I finally narrowed it down after going thru the wealth of information you guys provide on this forum. I'm going for a '95 993, against my wife's wishes. She wants a 996, but after all the engine problems I have to pass on it.

I saw a car on their website and looks pretty good. Any comments?

Thanks guys and hoping to be a 993 owner soon!

 

I don't have any experience with AutoHausWest but if you post some of the details of what you are looking for in a '95 993 (milage, color, etc) I am sure that the members on this board will keep an eye out for some cars that fit your criteria. Good luck with your search.

 

Is it the place located in Lake Forest or Irvine, CA? I've personally looked over some of their cars and was not impressed. In general they seem to be well used cars bought at auction and detailed. Of course there is a nice one here and there but quite a few seem to have had rough lives, ie scratches in paint, incorrect emblems, etc..

Is it a black 993 by chance?

 

Every dealer gets a "Gem" every now and then... get a good PPi and strike the best deal you can....Good Luck!

 

Hey Joey...

I believe my next-door neighbor bought his 993 cab there and said it was a good experience. I'll confirm with him and let you know.

 

Ira the owner, bought my 1996 993tt back in 2001, after I broke my neck He was great. I couldn't drive and he came by my house to pick it up and do the paperwork. He paid me a very fair price. I would work with him again for sure.

 

I have been by there 3 times over the past two months, and most of the cars under close inspection were too beat-up for my taste. The level of cars there is below, maybe well below, TruSpeed in Costa Mesa.

 

Bought mine there in Sep 2004.

They were willing to deal on the 95 cab I bought.

Happy experience with them (as has a buddy of mine).

Maybe not the "cream of the crop" but I'm happy with mine and didn't feel the need to pay "top price" for what is, essentially, a fun toy.

YMMV.

 

Thanks a lot guys.....It's the one in Irvine, I saw a '95 993 Black 59xxx miles, asking $35,700 on their website. Looks like it doesn't have the original front bumper.

 

I SAY - BE CAUTIOUS..... I bought my '96 C4S with 45K miles in March 2005.. Like others have said, most of their inventory is not cream of the crop.. But their prices are not as high as Truspeed's either.

Note that they knew NOTHING about my cars REAL condition.. Looked great on the outside when I first saw it. After purchase upon very close inspection under the right light I could tell the car had been in a small fender-bender - some very subtle paint ripples on the fender and hood. Hard to see.. During purchase they would not work with me on price, but did on my trade-in ('86 Carrera cab) so that helped. They did not want to do a PPI. The instead offered me their 30-day warrently on engine and drive train (after I had them specify these were specifically covered in their warrently). If I could do it again I would have pushed hard for a PPI from a reputable shop (Hergeshiemers is 10 minutes from them - no affiliation)...

Post purchase my wrench found a few little items : no spare-tire air compressor, wood screws held the engine cover on, Rt front oil cooler resistor bad, and lft front jack-plate that was loose. They compensated me @ 50% total replacement cost under their 30-Day post purchase warrenty.

I NEVER like to buy from dealers and my experience with them validated my feelings.. The ONLY reason I bought from them was because I wanted a 993 "S" and, at the time, there were no others being sold in the So. Cal. area.... Also, as a father of 3, I do not have the time to travel around spending a lot of time evaluating cars. Thus, I paid more than I had to.. But what is your time worth ? Everybody is different here..

Autohaus West did have a large inventory at the time and I drove and compared the driving characteristics of the 993 vs 996 vs 993S vs 993C4S. That was very revealing for me and I would reccommend doing that if you can..

I'm happy with my car though.. Maybe I got lucky.. No used car is 100% perfect. Mine has some tiny cosmetic flaws, but 2-local (and highly Rennlister regarded) shops have gone through it with a fine-tooth comb and both say its mechanically is good shape. Burns almost no oil.. Pushed it hard at the track last Nov. and it performed beautifully..

TAKE YOUR TIME, compare various cars/dealers and keep your eye on private sellers (Rennlist, POC, etc) as you may save a lot of money over the dealer route..

Good luck and have fun !! Half the fun is the selection process !

 

i just checked out a 993 there today. the wheels needed refinishing and there were some minor cosmetic blemishes. the car smoked after start up, but stopped after the test drive. the engine smelled of oil after as well. car drove very well despite a high grabbing clutch.

sales associate refused a PPI unless i bought the car (what, a post purchase inspection???). he was even reluctant to show me the work they did on the car after they bought it. i've dealt with another dealer in sd and they were very open for me to take their car in for an inspection. i'm not sure i want to risk a purchase not knowing more about the service history of a car let alone a sales associate refusing a PPI!

this cannot be typical for dealers is it?

 

I looked there before buying my 993. I test drove a '96 993 there. The sales man couldn't even tell me what options the car had. The paint had issues. I found that they have very average to below average machinery. Many better options in SoCal for a 993.

 

They had a beautiful early cup car there last summer when I was looking. They knew absolutely nothing about the car or cups, and I went through 2 sales people and the manager. They got progressively more and more stupid as I asked questions and I drove down there twice (1hr. each way). I finally decided either they were hiding something (oh no, it's only been driven a few times...). or they were simply moronic salespeople. I gave them the benefit of the doubt.....

 

Such as???

 

tt, try looking at Truspeed. Never made it there in person, but it looks like they usually have some nice stuff in. Although I didn't have the most welcoming sales experience, even Pristine in Huntington Beach had better average machinery when I bought my 993 from them. I only went to AutoHausWest once with R and was not impressed with the inventory or the sales staff. Maybe it was just a snap shot and I am being unfair. But just read any threads about them and you kind of get the average to below average picture. Maybe they can get a gem every now and then though.

You would think that there would be more Porsche boutique dealers in SoCal. Seems that they are mainly in Texas and the midwest (RPM, Premier, Willhoit, Classic, etc)