As you all know i am shopping for a 996 TT and had a question regarding florida cars.Since FL has so much dampness/moisture,how prevelant is the musty/moldy odor especially A/C,in florida cars ?
Anythink to be careful about buying a FL car (wink)
Thanks

 

I have never had a problem with FLA cars, and I have bought two. There was a member who literally had to replace every nut/bolt/stud in the exhaust / turbo area do to sea salt spray. A good PPI will catch that however. . .

 

Car dealers on both coasts like 'Florida' cars. Low miles. No snow/ice. The bit of salt and high humidity in the air doesn't seem to have any noticable effect on the cars.

The musty/moldy odor can strike any car. It arises mainly from using the A/C but failing to turn off the A/C some time (a few minutes, a mile or so) before arriving at one's destination.

Turning off the A/C yet leaving the cabin fan running helps to dry out the evaporator and the cabin air vents.

Also, changing the cabin air filter more often helps too. The activated charcol filters seem to be especially prone to developing a moldy/musty stink after too long in service.

In short, I'd treat a FL car no different than I would a used car from just about anywhere else. A FL car is first and foremost a used car so a good/thorough used car checkout is paramount.

If the car's got a stink or suffered from humid/salty air exposure a good check of the car should turn this up and this can then be factored into one's decision regarding the car.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

Thing about fla cars the AC runs more and longer than other states. Longer running AC keeps the car dry. If the car was garaged the sun would have little effect on it The roads are usually better then NE states. They are run more often due to the nicer weekend weather 12 months a year. Lot of driving is hwy driving. So in a nutshell, you might be getting a better car. I live in S florida, and every car I have owned including all my Porsches were Fla cars, and there has been no issue in regards to moisture or mildew smell. BTW, the NE has had more humid and hotter summer than we here in the SE Florida, during the past few summers. So with the way the weather has been so unpredicitable, a car from other areas could exhibt more of what you are concerned with.

 

Good point about other areas having more humid/hotter summers. When I lived in the KC Mo area there were two weeks in the spring and two weeks in the fall I could drive my Boxster without having the A/C on to either heat the cabin or cool the cabin.

And those times I was making a quick stop and didn't bother to shut off the A/C when I pulled into a parking space the A/C evaporator drain left a big trail of water. The humidity in that area was just awful.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

I recently had a PPI done on a Fla car. It was an '05 Turbo S Cab, one owner car. It had about 45 k miles and had been maintained well but had UV damage from the intense and daily sun. The headlight lenses were cooked and hazy looking, not crystal clear. The leather had sun damage and I suspect the clearcoat did as well. Fine cracks on the tail light lenses mentioned as well, and the undercarriage had excessive corrosion and rust.

All this was mentioned in the PPI. The owner lived in a highrise on the ocean front and I imagine had exposed outdoor parking. I did not see the car.

 

I've always been under the impression that Florida has more 'flakes per capita"...and fast, expensive cars seemed to attract more than their fair share. Combine that with high numbers of owners, and fly-by-night used car dealers/repair shops, and I'd look real hard.

 

"Love bugs" used to be a problem, at least when I lived in Florida. Damn things hover over roads and the eggs will etch glass. Plastic and paint don't have a chance.

With air filters on car's A/C systems, the dust that served as food for mold is lessened. So if the car has been serviced correctly, the evaporator coils should be clean so that mold is not a problem.

 

Well I do agree there is an abundance of exotic and cars alike down here, But these cars are not usually part of the fly by night dealships. There are a few, but most are pure exotic retailers. As far as repair shops, there are many down here that are part of race teams and have been in business for many years. Of course every location has bad repair shops, but do a a little history search and see where the car was serviced. As a word of advice, if you do see a car down here, just make sure it was garaged.

 

Cars in florida, if not outside at the beach, are fine. One that's been at a condo sitting in the salt spray or harsh sun will look bad and have corroded bolts and any bare metal.

Generally the A/C gets used year round so it will work well and not have odors from lack of use.

The tires and wipers will usually be better than So Cal cars since we get rain.

 

Agree. There are always a few cars that are exposed to the worst a region can offer and subsequently should be avoided, but generally FL cars are pretty good and sought after.

Also, while a dealer might buy a car sight unseen it buys the car using a broker, and the broker would be soon out of a job if he picked up a sorry car for a dealer. That car with the UV damaged interior/paint and exposure to salt air would be ignored by an autobroker representing a Porsche dealer.

Sincerely,

Macster.