My old 996 on eBay

I was the original owner and just thought I'd issue a warning in case any of my fellow F-Chatters were bidding on this car:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-911-AERO-GT3-PORSCHE-AERO-911-MUST-SEE-/320580380583?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4aa41467a7

I heavily abused this car from November 1998 until December 2003. I put 68K very hard miles on and changed the oil something like three or four times.

It was hit hard in the front when another driver ran a red light and slammed into me. Impacted the driver side front fender and smashed up the entire front end. As far as I remember, all bodywork ahead of the doors was replaced. The 996 was so new at the time that Porsche couldn't provide a replacement for the fiberglass, GT3-style front bumper/nose. After months of waiting for Porsche, the body shop asked my permission to repair the old smashed-up piece so that they could get the car back to me and I agreed. There was a police report made at the time of the accident and it was reported to both insurance companies, so that just goes to show how inaccurate CarFax can be.

Also, the hardness of the fiberglass (as opposed to the standard polyurethane) meant that the paint on the nose constantly chipped something horrible and, as a result, I had it repainted several times, even once prior to the accident. I also once hit a coyote while doing 80 mph and had to have the nose stripped and resprayed yet again because the paint was cracked all over. No, I don't know what happened to the coyote as I didn't stop to find out.

Most of these things were factory installed, but not all. I had the sport exhaust and clear turn signal lenses on the front fenders (originally amber) added by Ogner Motorcars in Woodland Hills, CA (now The Auto Gallery). Come to think of it, those turn signal lenses were probably replaced again after the accident. The car originally came with Turbo Twist style wheels, which have since been replaced - though the current wheels don't look bad at all. Other changes that have happened in the time since I owned the car include the drilled aluminum pedals, red brake calipers, tinted rear windows, and "PORSCHE" script across the windshield. It also looks like someone has redyed the steering wheel rim (a shade too dark), as the original dye had worn out almost completely by the time the car was 5 years old.

I smoked cigars in it, but always with the windows down and the sunroof open.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the car's not worth the set reserve or "Buy It Now" price (I really have no idea what it's worth), I just feel that any potential buyers should be aware of the fact that the seller's description is not completely accurate.

 

Before starting this thread, I sent him an email explaining the correct history on the car. It's possible that he only based his description on the CarFax report and didn't know any better, but now that he has been informed, it will be interesting to see if he makes any kind of amendment to the auction to address the accident damage. I'm willing to bet that he won't.

 

I didn't when I parted with it, but who knows what it has been through since!

By the way, here's it's twin but with fewer miles: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Copue-6spd-areo-kt-turbo-wheels-PORSCHE-DLR-NO-RESERVE-/160472188511?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item255ce3465f

 

Didn't sell it - it was a lease return. (As a dealer, I originally bought the car through the dealership and then leased it to myself through a bank.) I actually tried to buy it, but the residual was over $50K and the bank wasn't willing to negotiate. The car was only worth about $35K at the time - probably even less considering it's history.

 

That's correct - used nothing but Mobile 1. Asianbond does have a point, though (and the point that I was trying to make). With as hard as I was driving the car (saw triple-digit speeds daily), I felt that I should have been changing it more often.

The first 4 years that I had the car were during a period when I was working 17-18 hours per day, 6 or 7 days per week. I had little time for anything other than work. Even squeezing in an occasional haircut was difficult. I put on over 100 lbs from just shoving fast food down my throat whenever I had the chance, and often not eating at all until 2 or 3 am, when I would overeat whatever I could get my hands on at that time. My personal life was a disaster. Leaving work late at night and knowing I had to eat and try to get some sleep before returning the next day, meant that I was always in a hurry to get home and in a hurry to get back to work again a few hours later - hence the high speed commute. Shameful? Absolutely. I was chasing the money and unable to give it up.

Today I'm older, wiser and have a family. I also take better care of not just my cars, but everything in my personal life. Finally got rid of that extra 100 lbs as well.

As to his comment about buying a Ferrari from me - I no longer own one, so I guess he has nothing to worry about.

 

None. Auction ended and it never hit reserve. If he relists it, I would hope that he would at least remove the line about it having never been in an accident.

Anyway, not my job to be the eBay police, I just didn't want to see a fellow F-Chatter get burned.

 

You might be correct, as the car never suffered a mechanical or electrical failure of any kind while I had it. According to this listing, it has had the rear main seal replaced, though it doesn't say when, where, or why. I can only assume that it began leaking at some point.