G.I.G.

I recently purchased a 991.2 that was CPO'd from an out-of-state dealership and was trying to get some clarity on two items, and both the dealership and PCNA haven't been much help. I came here to see if any of you can help shed some light on the subject.

First, after several drives I noticed my 991.2 pulling consistently to the right, and I accounted for the crown in the road and other road imperfections. This happened even on the same roads and same lanes that I had recently taken my 997 that had tracked pretty much straight as an arrow. It's not terrible and I just resigned to the fact that I was going to pay out of pocket for an alignment. However, I was told by the dealership that sold me the car that they usually do an alignment (or at least check that it is in spec) as part of the CPO process. I thought that if that was the case and my car is pulling to the right, that a one-time alignment would possibly be covered under CPO if that was the case. The dealership said they couldn't provide any previous records on the car (even tough it was part of dealer inventory and therefore not owned by another individual) so I called PCNA to find out. They couldn't tell me if alignment was part of the standard CPO checklist. It's not a huge deal, and I've already scheduled an alignment at a local Indy so I'm not too concerned. I was just curious if anyone here knew or had experienced something similar.

Second, I tried to buy the car I have now in early March, but another sales rep at the same dealership sold it before my sales rep was able to get it held for me. Bummed, I kept searching and crazy enough, the same car popped up on my search at the same dealership a month later and I was able to snap it up the second time around. With that stated, the car was originally CPO'd in early March, then CPO'd again when I purchased it in late April. When I login to my account through PCNA, it has my CPO start date as 3/5/24. However, I purchased the car on 4/18/24 and I have the CPO checklist signed and dated on 4/24/24 (They were running behind on CPO's and my car wasn't fully certified until after I bought it before they shipped it to meekly the following week). So I called PCNA about the CPO start date, and the rep I spoke with was adamant that the CPO start date was the March date, as that is the date they were showing it as "In service". I explained my scenario and stated that I had a CPO document signed and dated for the end of April but he wouldn't budge. He sounded rather inexperienced and I was trying to not be an a$$, but I think he was way off base. I'm assuming I'm in the right, and need to escalate this. Even the Finance Manager I worked with at the dealership agreed with me but told me that PCNA would have to address the issue. Can anyone here confirm I'm not crazy?

C2 Turbo

A CPO is a glorified used car and honestly there's nothing special they do in certification either
Items like brakes/tires/fluids etc are always close to bare minimum to qualify for ceritification and most of those normal wear tear items are not covered by ceritification either
Don't be surprised if you need tires or brakes in near future
I can't speak for the ceritfication date but as long as you have the certificate showing the process started on April you should be covered.
They charged the last guy for ceritfication and charged you again without doing the certification a double whammy, typical dealership BS

VII7

CPO process at dealership:
1. Turn on car, no faults
2. Send car to wash
3. Sign that everything was checked
4. Sell car

The CPO checklist is long but there is no consequence for not doing it and whatever they find they need to fix so what do you think they do?
​​​​​

Nashvegas

Alignment check is 100% included in CPO certification. It's a basic function of the car to check steering etc -- and alignment is part of steering. Safety.

In Dec bought a CPO car and they aligned it right after they put new tires on it.

(But --thinking further, the actual CPO alignment check is probably from a quick test drive, which would confirm reasonably straight driving. I would not think CPO requires a car put on the alignment machine though... if it drives fine)

Now to you, they're just going to say it was fine and you knocked it out alignment... or it was knocked out of alignment by the shipping company - so be ready for that.

The date thing -- annoying but you're of course right. It's the day you bought it. + 2 years.

sunspot2013

I believe that a CPO'ed car that gets traded and resold at a Porsche dealership during the CPO period retains CPO status (whereas if the car is traded to a non-Porsche dealer it loses the status). Is it possible that the dealer did not perform a new CPO inspection and reset the warranty and that is why your start date is the original March date?

G.I.G.

Yeah, I realize there isn't much to a CPO and it's only as good as the dealership and the tech performing it. I do like having the the 2-year warranty, however. The dealership I bought my car at did replace the batter, serpentine belt, and the windshield as part of the CPO process, so at least they did something more than pencil whip a checklist. I can also verify the brakes have plenty of life, and the Michelin PS4S tires are date stamped last year and only have about ~700 miles on them from what I can tell from the Carfax and mileage records.

Yeah, I think you're right. It took me a few drives to realize it was pulling to the right, and it's not terrible. So if a quick test drive wouldn't uncover an alignment issue, I can see why they wouldn't put it on an alignment rack. I already have an appointment scheduled at a local indy for a 4-wheel alignment next week.

That is my understanding as well. I have a signed copy of the new CPO statement of certification dated when I purchased the car, so it sounds like I need to escalate this with PCNA.

Nashvegas

My experience with modern Porsche has very much been “thrilled with the product and community” and “low expectations going unfulfilled” with the corporation behind the brand.

CPO falls squarely in that category. I was hoping CPO would be like a team of German race mechanics spending the week prepping my car for me… but no. Not really lol.

(BTW Porsche Classic being the exception. The customer experience working with Porsche Classic on just about everything is what working with the rest of the entity should feel like as a customer. Maybe new GT car owners get this experience, Idk. But I guess it’s too hard to scale to the Macan crew etc etc.

Atheist

The value of the CPO is that the car is warrantied. The inspection is only as good as the dealer performing it and required to CPO a car, but a CPO car from Porsche is warrantied for two years from the date of the CPO inspection, and the warranty is transferable with the car until the expiration date. I didn't by a CPO car for the inspection I bought a full two year, unlimited mileage warranty. Never had an issue with a Porsche dealer not taking of anything under the warranty. When my CPO runs out I have an additional Porsche backed warranty covering the car for 5 years from purchase date and 60,000 miles above the mileage at purchase with a $250 deductible. For me that covers the car to 78K miles. Have put 20K miles on the car since purchase and they have replaced the fuel tank pads, oil level sensor, and the water pump all with no charge and no hassle while providing a new Porsche Cayenne loaner. I purchase the car from a Porsche dealer 120 miles from my home as it had the spec I wanted. All the work was handled by a Porsche dealer near my home without question. Actually with the exception of the oil sensor, I had no clue of the other issues but the dealer pointed them out and just handled it during a normal oil service and tire change. I was confident in Porsche NA and the CPO program to visually inspect the car and drive off without the need for a PPI.

Nashvegas

Yes, spot on. The reality and value is the warrantee (which doesn’t cover trim but I digress)

It is worth noting that considering the way Porsche (and every other OEM) markets CPO… the lead story is not only the warranty, but the rigorous qualifications to become certified. Ie the inspection. And the reality of what that means as operationalized by the dealers. Hence the countless threads like this one.

K996

good point on the marketing vs reality, however I’m kind of cynical when it comes to stuff like that so the 119 point inspection never meant that much to me either but the warranty and the fact that they’re supposed to get the car current in maintenance did.

I’ve been pretty pleased with my cpo experience all around, they’ve fixed stuff even though it’s not the dealership I bought from, no hassles at all and I managed to get ahold of the work the selling dealership l did to certify the car and it was about $9k (ok dealer inflated but still) worth of stuff including tires, partial brakes fender liners and rocker trim etc in addition to servicing.
I would use it again as a purchase criteria but I’m sorry you’re having trouble with it.

Atheist

I can tell you I drove to purchase my CPO car and when the paperwork was getting done I was told the CPO only had 13 months left. I told the dealer it was a deal breaker as I confirmed on the phone before driving 120 miles that the car was CPO two years unlimited mileage. The dealer re-certified the car to ensure I got the full two years I expected. Of course I also decided to up the coverage to the 5 year 60K miles plan on top of that due my previous Porsche experiences. One visit for almost any issue will cover the cost. I think the reason they offer unlimited mileage is that many don't drive the cars much. I on the other hand planned to drive it 12K miles a year as a daily and wanted at least 5 years of covered repairs. Never want to be making a car payment in combination with getting unexpected big repair bills.

vanlieremead

An alignment check is one of the most simplest processes to do on the 911. If CPO is no joy, have an Indy do it. But yes, CPO includes alignment and a tire replacement if the wear is below a certain threshold.