96Tiger

Long time lurker, finally in a position to buy my first 911. I found a 2012 C2S at CarMax of all places. It looks like it was sold to CarMax in Galveston, TX then went to Greenville, SC then Norcross, GA and finally Buford, GA. I'm now in the process of having it shipped to S.C. I have the CarFax and Autocheck and searched the Texas Air Commission website and found some things that worried me.
1. Very first entry: 10-1-12, passed safety/emission test with 8,466 miles. Then on 10-2-12 was offered as dealer inventory (Porsche of West Houston). On 11-26-12 the first owner was reported and title was issued with 8,519 miles. Why in the world would a new car have so many miles before being sold?
2. The next emissions test was on 12-02-15 with 70,012 miles. Then on 1-13-16 emission test was done with 41,380 miles. Was the odometer rolled back? On the Texas Air Commission website it shows the 12-02-15 entry as Dodge pickup - simple clerical error? Would Carfax remove this entry if I requested? If not will this affect resale?
This 997 has a lot of great options, had just 1 owner, and seems to be for sale at a decent price. Would the issues above worry you? Hopefully CarMax would let me get a PPI before I buy, not afterwards although I think they rarely allow this. Any comments would be appreciated.

VIN# WP0AB2A99CS720493

too tall

Personal opinion. Buying a P car from CarMax is sketchy. There are lots of P cars "out there" for sale from private sellers and first class dealers.

That said, we just bought a new car from them and was impressed.

dgjks6

If you like the car and there are not cosmetic issues get the Carmax warranty and don't look back.

rbennett

Can you post the carfax link to this car?

It certainly sounds suspect but as you mentioned, it listed a different vehicle. The cafax should show a continuity of service, repair and mileage.

96Tiger

The CarFax shows no oil changes or other services of any kind, just registration renewals and emissions tests. I was hoping the owners manual would have some record of the car being serviced.

CarFax link:
https://www.carfax.com/api/consumers...18a96c066c6f7c

rbennett

Well to me IMO I would pass on this car unless a VERY thorough PPI would say it’s good.

Not sure what you’re paying for it, but you got to weight the PPI and what the sale price is because that Carfax is worthless in this case.

96Tiger

CarMax has it listed for $54,900. I thought this was decent for a 2012 C2S with PASM, sports exhaust, sport design steering wheel, and sport seats.

JUSTIN SHARRY

Carfax is known to have its issues. We've had our Rover for over 8 years now and carfax says it's changed hands 3 times during then...
We moved to Florida then back to VA and each time it counted it as a new owner.

All it would take is a shop inputting 1 wrong digit on the VIN of a different car and it gets logged under yours. I'd go more on service records, PPI and overall how "perfect" it is for you. If it's not perfect, and if it has limited or no records, it better come at a significant discount and even then I'd consider walking. There are plenty of these for sale. Porsche made a ton of them following the 996 so if it gives you a funny feeling in your stomach, pass on it. You won't regret waiting for the right one.

SJP3003

There ARE some decent P cars traded into to Carmax. After buying a new 2006 997S at a PCar dealer in Miami in December 2005, I drove and took good care of it for 2 years. At that point I moved and the best price I could get happened to be at Carmax...someone picked up a well-serviced and well cared for 997 car there.

3Series

1.) The car was likely a demo car or loaner

2.) What's the current mileage? Sometimes the emissions mess up the mileage. It's not a big deal. Carfax usually can spot this and puts up a warning. On a 9-key, the 7 is right above the 4, so the 12/2/15 was probably 40,012.

rickdogg82

I don't believe CarMax allows cars to be taken for a PPI so the strategy is to buy the car and immediately have a PPI done and if it there are problems you can take advantage of their 5-day money back guarantee.

Spinout

This. If it checks out look into the CarFax warranty and you'll be all set if you go forward with it.

Many people like the ease of trading in their cars @ CarMax. Only a very small percentage of P car owners are Rennlist members. The rest function like normal society...

96Tiger

2.) What's the current mileage? Current mileage is approximately 43,000.

Thanks for all of the replies. If it looks good in person I will have my local Porsche dealer do a PPI. If the PPI scares me away from keeping it hopefully it won't be too much of a hassle to get my $ back from CarMax under their guarantee.

rickdogg82

Google this and see what others say.

This car should still be under factory warranty. With that and the fact you have the option to return it makes this seem like a pretty good deal assuming you are OK with the price and it is your must-have 911.

voiceprint1

If you drive it and like why not try Carmax, they had the lowest price in the LA area on the car I was looking for, and offered up to 100k miles warranty (note it's up to 100, so your current milage up to 100k).