| Author | Message | ||
| Mike Procopio (Pupz308)
Member Username: Pupz308 Post Number: 476 Registered: 10-2002 |
Excellent investigation! Best thing I ever did--I had the PO on the horn before I bought the car. Called him at home. (You sit down, you go through every record and record every phone number you come across!) I then called two other previous owners, and even called previous mechanics as well as the guy who painted this car. Everybody remembers it. They all fill in a little more of the puzzle than even the service records say. Call everyone, intrude, don't be shy. Good work, though very sad to hear about a carb 308 in this shape  . Makes me very thankful for mine running tip-top (after quite a bit of cash, mind you!). | ||
| Sean F (Agracer)
Member Username: Agracer Post Number: 310 Registered: 2-2003 |
Don, If you'll recall we had this conversation a few months back. Find a car in perfect cosmetic condition, that needs engine work. Rebuild the engine with HC Pistons, more agressive cams, larger carbs, etc. and get a 308 with some power to go with it's looks. Now, with your ongoing experience at buying/building a high comporession motor, I can maybe learn a little from that. We'll see what happens. I maybe in Houston in a few weeks in regards to my project (I talked ot my partner and he reminded me that he submitted a provitional patent application already - this gives us 12-months to submit a formal app and protects us in the meantime). | ||
| Don McCormick (Dandy_don)
Junior Member Username: Dandy_don Post Number: 87 Registered: 2-2002 |
Sean, Offer him the 10k contingent on your visual inspection. I would concentrate then on the cosmetics, body, leather etc, etc which if you must replace or repair will take a big chunk out of your $10k. Of course it is unlikely that anyone will actually take a $10k offer on a running 308 no matter how badly it runs, as there is always a less informed person waiting to jump at it. May take some time to find the sucker but as PT Barnam said "there's one born every minute". Don | ||
| Hans E. Hansen (4re_gt4)
Intermediate Member Username: 4re_gt4 Post Number: 1622 Registered: 4-2002 |
If you can get the car for reasonable money, it probably is a good idea. These older cars can have problems that show up after time, even with a "flying colors" PPI. If you start with a known problem car and bring it up to snuff, then you KNOW it's OK, and will give years of driving. Besides, I hate to see cars like this go neglected. | ||
| Jonathan (Birdman)
Junior Member Username: Birdman Post Number: 108 Registered: 6-2003 |
Unbelievable! We live in a world where telling the truth gets someone sued so everyone that deals with a crappy car has to keep their mouths closed and the unsuspecting buyer is hosed! I guess that means that if people don't speak highly of a car, you can assume there is something wrong with it and they won't tell you. This is generally how job recommendations work these days. If someone calls you to ask about a previous employee and you tell the truth ("Don't hire that guy, he's a lazy bum. Never came to work on time!") you can be sued. So you have the option of saying something nice or saying "no comment." This is a good thing to know when buying an FCar. If the answer is "no comment" what it really means is "This car is a piece of crap!" | ||
| John A Sanders, PhD (Sandersja)
New member Username: Sandersja Post Number: 9 Registered: 1-2003 |
Don't beat the sales guy up with what the service manager said. The most likely result is that the sales outfit will, in turn try to legally keep the shop from offering any info/opinions in the future. Some variant on this scenerio is what seems to have happened in Dallas - FOD will not even do PPIs on cars since they were sued over a deal that fell apart. If you get the service manager to comment either way on a car, you should consider yourself fortunate. The safest position for them is to not say anything and I have found that most of the shops I have spoken to during my fcar searching took that position. | ||
| Sean F (Agracer)
Member Username: Agracer Post Number: 308 Registered: 2-2003 |
Doody, I don't think the sales guy was trying to be dishonest. The prev. owner probably had everything cleaned up before he traded the car, and from talking with the sales guy, it sound like his place is not at all familiar with Ferraris'. They mostly deal in classic and newer V-8's (Corvette's, Mustanges, Vipers - ok that's a V-10). He was upfront and said the carbs need work but he could be clueless about the compression. They may not have inspected the car before they got it. I'm considering calling and telling him, then offering him $10k for the car, but still would get a PPI, knowing at least the compression is bad. The PPI may reveal more issues. If the engine only needs an overhaul, I would look the the "high compression rebuild" thread and get a higher compression engine rebuilt out of the one in the car. $10k (car) + $15k (engine+ other stuff, belts, hoses, etc) and I could have a nice 77 GTB with a new engine and other newer mechanicals, nice cosmetics (which is supposedly has - agian a PPI would tell this story) for ~$30K which would be perfect. It's in my budget, I'd have a car that I now know EVERYTHING about with a new engine (with more HP than your standard 308). AND, it's the right color and body style. Not to mention I could axe the emmisions b/c it's exempt in Kansas. | ||
| Thomas I (Wax)
New member Username: Wax Post Number: 27 Registered: 7-2003 |
"ILL TAKE THE CAR TO THE GAS STATION AND PUT SOME AIR IN THE CYLINDERS TO MAKE IT BETTER" There, but for the grace of God, go I. | ||
| Bruce Wellington (Bws88tr)
Advanced Member Username: Bws88tr Post Number: 2550 Registered: 4-2002 |
FUNNY STORY SEAN.... WHEN SOME 3 YRS AGO LOOKING FOR A TR , I FOUND ONE, CALLED THE OWNERS AND TOLD HIM TO BRING IT TO XXX SHOP FOR A PPI...HE BROUGHT IT, WENT THRU A COMPRESSION TEST, FOUND 2 CYLINDERS WERE ABOUT 95-110 PSI..CALLED THE OWNER, TOLD HIM THE SHOPS FINDINGS, AND THE OWNERS SAID " DONT WORRY, ILL FIX THE PROBLEM IN A COUPLE OF MINUTES, ILL TAKE THE CAR TO THE GAS STATION AND PUT SOME AIR IN THE CYLINDERS TO MAKE IT BETTER"..NEVER CALLED THE GUY AND DIDNT RETURN HIS CALLS...... | ||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Intermediate Member Username: Doody Post Number: 1547 Registered: 11-2001 |
good for you for digging up the dirt! too many people get burned with crap like this. you should call back the salesguy and tell him what you found out and ask him what his story is. if he sticks by the B.S. you should tell us all who they are so we all can stay away from crooks like this who misrepresent - either out of ignorance or willfully. doody. | ||
| Sean F (Agracer)
Member Username: Agracer Post Number: 306 Registered: 2-2003 |
For Sale - 1977 Ferrari 308 GTB, Red/Tan 30,900 miles, $25,000. Phone Call 1.... ...Car was traded in on a Viper. ...major work done by ### this year. ...carbs out of sync but we're not experts so we didn't really touch it. ...no leaks that we can see. ...nice paint and interior. ...I'll get the prev. owner to call you. find ### on the net. Phone Call #2 to ### (Service Shop). ..."don't buy that car" (no kidding, the first words out of the service managers mouth were "don't buy that car") ...the rear bank won't hold compression and it leaks oil. It needs an overhaul. ...yes we did the timing belts b/c oil was leaking on them. We didn't want the engine to explode in our shop and be liable for it. We got the owner to do this just so it would run safely. ...we tried to balance the carbs but the throttle plates won't close and the carbs are in bad shape. It needs new ones. How much are they asking? ...that's way to much, that car is worth 12-15 tops. ...the owner sold it b/c it needs to much work. And so the search continues..... |