simmonsg

Just wondering how many 993 owners purchased their cars from private owners vs an used car dealer that specializes in late model Porsche's such as Victory and Holt. Not much success so far in the local market here and I don't want to be flying all over the country on cars that don't measure up for whatever reason. So thought I just fly to one of these dealer types so I'll have several to choose from all on one trip. Probably will have to pay a premium but is it worth it? Anyone with experience on these types of dealers? Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

glenn

sweanders

A concept that has worked for a whole bunch of Rennlisters:

Find a car, have a local Rennlister look at it. If it's good get a PPI then make a decision. Fly out and drive home.

Scott 1996 993c2

Great advice above. So many Rennlisters are willing to help out -- this really is a great place.

I personally bought from a private party, and could not be happier. However, I'm not so sure it really matters. After all, a lot of cars on independent dealers' lots are there on consignment. The MOST IMPORTANT thing is to have the PPI done by a knowledgeable and reputable Porsche shop. Other than that, my advice is to Read, Read and then Read some more, particularly here on Rennlist. The more you know, the better off you'll be in chosing the right car for you. The 993's each seem to have taken on a style and personality all their own by now. Become a member of Rennlist (great investment) and you can search the archives and find answers to most all of your questions. There's A LOT of people around here that know more than some mechanics / service techs out there.

Most of all, enjoy the slide down the slope ... I am!

Scott

uptheorg

Buying from a private seller has two main advantages: it is usually cheaper and you can get a clearer sense of the pedigree of the car. When it came to my car, I found it in the New York Times classified ads and then met the seller at his home. I saw how he lived, met his wife briefly, saw his other cars, etc. and I felt I was buying from someone who had loved the car. When he told me he was replacing it with a BMW Z8 and had had a couple of ferraris before the 993, I believed him. The advantage to the dealer is that you can find what you want (color, options, etc.) more quickly. But for most buyers of this type of car, you don't "need" the car, so maybe it is worth the wait and shop the classifieds for a while?!?

Josh_S

I've often read posters who have happily used the third option - a professional carfinder, like European Imports or Brian Buxton. Any new thoughts on this option?
JS

the_buch

I also went private, and could not be happier ... I spent hours on the phone with the PO and really got to know him and his appreciation for the car ... I ended up buying the car without ever seeing it on the basis of the trust established during my conversations ... as people at my office have said "and this is the guy that runs the company" :-)

Good luck,

David in LA

" Best Method to Purchase a 993..."

...is to purchase from a Rennlister. Most of our cars are well cared for, have records, have nice mods and we often post here when we have problems so you can search old postings for any potential issues.

Trader220

I'll be seeing Tim Holt on thursday if you'd like me to inquire about one of his cars.

sleddog

I have used the Josh S option of using a broker/car locator service, I used europeanlocators.com, Dave Maynard is well respected and it allows you to know the history of the car in many cases as well.

He happens to have a nice race car as well as a targa if you are into those.

ientre9y11

I second using Dave Maynard. Super knowledgeable, very hard working. Very meticulous. Great value for the money.

911CabSteve

"uptheorg" and others make some very good points.. I MUCH prefer private party due to the discussed "getting to know the seller" - thats really important. Also you will usually obtain all service records if the owner has taken good care of it. Plus you can talk to the shop that serviced it prior to the buy.. My first 2 Porsches were bought private party and I had no problems with the transaction or the cars.

I recently purchased my 3rd Porsche, this time from a dealer, for the same reason simmonsg posted - so I could see and test drive a lot of cars and REALLY compare - In my case the C2S vs C4S. Very revealing drive comparison and glad I did it. I ended up buying the C4S. There are not a lot of these cars typically for sale and I did not have time to fly around the country looking, so for me, the dealer saved me a lot of time and was worth it. If I wasn't married with twin 2yr olds, I would have flown to see cars, gone private party, and saved about $10K.

Big downside to the dealers are pretty obvious - you will usually pay more and also often not get any service records. The used delaer I purchased from knew NOTHING about the my car's history and I could tell from the sloppy wax job and their attitude that they just buy and sell them as fast as possible expending as little effort as possible. Luckily they offered a 30-day post purchase warranty so after I bought it I took it to my long-time mechanic and had it completely gone through including leak and compression test. I went back to the dealer with a list of things that should have been "right the first time" (broken jack plate, missing air compressor for spare, etc) and ended up getting about $600 back. So far I am happy with the purcahase (see avitar for pic).

Just giving you my experience to aid in your buy strategy.

Good luck in your seacrh!

mrsullivan

Of course everyone has their own opinion on this... here is mine...

In order of preference, this is how I would buy a 993...

1. From a Rennlister
2. From a local PCA member
3. From a specialty dealership (examples: RPM, Premier, etc.)
4. From an individual private owner

I think ideally you should buy from a Porsche-lover...those can be found on this board and in your local PCA community. It should be pretty quick to check classifieds for both. I would then turn to the specialty dealers...they tend to (usually) have pretty clean examples and there is plenty feedback on this board for various dealers so that you can avoid pitfalls. Personally, I put an auto-trader, individual-type search at the very bottom of my list. Tried that for awhile and learned that it was a ton of work...researching and researching, dealing with all types, neglected cars, etc. I am by no means rich, but I determined that the extra $5-10k I might spend to get a super clean example easily was worth the money over months of headaches... just one opinion.

akolodesh

I also encourage using Dave Maynard if you don't find one yourself. Though I wasn't able to complete the transaction with Maynard (seller didn't proceed forward when it was time to close), I spoke with Dave many times during the process. He was courteous, professional and knowledgeable about our cars. For someone buying their first 993, it is a very good way to go.

simmonsg

Thats everyone for their sound advise. Since I live driving distance to Houston I'm going to check out some 993's their and see how it goes.

glenn

Pete Lech

I have bought 3 used Porsches. The first from a dealer, the second from a private party, and the third from a specialty dealer.

IMHO, if you are very specific as to what you want, as I was (it had to be an Arena C2S or C4S with grey or black interior) you have to look everywhere. Most of my good hits in the last search 4 years ago came from Cars.com, as it checks major papers all over the US. I had hot prospects in Cincinnati, Ashville, Boston, and San Diego, and in fact was ready to fly to Boston when the prospective seller cancelled the night before departure.

Use the Rennlist community to do a walk-around, or call a local Region PCA official to do the same. They can also recommend a good local shop for a pre-purchase inspection. I also called the local shops that serviced the cars for the prior owner. All were very accomodating.

One last tip: if you have a home equity line or other source of funds in place, you will be ready to strike when the right car shows up.

Good luck. The search process was always a lot of fun for me.