wormdoggy

Hello everyone;

My lease is almost up on my 996 and I am in the process of looking for another vehicle. Not sure quite yet of the model or year. I am pretty sure, however, that I will not be able to by new. Which is the reason for this post.

My purchase could happen privately, from either one of the Porsche dealerships or from another dealership like Academy of Fine Cars. I am not really concerned about purchasing from the Porsche dealerships but the other sources raise some concerns.

I am hoping this will be my final purchase for a very long time so I really want to get it right. My 996 was a great car. I took over the lease from my brother-in-law who bought the car new so I was very confident as to the history of the vehicle.

What is the purchase checklist you go through when purchasing a used vehicle. ? What should I do ? Will private vendors allow me to take it to Porchse and have them certify the vehicle?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Cheers

Sharkdriver

First of all you should have no concerns when dealing with Academy Fine Cars....I know Jeff (one of the owners) and have done business with him in the past. FWIW......I am a dealer as well......and the one thing those of us who daily attempt to uphold the high moral and ethical standards that we were raised with, is that we DO NOT deal with guys who screw us or their customers.

As for private vendors, or dealers for that matter, if they do not want you to have the vehicle inspected....run.....don't walk.

A vehicle inspection checklist should include a compression/leakdown test if required. Other than that.......a competent shop will know what to do. If you want a copy of the Porsche Certification checklist PM me and I'll fax one to you........I am not a Porsche dealer.......but I have a car in stock that was certified and you can see from the form what they do.

wormdoggy

Thanks Sharkdriver.............please see you PM.

Cheers

Sharkdriver

I sent you a 3 page fax and you have a PM also....best of luck.....

P.Po

Wormdoggy,

You probably know this now... but don't confuse a "certification" with a pre-purchase inspection (PPI).

It also depends who is doing the PPI. I have personally been standing at the desk of a "place" where the PPI was being filled out and the car remained parked outside the garage. Simply amazing that the compression tester doesn't even have to come of the bench or even touch the car for them to mark down the results.... I can't find that model anywhere...

ymmv,
Patrick

Rich Sandor

Don't forget that dealers are in business, and you will always be paying a dealer more than what you would pay a private seller who is desperate to get rid of a car. Plus, in my experience, whatever $$ amount you manage to talk a dealer down by, just gets re-added to the price in hidden costs anyways.. whereas a private seller will often let a car go for under market value. (you know, they spend $XXXX in repairs, and want to ditch the car and get their money back, right after they have just fixed everything and the car is like new again... )

I would only recommend people buy from a dealer if:
a: They don't know jack about cars and can't fix anything themselves. (thereby necessitating a warranty)
b: The dealer has the exact car the buyer wants for a reasonable price.
c: you want a new car that is only available at the dealership and are unwilling to wait for someone else to take the depreciation hit
d: you hate driving a car that someone else has driven.

If you can get past all that stuff, buying used from an individual is no different from buying from a dealer.
1: Do your research about the car. Google, Rennlist, Pelican, whatever. Find out what the common failures and most expensive failures are. Find out the best model year of whatever range. Most importantly, do market research and find out what the cars are selling for, and what is a reasonable price for any given model in any given condition.
2: Repair history: Reciepts are good, but a full service history is best. Find out what work has been done to that particular car. Which shop did the work? If I were to buy a p-car that was serviced at a ford dealership, I would be expecting a significant drop in value because the work of a mech who specialises in p-cars is going to be superior to work done by someone who doesn't.
3: Accident history: Some kinds of accidents make the car one to avoid at all costs - such as any accident with frame damage. I will never buy a car with repaired frame damage again. However, some insurance claims, significantly decrease the $$ value of a car, but when repaired, have no detrimental effects on the physical condition of the car. (broken glass claims, replaced engines or tranies.. etc.. )
4: PPI (Pre purchase inspection) take it to a shop independant from the seller, and have it inpsected. Any major repair items should be subtracted from the asking price of the car (unless they already are..) It helps to take your car to a shop that you trust when doing a PPI. (I have two which I trust to do a PPI, and neither of them are the official Porsche dealer in town, although they are both Porsche specialists.)
5: If the seller is reluctant to let you inspect the car, or if there is anything suspcious about the details of it's history, just walk away.

wormdoggy

Thanks all..................very good advise. I still have some time before I make my next purchase , but like I said I want to be prepared. I know what vehicle I wish to purchase and I suspect that it will probably come from a private sale/ non-Porsche dealership. I also suspect that the vehicle will be without warranty................hence the IMPORTANCE of a inspection.

I will keep you guys imformed.
Thanks again.
Patrick

turboGary

wormdoggy.... when you do find a car you want or are interested go see this man. He used to work for Pfaff Porsche years ago and opened up his own shop. He was awarded one of the top Porsche mechanics in Canada and worked on Scott Goodyear's Porsche 944 Turbo Cup Car series when he raced them back in 88'-90. I know this because he was my father's mechanic as well. He knows his stuff and has probably had his hands on most Porsches in this province. Good guy to deal with and honest. The place is in Newmarket at the end of the 404

Name: Franz Chwojka
Company: Auto Select Repair
Location: 1228 Gorham St. Unit 8&9
Newmarket, Ontario

phone# (905)-853-0442

wormdoggy

Excellent.............thank you.

jcb928

Sharkdriver: Do you know if Papa Vinko of Vinko motors is still around? Love him or hate him he is a legend in Toronto used cars.

P.Po

I second turboGary's post on AutoSelect..... very knowledgable guys.

regards,
Patrick

Sharkdriver

jcb928.......

I know the company.....don't know Papa Vinko. Sorry.........