thstone Made jalopnik and thetruthaboutcars?

[BIGJake111]

I was reading a story against buying a cheap 911 on jalopnik and saw myself saying well of course an 8k 911 needs some work done to it, at the end of the day you spend 4k on work and still have an 100k car for 12k now.

However, as reading the story i started to notice more and more interesting comparisons to a story I once read here on the forum of a saddly totaled boxster then replaced with a beautiful blue 911.

Here are the links.

Stop Buying Cheap Used Sports Cars And Expecting Them To Be Perfect

What an $8,500 Porsche 996 Really Costs

[Porsche9]

Rennlist is giving Yoav the love.

[thstone]

I was waiting to see if someone would make the connection (I suppose it was inevitable).

For those not already in the loop, here is the backstory to the published story: 986 Forum - I Bought My 996 Back Today.html

Yoav and I were pretty good friends. We met through fellow 986 Forum member, writer, and fellow racer Alexander Bermudez and hung out together fairly often. We talked about starting a car-related business together and I wrote a draft of a business plan.

When he told me that he was going to write a story about his short experience owning the 996, I asked him not to do so. I thought it was a bad idea and I didn't see or understand the supposed "lesson" that he was trying to make in the story.

When I saw the story last week, I was pretty upset that a "friend" who had screwed me around on the car, had went ahead and written what I felt was an unfair and single-sided story. I called Yoav and we talked (well, mostly I talked). Without going into details, that call ended our friendship as far as I am concerned.

I won't go into a blow-by-blow response to the story but I will say that anyone who thinks that I bought the car back so I could make more money from selling it doesn't know the truth and doesn't know me. I told Yoav that if he didn't want the car, then he should sell it himself and make the profit. He did not want to do that and asked for me to buy the car back from him - which I graciously did. As for the $3,000 profit in re-selling, I burned through that in one weekend racing at Laguna Seca last month.

I'll let the story stand for what it is - one persons view of a two-sided series of events that were blown out of proportion to create a "story" that the author felt needed to be done in order to be published. As is said, never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

[BIGJake111]

Reading the comments on each site it appears like most people seem to agree that 8.5K 911 that needs work is still a great deal.

Sorry to hear what happened between you and you're friend I guess the real lesson from all of this is to never buy or sell with friends.

[78F350]

Originally Posted by thstone

...I won't go into a blow-by-blow response to the story but I will say that anyone who thinks that I bought the car back so I could make more money from selling it doesn't know the truth and doesn't know me. ...

I am sure that anyone who is an informed Boxster owner and reader of the Forum is fully aware of what a great deal that sale was. Most of us would have jumped on it given the opportunity and space in the stable. If anything, you went well beyond what most sellers would do to make it right.

/Respect.

[911monty]

Originally Posted by 78F350

I am pretty sure that anyone who is an informed Boxster owner and reader of the Forum is fully aware of what I great deal that sale was and would have jumped on it given the opportunity and space in the stable. If anything, you went well beyond what most sellers would do to make it right.

/Respect.

+1 !! Now about that registration.......

[JayG]

caveat emptor

Tom, you are a stand up guy who went beyond your responsibility when selling a car.
The simple fact that you bought the car back after nearly a month shows that.

he was a dick for writing that story, especially after your asked him not to. I guess looking for his 15 min of fame was more important that your friendship


One can only wonder what would have happened had the IMSB self -destructed

15 minutes of fame = low value
Friendship with Tom = priceless

[BIGJake111]

I wondered when reading if you gave him permission for the story and came to the conclusion that it was unlikely. As soon as I saw the price point I had a gut feeling it was your car, but then when i saw it was blue I knew for a fact.

Some of the stories from the forum of people buying a cheap 986 and greeted by an imsb failure a month later would be much more fitting to get the "point" across.

Serious respect for doing what you did not have to do all along. You're precious friend is missing out on a stellar 996 right now.

[Topless]

What a wuss that joker is. He thought he stole a $20k 996 for $8.5k and was surprised that it needed some work??? Caveat emptor! Getting a PPI would have opened his eyes to both the needed repairs and the inherent value of the car. He should probably stick to Corollas coming off lease.

Sorry you had to go through this Tom. Another trust fund adolescent who's nads haven't dropped yet.

[JayG]

I do have one question from reading the story....

How can a shop tell the clutch needed to be replaced in 5000 miles without dropping the tranny?

[Jake Raby]

The cheapest Porsche you can find, is the most expensive that you can buy.

[papasmurf]

Originally Posted by JayG

I do have one question from reading the story....

How can a shop tell the clutch needed to be replaced in 5000 miles without dropping the tranny?

Just sounded like a way for the shop to upsell him on repairs that may or may not have been needed. The window regulator is less than $200 I think (been a few years since I had to replace mine) and is easily fixable within an hour. I am not sure what is involved with the WP on the 996 compared to the boxster, but on the boxster it only took a few hours to replace the WP and swap some hoses without trying to rush the job. That car was far from a plain jane 996 with 17's and sandblasted ambered headlights.

[Retroman1969]

Even though it shouldn't, this whole story blows my mind. I still can't imagine someone buying any car that age for a steal of a price and not expect it to need at least a few things. Parts wear out, and a used car isn't a new car. It's amazing that distinction has to be made to some people.

[steved0x]

Originally Posted by Porsche9

Rennlist is giving Yoav the love.

On multiple threads, some now closed. They are tearing him a new one.

[911monty]

Originally Posted by Retroman1969

Even though it shouldn't, this whole story blows my mind. I still can't imagine someone buying any car that age for a steal of a price and not expect it to need at least a few things. Parts wear out, and a used car isn't a new car. It's amazing that distinction has to be made to some people.

What really amazes me and I wondered about while reading the original articles was, How could anyone not make the connection of what a deal they got when they say something like, Yeah I think he bought it back because he was going to sell it to someone else and make more money??? Even with minor issues.

[M1NDCRlME]

I commented on the jalopnik article last week. I thought it sounded familiar but I never connected the dots. Some joker tried spewing the old "a Porsche is only a second car and can't be daily'd" BS. I had to correct him and he wanted to keep debating it. I'm quattrouberalles on there.

[tommy583]

How dare you thstone!! How could you sell someone a 996 for less than I bought my 986 base for? And to think it only needed $5000 in upgrades and repairs. I'm sure I've spent double that SMH

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by steved0x

On multiple threads, some now closed. They are tearing him a new one.

LOL. Deservedly so. This is a car guy?

I would have been too embarrassed to print that after the fact....it shows he still doesn't understand what he did wrong.

His next article "why buying the Brooklyn Bridge sight unseen is usually a bad idea"..

[thstone]

Originally Posted by JayG

How can a shop tell the clutch needed to be replaced in 5000 miles without dropping the tranny?

They can't. The shop recommendation for the clutch was based entirely on mileage. The clutch itself was in perfectly good working order at the time of (both) sales.

[pony13ca]

The best lesson I learned from this site, was to be ready to throw a few grand into whatever car I bought to get it sorted. To bad "a car guy" missed that lesson!!