If buying a used 997 from a non-Porsche dealer, should the dealer provide the PPI/DME free of charge or should I have it done and pay for it?

 

If it was a Porsche dealer I would not even drive there if they didn't answer all of my questions .

If it's a non Porsche dealership then you (the buyer) have to pay for a Porsche dealership to inspect the car .

 

Thank you very much for the quick response! Just want to make sure I have all necassary info ahead of time.

 

Good luck . Take extra time for inspection on independent dealership cars . Unlike a CPO the car is bought in "as is" condition so that gives you one chance to get it right . Unlike a private owner sale the buyer may not get to see all the service history and speak with the actual owner .

It's hit or miss risk makes pricing attractive --but hard to shop . When you see these cars with blown engines or paint they can end up at auction and make way to an indy lot. On the other hand a private owner may have a beautiful car and not want the headache of selling it and indy lots offer good prices to buy them .

There's risk but you can get a good car .. just be thorough in the inspections . Look for paint and overpray, gaps . DME, Rear tire wear, have the engine checked . Drive the car and see if the clutch slips or chatters . Look for any drops of oil. Look for let tailpipe soot.

In short ... study the car , see how open the sales are to answer questions . Take your time . check evety control . Even the radio. Don't get caught up in the excitement of a test drive .

Focus .. one chance . Like an olympic diver . Fail one dive and you go home with no gold medal.

 

I recently went through this as well, you the buyer in this situation definitely pay for the PPI. I too had to do a lot of research to ensure this was the right car. When you are spending good money, albeit typically for a good car, you need to do your homework. In addition to having the PPI done, which is helpful to have done, but kind of a joke in the grand scheme of things, I would also recommend them doing a DME scan (not typically part of the PPI) and check for over revs. I would also try to determine which dealership has done any work or maintenance to the car.

I was very lucky to know where my car originated from (I just asked the sellers) and I spoke with the dealership and asked if they would pull up my service records given the VIN number. They were more then willing to comply and give me that information. That dealership in my case was across the state in Tampa, FL. The local Orlando, FL dealership that did the PPI and DME scan for me also was more then happy to provide me with copies of all the work/maintenance that was performed.

I even was able before I made my purchase to talk to a paint and body shop that had done some work on the front of the car to determine what happened and what was being repaired, so I knew that nothing major was going on. In my case, a paintless dent removal was done and I wound up connecting up with them and they showed me where the work was performed and I could not even tell there was ever a ding there.

With all that said, I spent over 3 months not only researching on the forums to know what to ask for and what to look for, but once I had settled on the actual car I was going to move forward with, I think it was a good 2-3 weeks of investigation, questions and research before I pulled the trigger on the purchase. In today's used card world, you normally have this timeframe easy to get it right, because it is without a doubt a buyers market.

Best of luck!

 

Reeves? My dad has purchased his last two cars there. He seems to be pretty happy.
When I bought my car I was so excited it was really hard to focus on what was good and bad. Good luck though haha.

 

Very good advice here in this thread. Just yesterday I purchased my 2007 C4S Cab from a trade in at a local MB Dealer in Atlanta. There are only 2 Porsche dealers in Atlanta and in my case the car had been purchased and fully serviced locally. The dealer was VERY willing to go through the entire history of the car with me, obviously with their hope that I continue to service the car there!