I am going to look at a 1995 993 this weekend in Northern Florida [I live in Atlanta, so it's a bit of a hike]. I wanted to know if any of you had a good quick "eyeball checklist" of things to look for while I am there. Of course, I will get a PPI from a qualified mechanic if I decide to purchase the car, but I wanted to be able to do some prelim checking before I spend money to get a mechanic to look at it.

Any specific things I should look for? Any big problem areas? CARFAX checks out good, and I know that the wiring harness recall has been done.

 

My normal $0.02. Ask if wiring harness recall done. Check option codes from under front hood (white sticker with a series of three digit codes). Go to p-car.com to decode or use rennlist decoder. This way you will know of all options on car. Look for wear on the seat bolsters. Look at condition of front bumper, though scraping on the underside is really pretty common. Look for oil leaks though difficult to see if engine tray is on - PPI will look at anyway. Look for signs of paintwork. Check out the orange peel of the car. Look at an angle and go from front to rear. The orange peel should be consistent across the body of the car. OEM orange peel is pretty prominent. Turn key and make sure lights (check engine, other) light up temporarily before turning off. Drive car. Check clutch. It should be light (lighter than you would expect for a Porsche) with no notchiness (ask me how I know).

Oh yeah, search the archives alot. This topic has been covered in the past.

Good luck.

 

check for:

- leaking steering rack
- check ballast resistors for both the air con and oil cooler fans
- lower valve cover gasket oil leaks?
- viscous clutch operational? (if a C4)
- shocks working? (the standard ones die fast)
- is clutch pedal fully returning?

 

Also, don't forget to check for small rust spots around the front/rear window seals.

 

Before you do anything, you should check and make sure that the car hasn't had body damage. Check gaps, make sure the paint over the door & fender bolts is not broken, check for tape lines, etc.

 

where in North Florida???????????????????????

 

I am going to Meet him in Valdosta, GA, which he says is about 30 minutes away from him. His area code is (850) if that helps you find out. Any Porsche Mechanics up there that you trust that I could bring it to?

 

850 is the area code for Tallahassee. I know several places for a PPI here. Actually, one of them is the Porsche dealer who works on my '95 993.

 

If you can give me the number of the dealer/mechanic, I would be grateful...there is one that the current owner uses, so I'll try to get his current mechanic's name and see if anyone is familiar with him.

 

Capital Eurocars
850 574-3777
Mechanic is Sam Lovelady

 

Look at the door check strap to see if it's still intact. I'm going by what I've read, but I believe it will click when the door is full open when it is starting to or has torn away from the metal.

 

The Mechanic that this car has been to is in Ocala, FL near Orlando...Called All Pro Imports--ever heard of it?

 

No, but he must travel a long way for service since 850 is NW Florida

 

Mechanic is Sam Lovelady

What a last name!

 

you have a lot of class. I will bet your name is amusing too. Oh, I am sorry! I see you live in the capital of civility.