PPI Questions

Are compression checks REALLY necessary?

I mean, if the car's been cared for, it doesn't leak oil, starts and runs fine, pulls strong, and there is no other indications it may be bad, why would you do a compression check?

I you were buying a Honda, would you have one done? Are Ferrari engines less reliable? Are they so fragile that they'll blow gaskets and leak past the rings that easy?

Logic tells me I should have it done every few years if it's always required with a PPI.

I'm just curious b/c I've never heard of doing this to a car before I started to look for a Ferrari. EVERYONE, at least, all the owners say, you HAVE TO HAVE A COMPRESSION or LEAK DOWN done....my question is WHY? If the car is a few years old, why would this be required?

JRV, do you do a compression check on every Ferrari you PPI?

Yes, I know it's cheap insurance, but I just would like to apply some logic here.

thanks

Honda engines don't cost $12K to fix once you get them home and find out it's got low compression but you didn't know before you bought the car because you justfied/forgot to have it done because it was only a honda or because it's a honda and they never break...

A PPI on a Ferrari is otherwise known as "cheap insurance".

Or..."it's a Jungle out there and that Ferrari you just bought with that funny noise, just might not be so funny after all.

Regards, JRV

A 1994 Accord is worth about $5,000. A 1994 348 is worth more than $50,000. %% wise the cost to rebuild the engine vs. the value of the car is going to be about the same. Yet 99/100 won't have much, if ANY type of inspection done on the Honda, let alone a compression check.

I understand the cheap insurance angle, but again it brings me back to the shouldn't you do this ever 5-years then? Should you do it on ANY vehicle you purchase?

How many PPI's have you had go bad b/c the engine would not hold compression?

Please understand I'm not doubting you, just playing the devil's advocate. I'm guessing 9 out of 10 times the engine is fine, but it's that 1 out of 10 you want to guard against.

That and the fact that MOST owners/buyers put gas in it and that's about the limit of their technical knowledge so when a mechanic says "Compression check" they just write the check, so to speak.

This site however seems to have some pretty hard core tech guys which I LOVE b/c I'm learning a lot - the tuning the Boxer post is fantastic IMO.

>>I'm guessing 9 out of 10 times the engine is fine, but it's that 1 out of 10 you want to guard against. <<

Sean, you're talking 25 yr old cars here...imo, anyone that doesn't follow the FIRST RULE of buying a used exotic (get it checked out) is begging for trouble.

Some choose to learn by their own mistakes, some choose to learn by others mistakes...it's a free country.

{}

I hear ya, and of course there is another side to this story.

Found a '77 on e-bay in St.Louis. 1-owner, 62K, buy it now was $27k, staring bid was $23k. No bids for 7-day auction.

Called last week, getting the records but it was well cared for, leather is nice, paint original but in good condition, the usual salesmen stuff..then the good part...

his words..

1. No, I will not meet you on Saturday since we're closed, unless you have a check in hand and are ready to buy.

2. No, we do not bring cars out for inspection. In my experience it never works out for the seller unless some money is slipped under the table (IE pay of the mechanic who's doing the inspection) - WTF??? So these guys that some people trust with their $300k F-40's can't be trusted with a simple mechanical inspection of a 308!!! Also, he says I could have someone inspect it at his place but he generally throws mechanics out b/c they're idiots who don't know what they are doing. This is also where the original question comes from. He says most buyers just hear that a compression check is required and if there's no reason for one, why mess with it...and to and extent he does have a point - but we're not talking about Honda's now are we?

He said their mechanic checked the car and if it needed anything they would fix it.

I think he's just waiting for a less "educated buyer" to come along and sell it to them.

>>He said their mechanic checked the car and if it needed anything they would fix it.<<

Well just get that in writing for say a period of 30-60 days. He should be fine with that since his mechanic is quite the ace.

Regards, JRV

Yep. I second what JR said.

Have them put that in writing. Then take the car to get a proper inspection and if the thing passes with flying colors you're all set.

Otherwise make a list of every nut and bolt that needs to be replaced and ask them to sort it.

Cheers

Sean,

You get it in writing, and you got a car and a blank check to repair anything on it...
That said, I wouldn't feel conforable with the deal, since they can argue at each of your requests that you are dumb, know nothing of Fcars, and this or that is really fine (right!!...)
Another solution: sign a contract with a period of 3-5 days cancellation provision, and give a personal check. You can do a PPI, and if it fails, you block the check and return the car.

I was fortunate enough with my recent purchase to deal with an individual who went out of his way to accomodate my requests. For example independent PPI 50miles away from home (because I wanted the leakdown done), on a w-e.
Then after a week or so of that, you get a better feeling...

I'm just going to forget this one.

I've talked with another broker in the area and he knows of and talked with the dealer about the car I'm looking at. He told me he got the same treatment I did, and really it sounds like the dealer can afford to be patient and wait for some uneducated sucker to come along and buy the car for $27,000 with no PPI.

Back to looking.....

Sean,

In response to your original question, when I was a motorcycle mechanic, we were taught to always do a compression and leakdown test, even on Hondas. Your estimation is correct that it is a simple, cheap (at least on a Honda M/C), effective way to get a quick and dirty assessment of the overall condition of the engine internally. But, even if it is good insurance, most people probably can't get past the marginal utility issue on a $5,000 Honda car. FWIW