Getting a car inspected in Virginia / USA generally

[dealmaker]

Guys,

I'm in the process of trying to buy a GT but live in England - I want to be able to agree a deal on a car and then get it independantly inspected - so that I can guarantee it's exactly in the condition I'd expect.

Is there an oragnisation I can use who can do this for me? Virginia is the first port of call!

Thanks

 

[davisp]

CARFAX offers a national (USA) inspection service. You can get information on their web site. The GT is such a specialized vehicle that I would recommend you try to find a GT owner in the area that you are looking to make the purchase and have them inpsect the car for you. Another option is to use the GT guy who you can also find on the web. The GT guy, LLC, are two fellows (Dennis, Rich) who are intimately familiar with the cars and travel around the country performing maintenance and upgrades on the cars. I am going to be in the Virginia area off and on over the next three weeks and would be willing to help if the car is near Tysons Corner Virginia? PD

 

[B O N Y]

Greetings,
Good advise already given, the weakest point would be the clutch, very hard to evaluate in the car. Let us know exactly in what city your car is located in, and perhaps somebody can eyeball it for you. If there was an insurance claim against the car, it will show up on the Carfax reporting service. If the car was repaired privately, by someone like THE GT GUYS, and the owner paid them directly it will not show up on any reports. I would always feel better buying a car that has been carefully driven by an older owner.
Cheers,
daniel
older guy

 

[Fubar]

I have bought cars this way. You can typically pay a local dealership (via Credit Card) to give the car the once over. Make sure to have the body shop look for signs of repair. They will give you a nice write up on what they found.

I've had them go so far as to do a leak down test on the cylinders and cell test the battery. I have never paid more than $150US.

 

[ROCMAN]

I would always feel better buying a car that has been carefully driven by an older owner.
Cheers,
daniel
older guy

So what are you saying about us younger guys? :wink
I think DBK would take exception to your comment. Then again, maybe not!:lol

 

[abolfaz]

Guys,

I'm in the process of trying to buy a GT but live in England - I want to be able to agree a deal on a car and then get it independantly inspected - so that I can guarantee it's exactly in the condition I'd expect.

Is there an oragnisation I can use who can do this for me? Virginia is the first port of call!

Thanks

What are you looking for? I was offered a tungsten '06 today, MSO with less than 500 miles. Let me know if that helps.

 

[B O N Y]

I have bought cars this way. You can typically pay a local dealership (via Credit Card) to give the car the once over. Make sure to have the body shop look for signs of repair. They will give you a nice write up on what they found.

I've had them go so far as to do a leak down test on the cylinders and cell test the battery. I have never paid more than $150US.

Just sold an F car and the buyer did a PPI, including compression and leak down and his costs where a little bit more than yours, just a tad of $450.

I would not worry about the GT engine, just the clutch and a careful check for body and suspension damage.

 

[B O N Y]

So what are you saying about us younger guys? :wink
I think DBK would take exception to your comment. Then again, maybe not!:lol

Let me try to be diplomatic, now that stepped into the sxxt. Most of the GT's I have seen sideways and on videos are not being driven by 'gray beards.':biggrin

 

[BlackICE]

Let me try to be diplomatic, now that stepped into the sxxt. Most of the GT's I have seen sideways and on videos are not being driven by 'gray beards.':biggrin

I don't know how old the drivers were of the crashed cars, but one thing for sure I can say about them, they have more balls than brains! That may agree with Bony's assertion of gray beards being less crash prone, since in general, the older one gets, the less risk one takes.

How far would Bony's Whippled GT go if the average high school football jock drove it?

Remember, a man gotta know his limitations.

 

[GUNNAR]

Just wanted to pass along my personal experience with Carfax. A few years ago I purchased a one year old Porsche GT2 with very low mileage and a clean Carfax. Like an idiot, I relied on the clean Carfax and the dealer's word that the car was accident free and had never had any body or paint work done to it whatsoever. I had the car shipped to CA and delivered to my local Porsche dealer for an independent inspection. Yes, I know I should have done this before buying the car. The inspection revealed significant previous damage to the car, including bodywork, paint and mechanical repairs that left the car in what the Porsche service tech wrote down as "unsafe to operate". After months of hassles, I got the seller to take the car back, minus transportation costs and the forfeiture of a "non-refundable" deposit.
I contacted the Attorney General's Office in the seller's state. Their investigation found a $41,000. insurance claim had been paid out on the car before I purchased it. I contacted Carfax and forwarded all of the documented information to them. They refused to include this new information on their Carfax report, instead only listing that the car was "serviced" in CA on the date of my inspection.

:thumbsdow I will never rely on Carfax again...an expensive lesson learned.

 

[PL510*Jeff]

I would always feel better buying a car that has been carefully driven by an older owner.
Cheers,
daniel
older guy [/QUOTE]

Bony - I resemble that remark. At least the careful driving part. Jeff

 

[dealmaker]

Guys,

Thanks for all the help guys - I will take it all on board - sounds like the key is to buy of someone who is known to look after their car.

Albofaz - maybe you can e-mail or PM me details of that Tungsten one - I might be interested (and to be honest the nearer it is to Florida the easier it is for me) -

...BUT...my ideal specification is a red with stripes, painted calipers and Lightweight rims (I'm ambivalent about the Mac)

Thanks!

 

[B O N Y]

Just wanted to pass along my personal experience with Carfax. A few years ago I purchased a one year old Porsche GT2 with very low mileage and a clean Carfax. Like an idiot, I relied on the clean Carfax and the dealer's word that the car was accident free and had never had any body or paint work done to it whatsoever. I had the car shipped to CA and delivered to my local Porsche dealer for an independent inspection. Yes, I know I should have done this before buying the car. The inspection revealed significant previous damage to the car, including bodywork, paint and mechanical repairs that left the car in what the Porsche service tech wrote down as "unsafe to operate". After months of hassles, I got the seller to take the car back, minus transportation costs and the forfeiture of a "non-refundable" deposit.
I contacted the Attorney General's Office in the seller's state. Their investigation found a $41,000. insurance claim had been paid out on the car before I purchased it. I contacted Carfax and forwarded all of the documented information to them. They refused to include this new information on their Carfax report, instead only listing that the car was "serviced" in CA on the date of my inspection.

:thumbsdow I will never rely on Carfax again...an expensive lesson learned.

Sadly, not the first story I have heard about Carfax. Again, if the car is repaired privately it will not show up on their reports. I know a few damaged GT's that have been hurt, repaired and will never appear on Carfax as having work done on them.

 

[roketman]

You could ask GT tech (Rich) to go and do a pre -purchase inspection for you.It would sure be money well spent.Not many know these cars better .And a very nice guy as well!!

 

[KJD]

You could ask GT tech (Rich) to go and do a pre -purchase inspection for you.It would sure be money well spent.Not many know these cars better .And a very nice guy as well!!

+1!! You cannot do better.