Page 42 - KCRPCA July

Member ADVENTURE
42
Jul / Aug 2017
Cummings
one from a private party who listed it on Craig’s List. It took a while to nd, but I bought this one as he had priced it fairly and seemed to be a decent guy. Speci cally, he priced it at Private Party Fair Condition (on KBB.com) and added some for the custom wheels. I thought his add on was a little aggressive, countered, and basically paid him the Private Party Good Condition value. The FAIR condition did a lot in convincing me to buy from him as most other folks I had talked to thought their cars were OUTSTANDING. The seller’s honesty was a breath of fresh air.
During my test drive, I initially thought that he had under-valued his car and was willing to offer him something closer to his asking price than I had planned. After all, the registration was brand new and so was the battery. However, it turned out that the rear trunk didn’t like to stay open (a small point) and that the passenger door didn’t lock (a big point). So I lowered my price to $6400 from his asking price of $7300 and he met me at
An Affordable Adventure Pt 2
CTRAIGSLIST PORSCHE
his is the second of two articles $6700.
on my purchase of an entry-
level Porsche to feed my habit in Washington, DC.
As a reminder of last issue’s article, I bought my rst Porsche from the dealer, Jim my second from a friend, and the third
I ended up spending $900 at the dealer to get the door xed, and I later found that there was a coolant leak at the transmission that added another $400. Bottom line is that I ended up spending roughly $7700 on the car, which is a bit high for an Excellent car, but as I tend to keep my cars forever, it’s not unreasonable. Anyway, it is well within my initial $10k budget, so my practical side is happy.
Q: How did you determine your o er?
A: Like I said in the last issue, Edmunds. com and KBB.com are your friends. They provide an unbiased look at where pricing on cars is. No, it’s not 100% accurate, but it’s close enough. KBB states that 3% of the cars they rate are EXCELLENT, 23% are VERY GOOD, 54% are GOOD, and 18% are FAIR. My going in assumption is that the car is GOOD, but I know the FAIR and VERY GOOD prices as well. The walk around, test drive, and talks with the seller allow me to adjust accordingly. Remember, it’s up to the seller to convince you how good the car is. It’s your job to be detached and protect your resources. That doesn’t mean you should state your price and never give in; just that you don’t want to act on emotion and be sorry later that you