jimxyz

It seems that pretty much every GT3 ad says "never been tracked" - either nobody is taking their car to the track, or the track day cars (non-RS) never come up for sale) other than obvious signs of hard use, does anyone have any suggestions as to what one should look for when checking out a used GT3? Is a PPI by a shop needed on a low mile 07 or 08 - still under warranty? Did the 07 model have any mechanical issues that a newbie may not be aware of?

Thanks!

roberga

A good PPI with the fender liners removed. A car tracked means nothing to me other than the PO did get to enjoy the car. Over revs are the most important along with proper maintenance are the most important.

P.J.S.

^ what he said... exactly

jimxyz

Thanks for the feedback - Do you know if dealers are willing to do PPIs? I had heard that many are not doing them do to possible liability. I'm looking at a couple GT3s in SoCal that are in great shape and drive like they are brand new (both under 10k miles) so the temptation is to skip the PPI...

TRAKCAR

When I bought mine, I was looking for a track-ready car so I would not have to put 10-15K in the car to make it track ready. You get the track goodies for pennies on the dollar, compared to the bone stock "never tracked" cars.

If you have the car checked properly and there are no overrevs, you are good to go, especially if the car was extra well maintained and still has factory warranty. I change the oil every 2K miles and I make Porsche replace everything, including what they tell me is not needed every year.

Some cars are tracked, but only a couple of days a year and not beaten up at all. A good inspection is needed.

Prime example is Boyds' (CUP98) RS for sale with all the good stuff in it already.

mooty

dealer PPI is a joke.
in socal, take it to werks 2 or 911design for ppi

Nugget

I agree with mooty -- as long as the DME report doesn't show any particularly scary over-revs then there's probably nothing to worry about. If someone's been tracking the GT3 it just means that the car's likely been maintained well in excess of the recommended intervals and the owner has paid a lot more attention to the car and any potential issues than a boring street-only driver.

Track rats crawl all over their cars proactively looking for possible problems. They change the oil and brake fluid as often as they change their underwear, and usually have to have multiple, formal pre-track inspections every season. You won't find cars that are as well-serviced out among the normal people.

BuzzedHornet

I have wondered the same thing myself. I came across this article and it has some good info on what to look for. I like the fact that they suggest looking for gravel in places it shouldn't be as this might be an indicator the car has had a "off".

http://www.gtpurelyporsche.com/downl...ile=997GT3.pdf

fc-racer

I've owned four Porsches. The first was a babied 40,000km garage queen; the second was an 80,000km street car; and the third a 23,000km track *****; the fourth was bought new.

Of the three used cars, the 23,000km track ***** was the most reliable! I would not shy away from a track driven car, especially if the owner has in-car videos to demonstrate the way he drives.

When I sold my 993 Turbo (the car that was track driven its entire life), I included videos, pictures, maintenance history and a list of all the tracks the car had visited to the new owner. He was delighted and continues to enjoy the car with no reliability issues.

DogInBlack

+1

MJones

Has the car seen a track??
One way to tell is to reach into the radiator exit in front of the LF wheel..a great collection area for track rubber!
As well, the rear inner fender will be striped with rubber marks.

TRAKCAR

I vacume those out every time I put on my track wheels on and rubber marks are polisched off. I think many stock cars for sale are just nicely cleaned up to hide the track activeties.

I rather buy one straight of the guy who is on track with the car, instead of the mystery "never tracked" car of a dealer lot; Mine still had the stickers and track grine on it when I bought it.

Wilder

+1. My best Porsche was a stock 81k mi. 993 C4S owned by a PCA DE instructor who was selling to take delivery of a 7GT3. The maintenance history of the car was extensive and it had a noticeably stronger engine than that of any other stock 993 I have ever driven. 911s get better when driven as intended.

mooty

there are different kinds of "offs"
if you go off and hit a wall, that's a prob
if you go off and pick up some kitty litters, no big deal.
both will have sand, pebbles all over the car.

TRAKCAR

A tracked car needs all original body panels, or pics of the damage if they are not.