yellowjacket95

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum and am looking at an 01 Turbo (tip, ~40k miles, 2 previous owners, no service records) - had a PPI done today.

There were some normal wear and tear items (brakes, rotors, spoiler failure) that popped up, but the biggest question mark was why parts of the engine were painted. The mechanic who did the PPI said that there is no reason to paint an engine unless you were looking to hide something, like rust or corrosion. The car drove fine, and no codes came up, so he didn't think that there was anything mechanically wrong with the engine, but concerned if the paint might be there in an attempt to hide something, like rust. In general, more confused than anything as to why it would be painted, as there weren't signs of rust or corrosion in other areas of the car, and the entire underbody of the car wasn't painted, with the non-painted portions not being rusty or corroded either.

Based on a little reading, it seems like some folks don't like the stock look of cosmoline underneath the car, but usually take care of that by sanding it away or some other type of removal vs. painting over it. Maybe that's why it was painted? Do you think that the paint here is a red flag to walk away?

k9turbo

certainly not a red flag. but defintely a sliver mystery.

there is no expectation or reasonable assumption of damage to the motor on a 40k mile 996 turbo that could be hidden with silver paint.

Third-Reef

Seems like a cheezy attempt to make it look pristine. I would take any info from the seller with caution.

yellowjacket95

For a little additional context, the current seller is a used car lot that sells almost every brand under the sun. They bought the car at auction about a month ago. I asked if they painted the engine and they said no, so assuming that’s true, had to have been painted prior to going through auction.

Bernard IV

Strange indeed. That stuff is all aluminum so they must have thought it looked nice.

928 DesMoines

If th PPI checked out; I wouldn’t be concerned too much on a 40k mile car. Maybe the PO was trying to “detail” the engine during a service?

ipman

Use it as a bargaining chip, but it had better be a better than great price if it were me. The engine alone, while not ideal, doesn’t look bad. But they did a terrible job with the rear cross member and sway bar. They did not remove the brackets and painted over the bushings, very sloppy. And only half of the sway bar is painted!? I’d have to get that fixed, which wont be cheap given the Porsche tax. Figure all of that would need to be replaced. It makes me wonder what else was done half ****?

Then think about resale, most buyers of these would require a PPI, so this will come up. And with prices are rising, this would be a flag for many, just like it is for you now. You’d have to make it a smoking deal for me to move on it if I was a buyer. I’d personally pass on this one unless the dealer makes it worth your while.

Carlo_Carrera

The engine case is aluminum alloy so it will not rust. After all these years the cosmoline does start to look crappy so most likely the paint is an amateur dress up move. The PIP checked out so not much to worry about.

As ipman wrote use it as a bargaining tool.

nathan1

I have been a dealer for ~20 years and this is the classic garbage wholesalers do when sending cars to the auction knowing two things: most guys who buy for car dealerships are now buying online (via the various auction online platforms available only to dealers) and it will look "good" in photos or two if the buyer is actually in person they usually spend ~20 seconds going around a car to buy it, so they peak under the back bumper and it looks clean and then they bid....

More than anything what I will share my experience and that is I would NEVER buy an older Porsche that went thru a dealer only auction. Trust me, in all my years of doing this even I get a little excited when I see a Porsche at one of these venues. Usually the excitement starts to fade as I get closer and closer, usually a close examination reveals exactly why it is there and its never good. In all these years I have bought exactly one Porsche at the dealer auction...

The market for 996TT's with Tiptronics is fairly soft (vs. the manual cars which is strong) so in the long run you are much better off waiting for a great car to appear on the market. By that I mean a car owned by an enthusiast with a complete history and no stories. Maybe the little bit extra you pay up front you will save 3x in "gotcha's" not to mention when you go to sell the car it will be much easier to sell as the vast majority of buyers want that. Just my .02. Good luck in the search, great cars!

05 Turbo S

I have to agree with nathan1. There are many tip-turbos that have a solid history for a very reasonable price. Resale will have problems. A speed yellow tip just sold on BaT last week for $38k and change. Just too much to choose from.

yellowjacket95

Thanks everyone for your input.

With the aforementioned issues identified in the PPI (assume most PPIs uncover handful of normal required maintenance / wear and tear ) and the paint issue on the engine, what do you think is a reasonable price is given the mileage? $45k, $40k, $35k?

That yellow one that sold on BaT for $38k had ~70k miles if I am remembering correctly and had some undesirable mods.

ABSTAND

Hi. That speed yellow on BaT not only had a bunch of performance as well as cosmetic/visual mods that weren’t all that appealing; the carfax showed damage/accident as well. Damage may or may not have been significant, (we don’t know) but a TT in that shape, tiptronic, speed yellow and everything else that was going on, at $38K, someone might have overpaid a bit. That’s just my opinion.
As far as the car you are looking at, a painted engine can’t really hide anything, especially if you have professionals focusing exactly on that and making sure it’s good to go. It would not stop me at all from making an offer if the rest of the PPI checks out. As others have said, use it as a bargaining chip and offer 40ish to see what they say even though a painted engine (if it was only painted for cosmetic purposes) shouldn’t really be used as a bargaining chip. If the car checks out, drives well, passes PPI and you like it, I’d say go for it!
-A-

911 Rod

It will just fall off anyway as I doubt it was prepped before the attack with a rattle can.