b4scott

Been lurking for a while and i am now seriously looking for my first 993 coupe. I now need to seek the advise from this knowledgeable board.

I think I found a nice blk/blk 1996 coupe but I am concerned about the VIN on the car: WPOAA2996TS32xxxx

Based on my research this indicates that it is a Turbo body (or S model). But it is cleary just a regular 1996 C2 coupe. It does have the turbo brakes. Is this something that should raise enough concern that I should stay away? Am I missreading the VIN? Are the VINs commonly incorrect?

Soon to have a 993 (hopefully).

Thanks!

Pcar944

I'm no expert but I would say it sounds pretty fishy. Or at least requires more research which you're doing. The VIN shows up in a few places on a car doesn't it, in addition to the windscreen plate its also somewhere under the hood. Plus the title.

Also there's a way of checking a car's history through a Porsche dealership isn't there?

-mike
____________
1986 944 Red
1988 944 Blue

FLA997

VIN should also be inside the driver's door, and underneath the trunk carpet stamped in to a piece of metal protruding from the floor. Are you SURE this is not an "S" visually?

Howdy993

No Expert but I believe the S is the place of manufacture - Stuttgart.

Best wishes

epj993

Here's how the VIN is deciphered: http://p-car.com/vin.html

Kika

It isn't clear where you are doing your research, so I am not sure how much it matters, or not. Just an FYI, on the CA smog website (www.smogcheck.ca.gov), my C2 came up as a turbo for its last check, prior to change of ownership. I think in this case, it was just an error on the technician's part that he selected the wrong car type from the pulldown menu or something, in any event, the car still passed.

Now if the DMV records are inconsistent, then I would be more concerned.
Certianly you want to make sure all the numbers on the car are consistent.

Kika

MarkD

Does this help? http://p-car.com/vin.html

oops, took too long to hit "send"

b4scott

Thanks everyone. The VIN came off of the title. I need to double check with the VIN that is on the car. Maybe they put it on the title incorrectly. I will keep you posted.

1998C2S

Hey, maybe I can help. I happen to work at a Porsche dealer, and we can put any VIN in the system and get a better idea of what the deal is. It will show the original in service dates, as well as the previous owners, etc. If you'd like to PM me the VIN as you have it, I will do my best to get you some answers. I hope this helps...

ed devinney

Why do you think this VIN is wrong for a standard C2?

Alan993S

Dont mean to hijack this thread, but had a look a the p-car website to dicipher my VIN number. The site does not say how to tell whether your 993 is an 's' or not. I have actually seen a very good conversion of a narrow body into a wide body - so was just interested.

Howdy993

I don't think you can decipher between NB / WB by the VIN alone. The body type: coupe / cab and engine type: NA / Turbo is about it. Again, no expert here.

Jukelemon

I will say this. It is VERY easy for a title to misread/misrepresent a vehicle-especially on vehicles that are not popular i.e. read low volume in the market.

When I registered my C4, she asked me, prompted me to TELL her what model it was. I could have said Turbo and she would not have cared AND that would have been an official record in the state of KY.

Likewise, for Toyota Land Cruisers. When I restored FJ40's, they had 0 clue as to what they were and listed it as whatever I asked.

So, I would go to POrsche ONLY for the VIN clarification. Titles originate with People that can and often do make mistakes.

Just my .02.

Chris W. - '96 Targa

According to the Porsche Red Book (there's a newer edition out now, but I have this one), the VIN is from a '96 North American Carrera. The Red Book doesn't indicate whether it's widebody or not, but it's not a Turbo (Turbo VINs started with WPOAA2996TS375001).

The VIN is what it is; provided it matches in the three places AC993C2S referenced, you should have some confidence that it's correct.

As for Porsche's own records, YMMV. Shortly after I bought my car, I asked a local dealer to look up the VIN in Porsche's computers to get the history on it. Their computers said my car was an Arena Red C2S witih factory aerokit. The only thing it got right was the color -- my car is a Targa, definitely not with an aerokit, and definitely not a widebody car. Needless to say, I didn't bother paying $100+ for the "Certificate of Authenticity".



-Chris

Chris W. - '96 Targa

No doubt. On my car, I actually found *two* Carfax reports - one where the VIN started with "WPO" (that's WP-oh) and the other "WP0" (WP-zero). I only thought to look for the other because there was a big gap in the first report I pulled up.