Peter M Posted 11July, 2013 Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 Called Porsche Centre Melbourne for a price for a PPI. The man said "$850 for a normally aspirated engine car." I was left a little speechless, so he filled in the silence by telling me I would get a 4 page written report, compression test results and it would need to be at the workshop for two days. Also told me it would be more for a turbo car since it's more difficult to remove the plugs. Weltmeister is looking like the preferred provider at $450 since 9Plus don't have a phone now....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tungatina64 Posted 11July, 2013 Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 Spencer Harrison of Harrisons RRR are another option (however out in Ferntree Gully). They do a detailed report for around the $400 mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted 11July, 2013 Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 Jocaro & Auto Art are around $330 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxer Posted 11July, 2013 Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 ^ Auto Art, very detailed and have seen a recent report from them - tells you everything you need to know. Though it was more like $500 though? (was a turbo) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonk Posted 11July, 2013 Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 Nine Plus were $330. Autohaus Hamilton was $6?? but seemed to be much more detailed. PO of my car paid about $850 for Porsche in Sydney who didn't report on some pretty obvious items that you'd expect to be in the report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qstoria Posted 11July, 2013 Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 $330ish at NinePlus for a 1 page report, time speaking with the mechanic and compression test. Maybe they didn't do enough of them though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgy Posted 11July, 2013 Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 $850 seems a little high and I say that because Porsche centre Gold Coast only charge $550.00, so what car is it for? When I looked about it seemed like the general going rate on an independent PPI was about $300-500 bracket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter M Posted 11July, 2013 Author Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 Thank you for those alternative suggestions. I will follow them up! I'm only after a plain old air cooled Carrera so was a bit taken aback by the quote from an authorised dealer. I guess that's why the independents are so popular... Thanks again. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazzieman Posted 11July, 2013 Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 DIY most (if not all!) depending upon tools/knowledge. http://www.pelicanparts.com/911/technical_specs/911_checklist.txt Or get used to the wallet lightening experience of owning an exotic old car or two! It will get more expensive as the years roll by and the knowledge disappears with the older guys. Fault finding can be time consuming , but is free if you make the effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caledonian Posted 11July, 2013 Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 DIY most (if not all!) depending upon tools/knowledge. http://www.pelicanparts.com/911/technical_specs/911_checklist.txt Or get used to the wallet lightening experience of owning an exotic old car or two! It will get more expensive as the years roll by and the knowledge disappears with the older guys. Fault finding can be time consuming , but is free if you make the effort. I would second the above. I did not get a PPI when i recently bought my 911 SC, in saying that I do have motor trade background and was reasonably familiar with the model. I did however do a lot of research, on what parts cost and certain types of work e.g. engine and gearbox rebuilds. Of course this is all relative to the individuals circumstances, and if you do get a PPI just check what guarantee you have if they get it wrong? Best bit of advise I could give is, if your gut tells you there something in wrong then there probably is.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter M Posted 11July, 2013 Author Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 Agreed and have always done my own "PPI's" for the many cars I have bought on behalf of siblings and friends. However, buying interstate, there are some attractions in paying for a 3rd party opinion - mainly time saving by avoiding travel - that will probably result in me buying a PPI for the first time. Thanks for the nice checklist too Tassie. One of the best I have seen. Thanks Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvs11 Posted 11July, 2013 Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 This is more of a first look visual inspection check list. You'd want to follow this up with a full mechanical ppi. http://www.ammonyc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/301-03_DC_201_StepbyStep_R1B.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babalouie Posted 11July, 2013 Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 Autohaus Hamilton was $650 for me, but that included both a compression test and leakdown...and as the written report was used to chop a few thou off the selling price of the car, I'd say it was rather good value Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugh Posted 11July, 2013 Report Share Posted 11July, 2013 Spencer Harrison of Harrisons RRR are another option (however out in Ferntree Gully). They do a detailed report for around the $400 mark. Best advice on here and best $400 you will ever spend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvs11 Posted 12July, 2013 Report Share Posted 12July, 2013 If the seller agrees, and you have confidence that this is the car you want, pay a bit extra and have the valve covers taken off and check any IB 911's for broken head studs. A leak down test may not show this up, the only way to be sure is to have a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarreraG50 Posted 12July, 2013 Report Share Posted 12July, 2013 A good PPI can take around 6 hours, Porsche centre hourly rate is probably a bit higher than an Indy. Not that I think a Porsche centre would do a better job or anything, I wonder if they would stand behind it if a problem they did'nt pick up was later found. Who wants to put that to the test....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withers Posted 13July, 2013 Report Share Posted 13July, 2013 Parramatta Porsche $450 for my 987. Buying sight unseen does have its downfalls for eg photos and descriptions on stone chips and interior wear and tear doesn't show exactly what you are getting. I'm happy with my car but I did find a few surprises with the physical condition of the car when I picked it up. I think you are paying somewhat for the opinion of the person doing the report, with that their ideas on acceptable wear and tear might differ from your own. Just something to be aware of I suppose. At the end of the day as long as I have a mechanically sound Boxster that is straight with no accident history, I'm super happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrera28 Posted 16July, 2013 Report Share Posted 16July, 2013 I did the inspection in two phases, firstly got an experienced mate who is agood judge of a car mecanicals to look at the car for free and when he was confident, I paid to have a major service done on the car by a Porsche specialist which meant that the car was looked at in detail and at the same time all the consumables were replaced. Cost worked out much the same as the PPI from a Porsche dealer but of course the service was done as well. Since the first thing I always do with 2nd hand car is get a major service done, this actually worked out as the cheapest option. After the service I had a detailed disussion with the mechanic, who was well positioned to comment on the car and who gave me solid uniased opinion. Of course if the mechanic disovers problems you have serviced the sellers car for free but was a risk I was willing to take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D'Silva Posted 22July, 2013 Report Share Posted 22July, 2013 Carrera 28, that's an interesting approach to a PPI... what did it end up costing you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrera28 Posted 22July, 2013 Report Share Posted 22July, 2013 Carrera 28, that's an interesting approach to a PPI... what did it end up costing you? About $850, so roughly the same as a PPI from the dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonk Posted 24July, 2013 Report Share Posted 24July, 2013 Have to say, the PPI done on my car missed a few minor things that wouldn't have been deal breakers, but could have been used in negotiations. Worn front suspension bushes and front brake pads dragging which may require a caliper rebuild. The Hamiltons PPI would have picked these up as they were items picked up on a different car I had checked up there. So I guess it might be more important where you get it done as opposed to how much it costs you. I think Carrera28s approach sounds really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlitzKonig Posted 4December, 2013 Report Share Posted 4December, 2013 Got a PPI done with Don here in Queensland and he charged me $350, which I think was very fair, considering that he went through the complete car, listed all small changes on the car from factory e.g. plastic headlight lenses, glass rear bumper and that the DME relay was bypassed and the fuel pump running all the time. He also checked the paint and body condition and even did a compression test. Ill say it again, VERY thorough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tit Posted 4December, 2013 Report Share Posted 4December, 2013 Hamiltons for me was $450,plus $200 for the leakdown test. They did the right thing by me on that one though because they stopped as soon as they determined the car was no good and charged me $200. Weltmeister charged $450 but what I really got was a long list of things that needed to be replaced and a single sentence saying it was a good car. Used the estimate of work for negotiations which made the PPI worth the effort. I decided to take the work elsewhere though. I think some shops assume they will catch the repair work if the sale goes through so be ready to get a second opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baso Posted 18January, 2014 Report Share Posted 18January, 2014 Have to agree with the above posts recommending a PPI. Well worth the expense I have had 2 done (both by Autohaus in Sydney). First one was a number of years ago on a 911SC. Ended up walking away from the car due to their recommendations (as did the dealer by the way who was selling the car on consignment). Second was on my current car (so clearly no major issues). They had the option of an engine compression test, but suggested not to worry due to the age and service history of the car. Did use the report to further reduce the price of the car (by well more than the cost of the PPI) to fund some of the usual bolster suspension work. In the end am well in front (and the owner of a car with a Porsche crest on the bonnet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewb Posted 1September, 2014 Report Share Posted 1September, 2014 Weltmeister charged me $550 earlier this year and I was somewhat disappointed with the report. They pointed out many things that were beyond obvious and missed the one thing I'd specifically asked to be investigated. My disappointment is somewhat tempered by the amount of help they gave me when I was going through the which-model-boxster-should-I-buy process. Porsche Centre Paramatta charged $360 for the same car 12 months earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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