Buying this...advice please!

[AfterShock]

Help................

I really like this! It is miles away so I'd be buying it sight unseen!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150388330784&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

All seems genuine but well we all know what that means!!!

Soooo ... Any thoughts on price?? I'm tempted to be cheecky and offer £2100. Or do I try £1800 and see??

Anyway .. your thoughts, questions to ask, etc would be really appreciated!!

Got this message back from him on belts ....

Hi David, Thank you for your interest and to assure you, the car is in all round good condition and has just had its MOT. The belts were done about 20,000 miles ago and the cost of getting it to you would be the petrol and my return journey to Exeter which I would think would be around £50.
If you have any more questions please do not hesitate to ask. With regards, Alan

 

[sulzeruk]

David, my advice would be go and have a look at it. I went to see this on Saturday, it was a 300 mile round trip for me:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190348978005&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Looks lovely and shiny in the pics, what you can't see are the rotten offside sill and inner arch, the bottom of the offside front wing is more fibreglass than metal, the filler on the back arch is all pulling away from the metal about half the length of the arch. The nearside sill had been changed as you had lost the return underneath which was smooth. The guy seemed to be rather offended when I said it would take about £1000 for me to repair it. No wonder he had not bothered putting it in for an MOT!
As always, buyer beware!
Al Cowan

 

[Suffolk944]

Personally I would be a bit wary of buying any 944 sight unseen , really is worth having a good look over any example you are interested in. I know ebay is supposed to have a policy of if the car isn't as described you can walk away but nonetheless....

Also noticed its an auto - is that something you particularly want/need? If not I would suggest a manual is a much better bet. In regard to belts - the received wisdom is that they should be replaced every three years (four max) regardless of mileage. So if those 20,000 miles have been completed over say 5 years or more then I would be wary. Price wise, yes something around the £2k mark is more realistic than the £3k the vendor is after imho. Whether he agrees or not is another matter of course !

There are lots out there so I would say its worth shopping around a bit if you haven't already done so. Sorry all that sounds a bit negative, it may well be a good car and if its specifically what you are after and you can get the right price then it may prove a good buy. But personally I would take a look at it myself before committing to buying (or get an inspection done on her).

 

[Diver944]

I wouldn't buy a 944 unseen unless it was below the £1000 mark. Then at least if it is a rusty shed you can break it and sell the parts to get your money back. A complete shed can look very good in pictures.

A comprehensive service history does not comprise a picture of many MOT forms and tax discs, you need to know what has been down to it in the past few years. If the belts are over 4 years old then CHANGE THEM now, even if they've only done 20k miles. I've driven a 2.5 auto, it's not a very exciting drive [&:] but its much better than an auto Sierra of the same vintage, for example

Ask yourself if you can afford to lose £2500 by buying a heap, then ask yourself if you can afford to lose a day + petrol to go look at it?

I admit it does look very nice in the pics and I do hope it is all it purports to be []

 

[ukmastiff]

I have viewed a lot of 944's 968's in the last two months and bought two of them one bad one good. Totally agree with all the points above but if we are honest it is not always practical to get a vehicle exam for every car you view. At 200 quid minimum a time on average you could do 1,000 on initial viewings. If you can, then take a 944 guru with you or read up on all the 'usual faults' and bother to check for them as most of them are really obvious once you've been told of them.

Re the auto bit of course if you need an auto go for it by all means but people are right to point out to you that they do not fetch manual money so dont pay a manual price. Very best of luck Mas

 

[Hilux]

Personal view.

Never ever buy any car unseen...............................

.............and for those that have and have had no issues then in my opinion, fair play, but you got away with it.

Caveat emptor.

 

[AfterShock]

Ahhhhh forgot to mention ..... yes I do need an auto! Story to follow. In brief I'm a wheelchair user and drive with handcontrols.

Actually the auto isn't THAT bad. Ok it isn't perfect but ... 20 year old car,etc

I kinda agree with the go look at it. Trouble is I think he is a lot more than a 300 mile round trip! hmmm

I had a fantastic 944 auto a few years ago. Loved it. Then had a 911 (996) Looking for a Targa at the moment but am in no rush. The boot just makes so much sense.

However I would love a nice "tidy" 944 again as they are great!

What a dilema ......... sigh ... hmmmmmm

 

[AfterShock]

Caveat emptor

Didn't someone else already say buyer beware?? lol

 

[944 man]

It looks strongly overpriced to me: and not in specially good condition either. The '86 'dials are nice though.

 

[sulzeruk]

David, I just picked up a nice 1983 Auto in need of a windscreen and a couple of bits and bobs for an MOT for less than a sixth of what he is looking for. It even has less miles on it, the belts were done 2 years ago and the shell has not a bit of rust on it. I think that 3K is a good bit more than that car is worth.
Al Cowan

 

[alberto]

ORIGINAL: sulzeruk

David, my advice would be go and have a look at it. I went to see this on Saturday, it was a 300 mile round trip for me:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190348978005&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Looks lovely and shiny in the pics, what you can't see are the rotten offside sill and inner arch, the bottom of the offside front wing is more fibreglass than metal, the filler on the back arch is all pulling away from the metal about half the length of the arch. The nearside sill had been changed as you had lost the return underneath which was smooth. The guy seemed to be rather offended when I said it would take about £1000 for me to repair it. No wonder he had not bothered putting it in for an MOT!
As always, buyer beware!
Al Cowan


its worth that money just to split tbh

 

[poprock]

One thing I would beware of is those belts "¦ 20,000 miles is a hell of a long time to leave between belt changes. It's always possible that the belts have been checked regularly and not needed changing, but I'd be surprised.

 

[DavidL]

I thought we worked on 36K or 3 years rather than OPCs 48K or 4 years?
20K doesn't sound too bad?

 

[Suffolk944]

I think conventional wisdom is 3 years regardless of how little mileage is done in that time, just to be on the safe side.

 

[DivineE]

Auto 2.5 lux 166,000miles. Not to offend the values of the cars but you've got to be joking at £3k!

Manual 2.5 lux 120,000 miles. mint condition maybe. But that's still top money for one.

 

[AfterShock]

So the questions to ask are?

How long ago were the belts changed?

Would he accept....... £1700?? or am I taking the proverbial there?

Any thing else?

 

[ChasR]

I'd say you're taking the urine for giving him that much for the car anyway!

There's a semi-tidy 924S Auto on the bay at the moment if you want to consider that. It's at £800 too.

 

[AfterShock]

Sooooooooooo

What are you guys all thinking of price wise???

Help I'm lost!

 

[944 man]

Im thinking that its a long way away, its not in fantastic condition, so you should look for something better and closer to home.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Help I'm lost!

Personally, I'd go and see it. Failing that, it says in the ad that it's running well and has no rust, so you'd be well within your rights to refuse to pay if it wasn't absolutely mint. I'm sure you'd fine a tiny bit of rust around numberplate lights, or inside the sills, for instance.

I might be looking at this a different way to the other comments here though. If you want a 944, and it has to be an auto, you're limiting your options to the point where you would be better paying over the average price if it means getting what you want. If it's as described, much over £2K for a Lux would be dear. But, and it's a big but, if the car is a good one it'd be silly to miss out for the sake of a few hundred £s and then find you don't see a decent auto for a long time.

It's not what the car's worth, it's what it's worth to you that counts IMO.