duxsi

FYI, there are third party warranties that folks on here are extremely happy with.

Atheist

A 2018 that a dealer won't certify would be a red flag to me.

itbme

They said it was to "save me money." I did a lot of reading on the subject and didn't like anything I found about it. Easier to rule it out than to wonder if its aftermarket parts, worn out pieces, or broken stuff.

I decided to expand my budget from 70 to 100. I figure that should get me a fairly minty 991.2. The hardest part is patience.

Atheist

I think you are making the right choice. FWIW I looked for quite a few months and when I found the car I wanted it was at a dealer over 120 miles away. I negotiated the price over the phone all with the knowledge the car was CPO. It was a 2017 (I purchased it in Dec 22) with 18K miles. When I arrived and the car checked out perfectly, upon doing the paperwork I was informed the car was certified at an earlier date and there was only 14 months left on the CPO warranty. That was a deal breaker for me and I was pissed as we clearly discussed 2 years unlimited mileage as the warranty. I was going to walk. The dealer gave in and re-certified the car as of the purchase date for two full years. They complained it cost them about $3K to certify the car. Not my problem. It all worked out and I eventually purchased an additional Porsche backed warranty that covered 5 years and 60K miles from date of purchase. Essentially I have the car covered until it hits 78K miles. I like the peace of mind especially since I daily the car and put lots of miles on it. I will say after putting 18K miles more on it since purchase I haven't had any issue although my local Porsche dealer did an inspection when I purchased some rear tires and suggested they replace one of the gas tank pads for which they covered at no charge. I really believe if you are in the market for a late model Porsche the CPO is a must and will give you plenty of time to properly sort out any potential issues, even ones the deal may miss upon CPO inspection. Save the basically required PPI if you are purchasing. I am actually surprised a late mode would be sold at a dealer without the CPO. You are smart to spend more up front on a better car as frankly the extra you spend will translate into more mileage and enjoyment as well as return more on resale should you sell it down the road. Spending a little more on entry usually is recovered on exit anyway all thing being equal.