61 replies to this topic

[mbardeen]

I understand the rules of the game. If I wasn't serious, I wouldn't make the offer. However, I really expected someone to value the car more than that. It's got a recently rebuilt engine from RSBarn and looks to be in really decent shape. It'd make a nice track car or daily driver for someone. If that someone happens to be a mechanically inclined member of my family, so be it.

That said, I'm not going to get in a bidding war for it, so $1001 will buy it out from under me.

And to further pique potential buyer's interest, here's the original for sale ad that Kim posted:

"1992 968 coupe, white, 6 speed, 386,000 km, engine rebuilt by RS Barn at about 355,000 km. Works great. A/C converted to R-134a but needs new compressor. Needs new starter (I think). Condition otherwise appropriate for a car of this number of km."

Edited by mbardeen, 23 March 2013 - 03:13 AM.

[Kim]

A/C compressor was replaced (A/C now works) and starter was replaced. Only thing wrong is ABS light will not go off. Car uses about 1 litre of oil in about 8000 km.

Edited by Kim, 23 March 2013 - 04:19 AM.

[Kim]

I also believe that it is worth more. In fact, I would be willing to bet that over a 5 year period my car would cost no more to keep on the road than any of the other 968s that are advertised here and anywhere else that are listed as in "good condition" and "well maintained". We all look after our cars - we wouldn't dare to be members on this site if we just bought them to drive the snot out of them and then abandon them on the side of the road. But looking after a car is not a static process - if you drive it the "looking after" part will be continuous and expensive. If you just look at it, however, then repair costs are less and the amount of "upgrading" and "improving" can be more since those costs will be amortised over a longer interval. My car is pretty basic but I can tell you that I have never spared anything to keep it roadworthy. I have driven it 238,000 km in 8.5 years - about 28,000 km per year (or 18,000 miles) which is probably near the upper end of what most anyone else drives. It would not have gone that long if it had not been looked after. But to drive it that long has required opening up the wallet more than once to fix stuff. My repair book (photos attached) is pretty thick.


My comment about costs to keep it on the road for 5 more years is predicated on the fact that over that interval everyone will do the belts, replace tires, do something to the brakes, etc, etc. But this car will not need engine work, it is unlikley to develop oil leaks, will not need a flyhweel, radiator, water pump, starter, A/C compressor, engine sensors, stering rack bushings, strut mounts, etc. Yeah, I drive it in the snow a bit and it has been in salt. It's NOT a collector car nor are very many of the others for sale. At some point a 92 is a 92 and is just as 92ish as all the others. Replaceable parts have been replaced. Service has been done according to the manual. Nothing has been allowed to break deliberately just to squeeze another few km out of it. So, in reality, my 92 is probably as reliable as any of the others that have actually been used as regular transportation and not just as a platform for continuous costly improvements and a life in a garage.

Just my ranting. But I follow this forum and everyone here has experienced some sort of failure or hard to diagnose problem including some significant issues. So have I. They are 21 year old cars and not many are perfect.

But the auction rules still stand. I have a driveway with 5 cars in it and that is just too many. I need one gone.

Attached Files

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•  IMG-20130323-00367.jpg   39.55KB   0 downloads

Edited by Kim, 23 March 2013 - 04:55 AM.

[Schnell-Gelb]

Incredible.

BTW, prices for reasonable 968 here in Germany start at 10.000 Euros (13.000 $)


Could be yous?

http://suchen.mobile...Features=EXPORT

(Maybe 2 t€ too high)

Good luck!

Edited by Schnell-Gelb, 23 March 2013 - 01:23 PM.

[Kim]

Sorry, sold now. Got an offer that needed an immedaite response. First 92 968 in running order that you will ever see sold for $2500.

[MB968]

Glad you got something worked out, albeit I'm sure not as much as you would have wished.

[Kim]

You can't always get what you want.

[MB968]

Yep, gotta know when to fold em and move on.

[Cloud9...68]

Yes, congrats on getting it sold. Sometimes forces out of our control (the mileage on your car and your relatively remote location I'm sure being the biggest factors) conspire to force up to accept less than we'd like. In my own case, when I tried selling my car, which had 115K miles on it, it was in the depths of the Great Recession, and the market was just abysmal. I would have been lucky to get $5K out of it. So, in my case, I decided to keep it and turn it into a track car. You still have another 968, right?

[Rap]

Congrats Kim. It seemed like torture to sell that car! Was the purchaser a forum member? If so can you tell us who, or would you have to kill us? Lol

[mbardeen]

Congratulations Kim! I'm pleased you got it sold for a better price. And my wife is pleased it was to someone other than me.

[Schnell-Gelb]

Congratulatiuns.......to get rid oft it at this price ????

[Kim]

I sold it to my step-son. Just an off-the-cuff thing - he was at the house and asked if he could buy it for the cash in his pocket. I asked what he had (I knew he had some money since he was planning to buy an ATV earlier in the day and that deal didn't work) and we did the deal 2 minutes later. He lives 1 km away so I will see the car daily. He even told me I could sit in it sometimes.

I would have kept the auction going but, with prices offered as of last evening, there was a real chance that $1000 was going to be the top price.

I gave him the coordinates of 968forums so he may show up here sometime.

Cloud - I sold the other one to my brother-in-law just after Christmas. I think that he is trying to re-sell it. He is on the site as 92blue968.

Now, perhaps, I should look at the yellow one for sale with only a couple thousand miles!!

Over and out.

[DRR968]

Fascinating. I read the ~50 posts top to bottom last night. Very interesting - like a great story, wondering if I would get in and who would end up with this one. Only to finally reach the 'SOLD' post. I had to go back and re-read the first post, the auction rules. Did I read them wrong - or do the rules only apply to the buyers, not the host? Maybe you folks familar with car autions are use to rule changes (a 'sorry it's sold'), or I read the rules wrong. Just surprised, and in a public e-forum, feels like the game was changed.... No loss, or hard feelings, just an observation..... dr

[tamathumper]

Yeah, no hard feelings. I had a bid prepared, but I understand the compulsion to sell and be done with it.

[Kim]

Well, sorry. Not sure what to say. I guess, it's gone. And, with time, others will be faced with a similar dilemma, needing to sell a "gem" at "junkyard" prices. The fullness of time will address those issues.

I guess my only justification is that there really wasn't any "demonstrated' interest unless if was near to free. The highest price was $1000 with one day left. And yes, more bids might have come in. No gun was held to anyone's head and last minute bidding might have been the plan for someone. But, as my father used to say "if the dog hadn't stopped to sh*t it would have caught the rabbit".

I could have simply waited and then run the risk that the $1000 would be the best bid. Then, if I indicated that I had sold it elsewhere, that might have also been unacceptable. Perhaps even worse. So, being hopeful, I advised all of those who were planning to put in a greater bid, but before they did, that it was gone. Tried to make the best of a tough situation. And I wrestled with that for about an hour before I made the post. I hate selling cars. And philosophy is not my strong point.

I have no 968s anymore, but this site has been a hoot since 2005. I enjoyed the marvellous Celebration in 2006 where I got to meet a number of you and I still have the stick-on dash covering in the fake carbon fibre that I won for the longest drive, still new in the box. I will look at it yearly and cherish it forever! Got lots of help from lots of folks to deal with the issues of "the white car". I thank everyone who helped me with anything.

But now its time to go. To those offended, sorry. To the others, which hopefully represent the majority, good luck getting top dollar when your time comes. And, in the meantime, just drive it to death. Then, when it is worthless, your will have at least had a lot of fun with it. Like me.

Kim

[flash]

DRR - since the "auction" was a private one, and not affiliated with this site, the seller can pretty much make and change whatever "rules" they want. Frankly, if anybody feels like they lost out, they only have themselves to blame. They should have put in their best bid right away. Waiting until the last minute is a sure-fire way to open the door to missing out on something. I blame this on evil-bay. The way they have set things up sucks. People wait until the last second, and then put in their bids. What is the point of even having an auction if the bidding doesn't happen until the last minute?

I thought about buying it, but just don't have the space. I would have taken the car apart and sold the bits though, and that probably would not have sit well with anybody.

Anyway, I'm glad Kim finally has an opportunity to find closure. His has been a long and arduous journey.

Hopefully we'll still see him around here, and maybe someday he'll fine a garage queen and not have so many problems.

[Darryl]

Sorry, sold now. Got an offer that needed an immedaite response. First 92 968 in running order that you will ever see sold for $2500.

Congrats on finding it a good home. Turns out, after we spoke, one way airfare for me was pricey and would have offset the low price for the car, so I was plotting and planning to just come get it with my trailer. Speaking of which, I'm hoping to have just slightly less invested in the 93 Tip Coupe that I just rescued from a front yard, (it also has a completely rebuilt motor by RSBarn) so your running car for 2500 gives me a goal to beat.......

- Darryl

[DaveN]

Congratulations Kim. I was going to up the ante Monday as my son and mechanic though it might be a good idea but let the cards fall where they may. I guess I will have to just rent a car now when we come back east to experience the "other side" :-P Maybe we'll look you up and have lunch even though you are now an official 968 outcast ;-)

[Rap]

Kim sold his car. Great for him! Waiting till the last moment has its advantages and disadvantages when purchasing items at an auction. With the bid that had been submitted, $1000, waiting to bid $1001 seems sort of penny wise and pound foolish. Lets all leave Kim alone and besides he is not a member and is no doubt not reading any of this. Lol