If you got a call from new owner..
 

I know nothing about the history of my 99 boxst (I bought it from a guy who bought it from auction and flipped it), except that the PPO(not the guy who bought it to flip it) got an oil change from the #1 bay area porsche shop (one sales receipt in the registration booklet), he was in PCA (sticker in windshield) and that he also had a magnetic oil drain plug put in.

I DO however have his old registration (??) with his phone number and address etc.

So, do I call him and ask if he wants to share some information, or will he hangup and call the police on me for having his phone number and address??

I tried facebook etc but there are too many people with his name in my area.

What would you do?

Phone numbers are usually linked to Facebook, you should be able to use a find friends from contacts kind of option. However, I would not mind the call, everybody is different, but with a car like this he likely had a connection to it and such and would love to share.

I think the PO would be tickled to hear from you, and would probably share any info with you about the car.

No hard evidence, but based on a personal experience. Last year I was able to locate the current owner of my first Porsche, a 1953 Porsche America coupe that I purchased in 1974 and sold in 1976. The owner was both surprised and elated to hear from me after 39 years, and even recognized my name from past records. I shared with him some information about the car's original color (it had been repainted in a different color), and some other technical data.

The car has since been sold to a collector, and I offered my contact info in case the new owner wishes to get more historical insight into his vintage Porsche.

Just sayin'...........

TO

I would not have a problem getting that kind of call

nothing illegal calling him
Go for it

^ I'm with them. I think there is no harm in a gentle phone call. I would not mind at all, especially not if i had something to hide from. Start out with an apology for calling without warning and ask if they can just spend a few minutes talking to you. When I was looking to buy my Boxster, I called and talked to some sellers and as a matter of fact, I regularly converse with a couple of them even though they sold their cars to someone else. Sometimes, you never know where you build relationships that may last a lifetime. Just my 2 cents.

Write the guy a letter telling him you will call him on such and such date/time, or ask him to call you.

If you got a call from new owner..
 

If you have a girlfriend, try having her call him. You might get a more positive response if it's a female voice asking about his previous car out of the blue?

unless his wife answers

LOL

Earlier this month I sold my 79 Mustang Pace Car that I've owned for 34 yrs. It was 3 wks between when the new owner agreed to buy it and when he could pick it up. He constantly texted me during that 3 wks. So he picks it up and trailers it back to Dallas. Then crickets... don't hear from him that he got back OK, that he likes the car, nothing. WTF? Is he mad? Remorseful? What?

2 wks go by and he texts me about a Pace Car he's looking at on ebay and it's different than "his". Why's he looking at Pace Cars on ebay? Then he says I must have taken great care of my car because he's gotten a ton of compliments on how good it looks. OK then.

Call the guy. He'll be happy to hear about his Porsche.

Pick up the phone and politely tell him you are enjoying his old car and if you could fill in some historical information for him.

If he is a PCAer -- I can't imagine him not being interested in what happened to one his his P-cars. If the car is in good condition and there are no issues,
I'm sure he'd be happy to talk. I would,

Mike

I bought my 2003 2.7 in Feb this year and although the service book was stamped up to date, I didn't have many receipts or service sheets to back them up, so, I emailed all the garages and dealers that serviced the car and requested copies.....3 weeks later and after all data protection protocols followed and I have a full history including advisories and all worked carried out .... particularly impressed with the 2 main dealers who sent me the invoices and job sheets within 24 hours of my request............ on topic though, I have contacted previous owners on other cars in the past and always found them helpful and willing to share info, as have I when contacted.

Si.

I found a cell phone under the drivers seat of my 1999 Boxster after I bought 3 years ago. I charged it up and contacted the owner. She was the first owner of the car, I was the third. Apparently, the second owner never bothered to look under the seat. She was very excited to hear I found the phone. She had no idea where she lost it. I returned it to her and she mailed me all the maintenance records on the car from 0-63,000 miles. (It had 76,000 on the odometer when I bought it) I learned a ton of information, most important was the fact that the motor was replaced at 30,000 miles under warranty!

About 6 years ago when I was on the hunt for a 993 C2S/993 Turbo, I can across a car at the Porsche dealership in Grand Rapids, MI. Somehow I saw the prior owner's name and contact info on a service document, and made mental note of that. I used that to locate an e-mail address. I e-mailed him, and asked him for permission to call him to dicsuss his old car. He was great. Even told me what he got on trade. Powerful negotiating info. Even though I did not buy the car.

Last July I sold my 993 Turbo. Fast-forward 10 months, and man from Poland e-mails telling me he is now the current owner of my old whip. Very cool. I was so happy to hear from another passionate enthusiast.

Keeping on topic.... wouldn't it be cool if members on here could advertise their current registration in order to see if any members are past owners of that vehicle... surely there must be a few...... wide open to pitfalls I know and probably not advised but a good friend of mine was once looking to buy what seemed a very well sorted and tuned Impreza P1............ 2 days before doing the deal and parting with £10k he stumbled upon some highly important information about said car that proved it had been nearly written off, without insurance being involved at all....scary but true..... internet is not just for shopping and P**N....................!!

If he is/was a PCA'er then maybe you can look him up on the PCA site.

Also means he was an enthusiast and what enthusiast does not like talking about past and present cars.

I think if you call and introduce yourself politely and he gets the sense you are enjoying his old car, it should be a very pleasant experience for both of you.

I'm curious to hear how PCA member car eventually ends up in an auction.
He must have sold to someone who knew someone else that was pretty lazy or potentially hiding something.

Before you put any big money into it, get an oil analysis from Blackstone Labs and see if a leakdown test was ever done and not just the compression.

I'd be happy to answer questions to a new owner. I've called a couple of previous owners before.

Once was to a Miata owner, to see if they had the factory hard top. They had just sold it separately (a genius move as it turns out because they fetch a pretty penny).

Another one didn't work out so well. In the late 80's I bought a Nissan 4x4 in great shape. It had fog lights but I never found the switch. I had another question about it which escapes me at the moment, and found a previous registration in the glove box.

So I called. After enthusiastically reporting that I was the owner of the truck and said I had some questions the woman informed me that it had been her son's truck and that he had been involved in an accident that left him quadriplegic, and that they had to sell the truck to buy a van to transport him.

Suddenly the fog lights didn't matter so much.

Call the guy and tell him you promise not to bug him endlessly, but you'd like some info on the car if he has the time and wouldn't mind visiting with you about it.

So much has to do with how you approach him. Ask nicely and make it sound like you don't want to imposition him or make him uncomfortable and you have the basis for a new friendship.

Called and left a message...soon the truth will be uncovered!

I've had someone call me on a Viper I used to own...I was glad to let him know the history and was able to help him (I had it tuned at ARTT and he would have never known otherwise).

It's fun to reminisce with an excited new owner.

Talked to the PO last night.

I've always thought the car is so strong and smooth for 90k miles so after chatting a bit about what I've done to it and how the car is so far, I asked what he did to it before I got it.

Turns out it had 2 engine replacements because of the dual row IMS failing twice, and that an older grandma used to own it before him........

...........just kidding.


An older lady did own it before him though for the first 60k miles and when he got it, he put lots of money into it for PM, like new oxygen sensors, MAF, german wool glass top ( ;) ) tires, brakes etc. I almost forgot to ask about the spliced MAF wires, then he brought up that he bought a 'chip' (resistor) that splices the MAF wires and gives +65 HP (-20HP and -5MPG). He then mentioned that the shop he always took it to told him "you have the e-throttle, you dont need that resistor trick, it wont work"... :facepalm: ...its a 99.. Its been out of the car since before I owned it so no big deal now.

Interesting though, he was not the PCA member, the grandma before him was! Maybe she is some kind of super grandma.

OH I forgot to mention...

If any of you have seen my other endless posts about a whine type noise that I cannot for the life of me get rid of (almost like a supercharger whine while accelerating, most noticeable under load at 70mph in 5th), the end of the story is now here.

I didn't even have to bring it up, the guy said "it used to make this whine sound, a little louder than all my buddies boxsters, and I kinda liked it".

To which I replied "like straight cut gears or a supercharger while accelerating?"

Yep, it did it for him too. He said the guys at the shop thought it was fine (they also thought it had e-throttle), and given the fact that I have extinguished all avenues of hope without pulling the engine out, I am no longer concerned. The sound hasn't changed in many months, so I suppose I'll leave it at that.

I tried a few times to contact the PO of my car but he wont pickup or respond to v messages ? Car runs great not pissed at him.
On the other hand. I sold a car to a gentleman, fixerupper non Porsche.He did fix it and gave it to his grandson.How do you I know this ? He e-mailed everything he did in detail step by step with numerous e-mails.
Dude drove me nuts.

Just discovered that the "collector" flipped the car after less than a year of ownership.

And it sold for quite a tidy sum:

Featured Listing - 1953 Porsche 356 Pre-A Coupe For Sale

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1418528496.jpg

TO

A bit off topic but I once got a call from the cops after a car I sold was used in an armed robbery..

That is heartbreakingly sexy! :cool:

As an ex owner there is no harm in trying to contact the previous owner. Here is the take on my being an ex owner. I sold my 2001 Box cheaply with a steady CEL light on.
New owner calls back and asks if I have the original Porsche mats. I say yes so come and get them.

Then he texts me later and asks for my permission to release service info from my indy shop. I was not willing to release it on the grounds that he got the car cheap and I don't want any more of my info released that is necessary. I did not respond to the text.

I don't know if he is a flipper of cars or whether he wants to add to his collection(the latter seems to be a good line lately if I have been trying to sell something of value).

To the original thread poster there is no harm in trying.

Guy

A cpl of wks ago was the 2nd anniverary of me purchasing my CSS. I had almost bought it months earlier but the seller backed out, so I know it was hard for him to part with it when I bought it. I debated about contacting him but I thought I'd let him know I still had her and mentioned that I'd gone to Parade in Monterey this yr. Also included my pic of HPP next to my car. He sent back a response and said he missed that car like a child. He had recently bought a 991 in Mexico Blue. Then he added if I ever wanted to sell my car, he'd buy it back.

He'll have to get in line, as there are already 4 ppl in front on him. ;) But she's not for sale.

A few weeks ago, I got a PM from the board member on this list who bought my 2000 Boxster S that I had traded in to a dealership for 2010 Boxster S. I had no problem answering his questions and was glad to see that the car went to a good home.

Similar to my 99, engine factory replacement in 2008 with 37kmiles on original engine.

I would call. As the previous owner I would have no issues with providing whatever I could to help the new owner. That is like gold in my mind.
I purchased a Volvo years ago and shortly after that a humming sound started from the rear end. I found the previous owners information in the car, used that information to call a dealership in that city and asked some questions about the car before I took it back to the dealership I purchased it from. It came in handy. This was before the Inter web made privacy big.