incorrect PPI's
01-21-2015, 08:37 AM
#1
Pro
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incorrect PPI's
Thought I would mention an incorrect PPI on my son's recently sold '04 996 Roadster. He bought it with a CPO from a Porsche dealer, and in the several years he owned it, did not have any warranty work on the car. We did the water pump and plugs and such. A few thousand miles out of CPO at 60 K miles, the IMS went out. His local Porsche dealer got Porsche to give him a factory rebuilt motor, worth $25K+, if he paid labor. He put in a new clutch at the same time. A year ago, he decided to sell it when he got his Elise. Typical 996's go for low $30's, he hoped his with a "new" engine would be worth somewhat more.
So a buyer came down from the DC area, and arranged a PPI at a local import garage in Charlotte, where they do all sorts of import work and supposedly PPI's on Porsche's too. I took the car there, and the manager told me and Chris and the buyer that the car had been repainted, and thus had to have been in some unreported accident. This was could not have been true, being a CPO car. The manager said this because one of the passenger door stickers was on the wrong place. He did not have a paint meter, just the allegation because the door sticker was not where it should be on Chris' 996. So the buyer dropped his offer by some thousands of dollars. Chris decided to let the car go, with it's "new" engine" for some thousands less than any other aging, high mileage 996 would sell for.
Later, I researched where the door stickers are supposed to be on other 996's, and indeed, his sticker was factory original. The incorrect PPI cost my son thousands of dollars.
So just because some place claims to to such inspections, doesn't mean that they know what the hell they are doing. Perhaps it behoves a seller to pay for one himself, to know before putting their car up for sale, what the PPI might show, even maybe incorrectly.
Just our experience.
All the best...
So a buyer came down from the DC area, and arranged a PPI at a local import garage in Charlotte, where they do all sorts of import work and supposedly PPI's on Porsche's too. I took the car there, and the manager told me and Chris and the buyer that the car had been repainted, and thus had to have been in some unreported accident. This was could not have been true, being a CPO car. The manager said this because one of the passenger door stickers was on the wrong place. He did not have a paint meter, just the allegation because the door sticker was not where it should be on Chris' 996. So the buyer dropped his offer by some thousands of dollars. Chris decided to let the car go, with it's "new" engine" for some thousands less than any other aging, high mileage 996 would sell for.
Later, I researched where the door stickers are supposed to be on other 996's, and indeed, his sticker was factory original. The incorrect PPI cost my son thousands of dollars.
So just because some place claims to to such inspections, doesn't mean that they know what the hell they are doing. Perhaps it behoves a seller to pay for one himself, to know before putting their car up for sale, what the PPI might show, even maybe incorrectly.
Just our experience.
All the best...
01-21-2015, 11:00 AM
#2
Agent Orange
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First off, nobody put a gun to your son's head to sell the car at the lower offer. If you weren't happy with the conclusion of the shop, get a second opinion.
You can measure paint thickness with a paint meter. Or take it to a reputable body shop and they will quickly tell you if the car has ever been repainted.
On the other hand that "import garage" may have missed a bad synchro in the tranny or an IMS about to fail. So you may have sold that time bomb of a 996 just in time
Moral to the story, take it to a reputable place. Ask around here or get in touch with your local PCA chapter and see what shops they recommend.
You can measure paint thickness with a paint meter. Or take it to a reputable body shop and they will quickly tell you if the car has ever been repainted.
On the other hand that "import garage" may have missed a bad synchro in the tranny or an IMS about to fail. So you may have sold that time bomb of a 996 just in time
Moral to the story, take it to a reputable place. Ask around here or get in touch with your local PCA chapter and see what shops they recommend.
01-21-2015, 12:38 PM
#4
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well, with about 2K miles on the new motor, unlikely it was about to grind up the IMS. I had picked up the purchaser at the airport, and the car's transmission worked fine, in fact, in the 20K+ miles he owned the car, the only broken part was a failed seat heater switch. The incorrect PPI put both the seller and purchaser in a complex situation at the garage. So the point we learned is as a seller, pay for our own PPI before advertising the car, and as a purchaser, have the PPI done before we travel somewhere for an intended purchase. No one held any gun to my son's head, he just had to deal with his decisions while busy in an operating room.
On our recent GT3 acquisition, the PPI was done at a shop that only does Porsche's, a week before we drove the 400+ miles to get our car. There were no surprises for us as a buyer, or for the prior owner.
Live and learn, I guess. See you at the Rolex.
All the best...
On our recent GT3 acquisition, the PPI was done at a shop that only does Porsche's, a week before we drove the 400+ miles to get our car. There were no surprises for us as a buyer, or for the prior owner.
Live and learn, I guess. See you at the Rolex.
All the best...
01-21-2015, 12:43 PM
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Wait, selling a 996 for about $30 still sounds like Chris did just fine.
01-21-2015, 01:47 PM
#7
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yes, i think he dropped the price about $2k, sold for i recall $30K. Which is ball park for a nice roadster with lots options, 60 K miles, he sold it about a year or so ago. So the new owner got a nice car with a new motor. Lucky him.
Interesting though, he claimed to track Porsche's a lot up in VA, instructor and all that. Yet when he drove away, he called Chris to ask where to put gas in, and what grade of gas to use.
All the best....
Interesting though, he claimed to track Porsche's a lot up in VA, instructor and all that. Yet when he drove away, he called Chris to ask where to put gas in, and what grade of gas to use.
All the best....
