I'm tempted by a 2002 at Starwood Motors in Dallas, but not eager to fly there if it turns out there are obvious problems. (If no obvious problems, then will also do a PPI, of course.)

I would be really grateful if someone would be willing to help me out remotely. Happy to pay for your time, if that sweetens the pot. Thanks!

Fred

 

Hi Fred - I'm in the Dallas area and can probably help you out on some level. I know the service director at Starwood very well and he's a great guy. Also, I can recommend a few places for a PPI if you decide to move forward. Not sure if I can get down there in the near term so I'll let you know if that changes, but I can definitely call and ask about the car. Let me know what specific 996TT you're looking at so I can ask about the right one.

By the way, Starwood's showroom is like a candy store for sugar addicts. They have ridiculous inventory and a pretty good reputation for their cars.

Thanks,

Todd

 

Hey, Todd, thanks for the offer. I included a link to the car in my original post -- black, red interior. Also, great to hear that Starwood has a good reputation. I'm hoping to find someone who can go down and go over it in person, but will keep your offer in mind. I'll give them a call and go through my questions, but no substitute for looking it over in person and giving it a test drive, of course!

And I would love your recommendations for PPI in Dallas!

 

That's a sharp car and a good price. For a PPI I'd recommend RAC (formerly RUF) in Addison, just north of Dallas - ask for Hans Hoffman (www.racperformance.com). Should run around $300 and they are very thorough - I used them for PPIs for several cars plus a lot of service and they are top notch.

Let me know if you want me to lob a call into my buddy at Starwood to see if he has any insight - happy to do it. If you call yourself, his name is Hoot Lankford, and tell him that Todd Ermenio from his Grubbs Infiniti days says hello.

 

That is a sharp looking car. What does Certified Pre-owned mean in Starwood's context? It's too old to have a Porsche CPO warranty.

 

It looks like it just needs a good detail job and headlight polish.

 

I'm not positive but I think it means Carfax certified, which has nothing to do with any warranty.

 

Just posting to close the circle on this thread, just in case others someday turn up this thread looking for help in Dallas.

Thanks to leftlane, I used RAC (formerly RUF) for the PPI and Hans was fantastic. Did a thorough check and talked me through it on the phone. He's certainly an expert and also did some maintenance for me before I picked up the car.

Also nothing but positive things to say about Starwood Motors, especially Stephen Rosenkrantz, who was incredibly helpful. He happens to have worked at a Porsche dealer for 8 years, including all the 996 years, so he was very familiar with it!

Thanks to all here for the help. Without online resources like Rennlist, I wouldn't have been able to take the plunge into my first Porsche!

 

Awesome - congrats! Now post some new pics of YOUR baby!

 

As you wish!

 

Notice I already managed to lose one headlight washer cover by accidentally activating the jet at speed (hadn't yet reliably sorted the wiper stalk from the cruise control stalk). I get my first visit to Porsche parts department...

 

Black over red, nice.

 

I love the color combo.