I looking into buying a nice 996tt in connecticut and I live in AZ. Its a private owner sale and the seller is the second owner. Carfax is clean but I am still concerned that it might have been in a fender bender or something. I know with BMW's you can check some obvious VIN's but is this true with 911's? If so where can I tell the sellar to look for them? I also am thinking of having it inspected by a dealer but I want a quick visual before I go further into this deal. Thx

 

Say what?

I would recomend either flying there, what's $200 when you're spending tens of thousands? or finding a reputable shop in the area.

I check for accidents in the following ways:

1. Check the fittament of all the panels

2. Match the "orange peel" in the paint from panel to panel, if anything has been repainted generally speaking the orange peel will be different. look where the same light reflection overlaps two pannels and compate.

3. Check for "dirt nibs" in the paint, these are little particles trapped under the paint.

4. Check for tape lines. 95% of bodyshops out there do nothing about these. Basically when you paint a car you "tape off" a certain area so that paint does not reach it. Run your fingers along the top of the inside of the fenders, doorframes, jams, quarter panels, etc.

5. If you have access to one, a digital paint gage will also be benneficial. Cars pained at the factory are painted by robot and consequently have a thickness less than that then if the panel was painted by a human.

6. Check mechanicals, look underneath, look for supports that have been replaced, etc.

Hope that helps,
Jeremy

P.S. there are several companies tho offer "inspection services" nationwide that will check the car out for you, although I do not know what exactly they offer.

 

Proving or disproving an accident by a random inspection can be difficult to the untrained eye or the trained eye that doesn't know the car. Welds can be made to look nearly perfect. Stickers can be put onto replacement parts. Edges can be wet sanded/clay bricked in prep. However, most people don't think of covering up the evidence of a wreck when it happens. Check the edges on body parts (ie. door handles, hood, etc) and they should be smooth, not rough or gritty. On 911s there won't necessarily be any stickers on the underside of the hood/trunk.

Best is a professional inspection wherein they can use the paint meter and evaluate the crumple marks.

 

the most obvious way to check if there has been work done on the car is to check the seams - make sure they are equal on both sides of the car wherever there is a joint. also, feel on the inside of the edges - paint should be smooth like other areas. if it's rough, it could be from overspray and mean it was repainted. get a paint meter and place on different panels throughout the car - they should all be within ~.5 of each other.

i'd just go ahead and send it to the dealer to have them do a PPI and tell them to run a paint meter over the car. tell them you would like that documented in the report. should be about $150-200 - small amount in the grand scheme of things

you can also look at bolts where the body panels are bolted to other panels. if they have been removed to place on a new panel, then the bolts will have the paint scratched off - but good body shops are now repainting the bolts as well.

 

Wow this is alot of helpfull info, thanks guys

BTW goodluck with your purchase!

 

You should ask one of the fellow board-members who live in the area to go check it out. I've helped/been helped in BMW/Porsche websites for years. You can post the approximate location and then have someone PM you for details. Car guys love this stuff anyway and just look for an excuse to do something car-related.

 

thx Ill give it a try.