2005-2006 Pre Purchase Inspection Needed? Who can I talk with ?


collector4491

New member
Feb 10, 2013
1
Long Island, NY
Hi guys, my name is Rodger Hall. I am new to the GT Forum. I have wanted an 05-06 Ford GT for some time and am ready to buy one. I need to find some one who can help me find the right car. I have heard that a search can be done first to see if the car looks good before going after, what documents would that include and how much would that cost? Then if that checks out what would it cost to hire some one to fly in and do a through physical inspection? And what would be included in the inspection? Any help is greatly appreciated. I can be reached at urocket101@aol.com Thank you all in advance

Rodger, I used the GT Guys for a PPI when I bought my GT. Rich flew out to California and did a through inspection. I can't imagine anyone more knowledgeable and professional. I suggest you contact Rich at www.thegtguy.com and discuss the car your interested in. Good luck, FTG's are awesome.
 

partssmann

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jun 1, 2013
755
Scottsdale, Arizona
Use attached as a start for inspection but not a substitute for a PPI done by a good GT technician.
 

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Rockstar

GT Owner
Jun 30, 2009
139
Golden, Colorado
Good words to live by. Can you break down what you do on an inspection?

Hey Rodger at this point I will have you call me and I can tell you in detail about my inspection. There is so much to know about these cars. In a nut shell, I go through an itemized list and make notes as I go along. It will include putting a car up on a rack pulling wheels, removing wheel well covers if necessary, both front and rear belly pans, front engine cover removal, samples of all fluids, complete operations of everything. Road test and evaluation. By the time I get done which it will take about 3-4 hours I will have an intimate knowledge of that GT. There are a few variables in the cost. Time of year, location, access, proper inspection area/ tools/ lift, flight, hotel and incidentals. The range that the inspection can cost is between $2,850- $3,850. At the end of it all you will have a full report of the condition of that GT. I will also go one further, the notes I have taken I will use to negotiate a better price on your behalf. I must admit, 40 years in the industry has sharpened my skills and talents. You will then have piece of mind knowing what you purchased has had what I like to call "The Rubber Glove Treatment" Lol. Just call me at your convince.
Best regards, Rich at The Mustang Ranch 303-931-5412
 

Indy GT

Yea, I got one...too
Mark IV Lifetime
Jan 14, 2006
2,526
Greenwood, IN
Hi guys, my name is Rodger Hall. I am new to the GT Forum. I have wanted an 05-06 Ford GT for some time and am ready to buy one. I need to find some one who can help me find the right car. I have heard that a search can be done first to see if the car looks good before going after, what documents would that include and how much would that cost? Then if that checks out what would it cost to hire some one to fly in and do a through physical inspection? And what would be included in the inspection? Any help is greatly appreciated. I can be reached at urocket101@aol.com Thank you all in advance

Rodger-

I echo what others have said about the importance of a PPI for your future GT purchase. I luckly purchased my GT new from Ford but over the years many, many vehicles have been "dinged". So the pool of undamaged units continues to decline.

I have seen first hand some of the damaged cars Rich Brooks (GT Guys, Detroit 734-658-9498) has transformed into like new units. He knows the GT like no other.

But depending on the vehicle location, the others mentioned by our owners are also very good and should be considered as well-

Rich Roback, Arizona
Shelby at Elite Motors, Arkansas
Kendall (nota4re), Central California

Best of luck and hope you are able to purchase one of these magnificent vehicles!:thumbsup
 
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nota4re

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Feb 15, 2006
4,176
If the car is located in the California/Nevada area we'd be happy to do an inspection. We've worked on more than 120 unique GTs and we know intimately what is normal/OEM and what is not. We've unfortunately "failed" a number of GTs that we have inspected - to the relief of the buyer, maybe not so much for the seller. A paint thickness gauge and the experience to know what is normal or not is part of our process. We don't do inspections on any other exotics - because we believe sincerely that a prerequisite is to know the car inside and out. For us, that is the GT.

Whoever you choose to do your inspection, I think you should expect that a very detailed list of inspection points is used so that you can assess how thorough/diligent the inspection process is.
 

Rick Mustang

GT Owner
Mar 29, 2016
102
Central Texas
Just use the GT Guys. They have touched over half the Gts made. The details and communication you will get from Rich is second to none. Ask me how I know. Read the article I just posted about acquiring my GT. Rick
 

nota4re

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Feb 15, 2006
4,176
The details and communication you will get from Rich is second to none. Ask me how I know.

OK, Ill bite. How do you know? How many GT inspections have you had? Have we ever inspected a GT for you? Have you ever compared our detailed analysis/report to others? Nope. You have a sample case of 1.

It's one thing to say that you had a highly recommended experience - and it's quite another to be so arrogant to say that they're others who can also do an excellent job or even more comprehensive.
 

thegtguy

*Supporting Vendor* GT Owner
Apr 20, 2006
545
MI
PPI

Thanks for the recommendations.

Threads like these are always quite amusing, this is why I don’t post a lot on here. It usually turns into a pissing match on who is better, he knows more than that guy, he said she said, bla, bla, bla, drama, drama, drama. I graduated high school a long time ago and, sorry, I don’t have time to play that game as we have too much work here and it’s just not my style.

We only work on the Ford GT. That is our life and our livelihood, that is what we see every day, all day. I don’t have another job (other than being a family man), don’t professionally work on other makes of cars, only the Ford GT. Funny, I just returned from 2 PPI’s last night. One in MO and one in FL, on the same trip, quite the adventure that was. Will they be bought? I don’t know for sure yet as they are still in negotiation. The PPI is meant to see if the car matches the story. Many times the seller doesn’t even know the story. Every car has worth and it is up to the seller and potential purchaser to work that out based on the inspection. If there is something wrong with it, why is it wrong, can it be fixed, how much to fix it, is this normal, bad workmanship, was it built like this, who worked on it, etc? Those are the questions we are to answer. Believe me there is something wrong with EVERY car, but why. Many cars had after build paintwork done at the factory. As me how I know? I saw some of it.

Over the last 11 years we have traveled the entire county, many times, for inspections and work trips, done many PPI’s, repaired/painted over 400 (some from overseas), modified over 1000, performed maintenance on way more, put many back to stock, worked on and maintain many of the Ford CEO’s personal GT’s, spent thousands of hours on the phone giving free advice and opinions (even to our competitors). I know we are not liked by everyone and that is ok. We try to make everyone happy and sometimes that is just not possible.

We have been working on the Ford GT (since 2002) before most people even knew they were going to be produced. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and can use who they want for PPI’s, service, repairs, and advice. My phone and email are always on. If I miss you I will get back as soon as I can. I have spoken with many owners, even when I am on vacation, from little issues of “My wipers aren’t working” to “I just wrecked my car what do I do?” I have been called a “counselor” many times over my GT career. We don’t know everything (no one does) but we know more than most.

I have said my piece and now back to work.


Testing with Edsel Ford and his personal car.



Workhorse "WH1"


Early 2005 production
 

rnkma4

GT Owner
Jun 9, 2014
70
Santa Clarita
Kendall and Ryan did my PPI and maintain my car, great to work with.

George
 

Howard

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Apr 26, 2007
1,135
Florida/North Jersey
Who is this guy? (LOL)

Rich and Denis have done all my mods since day one. Professional, courteous, thorough. Others may be too, but these Guys will be hard to beat.

Howard
 

rnkma4

GT Owner
Jun 9, 2014
70
Santa Clarita
Just expressing an opinion, had nothing to do with how good Rich and Denis are. Didn't realize I had to check with you.

George
 

RPM217

2005 white/blue stripe
Jun 18, 2010
1,658
Rye Brook, New York
When it came time to replace my GT, I had located one at a Ford dealership. The owner of the dealership wasn't the original owner, it was Alan Jackson's car. I had Rich fly out to inspect the car, and he found many "problems", problems that could be fixed (just parts and $), and the dealer/owner was just blown away by what Rich knew and found. He wouldn't budge on the price, but did provide his cost for all the parts, and I enjoyed the car as is, for the summer (Rich told me it was safe to do so), and then shipped it out to them, to do all the work. All 4 shocks were leaking, the power steering pump was leaking, the A/C compressor was leaking, struts for the clamshell were shot. I wanted a pulley/tune, lowered, short shift, a few other "items" needed attention. I got the car back and have enjoyed it, putting another 8,000 miles on top of the 3,000 it had when I bought it. I was fortunate to be able to attend Carlisle in 2015, and since I had Rich replace the gages (all mine were working, but we know what happens), and Rich had installed the Speed Huts. There was an issue, as the lights on the gages weren't working............no problem, he fixed it at Carlisle, had the oil changed, and he checked out the car again. Ran great. I've been waiting for another GT Guys at the Barn, but, unfortunately, it wasn't happening in 2016, and I had a some "issues". I called Rich, he calmed me down (the car wasn't making power, couldn't go over 3,500RPM), he suggested it could be just the plugs........what did Rich do, sent me new plugs. Since it needed some attention (oil change, plugs and a few other minor things), there's a shop nearby in Stamford CT, that works on all the "Italians", but also a few GT's. I brought the car to them, and yes, they got the work done, car runs great (or did when I put it up for the winter), and Rich had diagnosed it "remotely". What I'm saying is simply, when given the choice, Rich and Denis are my #1, but there are other competent choices.
 

STORMCAT

GT
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
May 25, 2006
7,549
Ft. Lauderdale
Good words to live by. Can you break down what you do on an inspection?

Without your location we have no idea where you are located ,, there is a wonderful GT center in the UK run by David Jones.. goes by GT 101 here. He can save you a lot of time.. . www.gt101.co.uk