Jawnathin

Looking at a Cayman for sale. It is CPO from a Porsche Dealer but I am wondering if this was some type of press or demo car. It seems to be a pretty early us market 981 GTS (built June 2014) and had some number of miles before it was first sold at an auction. Warranty start date is July 2014 so 5 months prior to the first CarFax record. Autocheck and CarFax also show "Fleet, rental, and/or lease use records", but it could be just a lease and first owner shows as 'Type: Corporate'. That on its own isn't an issue, one of my earlier cars showed this, it was just under his Family Trust instead of him as the registered owner or possibly the leasing company in this case.

But the rest of the history makes it interesting, specifically the warranty start date and mileage before the first record. I've heard of 'Executive Cars' which I'm not sure how common that is. My dealer contact is off the next few days so I can ask when he returns but until then I'd like some input. Am I being paranoid and this is normal/fine or should I walk away? Thanks.

PorscheAddict

It probably was an exec car or press car but I wouldn't worry about it since it is CPO. No red flags to me.

pitt911

Possibly PEC in Atlanta car , they sell them at auction after few thousand miles

85Gold

Jawnathin

Thanks PorscheAddict. Car looks good in the photos but I haven't seen it up close yet. Being CPO it would have a warranty for another 2 years or so, so I feel better about any immediate issues being taken care of. But if it was a press car that was beat on then I'd be more cautious about mechanical wear.

pitt911, good call on the PEC, hadn't thought of that but makes sense as it was auctioned in GA. Any chance you can expand on what happens with PEC cars? Are these tracked? Launch control demo cars? Sits in a showroom most of the time? Maybe the car of some regional exec in GA?

Peter, got a deposit for the car this weekend. Buyer is a local autocrosser and supposed to pick it up sometime this week. Assuming all goes well I can begin my shopping . A GTS, yet alone a properly equipped one do not pop up often. This car is local and pretty close to what I am looking for but the history is interesting so wanted to hear from those with more experience on what it all means.

On a side note, got to drive this on the weekend, it was awesome!

85Gold

PorscheAddict

^Agree. They also maintain the PEC cars immaculately, so it has that plus side.

DJ99

If it was a PEC car, then yes it was tracked, launched and driven like you stole it. A least that's what I did when I drove a GT3 at PEC.

Scooby921

I would look at it the opposite way. Not being titled for the first few thousand miles suggests it was not driven on public roads. An executive car would have still required a plate and registration of some sort, even a corporate registration. I don't think manufacturer plates can be used on saleable vehicles these days. Thus it was likely at PEC as a demo or at the driving school at Barber. It was never abused, but it was pushed pretty well and meticulously maintained by Porsche. A few years and several thousand miles later it's CPO and comes with an additional 2 year warranty. I would think the car is solid and good-to-go.

85Gold

Jawnathin

Thanks all, I am feeling better about it now. I will ask my sales rep when he is back if he knows the real story. If it was PEC car I have no doubt it was driven with much enthusiasm. The flipside is that it was well maintained and any weak links would have been sorted out by now. I can't criticize too much as I won't exactly be easy on the car myself

I will check the car out like any normal car and see if it passes my own standards. These cars seem very reliable and if anything does happen it has got a few years of warranty left.

Scooby921

No, I don't think it was broken in "by the book", but then I don't believe in applying decades old break-in procedures to new technology engines. It's a never-ending debate that we don't need to restart here. I don't beat on a cold engine, but I've never subscribed to babying the car for the first thousand miles and I've never had a problem in any vehicle I've owned.

pitt911

PEC cars are driven hard
I launched every car I drove there repeatedly ,
yes they maintain them well, but nothing they can do for accelerated wear and tear for components like transmission , suspension etc which you have to pay for down the line if you keep the car

John Ferguson

There are people who love and baby their cars, find one it's like buying a new car. This one has certainly been driven hard, and because I pamper my Porsches, I would pass. If you intend on possibly driving it hard / tracking it and reselling it before the CPO expires, different answer.

SpyderSenseOC

I would avoid a PEC car unless the price was discounted substantially. Maybe that's just me but I don't like buying anything if I feel like it was beat on before I came along. And PEC cars have been beat on. Religiously. Every single day of their lives.