Pre purchase help

[genolan]

I live in New Jersey and found a car near Seattle and wanted to if anyone would be willing to check it out for me. Its a Backdraft Cobra.
Thanks Gary

[genolan]

I'm willing to Pay

[SkipB]

Go to Road Ready Certified.com. They offer complete inspections nationwide.

[Randy Rosenberg]

Have you contacted Park Place (http://www.parkplaceltd.com/)? Just a thought... I have no affiliation with Park Place, nor have I done any business with them.

[genolan]

Thanks I'll try both

[Kobura]

I used to live in NJ and I drive a Backdraft, so I guess I feel compelled to write something. First, you are correct in being willing to pay for a car inspection as no one in CC, in his right mind, would inspect a car, recommend it, and then run the risk of having the buyer be disappointed with the purchase. Secondly, the cost of transporting a car from one coast to the other is almost two grand. Thirdly, you might be able to get a new BDR from Vintage that is to your liking at a comparable cost.

[Mark Brye]

I would not buy a used cobra without seeing it in person. Unless it was from Jay at Vintage

[genolan]

The plan was to have a local shop look at it first for a few hundred $ then negotiate the price and when all was in place take a flight out to WA to look see and drive. I'm not a mechanical car guy so an expert shop is required. The total added cost to the car would be $2k for all that extra stuff. 1.3k shipping 300 checkout 400 air fare.

The owner states the following which kinda scares me

The only thing I didn't do was re install the head covers the correct direction – thus the vacuum line is toward the back of the cover – so if you get on it hard sometimes it sucks oil and blows smoke – flip it around and it won’t happen.

[Ron61]

The only thing I didn't do was reinstall the head covers the correct direction – thus the vacuum line is toward the back of the cover – so if you get on it hard sometimes it sucks oil and blows smoke – flip it around and it won't happen.

That would scare me also. I was sure but to be really sure I just went out and looked at mine. They have 3 bolts on top and two on the bottom. Now I am assuming that by head covers he meant the valve covers.

Ron

[genolan]

My question is the vacuum line on the back instead of the front possible? and would it do what he states? This could be a deal killer? Experts I need your help?

[itstock]

Go with your gut feeling. Why would he not just switch the valve covers if it were that simple and fixed the smoke issue? Thats 10 minutes worth of work and a new set of gaskets and he wouldn't have to mention that at all.

After you go with your gut feeling, give Vintage a call and see if they have any consigned cars there, or how far off the price is from new.

[Cashburn]

Let me know what you are looking at? We have several consignments in house now that will list next week. We hold new consignments a few weeks while we handle full servicing (our goal is always to get them as close mechanically to how they were first delivered as possible). I also give customers who have contacted me previously first shot at them.

[1795]

I concur with the majority of the posts, go with your gut feeling. There are plenty of cobras on the market right now. Do not feel compelled to look at this one. Take a long look. There are plenty within driving distance of you to look at. Good luck.

Jim

[MRGEORGE077]

Run don't walk.

[Gun Doc]

I would check with Jay at Vintage and see what he has available...
That said, I live in Gig Harbor, WA (just west of Tacoma) and bought BDR499 new from Jay in 2007 and have owned it since, so I am somewhat familiar with BDRs. If the car is close, I may be able to go take a quick look at it. I would still HIGHLY recommend having it checked out by a mechanic of YOUR choosing before getting on an airplane.

[ItBites]

Swapping engine sides for the valve covers will make the normal front of the right-hand one be at the back of the new left-hand location (and vice-versa). If the breather port is supposed to be at the front to prevent oil ingestion during acceleration, then its new location at the back could produce the results the current owner describes. On the other hand, there are other reasons for an engine to smoke under hard acceleration, so the description is plausible, but not definitive. If the covers are swapped, this could be no big deal.

Anyhow, I notice everyone here has an attitude that if you aren't going to Jay for your BDR, then you should run from the deal. I would look at the deal under its own merits and make a decision for yourself and avoid the sheeple mentality. When everyone is steering you from a deal only you know the details of and they are steering you toward a particular source, sight unseen, that is when to run (not walk).

[Cashburn]

Gary,
Sorry I have not been in the office when you have called. Been on the road a bit and handling all the end of season (which is really preseason) deals. Getting new equipment and getting it online and attempting to list our growing inventory (new and used).

Based on the other cars you are looking at I don't think we are in the same price range for what we (Vintage) offer and what you are looking to spend initially. I say initially because that's how these purchases go. You can pay now or pay later, but someone is paying

I've had a spike in consignment offers that I attribute to the season and maybe the new Corvette but we are working through them. I can tell you this, EVERY car we consign takes some mechanical work to get it on par with our demands for associating ourselves with it. This is really the premium we need for the services we include ... though the end market would call it "the dealer tacking on money" or something like that.

Another service we have started seeing emerge is that used car buyers are shipping the cars directly to us for sorting and sometimes adding on additional options/equipment before they even take delivery of the cars.

All that said I don't think we will ever have a consigned car under $40k. It would be a really unique case for that to happen. We also do not buy the cars back, we work strictly on consignment basis for a percentage + service costs. I don't know your budget, but I'm just floating that information out there since we have so many great words of support here.

[cbreez]

[quote=ItBites;126980

Anyhow, I notice everyone here has an attitude that if you aren't going to Jay for your BDR, then you should run from the deal. I would look at the deal under its own merits and make a decision for yourself and avoid the sheeple mentality. When everyone is steering you from a deal only you know the details of and they are steering you toward a particular source, sight unseen, that is when to run (not walk).[/QUOTE]

Amen brudda...the guy Jay is a huckster...
Do the math, the numbers, the build number, the engine, etc...
buying sight unseen is a crapshoot, but you price it right and you'll be ok.
The basic Backdrafts are all the same.

[tpatodd]

Under $40K? He's not looking for a BDR then. In that price range I would run as well...

[Cashburn]

Originally Posted by cbreez

Amen brudda...the guy Jay is a huckster...
Do the math, the numbers, the build number, the engine, etc...
buying sight unseen is a crapshoot, but you price it right and you'll be ok.
The basic Backdrafts are all ther same.

The only thing the same is the chassis, and then you have RT1 through RT3. There's so much more to it than that

Breeze has been selling his car for years, maybe he's your huckleberry