shekmark

I have my C4S up for sale. Car is not a garage queen , but not quite a dd either. It is super clean and has 56K miles on it. I have owned motorcycles for years and there is rarely a test ride. How are Porsche owners handling this with private sales? I wasn't thinking too much about it until recently a friend selling a 2003 M3 let a potential buyer test drive. He had an accident causing over 8 grand in damage! I don't want to lose a sale by being out on line. Do we just hand the keys over and say bring it back? Go with them ? Just take them for a spirited ride? Advice would be appreciated. It's gonna be raining today for anpotential test. The AWD really shines in this weather. Thanks.

linderpat

It's a judgment call with each prospective buyer, and it can be a different result with each. I would take them for a ride. However, if the maturity appears to be there, and they are serious, I'd go with them on the ride, and let them drive. At some point, a serious buyer is going to want to drive the car. I'm guessing you drove this one before you bought it too. Again, judgment call. You'll have a sense for it. But no matter what, anyone - including you yourself - can get into a crash at any time a car is driven on a public road with other cars around. That's what insurance is for.

okbarnett

you do the same thing as a dealer. You ask them if they have a license and insurance, if they dont look trustworthy make them show it. You take them for a ride, demo the car. Then if you trust them let them drive it around for a while

gulshan

Dash cam. Legal/insurance problem solved .

yelcab

My brother asked me to look at a ZR1 near me being sold by a used car dealer. I showed up in a $100K GT3. We looked at the car, and I asked for a test drive. He said "we don't allow test drive" I shook his hand, wished him luck, and left to tell my brother not to bother.

No test drives, no buy, end of story. This is not a motorcycle that falls over when you don't put your foot down.

Dennis R. Cliff

It is my policy that I do not let anyone drive my cars other than my wife who is of course co-owner. You just do not know what is going to happen when someone drives your car. If a potential buyer drives your car and has an accident it is not certain that their insurance will pay for it. Even if you go with them you do not have control of what could happen. I believe that it is standard practice that a buyer will not get to test ride a motorcycle since you cannot go with them and you will be standing there wondering if they will bring it back. Who needs the anxiety associated with sending a stranger out with your valuable vehicle? I believe that the best policy is to take the potential buyer for a ride in the vehicle, then you are in complete control of the situation. For example, I loaned my daily driver to my adult son and when he returned the car it was about ten inches shorter. I loaned him another car once and he returned it with the rear bumper in the back seat. If you cannot trust your own son how can you trust a stranger with your car?

Fined

You make the judgement call. What they drove up in does factor in if you get the sense they own the vehicle. Someone wrecking a 2003 M3 on a test drive is not surprising due to the current cost of that car and the market for it at this moment. Someone made a bad judgement call on the potential buyer taking a test drive in that car. It's not so much about letting someone test drive the car but about being a judge of character and looking at the situation from a big picture perspective.

Where did the buyer say they are coming to visit the car from? Like what part of town do they live in. You don't need to ask this directly, be clever.
What kind of previous sports cars have they owned? Again, no need to be direct about this, talk sports cars if you're a car enthusiast this will be transparent as conversation.
Have they test driven other 911s? Which ones? When? What did they think? Again.. this is regular run of the mill car enthusiast conversation and you're gathering data needed to make a decision. No need to directly start with a list of questions.

It should be very easy to filter out someone who you don't feel comfortable with driving your car.

stripersteve

+1.
I would never let someone take my car out for a test drive without me with them, but I would expect that a potential buyer wants to test drive the car before putting money down.

PJorgen

I am in the no test drive camp. Test drives were first used by car dealers to hook you on a specific car. Once you've sat in the car and driven it you start to think of it as yours and are less likely to walk away. Do you really need to use this trick to sell your Porsche? I doubt it.

What is a prospective buyer going to learn from a test drive? If it's some yokel who's never driven a "Porch" before, then I don't want mine to be the first one. If he wants to be sure it runs and drives well, take him for a ride. A knowledgeable Porsche enthusiast knows how the car drives so no need for the test drive. If he wants a PPI, then you drive the car to the PPI location.

I've bought three Porsches without test driving them. When I sold my 996, I put "No test drives" in the Craigslist ad and still sold it in three days. Better yet, I didn't have a lot of tire-kickers showing up for a test drive and then making a stupid low-ball offer.

groovzilla

1. You make sure it is a serious buyer
2. You both go for ride, you drive 1st explaining you never red-line car and explaining clutch/shift/braking technique
3. After a few miles of city and possibly highway driving you stop and let buyer drive.
4. Let buyer know if he gets out of line with too much speed or getting lose to red-line.
5. direct him to your bank to deposit funds

kellen

Balr14

Since I have the PDK, I'm not concerned about the issues that relate to manual transmissions. So, I don't have a problem with somebody test driving with me along. I am working on a trade and the dealer who drove my car was surprisingly gentle with it.

groovzilla

PDK or not never trust anyone with your sports car - Too many A-holes. Over-revs and douche-bag driving are a popular sport with test drives
When I sold my 05 997S last year the buyer came with his wife - We all piled in my car w/me at wheel - Drove for 5 minutes than I sat in Passengers seat and he drove.
All went well and he had cash waiting when we returned to my house.
This is how a serious non looky-lou transaction takes place.

Whats really fun is when you get Mr. Porsche Guru/buyer-guy dropping by for his professional critique on your car.
I had a great time with a guy who wanted to buy my 996C4S several years ago - Came with his friend who he wanted to impress.
He spent an hour looking over my car - We did the test drive and then he hands me the keys and says "I have a couple more I'm looking at" - Real attitude/small ***** kind a guy.
I told him I have a few other serious buyers and he said, "i'm not worried about that" - I'll call u later.
Next guy who showed up about an hour later paid me cash and left with car.
4 Hours later Porsche Guru stops by my house and wanted to buy my car. I told him I sold it 3 hours ago and good luck finding one like mine. Bye Bye.
Feel so good - This has happened a few times over past 30 years

C4SDayton

I'd buy a car without a drive in the correct situation like from reputable seller of car with records and maybe a driving video. Bid on several cars on BAT based on those. I've never let anyone drive my sports cars or ride my bikes other than my father. I would drive a serious buyer for 10 minutes if the car wasn't warmed up then give them 10-15 minutes to drive on safe roads I know below a limit I set. Nothing wrong with someone not familiar with a Porsche finding out if it suits them. I got a 15 min test drive when I went to check out mine. Common sense rules. If a 20 yo in a riced out civic shows up than no. I've written a personal check for 15 vehicles and wired money for only 1, a 100k mile Honda Fit for my daughter from a rather untrusting gentleman. Don't sell or buy with sketchy people.

shekmark

Thanks for all the great and interesting advice and thoughts. It went very well. Buyer drove out with his friend from about 2 hours out. They both loved the Atlas Grey color and condition of my car. The test drive started with me behind the wheel. I wanted to warm it up properly and get to know him more. About 20 miles from home and a quick hwy drive, I turned it over to him and took him on some backroads to get back home. He gave me full asking price ( 51,900 ) and a down payment check. He will be back for the car when his funds clear the bank ( I have a loan on it ) Super nice guy , both he and his friend. I am happy that this car is going to him. My car comes with three sets of wheels/tires and CPO till 11/19, so I feel good about the sale.