911mhawk

Great advice, I'd NEVER buy a car that is significant to me without a plane ticket if warranted by an initial PPI from a local source.
Send me a copy of the records, have PPI done, then fly and buy.
I've driven 2 and more of the same cars and they often drive quite different depending on what has been done. These cars are now old enough to have had lots done then made "stock" again...sucker beware.

BenHay

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

Clearly, as 02996x50 said, the majority would not buy sight unseen + PPI (even if from a major Porsche dealership).

I was on the phone with the PPI shop and Porsche shop (that want the car to be towed to the PPI shop even if 20 miles away) and was estimating all the costs associated with that and it increases the cost of the car by ~10%... So I think the wise thing to do is just be patient and wait for an opportunity closer to me on the North East which will reduce the sunk costs (trip + transport) materially and also make sure I don't waste too much money if the car turn not to be clean.

BenHay

No but thanks for offering

BenHay

Appreciate it - I will check it out and let you know

vogz

Like KC, I put a deposit down on mine and then flew to see it / pick it up. I don't think I could ever buy a used car without seeing it in person first. That said, based on the seller's transparency throughout the process, (he took 150+ pictures and disclosed every little imperfection) I decided not to do a PPI. I've had some common issues come up in the year since I bought it, but nothing major and I'm very happy overall with my purchase.

Shadetree930

I have bought 2 turbos sight unseen.

In both cases, I got exactly what was described with zero surprises. Color me lucky.

I sold a 930 to a buyer who had a very thorough PPI done with leakdowns, etc as well as 2nd appraisal done on the true market value of the car . Both passed the car with flying colors. I was confident that I was selling a very solid car. I had been driving it regularly (weekend stuff) for years with zero issues. Within a few thousand miles of his ownership he had a major oil leak, needed a new clutch and some other major expenses. All unknown to me at time of sale.

So ... in my experience a PPI is a quick once over for obvious issues, not a guarantee the car will perform like a rock star forever.

All of my cars have come through Rennlist or Pelican members with long histories. This information is more important to me that a PPI.

Alan A

Similar story, except I paid for a PPI and when that came back ok drove down went to the bank for a check and trailered it back home same day.

I bought the seller as much as the car though - same owner for 8 years, stack of receipts yada yada yada.

Ok NY to CA is a bit far to do that, but there are plenty of cars in the NE F/S, and somewhere like Atlanta is a couple of hours and a $300 R/T plane ticket.

ZX9RCAM

I flew up & drove back, 1400 miles.....

"02996ttx50

absolutely. far and away the most prudent and less risky option for you. also, keep hanging out here and on the 6 site as people usually mention when their cars go up for sale, as in randys car here. it seems as if he sold it within a few weeks of offering. so good luck and i'm sure you made the right choice to be patient and scour all available sources on the east coast.

the only proviso that would change the long distance buying is by some chance you bought a car with a *known* provenance as i did. though by example, my current car i bought with zero *ppi* was also about 20 miles away and the buyer also had helped me with my previous car..so he and the car were *known*.

again, GL with the search..i'm sure you'll find what you're looking for without the trepidation associated with an "unseen" purchase!

danspach

It really depends on what the PPI is slated to include.

When I had my car PPI'ed at Brumos, I inquired about a compression and leakdown as well as checking the oil in the front diff. Neither service was included with the standard PPI ($300). The compression and leakdown were quoted at $1400 and the diff oil was treated as a service given they're not allowed to put fluid back into a car. Makes sense but that's another $400. All in, I was looking at $2,100 (I didn't do it). That's not $3.5k but it adds up quickly. Honestly, the only thing my PPI was truly helpful for was the DME scan. I don't need someone else to tell me the tail lamps are cracked and I still had to test the second gear pop-out in person with the seller.

Having said all of that, I wouldn't buy a car without seeing it in person first. I'm in NY and my car was in Florida. Was actually able to catch the Rolex 24 of Daytona when I went down to see it. Bonus.

Warehouse33.net

I have bought several cars sight unseen and have been burnt on a couple, but the others were as described. If you have time just fly out to CA and put your eyes on it or turn it into a min-vaca, that's what I did on one of my vehicles that was by Myrtle Beach. Flew out looked at it, paid up, drove to the beach for 4 days and then drove back home.

-Jason

Road King

I'm with Jason. I've bought two cars from SoCal ('96 Viper GTS and my '02 Turbo), and in both cases I flew down to check out the cars in person. Fortunately I was able to spin it into a biz trip since I cover SoCal, but I probably wouldn't spend $40-50K on a used car sight unseen unless I knew the seller personally. Just too many variables and risk.

Rustler

I just had a PPI done by Chris's German Auto, and I thought they did a great job with great communication. I asked for them to do a few more things beyond the normal inspection, including extensive pictures, and it came out to $340 including WA sales tax. Got a full written report, pics of all blemishes and issue spots, and phone time with shop manager and tech who drove the car.

Rustler

Don't give up on it so soon. The inventory is small enough that it's worth having a broad scope to find the right one (right miles, color, interior spec etc...). Also, I definitely don't think it's clear that the majority would not buy remotely, I've read lots of posts in this thread about positive experiences. I would, however, separate buying "sight unseen" from "buying remotely."

I would disregard the unhelpful one liner responses like "never buy sight unseen," (as well as the one liners like "go for it, no problem"). There are some more thoughtful responses in this thread with good advice. I think it's more nuanced than simply do it or don't do it.

Bottom line: under the right circumstances, buying a car from a distance is very doable, and you can protect yourself.

Having just done it (and after 1,200 miles behind me so far so good), I think these are the steps:

1. Only move forward if you can put down a deposit and buy yourself the time you need to properly investigate, you can't rush it from afar.
2. Get a (reasonably priced, $200-400) PPI done by a shop recommended by local Porsche enthusiasts, from this site or PCA
3. If you can get service history, that's a huge benefit. Do your homework, the internet is powerful, I was able to find a prior owner who traded in to the dealer and connect with him, I also spoke with shops that did past work and saw pictures of the car online through its life. All that brings extra piece of mind when buyer from afar
4. If the PPI goes well, settle on a deal pending your visual inspection. Like others, I really do advise flying out there to lay eyes on it, or perhaps having a trusted friend lay eyes on it (I once bought a Eurovan in LA from Boston sight unseen, but I had a buddy pick it up at the dealer, and he drove it to the PPI, great way to get lots of feedback). Anyway, if you fly out there you can do it overnight, and for a couple hundred bucks it's just well worth it.
5. If it all looks good after you've seen it ink the deal and fly home and ship it (I bet 1,000 bucks gets it from LA to NJ) or drive home!

Finally, I would generally prefer to buy private party, but an advantage of a dealership is that you can often put a completely refundable deposit on the car, and then have some time to investigate. But it's certainly true that dealers will sell bad cars just as readily as private buyers, the dealer is not a certificate of authenticity.

Don't give up cars outside of your geographic area so soon, it can be done!

pranqster

Guys and Gals, Don't bust Callas until you find out what the quote was for. I have had a PPI completed by Callas, and it was worth a hell of a lot more than some $400.00 PPI's I have gotten on other cars. They have various levels of service they provide. I do not recall exactly how much mine was, but it was worth every penny. My PPI by Callas was very complete when they did my GT3. They did a leakdown, compression, complete ecu dump, checked total hours versus claimed hours via average speed, checked for shavings in oil and transmission, and ran a paint meter over the entire car. They even picked up where the ash tray was not properly closing. Then they spent an enormous amount of time over the phone explaining it to me. Obviously there are many ways to purchase a car. Callas offers a very complete PPI for those that want a very complete PPI. I looked at it as preventative maintenance. You do not get a second chance on getting a seller to fix items that are not working properly.

Regards, Pranqster