Thanks very much all for the feedback

 

Bought all 5 of my Porsches sight basically unseen (964, 951, 996 C4, 928S4 and 996tt). However, on the 996tt, I paid a $1,000 non-refundable deposit before I saw the car and didn't transfer the balance of the purchase price until after I laid eyes and hands on it.

I was a little disappointed with the 928 - there were definitely some things not disclosed by the seller, but all of them were minor issues. I was very happy with the other 4 purchases.

I bought all 5 of my Porsches from private individuals. Therefore, I had info on the maintenance history on all 5 of them. I highly recommend buying from an owner over a dealership. I checked the backgrounds on all 5 of the sellers. Sometimes who you are buying from is as important as what you are buying.

I had a comfort level with what I was buying based on those private sellers, so I did not do a PPI on any of the 5 of them. However, I have done a PPI on 3 other Porsches, none of which I purchased - the little voice in the back of my mind just said to dig deeper with those particular sellers.

If I were buying from a dealership, I would do a PPI, even if buying from a Porsche dealer. Why the difference? The employees at the dealership really don't have any skin in the game if the buyer is unhappy. They get their commission and move on to the next deal - if there's a nasty surprise for the buyer, they just shrug their shoulders and pass you to management to deal with. A private seller is selling his own car, and if he's not intimately familiar with the car and not upfront with its warts (and they ALL have warts), then I'm not going to be comfortable taking his word on anything. If that's the case but I'm really interested in the car, then I'm verifying everything and will definitely do a PPI.

As for PPI costs, expect $150 on the low end and that won't include a really in-depth inspection, but will get a trained set of eyes on the car. As an example, for NA 996's, you definitely want to drop the sump plate and check for metal shavings (signifies IMS bearing starting to go out), and for that level of PPI, expect around $500. Depends on what model car you are looking at and what you want checked. For a 996tt, $150 to $500 would be a reasonable PPI fee.

 

Who would people recommend for a Seattle/Bellevue area PPI, other than the dealer?

 

I can't help you because I'm so far away, but don't do it. it's a 10+ year car with issues, some minor, some not. Too risky.

 

I have bought all 10 P cars site unseen except 1. Had ppi done on half and always had thing that got missed. What I do is have a big list of questions when talking about the car that I know answers to. Sort of a test. I walk away from anyone no matter the car, that won't give out info or skirt around things or that I just generally don't like communications with. When I find that one person...the enthusiast, they will tell you a lot. They know the car, aren't just trying to flip it and will exchange texts and emails quickly. I will basically drive you nuts until I buy it.

I'm not against it...it's a gut feel though. Just my two pennies

 

I bought mine from a well known pacific NW Porsche dealer and still had an independent PPI . A word of advice ...a good PPI involves removing the rear bumper to do compression etc.. Have the independent shop ( a must) give you a go or no go and if so pay the money while the bumper is off to do the plugs and coil packs. Saves money in the long run if you had to do it down the road. Just my experience

 

haybenhay! i see consensus building about what you propose and think you'd be wise to heed the admonitions. gotta be something on the east coast? sometime patience will reward you.. or find a really competent shop ( added expense? ) and don't trust a porsche dealership unless it's a super low milage example. even still! caveat emptor.

 

If the op is interested I know of a ruf converted Kompressor '03 996 c4s in ny?
Cool car

 

There's a 29k mile black / black/ black cab 6 speed at Suncoast Porsche in Sarasota, FL right now for $55k... they'll take less. Probably around $50k. If something like that interests you I'd go do a fly by there and check it out. I know the service guy there and I'm on good terms with one of the salesmen there.

 

I am also in the process of buying a car and just did a PPI.
As mentioned by most (all) I would highly recommend you do one. The dealer had done one that he showed to me but the one I paid for had a number of other things highlighted.
In my case, I am planning to buy the car and the PPI gave me the reason why price should come down or things to get fixed.
I paid $350 in the Dallas area.

 

Even with a PPI, until you sit in a car, start the engine, check every single switch and light and function, and then drive it the way you plan to drive it, you don't know what you are buying. You should know the car better than the seller. I flew to San Francisco for the day to drive a car that looked perfect on paper...but after a real hands on experience they would have had to pay me to take the car...on a flatbed...it was undriveable. Set your standards very high, don't let lust turn you into an easy John.

 

Take it from me...don't buy without your own PPI...a thorough one.

I flew down to see my car in person (after a lot of research about the car and seller) and trusted what ended up being doctored up "recent PPI". I ended up rebuilding the transmission (and a bunch of other unexpected things within 1 month of ownership). Got the car that I wanted but I sure paid for it...

 

For Seattle/Beelevue i would recommend Squire Autowerks, Redmond European, Chris's German. All are excellent shops i've used before many times.

 

Cantrell's and Aker's.
PM me if you'd like help in Seattle.
There are a couple other options I could help facilitate depending on the scenario.

 

I do many PPI's for people....best advice is, put YOUR eyes, in-person, on the car...only way you can truly be happy with what you get....trivial things like brake wear(exclude PCCB), tire wear, etc. matter little to the overall experience,,,,