mdude

Am looking at a 993 in the Memphis area, and from searching this forum out pop 2 names for PPI: Memphis Auto Werks and Pat Williams Racing.

Called up Memphis and they actually pointed me to Pat Williams. Reason: they claimed to be comfortable w/ older Porsches or new models but not quite the 993.

Called up Pat Williams. Guy sounds every bit a straight shooter and spent a good 15+mins w/ me on the phone on his dime. He said to begin with he is uncomfortable doing a PPI for a car he hasn't serviced and especially for an out of town buyer (which is me); and further he doesn't recommend leakdown and compression tests. Pat said he could hear from a hot idling engine whether it sounds right.

Dilemma: everything I've read about Pat Williams has been favorable and the guy came across knowing his stuff. But to not do a leakdown and compression goes against all advice I've read on this board w/r to a PPI.

What do you guys think?

vincer77

I think that Pat is worried about the possibility of things going wrong.

95carrera

I used to think leak down was essential, more I spoke to seasoned mechanics I warmed up to skipping it. I just bought a 993, didn't do PPI, mechanic said it wasn't necessary from his inspection.

P-daddy

May not need leakdown/comp testing with a low mileage car.

mdude

At 70+k, isn't exactly low mileage. In any case I'll make a decision soon. I've a hunch Pat knows what he's talking about...

matthewlesko

You should seriously consider going to Memphis. Unreal BBQ.

inkatouring

I didn't have a leakdown test on my first 993 and did on my second (and curent) car. The first had bad vavle guides and I had to spend a lot more money on that car than I wanted. The second had a great leak down results with 85k on the clock.

BUT, a leak down would not have detected bad valve guides and they are quite expensive procedures. So, my thinking has evolved to the same as carrera95's -- that a leakdown is not necessary. Frankly, on these cars the valve guides are more of a problem than compression/leakdown. And they are what would trigger a CEL, also. If Williams can do a valve guide measurement, I'd be more than comfortable with that....

IXLR8

It'll almost be three years for me and I didn't get a PPI either. Many might say I'm nuts for not doing so, but I did spend about 5 hours going over the car. It drove and accelerated well, idled evenly and went through all gears smoothly. Oil consumption is negligible.

I've pretty well gone over every square millimeter of the car in the first two summers and not a single surprise yet.

Crimson Nape Racing

all I can say is Pat knows his stuff; if he says he can hear if it's right or wrong, than he can. He is the man!

bart1

Pat did my align/corner balance. He's good. A little expensive and curt in my experience, but I would trust him to do any job on my car.

P-daddy

Nope...not at all.

mdude

Update: decided to forgo the one in Memphis. Bought one from CA.

Didn't do PPI on that one either; car was serviced and well known by Hergesheimer which gave a detailed account of the car; that was good enough for me.

For the 2nd time in my life I'm buying a car sight unseen...

Now comes the hard part, transport co says it'll be days before they have an open schedule to ship the car. So patience is called for...

mrzoop

Mdude - I'm really intrested to hear about your experience with this as my search has just begun and the west coast is such a far away place for me here in the south east.

mdude

I searched the whole country, you almost have to because 993s are rare.

Decide what you want: narrow or wide body (NB vs WB); there is a $8k-$10k diff even though except the body/fender there is no real diff.

Turbos are >$50k for a high mileage and >$60k otherwise; and way out of my league so I didn't pay much attention to them.

For NB, you can get good ones (seemingly well kept) at mid-to-high $30ks. Higher mileage cars (60-80k) would be in the low 30's. Tips are about $2k cheaper in US.

Again WBs are about $8k more dear at high $30ks for high mileage and mid-to-high 40ks for low mileage.

Where to find car:
Dealers: RPM, Wilholt, Holt, Sloan sell mainly low mileage garage queens at astro-prices.

TruSpeed is known for having well kept up cars but are priced $5k too high +/-, IMO.

Victory: steer clear unless Robert agrees to a PPI by a shop of your choice.

Chequered Flag, Tri-M, Cars Dawydiak also carry quite a few P-cars. I don't know their reputation.

Then there's the vehicle for sale forum here as well as in Pelican. I didn't check out PCA (not a member, at least not yet).

Ebay and autotraders are good sources for private sellers. Have not tried Craig's list but some RLers have pointed out seemingly good deals from there.

As expected, buying from private party = least markup; not only that but I found private sellers to be much easier to work w/ in terms of scheduling PPI.

I bought mine from AutoKennel, which has a good rep on this board. It's a consignment shop but owner is active on local PCA and car has extensive service history at Hergesheimer, including a top end rebuilt, which is what sold me.

Hope this helps. And keep us posted on your search.

Cowhorn

^^^Great info. Thanks.