This.

 

+1

 

I personally wouldn't say 'never', but IMHO buying on an online auction needs to happen at a discount to adjust for the potential negative surprises, not at a premium. Yes, I realize BaT cars almost always sell at a premium... but that wasn't always the case.

 

I never felt the need to buy at auction. I’ll drive as far as I have to , to look at a car within 500 miles or so. When I picked up my current 02 TT it was local and I live in a small community. I’ve sold a few on-line but never bought. There’s too many variables buying at auctions plus the juice. Not worth it to me

 

+2

 

People Suck!!


Sorry man.







.

 

I've had issues buying cars privately from out of state. Even from a rennlister and having a PPI done at a Porsche shop I still got hosed. I refuse to buy anything out of state now unless it's brand new or basically brand new and under manufacturers warranty because of that.

 

That can be a major problem with some cars being modified then finding out it wont pass emissions with out of state sales. That can really suck a wallet clean when it comes to trying to convert a hacked up emissions system back so it can pass a strict state. Of course PPI's should be done by a shop that really knows the car type well, with fewer and fewer 996tt's going to dealers, the techs most likely dont always have a good idea on what to look for.

 

I haven't had issues with emissions, I've had issues with the marque shops missing glaring things on the PPI, despite me asking them directly to look at x, y and z. Then I get out there and the car has visible paint/body work, or is missing under trays, or they F'ed up the leak down test and the car shows up with a blown motor, etc, etc, etc.

I just won't do it anymore, which admittedly restricts my potential pool of vehicles to purchase, but at least then I know what I'm getting. I did take a risk on the Land Cruiser I just bought, which was in San Diego. But I grew up in San Diego and one of my good friends who's a professional mechanic checked it out for me and gave it his blessing. Plus is only had 20k miles on it and was basically new, so that worked out for me...

 

Here in Houston the porsche dealers want $250 labor, if you look at the service advisors some where not even born when my 99 was made. Some of their techs or mechanics have never seen our cars. Anyway with this much electronics most mechanics today just replace parts, no one fixes anything anymore. Seen two local porsche dealers ppis here in Houston we’re they missed half off the issues, one of the the PPIS was a $500 job,

 

This is the reality on PPI's, about 1 in 10 people that do them are thorough and car guys. The rest are just run of the mill and a waste of money. Hence why I research the seller on forums, generally buy from enthusiasts, ask questions, get a ton of pictures, and trust the seller to do right. Ive bought 35+ cars sight unseen with success. Couple minor issues here and there is all. Unfortunately the OP got taken here.

 

I wouldn’t bring a 996 or any other early car to a P dealer, 99% of them haven’t a clue. Best bet is a to find a good local shop..
Bought my tt from a local dealer, did my own PPI. A day later I went back about a spoiler failure, that occurred. It took them all day to determine the left ram was bad. It wasn’t, it was the pump blew it’s lid. Now the only time I visit, is to go to the show room..

 

Sorry to hear about this.
I would never buy an Auction car. Have to view in person, drive it then have full PPI before any money gets paid to seller.
You should have put up more of a fight before driving it 500 miles. Driving it 500 miles and expecting some sort of refund or return of car just isn't gonna happen

Like others stated, after you fix transmission your money spent on repairs could be recaptured because of the Yellow color being sought after.
Good luck and lesson learned the hard way.

 

That's a little far fetched. I've bought most of my 60 Porsche's over past 36 years out of state mostly California because the examples are so much better.
Just have to know what your doing. Fly in, view/test drive in person and have full PPI and excellent shop that is Porsche Specialist. Yes you can get burned slightly in some cases and has happened only 1x but it was nothing major.
99% of the time an excellent shop can determine issues. Also helps negotiate prices down so those issues can be repaired if necessary.
I encourage people to buy out of state. Driving home is a blast and great experience.

 

No it's not, it's my personal experience and that's with me using recommended marque shops. I'm glad you've had such good experiences but clearly I haven't. At this point unless I've used the shop and know them I consider a PPI to be a complete waste of my time and money. I can tell a good car and do my own evaluation, hence me not buying anything out of state.