What's up guys, first post here, as I'm slowly inching closer to the purchase of my first Porsche I come to the pros for some help.

First up is some info about myself. I'm a 25 year old in Staten Island, New York celebrating the completion of my apprenticeship program to become an Electrician and I'm upgrading from a 2018 Audi Q5. The swap from an SUV to a small coupe is going to be a big one but nonetheless I don't think it'll bother me much.

I've also yet to sit in or test drive a 718 which I still need to cross off my list before I pull the trigger however I've yet to hear a single bad thing about the 718.

I've been reluctant to visit my closest Porsche dealership for a test drive as they're not at all competitively priced as compared to ones I've found out of state, but I do have some questions that need addressing if possible.

I found one CPO'd 2018 with 8800 miles on the odometer (https://www.porscheorlandpark.com/in...aa2a83jk260349) that checks all the boxes for me, options include CarPlay, heated and ventilated seats, sport chrono package, Satin Platinum rims, etc.

The only thing it doesn't have listed which I was a little disappointed about, was the sport exhaust, only "sport pipes" according to VinAnalytics; or is this the same thing? I also don't see any driver's assists and a few other small addons that I currently have with my Audi (front collision brake assist, lane departure, night time shift side mirrors, power mirrors, etc) unless it comes standard issue? As much research as I've done recently, I still feel lost lol

I've also never negotiated my entire deal over the phone as I'm currently doing, or had a car shipped. The Cayman is located in Chicago, while I'm located in New York. It's a 2.5 hour, $75 flight which is nothing if I did need to fly out to view the car, sign contract, etc.

When I brought up my concerns to the sales manager regarding purchasing my first luxury car sight unseen and potentially finding damage not shown in the pictures, his response was "well we don't have a return policy on shipped cars so...."

Regardless, the dealership was willing to ship it via an enclosed trailer for the cost of $1750. To me, this seems high but my only other comparison was a dealer 100 miles closer who offered to ship it for $500.

Two pieces of advice I can use:
- Seeing as the car is a CPO and only 2 years old I think a full PPI wont be necessary , perhaps I can hire a service for strictly a cosmetic visual inspection of the car and pay for HD pics to know EXACTLY what imperfections are on the car before it arrivers? Furthermore, I can't see a Porsche dealership releasing one of their cars to a 3rd party for inspection in case of damage.

- Are there any tried and true enclosed trailer companies that have the Rennlist stamp of approval that can be recommended as opposed to getting bent by Porsche directly?

Info on the car, link attached here - https://www.porscheorlandpark.com/in...aa2a83jk260349
Original MSRP is $70,660
Marked down to $54,790
8800 miles
VinAnalytics option list - https://vinanalytics.com/car/WP0AA2A83JK260349/
Sales manager informed me there is 18 months/41k miles left on factory Porsche warranty, at it's expiration CPO warranty kicks in for an additional 2 years/unlimited miles (Does this sound correct?)

Delivered to my door, inclusive of registration, NY city and state sales tax, plates, and delivery OTD price of $61,897. Told me if I was serious and wanted to leave a 3k deposit he could probably save me "a few hundred at most" more.

Im considering placing a best and final offer of 59,900 with deposit money in hand if you guys give the go ahead.

How am I looking? Thanks in advance guys!

 

A lot of questions, and others will be able to answer some better. You’ll want a carfax report and make sure there aren’t any hidden surprises like an airbag deployment. CPO includes a mandatory inspection “to Porsche standards” which means a lot less than you’d think but it’s not nothing and is basically insurance for a deal like this. I bought sight unseen a year ago. It was fine. Buy the seller not the car. I knew who they were and why the car was in excellent condition and was pretty confident they’d set any big things right. Maybe not every little thing but then CPO is insurance. I paid $2K to ship enclosed across the entire country. You almost certainly want to pay the enclosed premium.

parking assist is standard but lane change assist is an option and it doesn’t appear listed.

The deal seems okay but not great. The used market is crazy right now, so you’ll pay a premium for the timing. There are other not CPO examples that are a bit cheaper like <https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/817532044/overview/>. But not necessarily spec’d the way you want. That one is MT. It’s probably a wash. I’d poke around cars.com and autotrader to get a sense for the competition. If you have to pay a premium for that spec right now! then you can at least have some peace of mind knowing how much and you did it on purpose to get some smiles in sooner rather than later.

 

Also, you couldn’t pay me enough money to fly on an airplane right now. I’d rather drive to Chicago lol.

 

A few things. The deal is average at best - nothing to jump on unless you are in the throes of unbearable lust. You have enough room to negotiate the enclosed shipping at the same price. As others have said, CPO is a very good thing but does not assure perfection. I would see the car in person and see the Carfax. I won't get into the Covid debate other than to say that as a 60 year old physician with relevant expertise, I'm perfectly comfortable flying now. Going east coast to Juneau in a couple of weeks.

Back to the car: A lot of the electronic bells and whistles that are standard in most cars these days are extras - lane change assist, lane departure warning, power mirrors, etc. Many people (include me!) find all of this to be annoying crap on a sports car. I would pay not to have them and am happy that Porsche allows us to option our cars feature by feature. If these things aren't on the spec, they're not there. You can find cars with these features if they're positives for you.

Sport exhaust was not standard until 2019. My 2018 Cayman S does not have it. I thus don't have a comparator, but I'm perfectly happy with the sound. It's very fashionable in some circles to rag on the T4 sound in favor of the six cylinder (esp naturally aspirated) cars, but I don't get it. These cars growl, the flat sixes howl. Both are great. Your car has the optional exhaust tips (they come black or chrome), which is a nice cosmetic touch.

If you can't work a deal on this car, look semi-locally. Within a couple hours of Staten Island, there are a number of good dealers. I'm on the PA/NJ border. Places to shop include Porsche Flemington, Warrington PA, Conshohocken, Main Line, and Princeton - all good dealers. There are others in central and North NJ, but I'm not as familiar.

Congratulations on your career accomplishment and impending purchase. I waited until 57 to buy my first Porsche and am kicking myself for the lost time. PS: Agate grey rocks! Incredible subtle tones in the sun.

 

I bought a CPO car and would rather it had not been CPO. One pays a premium for CPO and these cars are pretty bullet proof, so I feel like I paid a premium for something I didn't need. But buying site unseen there is a bit more assurance that the car is mechanically sound since it went through the CPO process. But it also says nothing about the cosmetic condition of the car. I wouldn't worry too much about CPO one way or the other if you find the right car.

When I drove a 718 GTS Boxster for a day I found I would turn the sport exhaust off because it was irritatingly loud to me. I thought it sounded great with it on or off, but I found it unnecessary. Definitely comes down to personal taste, though.

It's great that you are doing this young. I didn't drive my first Porsche until last year at 44 years old and wish I had done it sooner. You will love the 718. I think it's one of the best sports cars at any price point.

 

Thanks for the advice guys,

Visited my local Porsche Huntington today, sat down with the sales manager, got a test drive and am a proud owner of a 2019 Executive Demo with 1400 miles, 2k MSRP more than the one I originally linked for an OTD price of $65,500.

Car has never been registered and is still under factory warranty, has a front end clear protection bra and comes with the sport exhaust I wanted as well! Slightly more than the other one out in Chicago but it was sight unseen and I couldn't verify the cosmetic condition of it. This one is spotless inside and out and has 7400 miles LESS than my first choice

Also they're going to do an oil change and a full detail (Not a wash) before I take delivery on Saturday!


Link here - https://www.porschehuntington.com/in...aa2a87ks261361

 

I bought my Cayman CPO with about the same mileage last year. I'm in the Dallas area. Car was at Porsche El Paso a little over 400 miles away. They quoted me $750 open trailer transport but I negotiated and got that worked into the sale price I was comfortable with. The weather was fine and the car got to me in less than a day from when it was loaded onto the trailer and delivered to my front door with no issues. I bought it sight unseen. Negotiated everything over email which is so much easier than sitting at a dealership playing their games. Dealership emailed me the things I could e-sign and FedEx overnighted me the docs that needed original signatures. Dealer provided me copies of the Carfax and CPO report. I went to my credit union and worked out the funding directly with the dealership finance manager. There were two minor cosmetic items that weren't revealed by the dealer's walkaround video (small crack on lower side sill behind the front tire and a rock chip on the hood) and one mechanical one that I had taken care of through my local dealership with the CPO warranty (hour hand on chrono clock was broken and I didn't notice until a few days later). I know a CPO isn't a 100% guarantee on the car but it is a guarantee that I could go to any Porsche dealership and be covered.

 

lol there’s no gratification like instant gratification. Congrats.

 

Congrats on getting your first Porsche - and at such a young age! Post pics when it's all cleaned up!