*Warning* Carrio Motor Cars. Do not buy from them.

I live in the Washington, D.C. area and bought my 360 from a guy in Palm Spring, CA sight unseen. No, PPI. PPI’s are overrated. He gave me the Indy shop he used and I talked to the shop which was all I needed and bought it. Two years later the car is still solid. No matter what, I knew the risk I was taking and didn’t really care because my desire to own my childhood dream Ferrari was bigger than the potential financial risk.

 

Lucky guy! The shop could have been in cahoots with the seller...and...PPI's are NOT overrated.
They are an automotive standard to go by, and you sleep with both eyes closed.

Regards, Alberto

 

I wouldn’t buy a skateboard from those friggin clowns.

 

I bought a Porsche GT3 ( 997 ) from Jake’s Motorcars sight unseen - I did get a PPI. I guess I trusted them and got lucky.

If I get another car I’m gonna get more help or people involved.

MDS

 

Wow, have not seen that name in years....are they still in business? They were a good indy dealer 15 years ago.

 

I think so but now their website isn’t working ?

 

https://www.jakesmotorcars.com/

Working again …

 

They may have a bad reputation but their inventory is pretty insane, they got some deep pockets or access to a lot of money.

 

Problem is that is literally everyone down here. Lots of “big money” characters behind many of our dealers and events and more coming in everyday to play the game. Florida! The sunny state for shady people.

Regardless a PPI should be mandatory no matter what. In my almost 30 years I’ve seen some real horror stories from a “pristine” platinum winning basket case 355 with a leaking rear main seal to a Classiche certified Daytona that needed 300k of work. Oh and a Countach that had over a half inch of filler to hide the previously butchered aluminum panels.

Caveat emptor.

 

I disagree, they are 100 percent overrated. People freak out over the smallest thing on a report. A PPI could call a sweating valve cover gasket leaking and a buyer would freak out who knows nothing about cars. No reputable shop is going not tell the truth about a car. Your one sale isn’t worth a google review that could deter a lot of potential business. If I ever sell my 360, I have pictures of the past two owners, all their information including mine and service information. What I don’t trust are Ferrari’s sold at small dealership lots. They might provide service records but you won’t have the previous owners info and I wouldn’t trust the records they provide. With these cars, I am big on private sales. I want to know who owned the car previously.

 

Well, I once bought a car, and the seller (broker) said the car was tip top. I insisted on a PPI,
and guess what, pinion and ring needed replacing. A $7,000 joke, not a sweating valve cover. Or any "freak out".
Catch is you have to know about cars, truly a right thing to say.

I received a comprehensive report on the car (from a very indepent, yet very correct specialist, great outfit), and after the seller agreed on said charge,
bought the car. The broker was (is) a famous one down in SoCal, but I would have put out an extra $7 grand, had I followed his advice.

Possibly, not very savvy about a whistling ring and pinion. Had the latest 'engine out service records' for a lot of $, but nobody noticed? Hmmm.
Only the music did not, no speakers, very quaint. Still does not. Antenna does.

Have owned the car since 2009, and not an issue, short of a faulty sender at the radiator. Nothing, zip, nada of a now 50 year old car.
Amazingly even the tool kit was all there, and still is, but not in the car anymore, as a pointless gadget.
AAA, works great. Never had to though.

No, you do not need a PPI. Clearly, but you do need some luck.

Regards, Alberto

 

The car had an engine out service and skipped the ring and opinion? Sounds like the ring and pinion was a recommendation but not something that needed immediate attention. Even if the seller didn’t make a concession for the repair, I would have still bought the car. You can have three PPI’s done and each would probably have found something different on the car. The point is, when buying older Ferrari’s, a person must mentally be ready to spend. Any ten year old plus car will have random issues on a PPI, even a Toyota Camry.

 

Yes, you are right. Specially on Camrys.

 

PS. 61, You really have first hand experience on the topic, no?

It is not only about buying a Ferrari, it can be any brand that is comparable to the era.
Why do you assume I am talking Ferrari?
And, why would an engine rebuild be directly associated with a 'Ring and Pinion'?

 

I read the Google reviews for this dealership. In today's age, would anyone contemplate purchasing a car from a used car dealer (or staying at a hotel or going out to eat) without looking at Google reviews? PPI is always a good idea. It seems that many of the zero-star reviews of this dealer concern allegations of wraps on cars that were previously wrecked hiding bodywork. I see many of these wrapped color-change cars trading on online auctions, and I don't know who would buy a car without being able to look at the paint.

I have no idea how this dealer gets all the Ferrari Purosabques - they must have good connections.

Thier inventory is very impressive - too bad that they have bough themselves a bad reputation - reputation is the most valuable thing to have in business

 

They are paying a lot for the Purosangues, that's why they are getting them. They have money and are paying up for certain cars that they want.

 

Private party people are as big of liars and sometimes worse than reputable independent dealers.

I buy and sell for a living and buying from an individual is a risk. Always a risk. Almost zero recourse whatsoever.

Your opinion of PPIs is so 180 degrees of reality.

Should you believe everything on a PPI? Is it gospel? No. But to say they are bad is ridiculous.

Now there is a local independent Porsche place here in town called Becks... And I refuse to take cars to them because they trash your car if it had 4 miles on it from new and then the guy tried to sell you a car from his inventory.

All PPIs are only worth it if you get a good honest guy doing it. All private party transactions are only ok if you have an honest seller. All dealer transactions are only ok if you have an honest outfit.

Buy your seller First and foremost and then you have to buy your inspector.

Everything requires research and due diligence.

 

1000% spot on....it is very odd to see such a negative view of independent inspections. Reminds me we had one guy on here that recommended to base purchases on just state inspections, because the government was protecting us. Yikes...

 

You do realize that some of you supporting a PPI are now using language like “ if you get a good honest guy doing it “. So we agree that some PPI’s are garbage? So what if you were the guy with a not so honest guy? How many are not so honest guys to honest guys? I am leaning towards more not so honest guys I guess which is why I don’t like them on F cars.These cars are not mystical dragons… They are cars with motors, shocks, spark plugs, brakes etc… The “ only “ part of these cars that would raise concerns are F1/transmission related issues. But still, people put too much faith in them.

 

If you're buying your first Ferrari, you need assistance. For instance, someone showed me a 458 they were looking at and from the pictures, I could tell a ceramic rotor was damaged by debris caught between the pad and the rotor. Another had a busted magna ride shock. These are items I could see from the picture and they're both taken together in a single car would be a pretty expensive repair. How about a headlight taking on moisture? The list could go on and on.

 

Just a thought this morning.. but if it’s too much of an inconvenience to spend $1000 – $1500 on airfare and PPI for a $150k + used Ferrari you know very little about. Haven’t immersed yourself in the world of Ferrari or even educated yourself on maintenance, or who will maintain this vehicle once in your care,
you’re kind of asking for “inconvenience” are you not?

 

For me, a "garbage" PPI is my fault.....either I didn't do my job selecting someone, didn't explicitly state what I wanted done, or ask the right questions during and after the process.

 

This is very true, I have been present on inspections for both cars I bought but not on others I passed on. Coincidence? Probably not.

Also, if I decide to sell a car to a private individual, I would insist they lay eyes on the car themselves.