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Old 2003-11-28, 10:13 PM   #8
sperry
The Doink
 
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Real Name: Scott
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 20,335
 
Car: '09 OBXT, '02 WRX, '96 Miata
Class: PDX/TT-6
 
The way out is through
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Here's the deal on the car:

The current owner said he bought if off his business partner who was the 2nd or 3rd owner. His partner had the car just sitting aound for about 7 years, and the current owner bought it because his son's Honda was running poorly and he thought a Porsche would be a cool car for him. But his son hates the car, so he's selling it.

I asked the guy about the rust on the phone, and he told me "there's no rust, but I think the car's been repainted". When I got there and started pulling up the carpet and poking around in the engine bay and mentioned "rust" he immediatly told me, "oh, you're looking for rust in there? I thought you meant on the outside". So the guy obviously thought about the car in terms of asthectics when he set is asking price of $2200. My guess is he paid $2000 for it from his business partner and is trying to simply get his money back assuming someone would offer $200 under his asking price. Now, his price isn't too out of line with the market value of that car. The motor runs good, the tranny seems okay, and asthetically, it's not too banged up.

However, I have a safety issue to deal with. I plan on making this a dedicated race car. I really don't care how clean/nice it looks, I need it to be mechanically and structurally sound. The rust in the engine compartment is in a very bad location... it's where the motor mounts to the chassis, and where the rear suspension puts loads on the chassis. I certainly cannot have rust there in a car I plan on tracking eventually. So if I buy the car, the motor *will* have to be removed and all the rust *will* be ground off, and a roll cage will be installed. I just want to avoid having to cut out sections of the chassis and installing new pieces of sheet metal. If that's what this car'll take to get fixed, then I'm going to pass on it, and wait for a car that's got less rust, even if I'm paying $5000 for it. It will always be cheaper in the long run to have a sound chassis than attempting to repair a rust-bucket.

On the other hand, if I explain my situation to the guy, and he's willing to knock say $1000 to $1200 off his asking price, so I can spend $1000 on getting the car crashworthy, then I might consider it, but frankly I'd rather just save my money for a better 914 down the line. It's not like I don't already have a fast WRX that's plenty capable of competing in NSM next season. In fact, even a really nice 914 will probably be un-competative next season in NCS, due to it's age, lack of preperation, and my lack of experience driving it... it'd just be fun as hell to drive!
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