Dutchie in NC

I posted a msg last week asking people for their experiences with Expo Motorcars in Houston... some people had pretty good experience with them, so I went their earlier this week (was for busines in Houston).

I have been looking for a 2002 cab for a couple of months, I think I have a good idea of what I want (silver or seal gray, black interior) and Expo had a car that fits the bill:

http://www.expocarsusa.com/details.php?id=3993

Car looked quite good, but I was surprised by the the sales guy's (George) comments re process:

• No test drive unless we agreed on price and I put a deposit down
• PPI only onsite... couldn't take the car to a P dealer or anybody else offsite... is it normal for PPI's to be done onsite
• He said the Porsche dealer nearby wouldn't do a PPI, since they won't do them for cars from an independent dealership

What do you all think about this. I also checked out the carfax and it's a 3 owner car (no leases).

gota911

I think they are heavy e-bay sellers, and that is not a bad thing.. What are they trying to hide by not letting you drive it?... or by not allowing an offsite PPI? That alone would make my uncomfortable! Don't know if I would want to continue a car buying process which started like that.

Shark

They let me drive cars without any agreement........you must have pissed them off or something.

The no offsite PPI thing is just damn stupid......they are definately waiting for a sucker

jsaindc

I would be leary of all of those conditions.

mrcook02996

Any dealer I have dealt with will look at a car, after all they will get paid, they just don't always give you an appointment without waiting a few days. It sounds like they know something is wrong and are trying to hide it, I wouldn't trust them. Continue your search, there are plenty of nice ones out there.

djantlive

This is typical tactic to rid tire kickers. Talk to the sales manager and tell him you are interested in the car but wants to test drive it & take it for a PPI. Tell he can drive the car over to the shop for PPI if he doesn't trust you. If you are under 30yo, you may want your parent to go with you just to show you are serious.

Pull up service and warranty history on the car before PPI. Porsche service dept can do this w VIN. Look for repeat RMS (do a search).

If you are refused for test drive still, just go somewhere else. $51k seems typical but not bargain by any means. I bot my 02 cab 1.5 yrs ago for $57k w 17k mi and 1 yr of factory warranty.

Nutbeem

I agree 100% with the above - My instinct is that they're pretty straight up, they've got a great feedback profile. They've probably been burned on test drives before. 51K is an OK price, but nothing to beat your mother over...

Bob in NY

no test drive without a deposit and agreed price? Tell them to pound sand, they are treating you like a child. I test drove every car I purchased and never got any crap about it. There are plenty of 02 cabs in the market, keep looking and try porsche.com and search dealer inventory in your market

Dutchie in NC

They told me I could call in an independent guy to the an on-site inspection... is that a 'no-no'?

slaaw

Ridiculous terms. Look elsewhere, as there are many nice 996 out there.

Bob in NY

I don't understand why they can't put a saleman in the car with you for a 20 min test drive. Gee, they must be pretty f***g busy at that store.

C4CRNA

Just Walk away.