mgordon18

I recently ran a Carfax report on a potential 2007 997 purchase and found an interesting twist in the ownership records. Even though Carfax shows "3 owners" it looks like there have been 4. And one of them was VERY low mileage. Here's what I found:

Owner 1:
Florida
Held car for 7 months and put on a little over 4K miles
Sold at auction in Georgia

Owner 2:
Expo Motorcars in Houston, TX
Held car for 6 weeks and 100 miles

Owner 3:
Someone in Vermont
Held car for 17 months and only put on 600 miles.
Sold via Acura dealership in Vermont to owner 4.

Owner 4:
Vermont
Held car for 27 months and put on 19K miles.

Owner 4 tells me the car runs great - no issues other than a strange window raise/lower bug that seems to have gone away on its own.

But I'm worried about owner 3's 600 mile, 17-month stint. Is there anything here to substantiate my concerns?

Marine Blue

I would inspect the car in person and check for body damage. Damage isn't always disclosed on Carfax.

Vancouver-BC

Depending on when he/she purchased the car, the Vermont owner could have had the car parked in their garage for > 10 months during the winter months and while 600 miles in 7 months is low, it certainly isn't unheard of. Furthermore, if owner 3 traded it into an Acura dealer, obviously the Porsche was not their cup of tea.

mgordon18

BC - not 7 months - SEVENTEEN months. That's what's getting to me.

I'm assuming a good PPI would suss out any issues, but I'm wondering if that portion of the car's life should raise any flags or at least add any deal-breakers to the PPI checklist.

Zeus993

I think that some of those owners would be dealers. Can you get a more accurate ownership trail?

Leader

My bet would be that Owner #1 had a significant accident with the car, which was not reported to Carfax. That's why it went to auction.

Carfax is not exactly what it purports to be, IMO. I just got rid of a car which had suffered a $14,000 repair. When it changed hands, it had a "clean" Carfax.

This car's "history" is sketchy enough to warrant a thorough inspection, if you're seriously considering purchasing it.

mgordon18

Interestingly, the current owner tells me that he bought the car from an older woman who's husband had the car for a short time (4000 miles worth) and then died. I'm assuming that story got passed to him through the intermediate dealership owners, so I'm dubious.

In addition, from talking to the owner I thought I was the would-be 3rd owner. Looks like I'd be at least the 4th.

All that being said, the owner (a Vermonter) seems like an honest guy - and that opinion has been corroborated by his mechanic at Automasters in Shelburne where he's been doing his maintenance. He's been taking good care of the car and it's had minimal issues during his ownership.

So I'm a little bit torn. I'm looking for a good Southern Vermont shop to do a PPI for me (see my other thread on this board). I'm hoping a good PPI will sort this all out for me.

Vancouver-BC

If you're concerned at all, walk away, there are lots of quality cars out there. With respect to the 7 vs 17 months, I figured they parked it for an extended period through 2 winters (~ 10 months) and drove it for one summer.

Stack24

If I am not mistaken Dealers don't count towards actual owner count. I could be wrong. But based on carfaxes I have seen that show 1 owner but have changed dealerships like 2 or three times through auctions and various ways.

403portside

I might consider running a second report by experian. I think their report is called 'carchex' or something like that. I've found their report to be more detailed than carfax and its saved me a few times, showing accidents when carfax did not.

jhbrennan

BC's assumption was parked for 10, driven for 7. Recently saw a post where potential buyer was planning on driving 2,000 miles/year - you will find some folks that don't drive much.

mgordon18

Alright... Thanks for all the info. It looks like the PPI will tell all.

Since I'm having such a hard time finding a recommended shop in Southern VT (my other thread as gotten 0 replies), can anyone send along a 997 PPI checklist, so I make sure the shop I use covers everything? Does such a checklist exist?

Thanks...

MICHAELWWW

I wouldnt even waste the money on the PPI. Your instincts are 100% correct. If the car wasnt in an accident, it probably got dunked like a donut in Florida. Does it come with the original data bank? How many keys? Some states require dealers to take title of a car before sale , Ohio, some do not , Georgia. I would like to hear the results of the PPI. My money is on water lines. Carfax might not be screaming at you but it is definitely whispering.

Marine Blue

I agree with others that if there's any doubt I would pass. Any doubt you have will surely be a doubt to a potential buyer when you go to sell the car.

If' its a screaming deal there's usually a reason unless the seller is in financial distress.

Jay H

Car Fax can be misleading at times. Case in point:

My first Boxster was bought at a Porsche dealership and the Car Fax indicated it was a "clean" three owner car with no accidents. My inspection indicated the car had body work on the front from some sort of accident. I didn't care since the car was a winter beater (and drove like a million bucks), but the Car Fax made a big deal about the car being accident free.

Then, when I went to trade it at the dealer that sold it to me, they showed me the fresh Car Fax and there were now 5 owners (I was the 4th when I bought it). When I took the car in for it's emmissions test, the Car Fax took that trip as a title transfer and added an owner to the list of owners when indeed the car was in my possession the entire time. The next owner was now going to be the 6th owner according to Car Fax when indeed they were the 5th.

Take all that "internet" information with a grain of salt...