Customer brings me a car after a couple phone calls with hope of helping him sort it out & prioritize repair efforts.
Characterized it as an "Ex-Race car" so was curious as to what would show up.

OMG!! Im so sad to see the butchery done to this poor car..& whats more I have to communicate to this new owner that the car isn't safe to drive due to the significant rot, poor repairs & wacky "updates" the the PO did. any money spent on it (IMO) would definitely be good money after bad.
Im all for anything can be fixed but often common sense must prevail

You're doing him a favor. It would be a disservice to lead him down the "primrose path". It's not your fault either. I'd have more respect for the man who told me the truth.

Good story. good things are not cheep, and cheep things are not good!

I would think no less of you Rich. Good man

My suggestion would be to help him go after something better. The problem is finding a position from which you have no conflict of interest. On the other hand it can be a winning combination if you can help him into a real 914. There is really nothing quite like one. Good luck, and thanks.

Good work.

Rich,
The fact that you said- “whats more I have to communicate to this new owner that the car isn't safe to drive due to the significant rot, poor repairs & wacky "updates" the the PO did.” - says a lot about you. Other guys would do what they can and take his money.

Have the talk. You’ll sleep great and this guy will be safe driving a better car because of you.

Respect.

Is it black? From points south? With the title I thought it was something dire.

Sell him him the white car thats half repair to get it out of the garage !

Nice story Rich; you are in a good position to help this person. Hope he listens and makes a good decision...

Woah, this hits really close to home, I had to check your location, make sure you weren’t talking about my car...

In all seriousness, I’d appreciate the same! Thank you!

I did that for a guy with a silver 914 who overpaid for the car and wouldn't believe me when I said $20-25K of metal, bodywork and paint. He went right to our shop owner. I showed the owner the hidden crash damage and rot. Owner said I was right on track. 914 guy said we didn't know what we were talking about, he had purchased from a well known Porsche guy so it couldn't be bad. He left in a huff.

That last part is a real shame.

Good business practice ,which you have

You did the right thing, with the VW bug guys (mostly) I've often refused to work on crusty cars. As soon as every 2nd bolt you touch snaps you're in a no win situation.

I have a 996 C4S here that snapped several bolts, exhaust, head, sway bar mount, etc. done a bunch of M8 timeserts and M6 helicoils, still have 6 more broken/rotted out studs on the exhaust header to cat pipe to do.
Very poor maintenance, what started as a IMS Solution install and water pump is fast approaching a $15+K major service.

Whether it's auto repair / restoration or any other business, some think it's only about the money. Clearly, it's not. You've done the right thing and that is what keep your good name... which makes you able to sleep at night.

It’s your moral responsibility to inform them of the true condition of their car. You’re using your experience and knowledge to help educate another person - always a good thing!