WTB : Granturismo S, sub 40k miles, blu with tan / avorio

Gazcw

Gazcw

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7,763
gb-gta said:
I’d say get the previous owners name off the log book and contact him/her. GDPR put paid to that these days though!

I know of a 4 year old boxster (2.0 turbo one) with 20k miles that just had a 23k warranty bill for gearbox (pdk) and turbos.
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Their name will be plastered all over the invoices and original paperwork anyway. Certainly was on mine.
 
Gazcw

Gazcw

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7,763
PHAB said:
Deposit down, going to view on Saturday. Service history has to be seen to be believed....over £55k in bills in the last 6 or 7 years at Meridien, including a replacement gearbox ar 35k miles and diff. Can't decide whether this is a good thing and the car has been pampered beyond belief...or if it's a total lemon! Hmmmmmmm
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Mine had thousands spent on it by the 1st owner. New rear console due to damage, wheel refurbs, tyres etc. It soon adds up if a md is left to do all the work.

Depending on type of work I would say pampered. If it is electrical, track faults, computer/ sensor changes etc I would say lemon and run.
 
Ewan

Ewan

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6,811
I imagine the warranty will have taken care of much of that, rather than the owner.
I'd take such a spend as a positive. And far preferable to a car with a lesser service history.

Fingers crossed the viewing goes well.
 
Felonious Crud

Felonious Crud

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21,174
Ewan said:
I imagine the warranty will have taken care of much of that, rather than the owner.
I'd take such a spend as a positive. And far preferable to a car with a lesser service history.

Fingers crossed the viewing goes well.
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Agreed. Dealers are pretty skilled at finding things that need doing under warranty, and also at replacing things rather than fixing them. My Vantage had a replacement rear windscreen under warranty.... because the first one hadn't been fitted properly. It also had new carbon bonnet vents because the original ones were a bit loose.
 
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PHAB

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45
dickygrace said:
Never seen anything like that.
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Felonious Crud said:
Agreed. Dealers are pretty skilled at finding things that need doing under warranty, and also at replacing things rather than fixing them. My Vantage had a replacement rear windscreen under warranty.... because the first one hadn't been fitted properly. It also had new carbon bonnet vents because the original ones were a bit loose.
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Ha....you'd be surprised. The only warranty item is a £312 seat motor. The rest is on credit card. OUCH!
 
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PHAB

Junior Member
Messages
45
Ewan said:
I imagine the warranty will have taken care of much of that, rather than the owner.
I'd take such a spend as a positive. And far preferable to a car with a lesser service history.

Fingers crossed the viewing goes well.
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Yes I agree with you now Ive inspected the type of work. All wear and tear, just incredibly OTT I think. All hopefully beneficial and hoping for a good outcome tomorrow.
 
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PHAB

Junior Member
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45
Where to start....

It's a car that may have had a fortune spent on keeping it mechanically sound, but not a penny cosmetically and it categorically has never been housed in a garage from what I could see. Drove 2.5 hours to see it...arrived and found the car was extremely poorly prepped having just had a bucket of water thrown at it, covered in grub and grime when looking closely and windows not properly up due to yes....you guessed it....a totally flat battery.

Whilst the salesman went to find a boost pack I noted both front headlights very poorly fitted (passenger protruding by 1cm on leading edge), the bodywork had more dents and scuffs than most station cars, all 4 callipers with such bad surface corrosion that there is no paint left on them at all, filthy engine bay, very bad corrosion to wheel hubs and bolts, moss growing between the seals on all the windows, chrome window trims completely milky, boot release non functioning (had to show the chap how to release it manually), windscreen de-laminating, both wiper arms corroding badly, boot once open very damp, battery terminals corroded, soft close on the passenger door not working....could go on and on and on.

Showed the guy where the battery was, how to jump it and it fired up nicely - engine was smooth (via donking the door on the car next door and taking a socking great chip out of the paintwork) nothing mechanically un towards I could tell from the 0.5 mile test drive I was allowed. The Googlereviews seem to paint a very hit and miss picture of previous customer experience with the sellers and I must admit Ive never seen so many valuable cars sat soaking in what is little more than a field....not one inside. Just a few portacabins around to sell them from. One thing that was odd was when turning the engine off there was a very nasty metallic low pitch clonk from the exhausts each time - guessing exhaust valves?

Given the above and that it's due a major service (2year + 4 year items) in 5 months....there were far far too many warning signs to commit. It could be a really rough diamond for someone but I'd want £5k at least to sort out the cosmetics + a full inspection at a reputable dealer for underside corrosion....especially given how corroded the discs and calipers were, I dread to think what it looks like with its skirts hitched up.....12 years of living by the sea has done it no favours at all.

Shame but the search continues.
 
c4sman

c4sman

Member
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1,260
It’s a pain when you’ve put time to go and see a car only to be disappointed by the reality. Happened to me as documented on here before I bought my current GT. I found one that was the right mileage and spec but a close look showed a car that had led a hard life (and probably a lot of time on salty roads). I wasn’t interested in negotiating the price down to cover restoration as I wasn’t out to buy a project.

Keep the faith and I’m sure you’ll get all your hoping for (as I did in the end).
 
Wattie

Wattie

Member
Messages
8,640
PHAB said:
Where to start....

It's a car that may have had a fortune spent on keeping it mechanically sound, but not a penny cosmetically and it categorically has never been housed in a garage from what I could see. Drove 2.5 hours to see it...arrived and found the car was extremely poorly prepped having just had a bucket of water thrown at it, covered in grub and grime when looking closely and windows not properly up due to yes....you guessed it....a totally flat battery.

Whilst the salesman went to find a boost pack I noted both front headlights very poorly fitted (passenger protruding by 1cm on leading edge), the bodywork had more dents and scuffs than most station cars, all 4 callipers with such bad surface corrosion that there is no paint left on them at all, filthy engine bay, very bad corrosion to wheel hubs and bolts, moss growing between the seals on all the windows, chrome window trims completely milky, boot release non functioning (had to show the chap how to release it manually), windscreen de-laminating, both wiper arms corroding badly, boot once open very damp, battery terminals corroded, soft close on the passenger door not working....could go on and on and on.

Showed the guy where the battery was, how to jump it and it fired up nicely - engine was smooth (via donking the door on the car next door and taking a socking great chip out of the paintwork) nothing mechanically un towards I could tell from the 0.5 mile test drive I was allowed. The Googlereviews seem to paint a very hit and miss picture of previous customer experience with the sellers and I must admit Ive never seen so many valuable cars sat soaking in what is little more than a field....not one inside. Just a few portacabins around to sell them from. One thing that was odd was when turning the engine off there was a very nasty metallic low pitch clonk from the exhausts each time - guessing exhaust valves?

Given the above and that it's due a major service (2year + 4 year items) in 5 months....there were far far too many warning signs to commit. It could be a really rough diamond for someone but I'd want £5k at least to sort out the cosmetics + a full inspection at a reputable dealer for underside corrosion....especially given how corroded the discs and calipers were, I dread to think what it looks like with its skirts hitched up.....12 years of living by the sea has done it no favours at all.

Shame but the search continues.
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Contact Dicky Grace....he'll find what you want.... in time.
 
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