I would go for that in a heartbeat if it checked out.

I just emailed seller with a few simple questions. Going to see how he answers. I'm suspicious based on the pricing. I just suspect I'll pay for a PPI and discover some bs.

Houston looks pretty far from there. I wish I knew someone who lived there who could take a cursory look at it and see of if there are any obvious undisclosed flaws.

UPDATE:
Seller responded to my questions. Now the picture is more clear as to why this is priced low.

I asked if he already had a carfax (if not I'd buy one), and he said he does but only in hard-copy, which he says he can't readily email. He told me: "I have nothing to hide and I will tell you that during the last owners tenure with the car it does show an "accident or damage reported" but the report gives absolutely no description of what happened. There was a dealer in town who was trying to buy the car from me for 56k who thoroughly inspected the entire car for paintwork and found absolutely nothing.it was our best guess that whatever caused that incident report to be there had to have been an extremely minor insurance claim for a wheel or who knows what. I can't find any current or prior damage on the car anywhere, and even every piece of glass is factory.

I only have the service history I obtained by calling Harper Porsche who looked after the car for the last 4 years. "

Yeah.

Then in response to a question about the condition of the driver's seat, he said "Driver seat back: this is definitely a wear situation and not a dirty situation. Most dealers take care of this sort of thing by having the material re-dyed by mobile detailing services so the customer is never the wiser the seats ever had any wear, but I obviously don't have easy access to that to sort of thing and would have to find someone to do it."

So somehow whoever had this car wore through the leather. It isn't something that I can clean away.

I'd maybe feel better if he had stated the bit about the accident report in the original ad instead of me having to get it out of him, but then again to his credit he did tell me about it now. Regardless, this really put a damper on things for me. I'll never know what the accident report was about, and I also have no real service records. Sigh.

I hate to be a dick, but you're never going to find a car. You look for these smoking deals and are then shocked that the cars aren't 100% no-stories and totally perfect. Sorry, but that car with a totally clean history, full records since new, and absolutely no flaws would be $70k on a dealership's lot. If I didn't have a shop full of cars I would be calling on that car today.

"Accident" history - for starters, Carfax is crap. Even if the car was in a minor accident, if it was properly repaired it would be a non-issue at this price point. An inspection with paint meter should easily detect if any paintwork was done, and a good inspector can tell you if the workmanship was quality. LOTS OF CARS HAVE MINOR ACCIDENT HISTORY. If minor, and if properly repaired, it is not a big deal.

Leather - bet you money it will clean up with a quality leather product like Leatherique. If not, a good upholstery shop would re-dye it for a few hundred, or you could DIY dye it for under $100. Good as new.

I hate to see people pass up good deals because they are so skittish about car shopping. There isn't a perfect used car out there, because they're used. That is a bargain on a really nice 997TT with just about perfect options.

Say's in his CL ad that he drives it to San Antonia "occasionally". Probably could get a PPI there?

2008 Porsche 911 Turbo Sport Chrono Well Maintained


+ for the color combo; it definitely does show better in person.
FYI: I had an entire interior of my DIRTY!!!! 87 Targa re-dyed the same color (LINEN) for $600; when done it looked and smelled brand new.

Robert- thanks for posting the craigslist ad- I had not seen that. I have seen this color in person and love it. In the sun it is spectacular.

Matt- no offense taken, you aren't being a dick. I posted the result here to see from everyone if they would hesitate based upon that information. You're telling me your opinion and I appreciate it- you buy and sell a lot of cars and your input is valuable. I think the worst part for me is that it is at a dealer, and I can't ask the previous owner what happened. It would be comforting if the owner could tell me "yeah, my wife backed into a pickup truck hitch which punctured the bumper and we had to replace it" and the inspection corroborates that. That kind of damage wouldn't worry me one bit.

I guess my next questions would be:

1) Is it sketchy to buy a car like this that has a loan on it and wait for the title to be mailed to me (as he is suggesting in the craigslist ad)? I've always bought cars so cheap that there was no loan and I was given the title when I handed over the cash. This is new territory for me.

2) This is an opinion question: would you all negotiate a price prior to getting a PPI, or get the PPI and then figure that out. No matter what, it would SEEM from his answers that there isn't much room. It is at $57.5k on ebay and he claimed in his response to one of my questions that a dealer offered him $56k. Not much room there.

3) With a car this new, would you try for a PPI at a dealership, or would you still try to find an indy shop to do it? In the meantime, I will post on the appropriate regional forum for advice on shops.

4) My offer of bourbon or scotch for anyone local taking a look still stands. Seriously.

So is it a dealer or private party? Because the only reason why a dealer shouldn't have a title is if they are waiting on an e-title or lien release from the previous owner.

1. I do it all the time, you just need to cover yourself appropriately. I typically write up a basic contract outlining my expectations for title delivery. I typically try to complete the transaction in the seller's bank so that I at least can get a receipt for his loan payoff. I also typically try to make the check out to the bank (if possible) so I know it goes to his loan. What he says is accurate about TX, because I've been through it before. Titles with liens in TX are held electronically, and only mailed to him after the lien is paid off. Worst case there is what is called a "quiet title" action in TX that allows you to get a title with proof of ownership, I did some research into it when a d-bag seller took his time sending me a title. If you trust your instincts then you should be fine, said d-bag seller was indeed a d-bag and I should have expected it.

2. If you won't pay $57.5k, then by all means negotiate pre-PPI. If you are prepared to pay asking price then I would get the PPI and use any noted issues to knock down the price a bit, because they'll probably find something on any used car. Worst case then you can pay asking price.

3. My personal experience with dealership PPIs is that they are a joke, even on the new cars. I would find a good indy or a professional vehicle inspector. I was very impressed with the professional inspector that my friend used in PA, he spent $70k sight unseen based on the inspection and it was spot on.

I'm with Matt, nothing about that gives me the willies. I'd send him $500 and go to get it in person. If it didn't check out I'd try like hell to get my $500 back. Its funny so many here are SO skittish about buying stuff long distance. I've watched and helped my dad buy crane trucks long distance. You think there is lots that can go wrong with a car? Try a crane truck that has a few thousand feet of Hydraulic lines and fiber optic cabling that all MOVE.

If you want perfect, go buy new. If you want a deal, expect there to be a few little things wrong! I tell my clients pretty much the same thing on houses. No house will be PERFECT. They've been lived in, and used. Crap happens...

Yes, its too cheap. Give him $70K for it and everyone's happy.

lol