flatsixnut

No I am in no way of thinking about selling!

But I have often thought about this every time I see the "Im selling my Porsche" thread/topic.....

What is everyones feelings about when you sold your car or when you decide to sell?....When do you let someone test drive?
When do you let them take it to get a PPI?
How many times while you are trying to sell the car do you let a shop do a
PPI on it?


I know I always tell people to look at dif cars and test drive them to get an idea of the feel of the car to see if it is something you want to own. But who in their right mind is going to let someone "test" drive an older 911? I sure as hell wont. There are just too many things that could go wrong with a test drive...especially if the person has never driven a 911 before. My wife could drive our old MR2 pretty good.....but when I let her try out hte 911 when I got it, she scarred the hell out of me.

Peter Zimmermann

1. I have often told sellers that they are not bound to let a buyer drive the car. Actually, I've always recommended that a buyer not be allowed to drive a seller's car.
2. I've always suggested that it's the seller's responsibility to get the car to the shop for a PPI.
3. How many PPIs depends on if more than one buyer looks at the car. The PPI report is the property of the buyer paying for that report, it does not belong to the seller. If the car ends up at the same shop having PPIs done, for different buyers, then possibly something can be worked out, like a discount, for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc., buyer that has the car looked at. Obviously, every PPI must have a leak down test, just to be sure that no one has driven the car, missed a shift, and bent a valve or three. Much of the first PPI won't need to be repeated, unless a few weeks have passed, then the shop should be expected to do a full inspection, and charge a full price for the report.

flatsixnut

The first time I went to look at the car I currently own, I was not expecting to drive it. He did not even start the car until I spent 2 hours looking over and under the car. He then started the car and backed it out of the garage. I took a few mins looking at it in the sunlight and we went for a ride...(him driving). He never once let the car get over 3000 rpm until it warmed up. At that point I finally stated that I was happy with the way he treated the car and let him know just how much of a 911 freak I was, and that I was just playing dumb to feel him out. I guess after the car got warmed up and he realized just how much I knew about the car, he felt safe in letting me drive it.

I have since owning the car only let my dad and my long time friend drive the car...and neither of them wanted to push the car...even with me coaxing them. My wife also had a go at it one night....I told her to get out be fore we even went 100 feet. I dont think I could ever let anyone test drive the car if I did not personally know them.....but myself....I dont think I would buy a car if I could not test drive it.

Peter Zimmermann

flatsixnut: Believe me, I understand your viewpoint, but permit me a story. Many years ago I had a customer with a '69 911T, 5-speed coupe. Beautiful car with a mildly hot-rodded engine. For reasons known only to him he put the car in the L.A. Times classifieds. Someone presentable (this was back in kinder, gentler days!) went to his house to see the car, liked it, and asked to drive it (he told my customer that he'd been driving manual transmissions for years). They hopped in the car, proceeded to a nearby freeway on-ramp, entered and accelerated up to speed. Space was available, so the buyer took the car up to about 6K rpm in 3rd, went for 4th, stuck it in 2nd, and let out the clutch. You know where your tach says "VDO?" That's where the needle went. The buyer pulled to the side of the road, shut off the badly mis-firing, coughing, sputtering engine, got out and said to the seller, "I'm glad it's your car, not mine," before he began to walk to the nearest off ramp.

flatsixnut

Ouch! That would definitely hurt in more ways than two.
I am surprised this topic has not had more replies, I was seriously looking for opions of what others on here thought.

How many on here got to test drive their car before buying? How many did not get to test drive the car before buying? How many would not let someone test drive their car before it was sold?...come on guys...enquiering minds wanna know.

theiceman

I am sure you made out well that night ...

LaughaC

I test drove my Porsche before buying it.

Peter MM

I am selling my 911 and I would have to feel very comfortable about the buyer before I would let them drive. When I was looking to buy I never asked to drive the 911 I was looking at. If I had already decided, after looking it over, that I was not interested in a particular 911 I would decline an offer to drive it. I would have no trouble denying someone who I felt should not be driving this car. I understand that this might make for an uncomfortable situation, but it is still my 911 and I am in no hurry to sell.

Dave in Clarkston

I actually never drove my car prior to purchasing. when I looked at the car for the first time the roads were wet so I did not take the owner up on the offer to drive.

I had the owner take the car to a dealer of my choice and I based my purchase on the results of the PPI and the driving impression of the tech. I drove it for the first time after handing over my check.

psychoideas

I don't see any need to let the buyer drive.
You drive and when it's warm enough ask the buyer what he would like to "see". You can then show him all aspects of the car's handling, acceleration and performance that he needs to know about. There is nothing much he can gain from driving other than to see if he likes the feel.
When he is responsible for any damage he does is when he can drive. Even 911 enthusiasts can miss a shift change.

Years ago while having a meal break in a crowded Mess room I was asked by a younger work colleague if he could drive my car.
I responded with,
” I only let three types of person drive my Porsche.
First are other Porsche owners so as we can swap cars to see and feel any difference between them.
Second is someone who has a sufficient bank balance to repair any damage that they might do.
And third, a category that you might fall into”………….(he got a visibly excited at the thought that he may soon be driving a 911)………”is those who f **k for me!”

Have you ever seen that excited look turn to shock in an instant? It did get great laugh from the other blokes in the Mess room.
Funny stuff, hey that’s was the only reason I let my wife drive the car!




P.S. And no, I wasn't really going to f **k him!!!

GeneralTso

The first time I test-drove mine I crawled around/under it for about 20 minutes first. Then the PO took me for a quick drive and let me drive back. ( I'm sure it didn't hurt that I had a dog-eared and post-it filled copy of Pete's book with me). The next day I called him back with a few dozen more questions and after that (and after seeing how nice I was to it on the first test drive), he let me take it out alone.

If I decide to sell, I probably wouldn't let someone drive it unless they convinced me that they were proficient with a 915 tranny and sufficiently serious about buying the car.

There were times when I was selling other (non-911) cars and the test-driver was being overly abusive. Sometimes it's a tough call whether to say something and blow the sale or take the chance that they're actually going to do some damage. There was only one time that I actually made the guy pull over...

greenshoes3

thats a little ridiculous not letting your wife drive it. I realize 911's are amazing and my dream car, but it is still just a car, not even a super rare exotic either.

ste993

After looking over and under it for about 25 mins I test drove mine and, once it was warmed up properly, respectfully drove it pretty damn hard.

tone40

I was never denied a test drive. I learned fast about the idiosyncrasies of each model.

I was torn between getting the higher power or the mechanical simplicity.

I spent a lot of time checking each car inside and out. I must have seemed competent and responsible enough to earn a test drive each time.

BTW- The 964 that I drove was in bad need of a clutch. I could hear the engine rev without gaining speed. So I chose to cut the drive short.

I do not intend to sell mine soon. But, I would be careful about letting someone test drive without proof of insurance and a driver's license. Although no one asked, I did offer my insurance card a few times.

Auto_Werks 3.6

^^ I don't know about in CA, but in Ohio the insurance that would be billed for any accident would be that of the car/owner, not the driver. My dad was in an accident in a friends truck once (hit a deer), and tried to have the damage covered by our own full coverage insurance, but it was not possible. The best we could do was cover the deductable for the guy, or pay the whole thing out of pocket.