Pre purchase inspections. Yes or no?

[KGB]

4 hours ago, StevepGT3 said:

Personally I think PPI’s should be more of an educated look over, rather than a thousand point in depth analysis highlighting the bleeding obvious by someone trying to justify their expensive report.

My 928 came from Perth.  Flew over for the day. Arranged a local guy to put it on a hoist, we both looked it over; un-crashed, pretty clean underbody, oil clean, drove well, Torque Tube never removed.  1hr + $150 & 'PPI' done.   Went to the bank, Ceva depot, airport and landed back in Melbs same day.  It's not rocket surgery.

3 hours ago, Ozvino said:

People buying 30 year old performance cars and expecting them to be new are living in a fools paradise; the issue has been compounded because an Porsche that was say $50k 8 years ago is now $120k

Looking for the big stuff is important, which is relatively quick and easy even for a punter.  Plus when in doubt or that pit of the stomach thing hits, head for the exit door.  Modicum of common sense and gut feel...

BUY THE SELLER FIRST.

*all the above applies to normal people, everyone else fend for yourselves.

[sleazius]

1 hour ago, Troubleshooter said:

Seller - If it's a very good car get one from your usual Pcar independents prior to marketing and that's it, no more PPIs.

Ironically although I've said not to bother (for buyers), if I sell my 997 I'll be doing the same. $600 on a $100k car to make a sale go easier, sounds like a no brainer to me.

[edgy]

3 hours ago, KGB said:

 

BUY THE SELLER FIRST.

*all the above applies to normal people, everyone else fend for yourselves.

Yeah this is the best buying advice out. ^^ for the most part. 

I have done a 50/50 mix of both on all my P cars, usually the PPI's I have done on interstate cars, here's how its gone for me. 

• The 1st GT3 - PPI: needed only some minor things and was due for some brakes in its near future, I got a little love from the seller
• The 2nd GT3 - PPI: it needed about $10k worth of work that the shop "failed to mention", I had the car put right as part of the sale condition 
• The 968 CS - PPI:  it needed some work, but it was a solid car and I bought it well, so gave the seller full asking. 
• The 924 - NO PPI:  the guy had no mobile number, ran a post office in the small rural town he lived in, he was skeptical about who he'd sell it to, so after consigning him I was the right guy, I sent a mate to pick it up and I paid $1k over he's initial start price to buy it, it is to date THE best 924 I have personally seen. 
• Macan I bought new so NO PPI 
• 912, NO PPI:  I shut my eyes and sent money.... that hasn't worked out so well  

So I guess you need to put it into context, but any big dollar car I'd want a PPI on it if I couldn't get there in time myself. The cheap stuff, its not that risky I guess, you can get back out of it at a reasonable cents in the dollar ratio. 

[KeyboardWarrior77]

Guys,

I am looking at pulling the trigger on a 2001 996 C2 with low kms in Sydney.

The seller seems genuine. The car looks great to my untrained eye. 

Other than Autohaus Hamilton in Chatswood, can you guys recommend me a shop to perform a PPI up in Sydney.

Many thanks in advance.

[galah66]

Cavaco motors are excellent. Old school Porsche specialist

[symsy]

PR technology , Cavaco  , depends on location

 

[npvpositive]

2 hours ago, galah66 said:

Cavaco motors are excellent. Old school Porsche specialist

Good mechanic, but don't expect a detailed written PPI report . . . formal documentation is not Carlos's strength

PR Tech are an excellent alternative if you don't want to use Autohaus for some reason.

[KeyboardWarrior77]

Thank you for the advice guys.

[MARTY]

A yes from me had 3 inspections done in the Last two weeks and glad I did.The last 2 inspections I had done on 2 996's turned out to have saved me $25000 the first one a silver one on carsales in Darlinghurst for $45500 needs $10000 spending on it that's if the gearbox doesn't go and it's making a strange noise at the moment.The second one is a silver 996 cab with 59500km's on the clock up in north Sydney needs $15000 spending on it if anyone is looking for a 996 at the moment I can share my ppi's on these two.It gets a bit frustrating asking all the right questions about cars until you get the ppi's done and then you find out some owners are economical with the truth.

[TwoHeadsTas]

9 minutes ago, MARTY said:

A yes from me had 3 inspections done in the Last two weeks and glad I did.The last 2 inspections I had done on 2 996's turned out to have saved me $25000 the first one a silver one on carsales in Darlinghurst for $45500 needs $10000 spending on it that's if the gearbox doesn't go and it's making a strange noise at the moment.The second one is a silver 996 cab with 59500km's on the clock up in north Sydney needs $15000 spending on it if anyone is looking for a 996 at the moment I can share my ppi's on these two.It gets a bit frustrating asking all the right questions about cars until you get the ppi's done and then you find out some owners are economical with the truth.

Interesting, I had looked at the silver Darlinghurst one and it would have been on my list if I decided to go for a '98.  Didn't get to take it for a drive, but it otherwise looked pretty neat.  Owner was more than happy for me to PPI it if I had wanted.  Probably good I didn;t go any further then.  It has been on the market for a good 6 mths, and he hadn't changed price in all that time...

[MARTY]

2 minutes ago, TwoHeadsTas said:

Interesting, I had looked at the silver Darlinghurst one and it would have been on my list if I decided to go for a '98.  Didn't get to take it for a drive, but it otherwise looked pretty neat.  Owner was more than happy for me to PPI it if I had wanted.  Probably good I didn;t go any further then.  It has been on the market for a good 6 mths, and he hadn't changed price in all that time...

The owner of that one clearly needs to get back a certain amount,he couldn't work out how the ppi stated it needed $10k worth of work plus he said ims had been done but no proof of it when it went in for inspection.

[firstone]

34 minutes ago, MARTY said:

 you find out some owners are economical with the truth.

Gold ????

[Coastr]

This was the quote I posted in the other thread, which is cribbed from a pelican thread.  It’s by Peter Zimmerman, author of 911 books, many of which stress the importance of a PPI.

 

”s the founder/former owner of Red Line Service (in the very capable hands of Marc Bixen since 1999), I can offer that I've personally performed hundreds of PPIs. I used to discourage people in the market for a used Porsche from having the seller do the PPI, and that alone was responsible for saving many thousands of dollars for potential buyers. I have inspected 356s that were more Bondo than metal, diagnosed countless oil leaks, located faulty alternators, discovered frayed shoulder harnesses, seen incredibly poor accident damage repairs, found worn out brakes, noisy wheel bearings, low oil levels, non-functional w/washers, sunroofs, window switches, misc. lights/switches, clutch cables and clutches, along with other things including bad past workmanship. I have warned buyers about rust issues, oil consumption, shock absorber life expectancy, service/maintenance schedules, etc. I would also NEVER check the function of Targa roof panels, or Cabriolet tops because of possible liability, but would assess wind noise levels during a test drive. Leak down tests were done regularly, and were an important part of a PPI.

As time passed, and the cars grew in complexity, I realized that only so much could be done during a PPI. It all started with the possibility of broken cylinder head studs, and I had to charge extra to do a physical inspection of them by removing the rocker arm covers. Then we discovered that a 911 with a tweaked chassis could be repaired to look great, but could never be aligned correctly. A/C issues were common, and on the minds of most buyers, and each issue required an estimate and a disclaimer. More and more cars showed up that had been lowered, or had suspension bushings replaced, all of which took lengthy periods of time to explain to a buyer. Then we learned that a curious dent near the bottom of a rear shock could mean that that car had been rear-ended in a collision.  

By the time I sold Red Line to Marc I was happy to get the PPI monkey off my back, because Marc taking over pretty much happened about the time the water-cooled 911s showed up. If it was my decision to make, I would still do PPIs, but only on 1989 and earlier Porsches. Marc would have to deal with the stress of a very steep learning curve.

I mentioned disclaimers. Many, many PPIs had one, or two, or more. Sometimes we had no way to tell how much it would cost to repair/improve 2nd gear shifting, or if a valve adjustment would cure the ticking engine, or if barrier hoses would fix the A/C, or if brake hoses would fix the 'brakes pull to the right' symptom. Everything I found was recorded on an invoice, and each problem was accompanied by a disclaimer. PPIs; sometimes a nasty business, but always a feeling of satisfaction upon completion.”

 

 

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