Sometimes your own advice is the hardest to follow. Cam and I always tell customers and friends to never ever buy a car without seeing it themselves and/or arranging for a prepurchase inspection by a very reputable technician BEFORE transferring money. Over the years we think this advice has helped countless people find their dream cars and avoid the pitfalls of buying a pig with lipstick. So here’s how well I follow my own advice:
I have always wanted a 1964-65 356 SC sunroof coupe. One night I was searching websites and I found that very car in Togo Brown, for sale in Seattle. I immediately called and left a message to please call me because “I am very interested” and followed that up with an email. The next morning I received a call back, the owner telling me that a gentleman in Sweden was sending a deposit and would purchase the car. I was crushed. I called back and begged the owner to please sell the car to me. I would wire the money immediately. I had learned in an earlier conversation we had a few mutual friends so I also called them and begged them to talk to the owner for me. Ultimately, he agreed to sell me the car. I had just purchased my dream car . . . I hoped, because I had not seen it.
The owner agreed to deliver the car to a friend, Chris Powell, in Bellevue Washington. Chris is a PCA Tech Director, so who better to inspect this rare gem than a Porsche Club guru. If it needed a little sorting out, Chris could do that. I was almost on my way to Seattle for the Kirkland Concours so I might as well have something cool to drive while I was there. As I left North Carolina, I called Chris – - – no car yet. I called the owner, and he promised to get it over. I arrived and there was no car. Okay, now I was nervous. Monday morning after the Kirkland came. I made my way over to Chris’s shop. There, sitting in the sun was my long-desired 356SC, in Togo Brown and already nicknamed “The Turd”. (I get no respect.) Chris and Jason strolled over grinning from ear to ear. ”Oh sheez, this isn’t going to be good,” I thought. They explained that the car arrived on a flat bed and that it doesn’t run. I was crushed.
They started to work on it, and I went around the corner to a friend’s hot rod shop to ease the tension and see some really cool cars. I was looking at a ’27 Track T that I bought for him last year when out of the corner of my eye I saw a flying turd go by. It ran! Jason pulled up on his second lap and said it ran “pretty good.” Only thing was: as we were talking, I saw brake fluid pouring out of the left rear wheel well. Then I realized that the brake leak was mild compared to the gas leak. My heart sank. I had done exactly what I tell people not to do, buy a car sight unseen. It turned out that “The Turd” sat for five years without being driven. That question was the first one I forgot to ask, just before I forgot to ask to have a pre-purchase inspection. The next thing I didn’t do was verify that the numbers matched. I just sent the money. (I did know some of the guys that the owner hung out with. They told me it was a nice car, so maybe I did have some insights.)
How did the story end? Luckily I ordered the Kardex and the numbers did match once I checked them. The body was fine; all matching panels; mostly original paint; hood needed adjusting; some bubbles on the door bottoms but the owner said that they were all there when he bought the car in 1981 – no growth. The interior had been redone and it was a nice job. The car was equipped with headrests and a Frankfurt deluxe radio, all very presentable. All of the trim was original to the car, headlights, turn signals, as well as all the glass. The wheels were original, date-stamped, chromed with painted caps, just excellent.
So I was lucky. The owner knew 356s and had described the car accurately. But I will never buy a car this way again. I could have very easily lost tens of thousands of dollars. Cam is happy for me; still shaking his head; but he’s happy for me.
Kevin