to try to be as honest as possible to answer my questions and they gave me extra photos I requested. But at the end of the day, he knew little about the car in the areas of suspension and engine mods/work. As I said to him, I just want to learn more about the car so I can make an informed decision, and not waste his time in case I find out it is not what I want.

gliding_serpent · gliding_serpent's Garage

a search of the vin gave me the info I wanted.

1985 Porsche 911 3 2 Carrera Steel Turbo Body | eBay

Interesting observation that dealer said they added new BFGoodrich tires when they got the car... and so did the seller. hmmm. My wife always says I am too much of a skeptic. She is right. That is why I do all the negotiating.

gliding_serpent · gliding_serpent's Garage

spoke with the original owner. Car needed some big ticket work, and none of it seems to have been addressed by the current seller. Interesting. And the price went way up after the ducktail was added and it's original, more expensive wheels were removed, with cheaper ones replaced. sigh

gliding_serpent · gliding_serpent's Garage

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/784101-1985-porsche-911-3-2-carrera-turbo-body.html

the very honest and helpful prior owner gave me lots of info. Cheers to him. Interesting that the current seller/dealer said they got the car form a dealer out west, and that dealer would likely not be interested in helping me track down the previous owner.

Also interesting is that when the last owner sold this car directly to the current dealer/seller, the dealer insisted it was for his personal use, and that it would not be flipped for resale.

The prior seller gives me faith in humanity. The current seller does not. ;-)

Mehoff · Mehoff's Garage

That's what due diligence is for. You are not a jaded buyer, just a conscientious one.....as you should be buying a high dollar 30 year old vehicle.

The right car will surface. Be ecstatic you didn't get pulled down into this money pit. What a douchebag seller.

2.7RS · 07-17-2014, 08:49 AM

Good news for you.

And this is why I completely detest flippers, dealers, use car sales people.

Trying to make an extra buck they just plain lie to honest potential customers.

I'm glad you found the information you needed

Reddy Kilowatt · 07-17-2014, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2.7RS

Good news for you.

And this is why I completely detest flippers, dealers, use car sales people.

Trying to make an extra buck they just plain lie to honest potential customers.

I'm glad you found the information you needed

You're painting with a very broad brush. Can't we just confine ourselves to detesting the dishonest ones?

2.7RS · 07-17-2014, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reddy Kilowatt

You're painting with a very broad brush. Can't we just confine ourselves to detesting the dishonest ones?

It's just a personal opinion based on my own experience.

Not a recommendation not even trying to impose it either.

Happy for the OP again.

gliding_serpent · gliding_serpent's Garage

Live an learn. My gut feeling is never wrong. I knew something was up when such a beautiful looking car (speed yellow, wide body... duck tail... drool) had gone unsold for so long.

Good to know that others out there are also not such an easy push-over.

That being said, they did a lot wrong: Getting the seller to sell by saying it was for a private collection not flipping (and zero addition to the odometer from sale. If they did use it, then they lied to me by saying the broken odometer was fixed), saying the top end was done when it was not, saying they got the car new tires (when the prior owner did), trying to get me to do a PPI at a shop they work with, insisting that they bought it from another dealer and thus did not know the history (when they got it from the owner directly who was very open in all ads about work that needed to be done, and his price reflected it). It was quite slick of them actually. They never lied directly. They played dumb, said they could not find documentation (they just moved conveniently and things are in boxes, but insisted the top end was rebuilt by the magical "dealer out west" that they bought the car from), and ignored my requests to get the prior mechanics shop's info from old service records (I can understand not giving out an old owners name without consent). Hear no evil, see no evil.

Do some routine service, pop on some decals and ducktail, take off the high end race wheels to sell, and near double the purchase price without declaring the known car issues. And who knows, maybe someone will be seduced by a car that looks great... and they will pay top dollar, assuming a dealer would only charge top dollar if it was in good shape... not in dire need of a top end rebuild.

I felt bad for the last owner. He was pretty sad to see his baby essentially get some lipstick, and then be put on the lot with no real work put into it (drivers headlight was not even properly reseated) for near double the price.