In over my head?

[Redfuzzbutt]

The car:
2017 GT M6 w/ whipple installed and other unknown modifications, low mileage (20k).

Me:
Traditional car guy, but I hate to wrench. Middle aged dad, solid employment.

Situation:
Basically one step away from trading in car for this, will be tight on budget but still very doable. Car will be a daily for myself, approx 30 miles a day.
The car is at a lot that doesn't have any info on previous owner. On inspection, appears that everything is solid, clean car fax, multiple and tasteful mods (SC, exhaust, short throw, etc) with minimal cosmetic changes (sleeper-ish).

My hesitation is two things. 1) Unknown of all mods/tune, who did work and ultimately, was it done correctly. 2) Needing the reliability of it being a daily, and with all that has been done to it (understanding potential of it previously being abused) am I just setting myself up for failure/disappointment in near future?

Are there creative ways to get in contact with previous owner? Possibly go through Whipple to find who purchased kit? Welcome to comments on things that haven't been discussed yet.

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[larr12]

Ask the dealer if you can take the car to a Ford Dealer or a Mechanic with Ford/Supercharger experience.

 

[Jaymar]

I'd pass on it myself. I generally don't buy already modded cars for the reasons you mentioned. Back when I was much younger I'd be far more inclined to just push it and see how it turns out but now that I'm forty-something and have a real job with real responsibilities I can't just ditch work for a broken car. If it was a second car sure, send it but I keep things rather moderate on my daily driver because that's what it is, a fun street car that is still transportation. There's no getting around a decrease of reliability and increase in cost the faster you want to go, that's a basic rule of hot rods that I've learned will always be true.

 

[NGOT8R]

Ask the dealer if you can take the car to a Ford Dealer or a Mechanic with Ford/Supercharger experience.

This ^. My son got to learn this lesson several years ago. He was about 22 years old when he set his sights on a 2006 Corvette with nitrous and a supercharger. I immediately told him not to buy that car, but he refused to listen and chose to ignore my wisdom. He sold his 2011 Mustang GT (which he had bought brand new) for this car. It wasn’t two months later, that the engine in his Corvette bit the dust. He had to spend $4K to get a new engine. There is an old saying: “The best lesson is a bought lesson.”

OP, if you really like the car, I recommend you spend a little money to have it thoroughly evaluated at a very reputable performance shop that specializes in Mustangs. If it checks out, you can go ahead and buy it. If not, you’re only out a few hundred dollars and can pass on it.

 

[Weyland-Yutani]

Me:
Traditional car guy, but I hate to wrench. Middle aged dad, solid employment.

I dunno, man. I'm in the same boat. I'm basically a robot mechanic and I fo-real do not want to be wrenching on stuff when I get home. Doesn't interest me at all. Even so, I had a "hope-I'm-not-going-to-regret-this" moment when I signed the deal on a bone-stock GT with almost no miles. I mean, I love this car, but I know it ain't gonna be a Camry. If it were modded, and I didn't personally know the dude that did it? Nah.

 

[Last One]

The car:
2017 GT M6 w/ whipple installed and other unknown modifications, low mileage (20k).

Me:
Traditional car guy, but I hate to wrench. Middle aged dad, solid employment.

Situation:
Basically one step away from trading in car for this, will be tight on budget but still very doable. Car will be a daily for myself, approx 30 miles a day.
The car is at a lot that doesn't have any info on previous owner. On inspection, appears that everything is solid, clean car fax, multiple and tasteful mods (SC, exhaust, short throw, etc) with minimal cosmetic changes (sleeper-ish).

My hesitation is two things. 1) Unknown of all mods/tune, who did work and ultimately, was it done correctly. 2) Needing the reliability of it being a daily, and with all that has been done to it (understanding potential of it previously being abused) am I just setting myself up for failure/disappointment in near future?

Are there creative ways to get in contact with previous owner? Possibly go through Whipple to find who purchased kit? Welcome to comments on things that haven't been discussed yet.

Unless you know the previous owner or the car is local and the mods were performed by a dealer or shop that's easy to check on, it becomes a coin flip call. There may not be any issues and mods don't normally add much to the retail price on a used car so it can be a good deal if you wanted those mods anyway. But the SC and associated tune means that the owner was looking for horse power and you need to check on other mods that might affect vehicle inspections (cats etc.). Hope it works out for you either way.

 

[Cpcloud]

I personally would pass.

I'd rather be safe, buy a stock car and build from there.

I don't always like wrenching either but I sure do enjoy the mods I put on.

BTW the used market is so crushed in my area(SOCAL) that I went with new 14% below msrp which put me right next to the used low mileage market. That may be something to consider since it would be your daily.

 

[Redfuzzbutt]

I definitely appreciate the replies and suggestions, all having merit.

While this is and has been a goal of mine, I'm going to proceed forward. However, will be making calls and scouting out local shops to perform an inspection of the car. The peace of mind will be well worth the cash, but I understand that it is just peace of mind and not a guarantee.

Will see what tomorrow brings. Thanks again gents.

 

[BimmerDriver]

Curious am I how much of a premium this S/C car is over a unmodified car of similar age and mileage and condition. I ask because there is always the option to buy an unmolested car that perhaps was driven by a little old lady who just took it to church and bingo, and pay a good mechanic to do the FI install for you. That way you have fewer unknowns, and should issues arise, you have someone who knows the car and did the work who can help you out.

With privacy laws as they are, it will be difficult to find the PO. However, my wife's former car was totalled in an accident, and some dude bought it at the salvage yard, fixed it and gave it to his daughter. He had a friend in law enforcement who looked up the VIN and found my wife's info and the buyer called her for history on the car. Illegal, but hey, it's not like you'll go to prison for it.

Probably. If you do go to prison, don't blame me. I said not to do it.

 

[Dr. Norts]

The dealership should have the persons info who traded the car in unless it was bought at an auction, in this case I'd say don't do it.

Kindly ask them if they can contact the original owner and ask for this information, let them know making the sale will depend on this.

If the dealership is cool and they do that and the info is verifiable and checks out and the price is right i don't see any issues with it.

 

[wazslow]

If you have an extra $5k-$10k to put an engine in it if something should happen, then go for it. If just buying the car is tight on the budget I'd consider a different car. I love fast cars and have a twin turbo 2016 myself. That being said, its not my daily driver and I do all the wrenching on it. You aren't going to have any warranty on this engine and even on the stock whipple tune, people have had failures. Anything can happen.

 

[Balr14]

The potential cost of an American engine doesn't scare me. I'm used to buying German cars. So, I bought a Trans Am in a similar situation once. If you know of a good shop that is familiar with the upgrades that were made, you should be OK. But, if they are an oddball mix, avoid it. It may have a Whipple but you need to know about the tuning. That can be the biggest hassle and expense.

But, do remember you are adding complexity to the engine and considerable stress to the drive train, especially with a manual transmission. It isn't going to be as reliable. In the case of the T/A I bought, I had to get a much better clutch and axles.

 

[Redfuzzbutt]

Curious am I how much of a premium this S/C car is over a unmodified car of similar age and mileage and condition. I ask because there is always the option to buy an unmolested car that perhaps was driven by a little old lady who just took it to church and bingo, and pay a good mechanic to do the FI install for you. That way you have fewer unknowns, and should issues arise, you have someone who knows the car and did the work who can help you out.

With privacy laws as they are, it will be difficult to find the PO. However, my wife's former car was totalled in an accident, and some dude bought it at the salvage yard, fixed it and gave it to his daughter. He had a friend in law enforcement who looked up the VIN and found my wife's info and the buyer called her for history on the car. Illegal, but hey, it's not like you'll go to prison for it.

Probably. If you do go to prison, don't blame me. I said not to do it.

As far as price difference, it's approx 4k over book value. I'm seeing approx 12k worth of aftermarket (retail) on the car but again, if the engine craps out, it's all for nothing.

Certainly there is risk associated with buying used, a heightened risk when stock is modified, and even more so when power adders are in the equation. Simply put, it's risk vs reward.

Emotionally, the car hits nearly every box I have when it comes to wants. That's why I posted here in the first place, trying to justify my actions with those who aren't compromised with emotion. Ain't gonna lie, I really want this stang.

Making calls this morning to reputable shops, lining up appointment to have it inspected. As long as there isn't an obvious red flag from them on the install/tune of the SC, I'll probably end up moving forward today or tomorrow. Will update post with my wisdom/stupidity.

 

[MD_]

When I bought my WRX, it already had some mods done to it. Nothing scary per se, but I still wanted to know top to bottom what was done and who did it. Looking at the car fax, it was only serviced at a Benz dealership and another Indy shop. Called the Benz dealer first to see if they could share service records and they confirmed every bit of maintenance but no knowledge of modifications done to the car.

Called the indy shop next and they too were familiar with the car; turns out, a manager was the previous owner. I asked if he'd be willing to chat for a minute about what all was done and he gave me a complete rundown of everything that was done and who tuned it and when. If you can get any kind of lead as to who serviced the car, I'd start there.

 

[vanquishvzla]

as a dealer, i find naïve and laughable every time I see the:

*ask the dealer to take to X dealership for an inspection
*ask the dealer to give you the previous owner information
*ask the dealer for record maintenance


99% of the time we won't do any of that, you can bring a mechanic friend to check it out, but if we have to pay for an inspection somewhere else, we just won't do it.

and the info from the previous owner? lol... even if it was a trade in, we won't release anyone's information to a 3rd person

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