Silvertarga

If they said 6 speed transmission is five forward and one reverse I would run..not walk away..but thats just me...I dont like BS answers like that..it is insulting to any gearhead..

911 Crazy

I fought with a dealer in Portland Oregon who swore there car was perfect and would not let anyone else look at it. Finally when it didn't sell they called me and agreed to let an Indy look at it. The Indy found $6000 of work needed (not cosmetic) and the dealer called the Indy a crook and disputed everything. Did I buy that car? No flippin' way Jose!

911Dave

I live in Denver and not only have I looked at this car in person, but I know the service manager at that dealer. His name is Dave Petitti, and he's been a long-time track junkie and aircooled guy in the Rocky Mtn Region (and now Alpine Mtn Region) of PCA. He is a stand up guy, every one in the Porsche community knows him, and he knows his way around aircooled cars as well as anyone. Dave used to work at Prestige Imports in Denver. I would trust him to do the PPI and be honest with me about what the car needs. I'm not a friend exactly, just an acquaintance. Ordinarily I would agree not to have a dealer (especially the selling dealer) look at an aircooled car but this is one of the rare exceptions. Another exception is Prestige Imports in Denver. I frequently see 356's and early 911's in the service bays there. I took my 993 there too.

If you want an independent to look at it, look no further than Bill Schneider at Alpine Mountain Garage right there in CO Springs. He's the go-to independent in the Springs area.

I didn't drive the car myself, just looked it over briefly. It looks clean is all I can say. Make sure you ask to talk to Dave Petitti about the car, don't talk to a salesman. Salesmen usually don't know anything about air cooled cars or anything technical. They are trained to show cars and close deals, not answer technical questions.

911Dave

Also take a look at the black/black 964 Turbo that they have there. The asking price isn't beyond reason, and it's been sitting on that lot for nearly a year. I know 2 others who have made offers on it in the mid-40's and been turned down, but they may be a little softer now that more time has gone by. 964 Turbo prices have been heating up the last couple years and will probably go higher.

Dino V

I would definitely get a respectable indy shop's PPI done on it.

veduta

911 Dave, that's awesome to hear! Thanks very much for your response. I'm heading down next weekend to take a look and I'll speak to the service manager you recommended. Thanks again. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

vracer

A couple of extra points. Is that color even close to a factory color. $14K/make offer is a very good price of a one owner driver. I think the color change is part of that. Records, including respray?

KNS

To add to what Dave said, The Dealer isn't always the best place to go with an older, air cooled car. However, some dealerships still have the older gray-haired guy who's been there forever and has an intimate knowledge of the older cars.

Once you find your car and bring it home, locate a good independent in the area.

ron mcatee

No!!!!!!!

Carrera3.2LG50

I agree with the majority here to use an independent shop. The dealer obviously has a conflict of interest in reporting a clean PPI.

I'm a "trust but verify" kind of guy. OK, actually I don't trust anybody...

If you do have the dealership do the PPI, and they come back with a clean report, ask them for a 6 month to a year warranty. Use their terminology and ask for a full power train and bumper-to-bumper warranty on the car.
Ask for this document to be signed by the salesman, the sales manager, and the owner of the dealership.

While I know that is certainly not likely to happen, if they did the PPI and it came back clean, then why wouldn't they offer you something like that?

To me, it would illustrate their trustworthiness and character.

Todd951968

I agree with most of the advice and reasons. I would add that the quality of PPI's seem to vary from dealer to dealer. Some charge more (and do more) and others just give the car a cursory once-over.
Indies could do the same.

I would ensure that your PPI includes specific areas that you want to looked at carefully (along with the shops standard list) just to make sure you are covered where you want to be. For example, l don't think all PPI's include a compression test/leakdown. IF that's something you want, you should stipulate it.