thelou

Hey guys,

This is my first post but I've been lurking for nearly a year. I need some help so I can finally join the family!

I'm from the midwest but found a car online from Sherman Oaks, CA. I currently have it on hold pending a PPI. Since I'm not familiar with the area I was hoping some of the local people could recommend a reputable place to get it inspected. The dealer told me that Rusnak and The Auto Gallery are nearby.

What should I tell the inspector that I want done? DME scan with PPI? Or do I need to specifically say look for over-revs, do the full CPO checklist with CPO criteria, etc.? It's a former lease, one-owner 2007 C2 with 39k miles if that helps.

Also, if everything comes up clean, would it be reasonable to buy the car and have it shipped to me without ever driving/seeing it myself?

GuyIncognito

try Fusion Motorsports. talk to Damian. http://fusion4motorsports.com/

btw, given the screen name and locating yourself in the "midwest"...you're from St. Louis? I grew up in Kirkwood/Des Peres.

Edgy01

Personally, I would much prefer to fly out and check the car out myself, and then, after a good going over, drive it home. Many people wind up thoroughly disappointed when they buy online, only to discover that things were more optimistically described. After all, what's a one-way air fare, anyway?

thelou

Hey, thanks for the reply. I'll definitely give them a call. You're right, I'm from St. Louis...the midwest or land of no Porsches, haha. Any thoughts on any of the Porsche dealerships for a PPI?

GuyIncognito

to counter that, I've owned two 997s, both bought without seeing them...the first time I saw the first one was when the truck dropped it off at my house, the second when I got off the airplane 2,500 miles from home (and promptly drove it back home ).

A good PPI and/or inspection and test drive by someone you trust goes a long way...

GuyIncognito

of the ones you listed, I'd choose Auto Gallery. but not many dealers do PPI's anymore, especially out here in Litigation Land. (Porsche Beverly Hills services my car, but that's a bit of a hike from Sherman Oaks and I don't know if PBH will do a PPI or not). definitely do the DME/over-rev/etc. CPO checklist might not be a bad idea, and will give you some bargaining power.

where is the car now? private party, second-hand dealer, etc.

oh, and GO CARDS!

thelou

One-way flight is only around $200-250 and the drive would be fun. The dealer quoted me open shipping around 800 or enclosed for around 1100 which seem to be good deals. Otherwise, I definitely see what you're saying. I'm just concerned that it being my first Porsche I'm going to like it no matter what and not really know what I'm looking for. If the PPI and DME are clean, is there a chance there would be anything bad that they missed that I'd be able to pick up on from a test drive?

thelou

Right now the car is on hold for me at Sports Trend Auto, which I'm pretty sure is a second-hand dealer. We already settled on the price and it's just a matter of if the PPI is clean. Do you recommend Fusion over Auto Gallery?

Go Cards is right! I hope Albert can keep up the recent homer streak. He needs to prove he's a $300 million man.

GuyIncognito

Sports Trend is a second-hand place, and a nice one (I've cruise their lot before).

give Fusion and Auto Gallery a call, if Fusion has the proper diagnostic/download tools I would give them the nod, but go with whom you are most comfortable with.

pissedpuppy

perfectly fine to buy sight unseen (if from a reputable dealer w/proper inspections)

bought mine without a look, was very, very happy with the purchase

Zeus993

Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Just buy the car after a good inspection, fly out, and drive it home. Trust me, (Uh maybe that's not a good idea as I am as mad about these cars as the rest of us...) you will not regret buying this car! Go for it!

rodsky

Porsche of Beverly Hills does PPIs. They are about 10 miles from Sherman Oaks. Their service department is actually not in BH but in West LA. I don't have my car serviced there, but they did a thorough PPI on one of my cars.

rtraviator

I also bought my 09 C2S about three weeks ago, sight unseen. Negotiated everything over the phone and left myself a "written" out, if something was grossly wrong. It was CPO'd with clean carfax and numerous pictures. I also had a great salesman, who went over it very throughly and informed me about the minor paint chips and such. It was a well represented vehicle and what I expected of a car with 19K mi.

Also bought a one way ticket and then drove the 600 miles home!!! What fun!

GuyIncognito

interesting (and good to know) that they will do PPIs.

PBH services my cars b/c I can walk to and from the dealer, no need for rides/loaner cars/etc.

I've been pleasantly surprised with that dealership, great customer service and they don't seem to have the "Beverly Hills" pricing model

deijmaster

Great point, I just did that taking the plane from Montreal to Toronto to check out a 997.

600 dollars later, I was really happy with the car, the test drive and even found the time to have a PPI in the morning.

I figure putting more than 65 grand on a car was worth the 1% cost of the plane ride.