C4 Cabrio

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum. The 993 has been my dream car since, well, forever, and I'm finally in a position where I can afford one. I have been offered a '95 C4 Cabrio, manual, 1-owner from new, 20,000 miles for £23k. Sounds cheap, right?

Well... there are reasons behind this:
* There are quite a few small dings in the bodywork - I would say 4
* The rear bumper is in pretty bad shape (however, it will be filled & resprayed, as will the front one which is chipped in places)
* The alloys are in pretty bad nick and 2 may need total replacement (it has 17" Cups)
Most importantly:
* It sat in a garage, UNUSED for 2 years


The car is going to have a full service so I'm waiting until then to find out if there are any serious problems.

Basically, I just wanted to know if anyone had any particular advice because I don't want to end up with a Porsche which causes me (and my wallet) serious aggrevation.

Thanks

C

 

[burrow01]

Hi,

My cabrio is at the other end of the spectrum milage wise []

Trying not to be too sceptical, but that sounds like a lot of careless driving in those 20,000 miles? What is the condition of the rest of the car - interior, engine bay, hood etc?

Do you have the documented history of the car - receipts, MOT's (with milage recorded?) service book stamps etc?

Can the owner explain why he does not tidy the bodywork up himself before selling it? A mint 20000 mile 993 will go for £25-29000 I would have thought? - Is the car from someone you know, a private sale, or a dealer?

I would strongly recomend a Pre Purchase Inspection (PPI) from someone who really knows these cars - they will give you an independent opinion of the condition of the car, and any likely repair costs in the near future - where are you located in the country, someone here should be able to recommend someone reliable for a PPI in your area

I'm trying not to be too negative, but it is easy to get carried away when the car of your dreams is in front of you [] - get the car and the owner checked throroughly and make sure you are happy with

Cheers

Pete

 

[vinceg]

Concur with prior post re points not mentioned as being critical to overall evaluation. Seems this car has been somewhat unloved or carelessly handled of late. Condition verse a mere 20k miles seems like somewhat of an anomaly but I guess there may well be a story behind this car that makes more sense? Key attributes u don't mention would be what service record and history the car comes with. Getting a solid PPI would also be essential ahead of any commitment. Peter Morgan did mine 9m back and I could not recommend him more highly. IMHO this car in good condition with solid history and colour/spec etc would be worth £29-30k private. So u are right "" first impressions are its cheap even given fixes required "" assuming all else is sound. Would add also very low mileage cars can have significant issues of their own so PPI essential. Best of luck.

 

[mmylonas]

I agree with all the others about scepticism regarding the price when weighed against the mileage. For £1,000 he could ahve fixed the other problems and been selling it for >25k.

On the other hand I bought a 993 cab from ebay in 1995 cheaply after a check and knew that it would cost a few pounds to sort stuff out. Have done 11000 miles in the last year and it hasn't missed a beat after the original sort out. So you can get a deal as long as you take precautions.

By the way - I had a message this morning from a friend who has just discovered that a BMW he bought in November was in fact stolen - I assume you are going to HPI it and check the serial numbers all match up. If you happen to be in the Reading area there are several good people around.

Regards

Michael