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dghii · 02-29-2016, 04:29 PM

As mentioned earlier, being the last day of the month, I paid the dealership a visit. My plan was to make an offer I couldn't turn down. It was a very pretty day and I wasn't really looking forward to spending hours on a great day doing the dealership dance but I was intrigued and interested enough to make the drive.

Prior to leaving, I checked the web site and found that the car was still available but their listing was pretty screwed up. The description was for the 2010 base car I'd looked at but the price was now listed at $25K. All the pictures were of a Lapis blue 2010 S tip with 20K miles that had been on the lot late last year. Weird!

Upon arriving, I went up to the office and requested the CARFAX. It turns out that the car had arrived in FL after originally being purchased in Utah. Besides FL, the car had also spent time in South Carolina and Virginia Beach. It had two previous owners and my guess was the last was a service member.

in 2011, the car had been involved in a a rear end collision that resulted in "damage greater than $1,000" (Duh!!) but no air bag deployment. Upon inspection, I could not see any sign of the damage or repair. CARFAX also noted many trips to dealerships for scheduled service but nothing else out of the ordinary.

When I was looking over the car, I noted that the convertible top side tension cables were outside of their track. CARFAX had noted multiple trips to dealer to 'Check top' but no other information or evidence that the top had been replaced. Other than one vlong scratch (could be buffed out) on drivers side quarter panel, the outside looked great.

Inside, the car was in great shape except a few scuffs on door jams and wear on the console and drivers door handle surround. The wear isn't the same as what I'm used to seeing on my 986 but items would still need to be replace to make the inside as new.

Now the drive....
Since the 2010 Base car is rated to have about 5 more HP than my 2000S and weighs about 50 lbs more, I expected similar performance. What I experienced was....yawn.

Nothing.

My 2000S still feels like a very hot go-cart when I drive it. It is an absolute blast every time and has been the entire time I've owned it.

The 2010 did not have the same feel at all. I know this is subjective but all in all, the car didn't feel quicker or more responsive or refined than what I'm used to. Certainly the experience was nowhere near enough to consider it as a replacement for my current car.

As far as a buy and resell, the previous accident and lack of detailed service records made me apprehensive about the certainty of success.

After returning from the test drive and being asked what I thought, I just said thank you but not interested in making an offer.

Sometimes you just have to trust your gut. I realized I just wasn't excited at all about the possibility of buying the car as a keeper or a flip. $20K plus cars are not always easy resales in our area , especially if they've got any sort of accident history.

BTW, the sales person was sticking to the idea that the asking price was $25K. Whatever.

Bottom line, time to move on!

02-29-2016, 04:29 PM	#19
dghii Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 2,498	The conculsion. As mentioned earlier, being the last day of the month, I paid the dealership a visit. My plan was to make an offer I couldn't turn down. It was a very pretty day and I wasn't really looking forward to spending hours on a great day doing the dealership dance but I was intrigued and interested enough to make the drive. Prior to leaving, I checked the web site and found that the car was still available but their listing was pretty screwed up. The description was for the 2010 base car I'd looked at but the price was now listed at $25K. All the pictures were of a Lapis blue 2010 S tip with 20K miles that had been on the lot late last year. Weird! Upon arriving, I went up to the office and requested the CARFAX. It turns out that the car had arrived in FL after originally being purchased in Utah. Besides FL, the car had also spent time in South Carolina and Virginia Beach. It had two previous owners and my guess was the last was a service member. in 2011, the car had been involved in a a rear end collision that resulted in "damage greater than $1,000" (Duh!!) but no air bag deployment. Upon inspection, I could not see any sign of the damage or repair. CARFAX also noted many trips to dealerships for scheduled service but nothing else out of the ordinary. When I was looking over the car, I noted that the convertible top side tension cables were outside of their track. CARFAX had noted multiple trips to dealer to 'Check top' but no other information or evidence that the top had been replaced. Other than one vlong scratch (could be buffed out) on drivers side quarter panel, the outside looked great. Inside, the car was in great shape except a few scuffs on door jams and wear on the console and drivers door handle surround. The wear isn't the same as what I'm used to seeing on my 986 but items would still need to be replace to make the inside as new. Now the drive.... Since the 2010 Base car is rated to have about 5 more HP than my 2000S and weighs about 50 lbs more, I expected similar performance. What I experienced was....yawn. Nothing. My 2000S still feels like a very hot go-cart when I drive it. It is an absolute blast every time and has been the entire time I've owned it. The 2010 did not have the same feel at all. I know this is subjective but all in all, the car didn't feel quicker or more responsive or refined than what I'm used to. Certainly the experience was nowhere near enough to consider it as a replacement for my current car. As far as a buy and resell, the previous accident and lack of detailed service records made me apprehensive about the certainty of success. After returning from the test drive and being asked what I thought, I just said thank you but not interested in making an offer. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut. I realized I just wasn't excited at all about the possibility of buying the car as a keeper or a flip. $20K plus cars are not always easy resales in our area , especially if they've got any sort of accident history. BTW, the sales person was sticking to the idea that the asking price was $25K. Whatever. Bottom line, time to move on!