Sending you a PM right now.

 

Glad someone is closer than me - I'm 2 hours away.

GL with your purchase.

 

Thanks.

 

Be careful with Sonnen..they can play fast and lose with the truth. For example they CPO'd a 996TT which had been heavily modded- they didn't fully return it to stock to CPO it, and when the new owner had issues (ie "How can you sell me a CPO when PCNA may not honor the CPO due to these mods?") they didnt care.


If the car was flashed, it cannot legally pass CA smog.. don't trust them. Either they are idiots and don't know what was done to the car, or they know but are being purposefully vague...

Having said that, you can buy from them, but don't think that their being a Porsche dealer counts for anything.

A

 

Thanks for the warning. Can they really CPO a car like that?

I'm not sure about the whole "car was flashed it cant legally pass smog" thing. I've seen lots of flashed cars pass. It seems to be the exhaust that causes issues with these cars.

 

You do understand the distinction between 'passing a smog test' (which can mean anhthing from the shop was paid off, the shop made a mistake, the shop didn't look too hard, or the sniffer was fine and they didn't look for any mods')....and what I said, which was "A flashed car cannot legally pass smog". To my knowledge there is no vendor who sells a flash that it listed with the California Air resource board (CARB)...hence, no flashed car can legally pass smog.

Many illegally do, mine included.

My comment was directed at being careful with what sonnen was doing and disclosing.

A

PS as to "can they really CPO a car like that"... Please. That is the scam that is CPO- people think there is some omnipotent "Porsche" that will keep them in line. Not really.

 

^^ Good advice. Buying a car without details on the mods is risky. The seller needs to be able to represent what is sold accurately. Their lack of acknowledgement is very sketchy. Ask them if the car was a trade in. If so, they are hiding something. If it was bought from an auction, that could be the reason.

When it comes to buying used, I rather trust a private party than a dealer. Dealer are pros at playing games. They do it for a living.

 

It was a trade in from the east coast. I already asked.

 

I agree with djantlive... Most Porsche available are acquired from auctions. Leasingcompanies dump cars there all day long.. Typically, they also have no maintenance records, they are not allowed to show you the records in the Porsche database ( at least inCalifornacation). Also, the CarFax records are very unlear - cars that were imported via East Coast Ports show some weird first entries that do not make sense , you will see the car move from State to State and make its way to the West Coast. Not unheard of to see a Porsche to 2 or more auctions in 6-8 years... It's a racket!!! Therefore, I would always look for a car that was originally purchased in California and stayed here.. That on ity own will reduce the herd big time..

 

Hi Tim,
Have you had a chance to look at the car? The soonest I can get to it is at least Thursday.

 

Yes, I dropped by the other day to take a look at it. Dealership was closed, so will get by today/tomorrow to fire it up and take it for a spin. Here's the email I sent to Tim:

"Hey Tim,

I went by and checked out that '01 911 Turbo at Sonnen today. Nice looking car. Attached are some pics. The dealership was closed, of course, so I couldn't open it up or take it for a drive, but I did spend a fair amount of time crawling around and under it.

Overall, the car looks like it's in good shape. No nicks, dings or dents in the body that I could see. Dark blue interior looks good for a car it's age, with a little wear here and there but nothing major. It's got walnut interior accents around the center console and steering wheel, with carbon fiber door handles and arm rests. It's got aftermarket HRE 19" wheels w/ Falken 456 tires. All wheels and tires match. The wheels have some curb rash, the left rear being the worst, photo[4]. Tires are in good shape, w/ plenty of miles left on them. Also has Brembo brakes, as you can see in the wheel photo, which is a nice upgrade. It's got a radar detector (K40?) installed, with sensors in each of the front intakes photo[3] and a dash mounted indicator. Nice looking setup. The underside of the car looks normal for a car of its mileage.

Did you check out the Carfax attached to the listing? I noticed that the engine has been removed at least once, maybe twice, for maintenance. That isn't all that rare as you have to pull the engine for a lot of the maintenance, but I'd certainly ask the dealership about that. My car is an '04 w/ 32k miles on it and I've never pulled the engine. Sonnen is a very good dealership and they've always been real good to me so if they know why they should tell you. If you want a professional shop to check it out, I'd recommend S-Car-Go in San Rafael. Rob King (owner) is a good guy and his shop does all the work on my car now.

Give me a buzz if you have any more questions. I could probably get back there sometime this week to run it if you want, but thought I'd at least get you this info now as I know you're chomping at the bit. Great cars, and I love mine.

Tim"

 

Very good writeup Tim. Thank you for checking it out; I guess I don't have to drive to Mill Valley.

 

No problem, Eugene. I sent Tim some more details about the car yesterday, after firing it up and taking it for a spin. Too many questions about what has been added to the car, and what has been removed. As one of these posts mentioned previously, difficult to buy a car like that from a dealer who really has limited knowledge about the mods.

 

Thanks Tim, glad you could help out Volder.

 

Worse a dealer who knows but is purposefully vague.

(ie the shop may know it has non-stock turbos and a flash, but 'pretends' not to notice so that can smog it, but toss on a stock exhaust so they won't get 'busted' by CARB...and then don't say anything to the Sales group..(and the sales group knows not to ask) and everyone plays dumb.)

Sonnen is a large Porsche Dealer with very qualified mechanics- I cannot believe they know PRECISELY what they have.

A