Hello to all,

This is my first post, so apologies in advance for any mistake on where / how to post.

I live in Paris, France. I bought a 993 turbo from a dealer in Fort Lauderdale (Euromotorsport) and had it shipped to France after I ordered a PPI from Porsche of Naples (no problem reported). I also ran a carfax report that shows the car had an accident but got convinced by the guy that carfax reports might include irrelevent information by mistake.

The car shows 23 k miles with nice options, arena red with grey interior.

Big disappointment when I sent the car to a porsche independant garage here in Paris to be serviced : the car was repaired after an accident that damaged the rear (bumper, rear spoiler, both rear wings, exhaust system which is no longer stock, and part of the transmission.

I also found no car service manual and it came with one set of keys.

The garage mecanic said the car is still fine but needs some nuts and bolts fixing + some hoses to be replaced. The mufflers are not symetrically aligned. He'll test drive the car next week to find out more about it.

The dealer no longer answers to my phone calls and e-mails.

I have note driven the car yet. Any opinion on the trasmission / exhaust issue? I also welcome any advice to trace the service history.

Regards.

Adil

VIN #WP0AC2996VS375914

 

Adil, sorry about your problems. Hopefully with your love, attention, and re$ources, you will get the car sorted out, and preserve the history & heritage of another great 993 Turbo. Stay patient and positive, and you will be rewarded with an awesome sports car.

When buying a used Porsche, one needs to use a TON of due diligence. When buying a use Porsche, out of the country and out of sight, one needs to use a TON of due diligence X 1,000. And this due diligence needs to be done prior to the purchase, not after.

I always recommend at least an additional 10% slush fund after the purchase, to sort out the car and make everything 100% perfect (not including mods) for the next new owner, and protect against that "buyer's remorse feeling". This way, you are also not Porsche rich and cash poor, to get things right.

Stick around this Forum, there are some great & knowledgeable guys, who can help you out during the start of your ownership experience.

 

Thank you for the support.
Of course, I'll keep positive. This has been an long process and I'm sure the reward will be there.
I understood tracing maintenance service would be possible if I locate the dealers and ask for history printout.

 

Adil, tracing maintenance history depends first of all on whether there was any done of course, secondly, beyond the first 3 or 4 years of ownership of being new, these and most cars go "out of warranty" and are rarely serviced by the dealerships, but are instead serviced by independent shops. So your best course of action, in addition to the dealerships, is to try and trace the history of ownership if possible and go from there. At this point, however, other than satisfying your curiosity or possibly the paper trail I guess for future resale, you're probably better off spending time and energy to create your own "paper trail" in sorting the car out and bringing it back to spec. Just make sure you utilize a respected and competent shop for your work and keep meticulous notes along the way and you'll be fine. These are awesome cars and worth the effort. Good luck with the project, I'm sure you'll be very happy with the results. Best, Nick.

 

I feel your pain. Look on the bright side, the car will be worth a fortune in Paris once it is properly set up. PPIs by dealerships are a big no-no also as I found out the hard way as they have no idea how are cars even operate. I think they see if the headlights work and the windshield wipers turn on then call id a day.

 

Adil, sorry to hear of your problem, but they do not sound of major importance. Yes, it's disappointing to find out about a rear end repair - but it was probably done very well [good enough for the PPI to miss it].
The few nuts and hoses your mechanic mentioned are not a big deal.
A hand book and keys are not difficult to get - hey, you can get the entire workshop manual free on line - copy all you want.
When you are hurtling around Paris in your 993TT all your little problems will be forgotten.
Enjoy one of the best cars ever....................

 

bad news. trust me i know the feeling. but whatcha gonna do? as my friend told me, so long as the car runs solid and the problems are fixable, be happy and get it done right. i agree with that an extra 10% of the purchase price would pretty much cover a lot of repairs on the vehicle to make it right. afterall it's 15 years old, it's about time to replace and repair some things. be happy, at least you have a car.

 

Thanks to all,
Starting tomorrow, I'll deal with what needs to be done and also contact the previous owner to find out more about the maintenance and repairs he did. I'll keep you posted.

Great feeling of sharing a passion with you guys in this great forum.

All the best,

Adil

 

Also, if a dealer already has a used model of that particular car, the honesty factor drops like a brick - they will trash the PPI car and try to sell you theirs (Champion did that to my car) instead.

 

Sorry to read your misfortune Adil. Buying a no accident, low miles car and getting what you got would upset me too. I hope you did not pay a premium for that car.

I once had a PPI done at a Swiss official Porsche dealer and that car came out perfect. When I went all the way to CH from B with a trailer to pick it up I noticed the rear fender had been replaced. I did not want that car and in the end got my previously wired down payment back. But it took a lot of work, even going back to the P dealer confronting them with their oversight. The seller kept hiding behind the PPI claiming an official P dealer would know better than me.
I fear you will have to live with it and make the best of it.

Good luck !

 

It's no big deal as long as it was repaired properly. I reckon there are more cars out there that have had an incident than we would want to know about.
I damaged mine a couple of years ago and it was repaired to the point that not even an expert could spot it.
Like others have said, once it's all sorted you will soon forget about that and just love the car for what it is.
After all, these cars are getting on now.
Enjoy!