coaldrag413

I bought mine used from a dealer. They completed a full service and disclosed any issues they elected not to fix. They also provided a satisfying buying experience. Depending on the dealer's reputation, I don't see a disadvantage to buying from a dealer. Just get a PPI

Avincent52

So the PPI was yesterday.
Turns out there's not only an aftermarket Zakspeed exhaust, there's a VF Supercharger.

I'm talking to the mechanic in detail today--his quick assessment is that the car drives great and seems to have been very well maintained though it's not a garage queen. (which is fine)
As far as the supercharger his quick take was that it's like buying a house with a pool: some people will think it's great and some will even pay to have one put in, while others wouldn't think of owning a house with a pool.

roadie13

Cute analogy between pool and sc, not sure about its validity. The resident expert here on supercharged 997s is @Petza914, you might want to reach out to him directly.

Wasn't the supercharger noticeable during the test-drive ?

ATX_Native

So a Porsche dealer was selling the car and they didn’t disclose the VF Supercharger?

Sporty

Wasn't it obvious that this car was notably more powerful than the other's with the SC when you drove it? Borescope results?

Petza914

I don't know too much about the VF kits but there is a supercharged 997 Facebook group where most of the members have that kit. I'm quite familiar with my RUF kit but with there being only 3 of those in the US from what I can gather, not s lot of info. I am familiar with forced induction in general as I have a Supercharged 928 and a twin turbo Cayenne as well.

sandwedge

Wow. 3 in the entire US? I knew they were rare but not that rare. How do you deal with maint./service issues that may need parts? With that tiny number of installations in one of the biggest markets in the world, can you even get parts if needed?

Petza914

I have a complete spare kit I bought off the guy that blew his supercharger and converted his car to a turbo. I then sent that supercharger off to ASA in Germany for a rebuild. I have two spare Bosch MAF sensors which I had to order from Poland because they're using in some obscure Fiat or something and not available over here. I'm guessing the voltage output range is different.

Anything that's not part of the RUF changes are just regular Porsche parts.

Things like the AOS are standard, but the plumbing to it is not so made new AOS hoses out of hydraulic hose that's oil resistant.

roadie13

Following on the expert comments above, my impression would be that to run a supercharged 997 of any kind requires a bit of leveling up as far as maintenance and car wrenching is concerned. Many on this board do their own maintenance and tinker with a few bits on stock engines, but superchargers require, well, a bit of supercare

Mind you, I wouldn't object to buying one myself at all, but they are certainly quite rare and I would have to know a lot about the previous owner etc.

Avincent52

Thanks everyone for the advice and support.

To answer a couple questions: yes it was pretty clear that this car was fast and handled great but I attributed it mostly to the performance exhaust and the new tires. I was also being respectful on the test drive. I back-to-backed it with a base C2 and a C2S (on Contis and Hankooks respectively) and at modest speeds/revs the cars seemed as tractable and civilized as the stock cars.

I got a very thorough PPI at a well-recommended Porsche shop in the area. The owner of the shop says the car was exceedingly well-taken care of and all the work that was done was done to a very high standard. He noted that the car has Bilstein PSS10 coilovers and a Zakspeed exhaust so Nigel (the previous owner) clearly had some money and was willing to spend it on his car (which you could see from dozens of trips to the dealer for maintenance. The DME report suggests he didn't track it or drive it particularly hard.) Our Nige also bought a set of clean Porsche winter wheels with new Pirelli Sottozeros (included in the deal) as well as that set of brand new PIlot Sports.

I appreciate Nigel's restraint--from the outside a silver base 997 on lobster forks is about as plain as a Porsche gets. The Sea Blue interior is a very nice touch but aside from the extended leather it's nothing special. But once you turn the key, the fun begins.

So I guess I'm buying a house with a pool.

sandwedge

Sounds like you're in good shape. Obviously takes someone with insight and knowledge to first off install a supercharger and then maintain it. I know I couldn't do it,

Petza914

RUF in Dallas actually installed it. I just kind of learned about it as I went and didn't know a thing about 997s when I bought mine 10 years ago.

jbkusa

Did the dealer try to increase the price after the supercharger was discovered?

If you don’t mind sharing, what was the sale price? (Didn’t see actual sale prices in the posts, just comparisons of other costs)

sounds like a fun car with a couple extra goodies to boot!

roadie13

One more thought: with the extra propulsion power comes the need for extra stopping power.
Did the PO upgrade the brakes? The non-S brakes are quite a bit smaller than the S brakes.