I am debating (with myself) between two pretty much equally equipped 991.1 Carrera S:
- 2013, 32k miles, know the owner well and the car history, CPO until May 2026, clean Carfax, super taken care of and maintained. The car is 1800 miles from me and would pick it up and drive home.
- 2015, 39k miles, has a minor (left rear panel) repair reported on Carfax, no accident, know the owner. Well taken care of and maintained by the top P mechanic. The car is local to me.

the price is, let’s say, the same.

what are your thoughts?

 

The 2013 sounds like the better purchase to me… you know the owner and history, and it’s still under warranty.

 

Can you post the complete build sheet information for both? Hard to make any kind of judgement without knowing what the differences are.

 

both have exactly the same options: Premium plus, Sport Chrono, PSE, both PDK, 18-way seats, 20” wheels (same), black leather inside for both.
thanks.

 

CPO gives you a lot of peace of mind.

 

I would get the 2015. It’s newer and the accident checked out ok by you.
Big plus is the backup camera.
That’s my opinion.

 

The question is, who are the dealers near you. If they suck, CPO does not mean that much.

On the other hand, the 2015 has been taken care of by a "top P mechanic". If the dealers suck, you may be taking the 2013 to that mechanic anyways.

 

I like the lower miles and CPO till 2026. Assuming the CPO is transferrable. You also said "Super" taken care of vs "well". No damage. Clean carfax.

 

Go with the CPO car. After living with a new used car purchase and actually putting a decent number of miles on it, you'll begin noticing more subtle things you didn't in the beginning when you test drove.

I've had that experience several times, and the latest was with my 2014 Turbo S. After putting about 2K miles on it, I began to notice some subtle symptoms that were the result of clutch wear in the front drive module, and I was able to get it replaced by the selling Porsche dealer. It would have been $11K out of my pocket without CPO (100% covered), and I didn't notice it all until I gained a lot of experience with the car.

 

I'd go with the CPO car.

 

My rule of thumb is a CPO is worth $3k when price comparing, plus the peace of mind.

 

Thank you all for your inputs.
my concern with the 2013 is:
- 2 years older - does that matter — early production year vs 3 years in?
- the CPO will be up mid 2026. I can get the platinum coverage that will do the same thing, right? I will need/should get it anyway once CPO is up? Though the CPO would buy me about 18-19 months…

 

Yes, you can purchase a Fidelity plan, which is very good, but not cheap. If you have two years of CPO for the same price as a car with no current coverage, you're talking $5K+ more.

I wouldn't worry about the MY difference, which is pretty insignificant with nearly equal mileage. All 991.1 MYs are pretty bullet-proof.

 

thank you, great to hear that!

 

I asked myself same question last year, and decided that 2013 vs 2014 vs 2015 vs 2016 doesn't really matter... it seems that 10 years later, the 991.1 is a pretty level playing field across model years. The interior door sills slightly changed on 2014 cars from the 2013's, and they got the backup camera later in the run. Some of the 2013's have a slightly older PCM (like mine) that is still PCM 3.1 but does not have "jukebox" when you look at the inputs and can't take the very latest software update that came out a few years ago (but this update does nothing I can determine that is noticeable or improves it). Not aware of any other differences between 2013 and 2015, with either features or reliability.

Note: If it was by chance a 2012, I'd maybe give the 2015 a nod as there was an annoying water ingress seam sealing issue on some of the early build cars.

CPO from Porsche is better than "platinum coverage" from any dealer or insurance broker / company. But I will say CPO isn't perfect. No trim issues or cosmetics are covered unless the dealer decides to under their "grace" or "good will". (It can be debatable with dealers what they consider cosmetic vs non cosmetic... )