mhitchi

Considering buying a 997.2 with about 50k miles from a private seller. Had a quick test drive and car seemed fine (but I recognize that doesn’t mean too much). The issue is that the seller is about 3 hours from a Porsche dealer and any Indy shops remotely near are booked for the next three weeks. The seller didn’t balk at me getting a PPI but I suspect by the time I can get an appointment the car will be gone.

Wondering what wiser heads would do since this would be my first Porsche.

Cheers

Booth9999

Make a deal with him and give a deposit pending PPI, if he is willing to wait for you to do you due diligence it was meant to be. Don’t get caught up in the FOMO, it will ruin the whole experience if it has unknown issues.

Bob Dobolina

Was the car well-maintained? Maybe you can speak with the shop that did the service? Not perfect, obviously....

This is tough. Unless you are getting a great price, I'm not sure I wouldn't wait. Its a lot of money and if its fried for some reason then you have a real problem.

texass4

I’m not one who gets too caught up with a PPI in most cases. In fact, if I think it needs one, I mean REALLY needs one due to something I suspect, that’s my clue to walk.

Do your diligence. There are many resources on the intergoogles for easy things to visually inspect. How comprehensive is the service history? If none or slim, factor that in to your decision. Run a CarFax. It’s not gospel, but it’s another clue to follow. Look at body lines, panel edges and such to see if there’s evidence of body work.

Plan on factoring into your budget some bucks for maintenance items…major service if no proof of one recently, wear items like brakes, belts filters etc.

Ask lots of questions. Do a degree, you’re buying the seller as much as the car - especially if it’s a private sale.

If you get a good feeling, then go for it. You can always resell it later if it’s not “the one”. Good luck.

Bxstr

I'm surprised that if you offered a shop some extra cash that they would not fit you in for a PPI. One of them must have a tech that is willing to stay after for two hours to perform the PPI, or come in on a weekend, etc.

I would recommend getting a PPI unless you knew the owner or the car was just inspected a short time ago. On a manual car though, I'd still want a recent DME over rev report.

groovzilla

Thats a tough call. Shops are busy and location issue is making it tougher.
Perhaps offer seller another $1000 to hold the car and work with you on getting car to PPI shop closer to his house when appt. is avail in couple of weeks?
Make payment contingent on you buying the car.? Or not depending on where asking price is at and consition of car.

texass4

That's the problem...if you're a seller, and there's not a PPI place reasonably close but you have backup buyers (likely) lying in wait, that presents a hassle. We all want to be honorable sellers for the most part, but if I have to hold of other "no strings attached" offers for same or similar bucks, vs travel somewhere to accommodate a buyer's PPI request...well...ya know...time is money. Sellers look for the past of least resistance for highest price, buyers want every assurance possible. We've all been on both sides of that coin.

That's why I say just do your best diligence and maybe engage some local people to do some of the ancillary stuff like general mechanical visual under the car and/or body shop people to sniff out signs of prior repairs in addition to CarFax and seller's records. 997s are 10ish years old (at a minimum) now, so in my opinion they need to be bought with the understanding that they're no longer recent used cars, but trending more toward older collector cars with more limited part availability to come and more age-related wear and tear that should be factored into the price.

Plus, and again I may be in the minority, but a PPI is only a part of the puzzle. Some inspections are FAR better than others and it's still up to you as buyer to make the final determination. They could miss something simple that maybe a thorough tech should have seen or they could miss something that fails later that no one could have seen coming. The first is a bummer, the second should be a reminder that no one's perfect, and it's still ultimately up to you as buyer to assume the risk...doubly so if you choose a shop you have no relationship with and will likely never visit again.

That's why I advocate doing your own basic diligence and budgeting for some preventative maintenance that could have been deferred in the past. Odds are you'll end up with a good car, but with all older used cars, you just never know until you jump in. Worst case scenario, you can sell and not get hurt too badly.

groovzilla

There is also the choice of hiring a local Porsche guru who is mobile to inspect the car at sellers house. This has been done before and in this case could be the answer.
I almost chose this route with a 997 in Houston but seller finally agreed to drive it 50 minutes way to shop in DT Houston.

DesmoSD

Since it's a .2, it has lower chances of a bore scoring then a .1 but the LSPI/injectors could potentially be an issue on .2's. A DME report, engine mounts, service history, the 60K maintenance items would be the ones to inspect. Not to stir you away from a PPI but 997.2's are pretty solid cars. Perhaps a 997.2 owner can go with you to check it out and help.

mhitchi

Thanks for all the helpful responses. Quick update… the seller has agreed to take it to a Porsche dealership for a PPI even though it’s a bit of a drive and he has to wait. Hopefully all will go ok and we can close the deal. Will ask them to look at the injectors and engine mounts… thanks DesmoSD. They’re also doing an oil change so will ask them to check the filter… anything else you think I should ask for (this is a 2010 C2 coupe)? Cheers

PS - I’m really excited

nerdnic

That's good, at least he's willing to do it. Shows that he doesn't anticipate any major issues and hopefully all goes well.

7 treasures

I post this for a comparison.
I purchased my 2010 Cab S with PDK in SoCal in 2018 with 57k miles for about $49k.
The seller was using a private dealer as a consignment. They claimed to have done the work on it, but Carfax only had records of services up to about 33k miles.
I paid $500 to take the car to a local Porsche indie near me that I intended on using as my regular mechanic for things above my level.
He is Sam at Specialized Porsche in Riverside, and he's great. Used to be a dealer mechanic for years before going off on his own.
I had him do my PPI.
No codes thrown.
No over-revs.
This car even had an aftermarket entertainment system and backup camera installed.
So I got it.
It now has around 94k miles, and the only issues I've had is the belt tensioner going (no serious damage) and replacing window regulators.
The rear window regulators in the Cabriolet are not easy.
Oh, and I had to replace the pump for the convertible top as it was leaking oil and I kept having to fill it.
Brakes have been really easy and saved me serious $ by doing them myself.
Other little things like plastic parts I replace occasionally and I had to reupholster the driver's seat because the leather was worn and cracking.
It was my daily driver until I saw how much I was putting on it.
Now it's mostly weekend fun.
Not sure if this helps at all.
The fact your car is throwing so many codes would worry me.