ThePhoenix74

Hello,

A friend of mine has started to shop around for a used 911 and decided to look for a Porsche pre-certified car as he thinks that the additional dollars spent would prove to be an economy in the long run.

So far, he had 2 cars from Porsche Lauzon and 1 from Porsche Prestige checked by an independent dealer mechanic and the 3 of them had somewhat major accidents in their life (we're talking about <5 years old cars). Obviously none of the dealers had declared the incidents and they reimburse him for the deposit. He was told (after the fact) that the cars could have been repaired, but when we measure the paint thickness it was obviously not a perfect job has the repaired side had twice the thickness as the other car's part. One other 911 had a wheel offset by a couple of MM (obviously hit on that side).

Does he have a legitimate reason to be pissed off that Porsche is not disclosing that information on their Pre-Certified cars?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Christien

This is why we in Ontario don't buy cars from Quebec.

Though twice the thickness of paint from factory is normal in even a top-notch repair job.

I would be livid at both those dealers, however as I understand it they might not be legal disclosures in QC. They are in Ontario, if the accident was major.

theiceman

Zookie

just in time for elections, pass me that Corn clive!

Torontoworker

Not normal. At least not from the factory. Watch the National Geographic show on the Porsche factory. The paint is put on by robots now. Watch from the 32 sec spot in until about 1.13 min. They use down to the ounce now - the same amount of paint per same model thanks to the bean counters. If there is double the thickness somewhere either they had major software issues and a complete break down in the QC department OR (99%) the car was repainted by a human after an 'event', occured (I'm being kind).

Your spot on about never buying cars from PQ! A lot of 'washed' cars ran through Quebec after Katrina - same with Florida which as about the same flimsy protection laws on vehicle registrations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUc1F8yu9DM

ThePhoenix74

Your spot on about never buying cars from PQ! A lot of 'washed' cars ran through Quebec after Katrina - same with Florida which as about the same flimsy protection laws on vehicle registrations.

==

So according to this, a Porsche Pre-Certified vehicle from Ontario would have this information (accident) disclosed by the Porsche dealer? Why is Porsche Canada not requesting the same standard across all their dealership? I'm not talking about crappy dealers, but genuine Porsche dealers.

I guess I'm putting more prestige on the brand that they do...

Turbodan

I think Chris is saying that a repair job at a body shop done well could leave twice the thickness of the factory job.
In Ontario, any body repair even minor must be disclosed by any dealer selling...according to last years new legistlation.
your friend should look at ATR's car for sale (I think still has cpo warranty) and will be much cheaper than dealer.

Christien

Thanks Danny for clarifying - that is indeed what I mean. Factory paint reads 4-6 on the digital paint guage. (I'm guessing that's .4-.6 of a millimetre). A repaint will invariably show 8-10, even a very high-quality repaint. So a paint gauge showing twice factory thickness doesn't necessarily mean a poor repair job.

Porsche does use incredibly thin coats of paint - the 86 911 showed a few spots as thin as 3 - first time I've seen that.

Turbodan

Chris on the 86 it is that low as a result of years and years of polishing.

Christien

I wondered the same thing, but it doesn't look it. The paint is spectacular, and even after I spent 4 hours with the cutting creme, swirl remover and polish, it didn't change the thickness at all. It's only got 112k km on it (70k miles).

deijmaster

Thanks for the advice, but what do you mean "ATR"... Sorry for the newbie question.

Thanks to Pheonix74, I will give you guys a bit more details on my adventure, because simply put, I’m greatly disappointed in the honesty and integrity I’ve had with the Montreal, Canada Porsche dealers. I was hopping to still get a great vehicle, especially if the one I was going to buy was a “Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned“.

To my greatest surprise, the cars I’ve had professionally inspected have been both, not only potential lemon’s, but were openly misrepresented vehicles.

The first vehicle I had the chance to purchase was a “Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned“ — 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera 2. Following the professional inspection serviced by the APA (The Canadian Automobile Protection Association), it was confirmed to me that this 2006 Porsche had old, busted and dried up tires dating from 2004. Not only that, but the vehicle had been poorly fixed and was repainted and misaligned...

I would like to confirm that this Porsche 911 is still presented and sold as a "mint" 911 and on top of that, a “Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned“ and the documents presented to me indicated that the tires were in perfect condition and that this car has never been in any type of accident, rebuilt or repainted…

No need to tell you that I didn’t purchase the vehicle. Bad start for a dream.

But as I’m a self-motivated person, I decided to check out the second Montreal dealer in the region.

Porsche Prestige — A week later (April 1st 2011) I decided to change dealers and had another vehicle inspected, this time a “Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned“ 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet. As with the first vehicle, the tires were dead and the whole exterior passenger side of car had been poorly repainted and oil was leaking from the engine and so much more…

So it goes deeper than just the paint situation... By the way, the APA specialist told me that with these types of cars, a paint job should not be double the thickness and especially not filled with dust and particles... I will keep looking for a good one and come back to you guys when it actually happens!

Thank you so much for the comments and recommendations.

wildcat077

Whenever i need to go to Lauzon because i have to pick up an Oem part,i feel like i'm tresspassing with my 89 Carrera ... They don't even acknowledge my car and it makes me want to kick some snotty asses every time !

Well,that's me ...
Just sayin

Cheers!
Phil

pongobaz

Uh, sorry but no. Only the primer and clear coat is applied by robots. There are 5 different colours of primers available to best match the final colour. The interior is still primed by humans with paint guns.
All the colour coat is also applied by highly trained paint techs wielding paint guns.
It is in the video a little further on.

Torontoworker

But some say German workers are 'like' robots.

Turbodan

I haven't seen the video but I was told by a paint specialist who advises Porsche, that all the cars are also wet sanded.