Now this one is a nice looking car!

A good location as any to get a PPI might be RUF GB located in Weighbridge. If you do get it done there tell them Bill Douglas from New Zealand sent you and that the SC is running just fine :)

Thanks again everyone, you`ve all put my mind at ease with regards to servicing history.

Dickster has very kindly offered to go and give it a good look over as he lives pretty close to the seller. If he likes what he sees, i can confidently make plans to go down myself and view it.

Does anyone in the UK have a rough idea of how much a PPI costs by a Porsche specialist?.

Thanks

McRod

mcrod

parr motorsport are near tadworth, and would charge around £150 - £200 (depending on whether you want a leak down).

they came highly recommended to me.

McRod,

It looks like Baltic Blue to me......

Try giving Ray Northway a call on 0118 971 4333. He owns AFN Northway, an independent Porsche specialist based in Reading and may be able to do a PPI. Otherwise try the back of 911 And Porsche World for local specialists who maybe able to help you out.....

Good luck.

Hi Guys,

Spoke at greater length this evening with the owner of this car and it turns out that from 61,000 miles to now (93,000) there is *no* documented history for servicing.

The only evidence of mileage is the MOT`s which seem to date right back to the early 90`s.

Thats 33,000 miles of undocumented history with this car. This kinda throws a bit of doubt on it.

The current owner says all his servicing was done by a mechanic recommended to him by the person he bought the car from. However, theres no way of knowing how well it has been maintained over the last 33,000 miles.

Its only the current owner`s enthusiasm about the condition of the car thats preventing me from pulling the plug on this one and he constantly re-assures me it is "immaculate".

As i said before, Richard (Dickster) has very kindly offered to inspect the car`s general condition for me but even if it checks out as a nice example, is this missing 33k`s worth of history an important factor?

I was given the impression in the previous phone call that he had documentary evidence but it appears i perhaps picked him up wrong or didn`t fully understand what he was saying at the time.

McRod

This is certainly not a good thing, but I would not rule the car out. If in fact it was maintained by a dealer for 61k miles, then really how much could have occured since then? Remember, these are some of the toughest cars ever made, and can he refer you to the mechanic who has done his service? Surely he has changed the oil, right? It might possibly be a good car, and the lack of records can and should be a major negotiating tool for you, at any rate, a good PPI by bonafide 911 specialist will answer all questions.

With the cost of a good PPI, however, you really want to have a good "weeding out" process in place, PPI should only be done if everything looks great up to that point, IMO. :cool:

Can't you get the name and number of the mechanic that he says did the last 33,000 miles of service and ask him about it? Remember that per the owner's manual, these cars require an oil and filter change at 7,500 or 15,000 mile intervals depending on city or freeway driving, and a valve adjustment every 15K or so. That means you should see at least 3 oil changes and one valve adjustment over the last 33K. Most of the people on this forum likely change the oil every 3-6K miles, regardless of driving type, and do valve adjustments at least annually.

Forget the car...can you tell me what the heck this means?!? You're going to pay Dickster to cut you up? Is he a cannibal? You? I'm confused...

How does the saying go, "two countries separated by a common language"? :D

Its what they call "Cockney Rhyming slang". I can understand how it can be confusing to you guys.

Butchers hook = look

It gets shortened to butchers

So if you have a butchers at something, you have a look at it.

Hey don`t shoot the messenger ;)

McRod

McRod,

I agree with an earlier comment, there are enough independent porsche specialists around for it to be silly not to take a car to one of these. A 33K mile gap for the last 33k is a lot. There are plenty of cars out there. If you dont walk from this one, then get some decent cash off it for the lack of service history. I think for 3.2s at the moment is a buyers market. It is easy to get a few big bills with these cars and a PPI wont cover you for everything. When I was looking finding a 3.2 with full service history (i.e. stamps +reciepts) was no problem. But that includes stamps from well known independents.

heres a couple of tasters!!

sorry rod, couldnt resist!!http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/ext1.JPG http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/ext2.JPG http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/ext3.JPG

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/ext4.JPG http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/ext5.JPG

Certainly looks a whole lot better than that first white one.
and that number plate seals the deal.:rolleyes:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/inter2.JPG http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/inter3.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/inter1.JPG

it aint bad is it. unfortunately the plate aint included:D

That looks lovely Rich, did you get it out on the road?

Shame about that plate tho....

Cheers

What are you looking to do with this car?

These are old cars - unless your going to put it up on Jackstands in the livingroom and gaze loving at it forget about all the reciepts... Get a *good* PPI and expect it to need a few things after you get it. I got my car as a driver - it looks and runs great, my PPI was awful (dealership) and I paid for it at first trip to mechanic.... However my car runs great, looks great, and drives great - I'm a happy person. In the end this isn't a six figure thing - you just need to figure out how it was treated, does the PO seem like hot rodder. That would scare me worse than the lack of records.

The car looks solid, the engine looked clean. Are their puddles or oil stains in this guys driveway - is it from this car? Does the car drive straight? How bad does the 915 gearbox behave? Is the clutch rock hard? How does idle sound - does it surge? Does the car have ample power when you get on the throttle? If you grab under the wheel wells does your hand turn red from rust? How about the rocker panels. Is the paint smooth? Do the gaps between sheetmetal look consistant? Is the paint under the floor mats, engine copmartent, door gaps the same as the exterior? Are the floorboards solid? If you hold a hose up to the window does it leak? Look for the wrong dusts in the wrong places, run your hands in areas that shouldn't be gritty... Do the tires wear evenly - tough to tell on new tires? Any shimmies when over 60, 80, 90mph? Does that damn little seat belt light keep coming on (beware of this you'll need a new alternator perhaps)? Do the lights/high beams work (check the switch? Does the top/pwindows/plocks work? How do the brakes feel when stopping? panick stop? Does the hand brake work?If you have ever flown an Airplane you know equipment needs to be gone over. Give the car a good walkaround and check to see if stuff works, that will give you loads of information.

I think by the time you get it to the garage for PPI there should be much in the line of suprises. I hope everyone here has a basic understanding of how to drive a stick shift and what to expect from it, expect more from the Porsche and if your dissapointed that isn't the car for you. I have my car as a driver, not a show car. I saved a few bucks do to lack of history, parts of it bit me - but I'm still ahead.

Thats my .02 cents,
Anthony

WOW. Thats a clean interior! Looks great!

tim

yeah, drove it. it was a good drive - great to be back in the 911 seat!

nice car;)

You like this car don`t you?, i can tell ;)

Thanks again for your time and effort today Rich. Your photos and report you e-mailed me was almost professional. Gave me a great feel for the car without actually having see it.

You cannot beat an independant inspection :)

The other half has also had a good look at the pictures and she likes it more than the slate grey one at Northway. (which was damned nice).

To also answer Agabriel`s post a little, yes its gonna be nothing more than an expensive toy/ornament for me. Its gonna lead a very charmed life in my heated garage and gonna get polished and driven carefully only on hot summer weekends etc. As with most Porsche owners, its will be a personal little dream come true when i eventually get one. I`m just so grateful that i was pointed in the direction of this board before i bought. It really has been a revelation for me and given me so much ammuntion for buying a 911 than i`d have thought possible.

I`ve also added some of your suggestions to my check list MS Excel file ;). Thanks Agabriel.

McRod