Pre Purchase Inspection - Some Thoughts

You’ve made
the decision to buy a car and for one reason or another you’ve decided to
purchase used rather than new (Maybe the horrific first year’s depreciation and
sales tax adding up to $25k+ bothers you a little?). In Arizona and a few other
states, all private party vehicle purchases are sales tax exempt so buying a
used car from an individual is very tempting. Whether you buy from a dealer or
private party, it is imperative that you protect yourself, even if the car is
still under warranty. The PPI page on our website goes into more detail as to
what we check but here are a few other thoughts.

 

One of the
most significant concerns when looking at a car that’s still under factory
warranty or not, is whether it’s been involved in an accident. Although using
Carfax and other reporting agencies is a prudent step, they are not foolproof.
There is always a lag between the time an insurance company pays out for a
claim and when it finally reaches the report- sometimes up to 12 months. Also,
in this culture of giant deductibles, it’s possible that a repair was paid out
of pocket and not through insurance. In these cases there may be no record of
paint or body work.

 

Our PPI
includes inspection of paint finish and whether there is evidence of collision
damage. Rule of thumb is that if someone can tell that it’s been to a body
shop, then it’s probably going to affect value (but not necessarily
performance). It is amazing to see how many one, two, & three year old cars
still under warranty, have had body damage or paint work. (Just visit any high
end body shop- recently I saw a new Ferrari 458 Italia with the left door and
rear quarter wiped out. It had 100 miles on the odometer!) This is obviously a
double-edged sword as unfortunate things happen and when it’s time for us to
sell our cars we certainly don’t want to take a bath just because we had our
front bumper re-sprayed because of stone chips.

 

Besides body
and interior esthetics we also look at evidence as to how the car has been
driven. It is not unusual to find newer Porsches that show over revs in the
computer (Probably from a missed shift or early downshift). Going beyond the
redline 200-400 RPM (or more!) takes a toll on the engine and could adversely
affect long term service. Again, even on a car that’s under factory warranty,
you want to be careful that it hasn’t been abused. Our Autologic and Porsche
software diagnostic test equipment enables us to track hours, misfires,
mileage, and other significant events that happen in the life of Porsches,
BMW’s, and Mini’s.

 

While it is
extremely difficult to manipulate odometer readings on most late model
vehicles, this is not the case for older cars. One model that we are especially
sensitive to is the Porsche 993. These cars have enjoyed some very good
appreciation over the last few years and we’re finding more and more anomalies
with the mileage readings. We had a situation recently where a buyer had a 993
sent over from a North Scottsdale dealer for a PPI. Upon removing the speedo
and verifying that the date stamp matched up with vehicle production date, we
noticed that the bezel had been removed and reinstalled (poorly). That in
itself is not a huge concern as these vehicles are notorious for breaking the
plastic odometer drive gear. But if a speedometer has been worked on there
should be proper documentation to go along with it. A proper paper trail is
important to verify that there are no holes in the history and the mileage
stated is accurate.

 

Note: The
buyer in the above mentioned situation didn’t purchase the car because the
dealer couldn’t/wouldn’t provide proper history. The sales manager stated that
they knew nothing about the speedometer. (Later on we found out that they not
only knew, they were the ones that sent it out for repair!) Again, it’s not
unusual for odometer repair; just make sure it’s properly recorded in the
history.

 

Speaking of
993’s… I’ve got to get this one off my chest: Over the last 3-4 years, this
model has appreciated significantly (much like the pre-’74 911 models). One of
the reasons for this is the fact that many enthusiasts and collectors
understand the value of the last bullet proof air-cooled engine (once a top end
rebuild has been done!), A/C that works, great drivability, and other criteria
that pigeon-holes them squarely into the collector car category. Because
enthusiasts and collectors generally take better care of their cars than the
average owner, overall these cars are better cars than they used to be. What
steams my beans is when a seller tries to take advantage of this increased
model appreciation but hasn’t kept the car maintained, and significant repairs
are needed. A top notch 993 should command top dollar but a sub standard car
that has been abused and neglected should be priced accordingly. One can’t have
their cake and eat it too. A seller can’t expect to get $30k for a car that
needs $20k worthe of work when a pristine example sells for $40k.     

 

For almost
four decades Beck’s European has been delivering objective and accurate pre
purchase inspections- to the point where some local dealers would rather steer
you somewhere else. If a dealer won’t allow you to have a professional
inspection done by the company of your choice, prior to purchasing… Run! As the
buyer, you have every right to contract with a legitimate professional to
properly evaluate and determine value. You might hear comments like “We’ve had
bad experiences with them and won’t send our cars over there”. The reality is
that they didn’t sell a car because of a bad report and they weren’t willing to
remedy the situation. They would rather attack the messenger instead of taking
responsibility for their problems and see to their customer’s best interest.

 

The other
prevailing attitude that we encounter is the “it’s not a new car; it’s going to
have problems” syndrome. The moment we start to “grade on a curve” because of a
car’s age, is the moment where customers start questioning our integrity. We
have one standard: “New or better than new (restored collector cars)”. Whether
or not it’s new or used, 200 miles or 200,000 miles, our standard is
consistent. Using this method there is no confusion; we simply leave room for
discernment and objectivity by the buyer. A customer pays us to use our experience
and expertise to report the facts. We don’t use a sliding scale and we don’t
show favoritism toward sellers. Every vehicle should stand on its own merits
and a comprehensive inspection should reflect that. Imagine if we used a
“sliding scale” on a ’73 911RS? If we gave allowances for deficiencies just
because the car is 40 years old, how would one know the difference between a
$150,000 car and a $300,000 car?

 

All of this
to say: Caveat Emptor        

 

Live with
passion, drive with passion.

Frank
Beck