Question for Henry-F
Discussion
The mileage thing is interesting.
I agree with Henry re its irrelevance, but unless Henry buys your car back, you may be dealing with a gormless punter who loses interest when you tell him the mileage.
I'm sure Henry is just trying to educate these people, but if you are buying a car you normally worry about its eventual resale. So although I may love Rubystone (the colour not the person
), I'd probably go for Maritime Blue on a 964RS. Simply because it will sell faster, for more money, come resale.
So that is why mileage is important. A 50k mile car will (in theory, again I have only sold a fraction of cars that Henry sells in his wagon wheel break) resell more easily than a 100k mile car.
To show I'm not mileageist, I currently enjoy the pleasures of a 145k mile Golf GTi Mk2, that is running like new, if not a little better now the old girl's loosened up. Close your eyes and you'd guess at no more than 75k on the clock. But I know that getting rid of it to a tyrekicker will be more of a pain than if it had half the mileage, and that I'll have to ask for less.
>> Edited by domster on Thursday 6th November 11:55
I agree with Henry re its irrelevance, but unless Henry buys your car back, you may be dealing with a gormless punter who loses interest when you tell him the mileage.
I'm sure Henry is just trying to educate these people, but if you are buying a car you normally worry about its eventual resale. So although I may love Rubystone (the colour not the person
), I'd probably go for Maritime Blue on a 964RS. Simply because it will sell faster, for more money, come resale. So that is why mileage is important. A 50k mile car will (in theory, again I have only sold a fraction of cars that Henry sells in his wagon wheel break) resell more easily than a 100k mile car.
To show I'm not mileageist, I currently enjoy the pleasures of a 145k mile Golf GTi Mk2, that is running like new, if not a little better now the old girl's loosened up. Close your eyes and you'd guess at no more than 75k on the clock. But I know that getting rid of it to a tyrekicker will be more of a pain than if it had half the mileage, and that I'll have to ask for less.
>> Edited by domster on Thursday 6th November 11:55
Dom, no need to be shy about it 
IMHO mileage is relevant if for no other reason than to establish that any known weak points of a certain car have been taken care of - eg chains on an M3 E30 at 100,000 miles, belts on a 355 at 25,000, new engine on 911 2.7 at 25,000 miles or synchro on 915 box at 100,000 miles perhaps.
If truth be known I've long wanted to do what Henry has done and I'm sure there are others out there like me (Iguana for instance) in the same boat...so what are we waiting for Iguana?
Can anyone name a trader with an unblemished record? I can't and I've known and dealt with virtually almost of the guys in the Porsche trade over the past 15 years.
IMHO mileage is relevant if for no other reason than to establish that any known weak points of a certain car have been taken care of - eg chains on an M3 E30 at 100,000 miles, belts on a 355 at 25,000, new engine on 911 2.7 at 25,000 miles or synchro on 915 box at 100,000 miles perhaps.
If truth be known I've long wanted to do what Henry has done and I'm sure there are others out there like me (Iguana for instance) in the same boat...so what are we waiting for Iguana?
Can anyone name a trader with an unblemished record? I can't and I've known and dealt with virtually almost of the guys in the Porsche trade over the past 15 years.
Clubsport - no I don`t assume everyone is a 911 virgin. Far from it. The virgins usually come along listen to advice from (hopefully) a few dealers then inwardly digest and act on the bits they think make sense.
I`m more worried for the person who has a little bit of knowledge, possible owned a few examples of the marque and is potentially lining themselves up for the big one !!
It`s nothing to do with respect (or lack of it). let`s face it a car dealer has to respect pretty much everyone in life (possibly with the exception of estate agents and traffic wardens).
I don`t go on forums like this too much. The main reason is that it kills me to see people feeding each other mis-information and rumour. Don`t get me wrong I`m not the font of all knowledge, I`m learning every day and that`s one third of the pleasure I get from my job. But to hear someone ask "I`m thinking of buying the new model turbo (for example)what are they like" then to hear a response that starts. "I`ve never owned a Porsche myself but...." does worry me. 6 weeks later that bloke`s views will be taken as gospel.
Domster.
1990 C2 coupe 60k miles lovely £22k
1990 C2 coupe 120k miles lovely £16k
Both get used, cost similar amounts to service owned for 2 years cover 15k miles a year.
Resale time :
1990 C2 coupe 90k miles lovely £19k
1990 C2 coupe 150k miles lovely £13k
In reality the 13k car may still fetch 14-15k and the 19k car may only make £16k or £17k. Yes a low number on the speedo is great but it usually involves paying a premium for and that premium is hard to get back. People end up doing silly things like buying another car to try and "keep the mileage down on the Porsche" with all the costs the second car incurrs. (Not to mention the humiliation and lack of driving pleasure that befalls a man sitting in a Ford Ka / Fiat / Citroen / Daiwoo etc.)
At the end of the day I make money selling the drug we all (on this forum) thrive on. My industry is saturated with inept fools looking to line their pockets with very little effort or know how. When you see it from the inside it`s scandalous. I sleep easy at night. There must be people out there who think I`m a complete To**er but hopefully not too many of them are my customers and that`s what counts. We don`t always get it right and there will always be people we`ve sold to then bought off who think the price difference is too great but on the whole I hope we do the decent thing.
Joke for you. Old boy walks into the local paper. "my wife`s just died and I want to put a note in the family section. How much does it cost ?" "50p a word" says the girl on the desk. The old boy fumbles in his little purse and manages to copper up raising £1.50. "Put - wife is dead - in the paper for me please". Receptionist close to tears with pitty goes into the office and speaks to the supervisor. Comes back telling the pensioner he can have 2 words for 50p. The old boy shuffles over to the table and scribbles away for a few minutes then hands the girl his bit of paper. "Wife is dead. Metro for sale".
I`m more worried for the person who has a little bit of knowledge, possible owned a few examples of the marque and is potentially lining themselves up for the big one !!
It`s nothing to do with respect (or lack of it). let`s face it a car dealer has to respect pretty much everyone in life (possibly with the exception of estate agents and traffic wardens).
I don`t go on forums like this too much. The main reason is that it kills me to see people feeding each other mis-information and rumour. Don`t get me wrong I`m not the font of all knowledge, I`m learning every day and that`s one third of the pleasure I get from my job. But to hear someone ask "I`m thinking of buying the new model turbo (for example)what are they like" then to hear a response that starts. "I`ve never owned a Porsche myself but...." does worry me. 6 weeks later that bloke`s views will be taken as gospel.
Domster.
1990 C2 coupe 60k miles lovely £22k
1990 C2 coupe 120k miles lovely £16k
Both get used, cost similar amounts to service owned for 2 years cover 15k miles a year.
Resale time :
1990 C2 coupe 90k miles lovely £19k
1990 C2 coupe 150k miles lovely £13k
In reality the 13k car may still fetch 14-15k and the 19k car may only make £16k or £17k. Yes a low number on the speedo is great but it usually involves paying a premium for and that premium is hard to get back. People end up doing silly things like buying another car to try and "keep the mileage down on the Porsche" with all the costs the second car incurrs. (Not to mention the humiliation and lack of driving pleasure that befalls a man sitting in a Ford Ka / Fiat / Citroen / Daiwoo etc.)
At the end of the day I make money selling the drug we all (on this forum) thrive on. My industry is saturated with inept fools looking to line their pockets with very little effort or know how. When you see it from the inside it`s scandalous. I sleep easy at night. There must be people out there who think I`m a complete To**er but hopefully not too many of them are my customers and that`s what counts. We don`t always get it right and there will always be people we`ve sold to then bought off who think the price difference is too great but on the whole I hope we do the decent thing.
Joke for you. Old boy walks into the local paper. "my wife`s just died and I want to put a note in the family section. How much does it cost ?" "50p a word" says the girl on the desk. The old boy fumbles in his little purse and manages to copper up raising £1.50. "Put - wife is dead - in the paper for me please". Receptionist close to tears with pitty goes into the office and speaks to the supervisor. Comes back telling the pensioner he can have 2 words for 50p. The old boy shuffles over to the table and scribbles away for a few minutes then hands the girl his bit of paper. "Wife is dead. Metro for sale".
My personal preference when buying a performance car is something with a decent number of miles on it, and a good service history. There are a lot of people out there who are desperate to keep the mileage down on their cars, so they only take them out on sunny days, and they spend all winter locked in a garage. Cars treated like this deteriorate very quickly, whereas the car that is driven in all weathers, but looked after well will be in better condition after a few years. I once saw a TVR Griffith for sale which was 14 years old, and had 7,000 miles on the clock! 500 miles a year (the owner thought it would be a good investment)! Is there going to be a single oil seal that hasn't dried out on that car? I wouldn't have touched it with a bargepole (even if I had one conveniently to hand)
However, when it comes to selling, it can be very hard to convince punters that a few miles isn't a bad thing. I spent ages trying to sell my 2 year old 54,000 mile Cerbera. I got loads of interest (like Henry, I didn't put the mileage on the ad), but as soon as people found out what the mileage was, they backed off. That's stupid, as I've known several of 20,000 milers that have lunched their engines. The fact that mine had reached 54,000 without any drama should have been seen as a good thing. Unfortunately the great unwashed out there have been brainwashed into thinking that a few miles under a cars belt means that it's about to expire very expensively.
If I decide to upgrade from the 944, I think Henry will be one of the first people I speak to. Mind you, I've dealt with Peter Wheeler at TVR, and Ted Marlow at Ultima in the past, so maybe I just like buying cars from grumpy old bastards
James
However, when it comes to selling, it can be very hard to convince punters that a few miles isn't a bad thing. I spent ages trying to sell my 2 year old 54,000 mile Cerbera. I got loads of interest (like Henry, I didn't put the mileage on the ad), but as soon as people found out what the mileage was, they backed off. That's stupid, as I've known several of 20,000 milers that have lunched their engines. The fact that mine had reached 54,000 without any drama should have been seen as a good thing. Unfortunately the great unwashed out there have been brainwashed into thinking that a few miles under a cars belt means that it's about to expire very expensively.
If I decide to upgrade from the 944, I think Henry will be one of the first people I speak to. Mind you, I've dealt with Peter Wheeler at TVR, and Ted Marlow at Ultima in the past, so maybe I just like buying cars from grumpy old bastards
James
Henry's not going to like that "old" comment. 
Henry-F said:
996, paid 51k 9 months ago at main dealers. Trying to get 38k now. Main dealers not interested !!
Don`t think too many of our customers have done 13k in 9 months.
What he's done is 25%, and he made a fundamental error.....buying from a dealer! Totally insane on a car that new, probably still with warranty! Comparing your 964 ask prices (£20K) with what your company ballpark offered me for my 964 over the phone recently (£15K), 25% is a very achievable 9 month hit!! As you ask I sold it privately for £17K. But It's horses for courses and dealers offer a great service for those happy to pay for it.
roygarth said:
Comparing your 964 ask prices (£20K) with what your company ballpark offered me for my 964 over the phone recently (£15K), 25% is a very achievable 9 month hit!!
johnfm said:
350 cars a year!!!!! With, I guess, £1k per car for your troubles, its no surprise you're racing a GT3 & pootling about in a Cayenne!!!
hermanthegerman said:
I think it's fair to say £1K is very conservative. Have you ever phoned Henry with a car to sell ?
See John, £5K per car is much more like it. It's bloody surprsing he's not racing a GT1.
Tell you what James, come and see me when you want to get rid of the 944. I guarantee that I'll give you £100 more than Henry offers you.
hermanthegerman said:
Tell you what James, come and see me when you want to get rid of the 944. I guarantee that I'll give you £100 more than Henry offers you.
I wasn't going to sell him my car. Selling to dealers is for lazy people. I can sell my own cars. I was planning on going along with a pile of photographs of Her Majesty and swapping them for one of his quality vehicles.
Of course, I could always get him to offer me £20k for the 944, knowing that he'll never have to go through with it, as you'll give me £20,100. Then I'll have even more cash to spend on a car with him
james said:
I was planning on going along with a pile of photographs of Her Majesty and swapping them for one of his quality vehicles.
Let us know when you find a quality one.
Ok, I've gone too far there. Sorry Henry, I'm sure there's nothing inherently crap about your stock. When people serve dollies like that up, I just can't resist knocking them out of the ground.
I'm going to lie down (in the pub) now.
I think you 2 gents are going to have to have this out behind the bike sheds
I haven't even got the 944 running yet, so I'm not about to go changing it already. However, Henry seems to have a somewhat more refreshing attitude towards car sales than many other performance car dealers.
Mind you, I'll go to the snooty ones as well, just in case they're giving something away cheap
I haven't even got the 944 running yet, so I'm not about to go changing it already. However, Henry seems to have a somewhat more refreshing attitude towards car sales than many other performance car dealers.
Mind you, I'll go to the snooty ones as well, just in case they're giving something away cheap
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff