The car looks great, and as long as you bought it to enjoy IT, then do just that! 78k is a bunch of money I know, but relatively speaking you will get a heck of a suntan while feeling remorseful at about 7800 RPM... WHERE THE PASSION LIVES. Hmmm, Does that equate to 10% ROI per drive?? All kidding aside, you did fine, in my opinion, Happy Motoring!
A vin tells all, post it and you'll know if it's a Euro. 78k is cheap. Your a dealer and know the rules, if a car is mis-represented, by law that is fraud. Possibly ask for an adjustment, since your a dealer your really supposed to know what your buying, considering you do it for a living.
$78k is great price IMO for spider. it's beautiful and looking on bright side, it is also faster than USspec spider with no pre-cat in the headers.
Out of warranty so meh! Shouldn't have been misrepped though.... Euro yellow in that range should be ~10K less....
where are you guys finding euro spiders with low miles in the 60's? I would say yes on a coupe but I have yet to see a spider in those numbers... am I wrong? I stand by the $78 was a great deal for a 17k serviced example- euro or not. Plus no pre-cats!! How many of us would PAY to have no pre-cats & no CEL's without a major fiasco? If they deceived you on the euro try to get some coins back... howeva you being a car dealer I would kinda think you would have recognized an import due to import stickers... vin I could understand missing if you were not used to analyzing them.. Dont sweat it, you got the car right.
Just sell it and take the hit now, I'll give you 60k for it Awesome car and you did really get a great price! Enjoy it!
It seems strange that you as a dealer would not be able to pull the VIN information before purchasing the car. If the dealership were trying to pull a fast one, you would be the last person they would dare try it to, or so I would think. Perhaps they just assumed you knew.
True!! Why you are complaining about the car, forget about it is a Euro spec. The car looks great and a very good price. Keep it!!!
I agree with the generall consensus to keep the car- enjoy it and drive it in good health! Just to be clear however, even if people say euro doesn't have pre-cats, is faster or whatever, it has and will always have less value than a US car in the US, and will perhaps also be tougher to sell. This has been the case for decades and will continue to be the case- my first 911 was a euro with no cat from the factory- faster yes, but cheaper to buy and sold for a little cheaper (some insurance companies even have issue insuring euro cars in the US, although I didn't encounter this). This would even be the case if you were to come across a euro spec e-class benz (not that you would nowadays, but there were many more in the 70's-80's.) Basically, you bought for less and will have to sell for less, you should still come out all right as you didn't lay out the additional $20k or so for a US car, although most would prefer to pay the extra money for a US car- the market is efficient that way! By the way, nice Christmas tree in the garage- being as today is June 30, you are either very late taking down the tree or very early for this coming Christmas
Its gorgeous. And at 78k it is an amazing deal. Plus Euro cars are usually lighter. Work a deal with your dealer (discount on extended warranty or maybe a free service?). Its worth keeping this car.
Maybe you can have a full oil service from your dealer for a complete year!!! That is what I got from Mercedes Benz on I problem I had with my wifes SUV.
If nothing else, I would get a refund on principle, even if it involved getting an attorney involved. I hate that kind of deception crap. I'm at work and haven't been able to read the entire thread. Did you mention the name of the dealer yet?
just saw your pics wow,great looking color,i have the same color with navy blue int and navy blue top,andyou haveno precats ,i think you did great on the deal,go put some miles with top down.enjoy in good health
Yes VIN tells but no need for a VIN with this car. Unless the car has been crashed and rebuilt I can tell you without a VIN. There are telltale signs and this is a euro. If this was a B2B transaction you may not get out of it so easy. Business' are assumed to be more competent than individuals and as such, they aren't afforded the same protections. It sounds like you assumed that it was a US spec car. If the seller didn't SAY that it was a US spec car they didn't commit fraud. Omission of the import history is not fraud. Plus, you would have to prove that they represented the car incorrectly. You may not have a case and if this was B2B you simply didn't do your due diligence. The law doesn't protect you from your own errors. Don't get me wrong. I think they should have disclosed, assuming that they knew, but it doesn't relieve you from your responsibilities.
No real reason. When you look at older cars the euro versions are often more expensive/desirable. For the 360 it is just a bunch of FUD in the market that ties to lack of warranty coverage when they are new. You also have to make sure that the legalization was done well and that it is a 50 state car instead of a 49 state car (loosing CA cuts a lot of the potential market when you resell).
I think some of it is if it had to be converted by a 3rd party for safety or emissions the workmanship could be shoddy, and/or done by companies that are out of business. Also there may be paperwork that wasn't required in one state but is in another (i.e. change of some sort of certification paperwork long gone by the time the person buys it and then finds it's needed or something and the car can't be registered in his state). Sometimes there are other small things that people don't like- depending on original market, headlights may be different, speedometers in KM, on some models side lights on the fenders that weren't on the US cars (by the 360 all cars had those lights), etc. Overall, cars are more similar today from market to market than in the past (i.e. my '78 911 had no cat vs. US cars having one), but there are still small differences. There were differences in safety equipment back a couple of decades ago- may not be anymore but at one point there were. Overall, the market places a higher value on a car originally destined for the US when buying in the US. If there were two identical 360's- one US and one Euro- just the potential paperwork issue would make the euro worth less- even if it was OK in your state. Even if the differences aren't that big, for better or worse the US market still has a sizable delta between a US car and Euro for relatively late model cars. It probably doesn't make as big as a difference or any difference with the vintage cars, but something newer and relatively high volume like a 360 it makes a difference. (heck, I don't think a Boxer was ever sold in the US- every one here is a Euro car). Another term for Euro car is "greymarket" by the way. Hope that helps your understanding a little Webby...
Great post. That price delta will ALWAYS be there, at an ever diminishing amount. The biggest reason for it now is that the buyer SHOULD know that the seller paid less than the market for a US car when they bought it, and they sure as hell are going to SELL it for less than a comparable US car. At least to me they are.
8th digit of VIN The 'A' identifies it as a US car. 'B' would be a Euro car, 'C' a UK righthand drive car, 'D' an Australian car etc. http://www.red-headed.com/index2.html?articles/index.html&3
