roche

if so, what was your experience like? they advertise in the classified section and they seem to have pretty nice cars...

they have a '97 black/black c4s that i'm interested in.

thanks for any help.

air eater

A friend from CO bought a pre-owned Viper from them a couple of months ago. They shaved $2k off the asking price, tossed in a few goodies and arranged the shipping.
He said the car is as exactly described on their website. They even followed up with a phone call after the car was delivered.

RJT

DO NOT buy any car from Premier (or any where else) without seeing the car in person and having an inspection done.
We have purchased two cars from Premier over the years, first one was perfect, second one, going by there description was also perfect, NOT!
I've learned the hard way not to trust anyone when it comes to buying and selling cars.
Just get a PPI before buying.
Good luck,
Robert

weston98

I purchased a 1997 TT from them in 2004 with 16xxx miles. Externally the car was exactly as they said it would be. They helped me arrange for a PPI at Lipscomb Porsche which said all was OK. I neglected to ask for a compression test and leak down. BIG MISTAKE. One month after delivery the CEL came on. Turned out there was a bent valve. I swear I never missed a shift in the one month I owned it. They swear the car was perfect on delivery. Prior to delivery they sold me an extended warranty which turned out to be bogus, but at least they refunded the money I paid for it. All repairs were done on my nickel.
Their cars are high priced but they try to find good examples.

roche

i agree with a PPI first. i bought my first 993 from a reputable 993 dealer and never had any problems with the car. i do believe an inspection could help with the negotiating process or will lead me to keep looking. i think it would be a long plane trip back to ohio if i went out to MO and didn't like the car for some reason. i guess that's what i get for living here and not in socal.

Kigiin

I purchased my current C4S from Premier and my previous C4S from Michael Wilhoit next door. I also purchased an 87 cab from Wilhoit many years ago. In those three experiences I found Michael to be more honest, however others here on rennlist have had just the opposite experience.

In the end, I would treat both as just another seller and take all the necessary precautions. From what I can see, they have some good quality cars and also some no so good cars.

aperalta

+1 for Willhoit

Michael delivered what he said and yes I did have a full PPI (this is a must).

skypig

I too bought my '97 993 from Michael Wilhoit. I flew in fron Denver (boy,were my arms tried!) and had 2 checks,holding back a grand in case I found something I didn't like. Mike picked me up in another car,so I could see "my" car cold and not pre-started.Went for a long test drive after a through PPI and I couldn't nick pick anything.I gave Mike both checks and even got a full tank of gas for the drive back to Denver.That was 4 years ago and I still haven't been disapointed! I would buy from Michael Wilhoit anytime but then I saw the car in person before I sign on the dotted line!!!

Paddy

I bought my 993 from them. Had a PPI done and the car got a very clean bill of health. I think I over paid, but I couldn't be happier and have no regrets. Plus, they through in a hot lap timer

stubenhocker

My only problem with these MO guys is that you don't have lots of choices to do a PPI in Springfield, but they do have some nice cars at rather high prices. I think some people mistakenly believe that the higher purchase price somehow insures them from the reality of used car purchases. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, buy a car without checking it out yourself and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, ask a dealer who would be a good person to do a PPI!

jimhsu

Kind of OT, but I agree with the statement of never going without a PPI and in my case never let the dealer stonewall you out of PPI at your chosen location.

I am in the process of back and forth with a dealer that insists on $5000 deposit before the car leaves the lot, even if driven by their people, for a PPI at my chosen mechanic as rec'd by Rennlisters. Their excuse is that they want to weed out not-so-serious buyers, or joyriders.

The implied message is "Why don't you skip the PPI, or have one of OUR shop mechanics do the PPI for you?" Yeah. Right.

This is even after I tell them that I am not even on the same side of the continent, so I am asking their driver to deliver the car to PPI, no need to worry about my using this as a way to joyride their 993TT. I am not flying out there for a car that has not been PPI'd.

I can see how my scenario would play out: I cave in and give them $5000, I find something bad on the PPI, they say it's fixable, I say it's a deal killer and give me back my $5000, they say: "what $5000...."

blake

jimhsu - I have NEVER come across a dealer requesting such a thing! IMHO, that is a pure con. Go elsewhere. Heck, here is a link for a huge list of used Porsche shops: http://www.rallystuff.com/pcar_sources.html

I'd start looking elsewhere. At minimum, make that dealer cave...

Good luck!

-B

Bearclaw

I had this same experience trying to buy a Ferrari from a big Cadillac dealer in FL. Almost word-for-word. When I declined, they said, "Well, okay, how about $2000?" Nix to that, they already gave the ******* and I didn't want to do business with them. It looked like a really nice car, too. If I were local, I might have agreed to it. So I might have been driving an '85 Mondial today instead of a 911. Sometimes things work out for the best.

AShearer

I have not bought from Premier or Willhoit, but have talked to Mike several times. Seems like an honest guy.

Regardless: Get a PPI, BUT I found the PPI I had done by a Porsche dealer in Houston worthless. The car had no real problems and nothing that wasn't easy to resolve, but the once over the dealer did on it was completely useless. They missed so many things, that I really wonder if they drove the car or who checked it out. Just as an example, the service rep told me re: new caps and rotors, which it needed; "if it didn't show up with faults on the computer, we would not check further." But; you didn't put the car on the computer? DME was checked No. I'm not sure why? But, apparently you didn't?

Response: "oh?" I guess the tech felt it wasn't necessary" ?????

Ultimately I called the manager and got a refund of the PPI cost.

So; How do you get a USEFULL PPI. That's the question. I don't have an answer, just posing the question.

MJBird993

When I sold my 993, I took it to my local stealer at the request of the buyer for a PPI. It passed with flying colors, and he's been very happy with the car. But he was disgusted at the rather superficial inspection that they did. When I bought my 964 I had a PPI done at an independent and it was very thorough and complete. When I bought my 996 I didn't bother with a PPI (just an extended test drive) and I've been very happy with the car. PPIs are great, but nothing can replace actually driving the car. Naturally, the older the car the more important the PPI becomes.