#1 1989 328 GTS bought at Holt Motorsports (Used Porsche Dealer in West Chester, PA) which was about a 1 hour and 45 minute ride. #2 1987 328 GTS bought at Naperville Motors in Naperville, IL (site unseen, no PPI) and shipped to my house. #3 1989 328 GTS bought from a private owner through a broker (Dave Olimpi of Dave Olimpi Automobiles) and was shipped from Palm Beach, FL. #4 1987 328 GTS bought at Wide World of Cars in Spring Valley, NY and driven home, which is about 2 1/2 hour ride home.
308 GT4 and 328 GTS, both private sales brokered through a local service/restoration shop. Less than an 1 1/2 hours away.
1986 328 GTB - Originally contacted the broker, Doug Pirrone, but ended up buying the car directly from the seller; about 1 hour from home.
1986 328 GTS bought from private owner I was living in England at the time and the car was in Italy (2 hours flight). Car was perfect with all documents, tools, history etc etc. I left the car in Italy at my place there (close to the Seller's house...). Ciao Eugenio
Technically, I bought my car on ebay. Since it was in the same town, though, I was able to inspect and drive the car before buying.
How do you guys recommend conducting the transaction between yourself (a private buyer) and a private seller of a $30K+ vehicle? Let's say it's a "cash" purchase, but not through a dealer, a friend, or a member of F-Chat. Just some dude with a car you want to buy. Should you wire him the money up front, show up with a check or bank/cashiers check or money order, or go old school and show up with a briefcase filled with Benjamins handcuffed to your wrist? How do you suggest protecting yourself from a "seller" who takes your money but doesn't deliver the car, keys, and/or title? Not that he meant to scam someone all along, but perhaps he is not happy with the negotiated price and now feels he is in a position to "renegotiate" since he has your money. Sorry to be so cynical. Has anyone had such an experience? How would you protect yourself from this scenario?
This certainly wasn't the case for me. Got my '88 328GTS w/7K miles, a complete major/belt service, a bumper-to-bumper 1-year warranty, in the exact color I wanted (Giallo Fly) at my local dealer (Ferrari of Washington) 'bout 45 minutes from my home. Took me over a year to find it but in that time (searching locally and nationally) I didn't come across a nicer example.
Private party that had advertised in Automobile magazine. Friend flew me up to look at the car, and I drove it home (aprox 4 hours).
Bought mine from fellow FChatter 456 from an ad posted on Collector Car Trader.com. My Dad and I drove to SC and I drove it back. What a trip!! One I will never forget!!
1987 328 GTS I was searching all over the internet when I found it posted in the newspaper ad (Boston Globe) by a private seller! Theo
My 1977 308 GTB was 3,050 miles away in Seattle. I had the car delivered sight unseen via enlosed carrier for $1600.00 and after 2 PPI's. Note: It isn't easy to find a mechanic for the PPI who truly knows the quirks and problem areas of these cars. David
Vlad, what I have done in the past are these steps: 1) seller faxes copy of title to buyer so buyer is assured that seller has title and there are no problems with it. 2) buyer faxes seller copy of cashiers check made out in sellers name so seller knows buyer is serious 3) seller overnights the title to buyer. 4) when title is received, the buyer overnights the check to seller. 5) shipping is arranged. I've done this on fairly inexpensive vehicles. For a 100K+ vehicle, I would probably do it some other way. Maybe use a local Ferrari dealer as an escrow service - it they are willing to do that. Or show up with the check and drive the car off. If it is to be shipped, arrange to have the car temporarily stored at the closest Ferrari dealer. I'm not sure of a good way to transact things if the seller has the car financed. In this case, the seller doesn't hold the title, the lender does. The 308 I bought was like this. The seller is an Fchatter with some history on this site. After talking with him about the car, I had to go with my instincts and trust him not to screw me. My instincts were correct in this case, but I did take a risk. -steve
Thanks Steve. I'm thinking it is worth the investment in time to personally see, inspect, and drive the car. Get a PPI if necessary. Then personally swap a cashiers or bank check for the agreed sum of money with the seller for the keys, car, title, and accessories on the spot. I'm also thinking about both parties signing a small contract disclosing the agreed purchase price of the vehicle before handing over the check. Then either drive the car home or arrange for shipping on your own. If the seller demands wire transfer of the money to him up front, then I like the idea of demanding the title to the vehicle before you wire the money. Anyone else have any ideas?
Bought my '84 Mondial QV Euro from a private seller, less than 1/2 hour from my home. It was sitting with a mechanic that a friend used, and he put me in touch with the seller. Got it a little over 1 year ago. Steve
I did this when I purchased my 328. The seller was a long-time FChatter, so I was fairly comfortable that he wasn't a scammer. However, I did get permission from him to verify with his bank that he was a good customer and that his accounts had been open for a good period of time. I gave him a $1,000 check for the deposit and wire transferred the rest to him the day before I was to pick up the car. I had a copy of the title that showed no liens against the car. I took quite a bit of risk because the seller had my money, the title, and the car 400 miles away from me. If I hadn't been comfortable, I would have gotten a local attorney to act as a broker to hold the money and the title until the deal was done.
