You guys talked me out of it. I told the dealer to call me if he has trouble selling and I'll make a lowball offer. I guess I'd rather save $5K and get a car with 45K more miles (and without the motorsound package, rear seat delete, sport seats, and 18 inch wheels...)

I don't know, it sounds like PPI guy was very picky and critical (no manuals, no key lock, and etc.). I have paid for maybe 7 PPIs in the last year or so and they all come back with stuff on them and have seen a lot worse than this. Have a body shop check for damage. It can be hard to find low mile cars with realistic prices. Post photos of the modules and amps, I can tell you what they are and if it looks like a hack job. Stereo installation is not rocket science though and any one could do it properly.

Battery, I have taken Optimas out and put cheapos in right before I sell or trade a car. Dead battery and dry rot tires could also be indicative of no use.

I think you've done the right thing. It wasn't necessarily a bad car, but when you do a long-distance purchase you've got to have a lower threshold.

If I bring it to a body shop and they can't find any damage, what is a fair price to offer?

I would walk. Better cars out there. Painted calipers and possibly poorly performed stereo and misaligned fender smacks of a hacker PO...

I would balk at buying long distance. Gotta go see it first.

I had the same reaction as I read the description.

If you really want it, I would probably offer something crazy like $38,250 out the door, which is about 85% of asking.

I told the dealer "I'd probably take it for $36K, but why don't you keep it on your lot and see if you can do better." He told me that $36K was less than they had into it but he'd call if it doesn't sell and we can talk about it. At the very least, it felt great to tell him I wasn't interested.

MonkeyBoy - the auxiliary oil cooler is located in the front right fender so I suppose it is possible there was work done on that. But you do not need to remove the fender to access it, so that is unlikely. The most likely culprit is an accident with fender damage. If you can get a bodyshop to look at they should be able to tell what was done. realigning the fender (if it can be realigned) is no big deal.

The dash creak is no doubt the dreaded 993 windshield creak. Most 993s do this and it can drive you nuts trying to track it down if you do not know that it is coming from the windshield. This can be fixed with a teflon cord Porsche makes specifically for thsi issue (Porsche put out a tech bulletin on this for 993 cars some time ago).

As for this car it has many desirable options - specifically the sports seats (which often sell for $2K or more) and the rear seat delete. In fact I would love to have both of these options in my 993TT. My car has the full "supple leather" seats which were the same cost as the sports seats originally but do not provide as much lateral support. I am sure you could get someone to swap these parts with you.

Nicely done! You may end of the owner of a fixable ride for a relative song. However, the willingness of him to even consider that price may be cause for alarm. That being said, typical lot time is 30-45 days and then cars are either sold to other dealers or auctioned off. Sometimes the dealer will take a small loss to move the inventory off the lot. What is low trade book on this car? If they got it at auction it was probably less. May give you an idea of what they paid.

Definitely have a body shop check it out though. I have had PPIs at two Porsche dealerships completely miss body damage repairs.

16,000 miles is very low and the asking prices generally for such low milege are wacky, especially with the great options. 18 inch wheels, sport seats, motorsound are all great options you would be happy you had in the long run if the car hasn't been wrecked.

Here is one half down the page with 34,500 miles with new battery and new tires for $ 46,500. They are also asking for $ 50k for a 97 C2S with 20,000 miles.

http://s91595436.onlinehome.us/sloancars/inventory.htm

If the money is a hang up, go with higher mileage. If condition and options are the issue, I would have body shop check out, see if you can get someone to drive it and see it in person.

Without more information, I think I would walk. I get the impression that the PO was not an enthusiast, and judging from the desciption, you may find some surprises when you get the car. There are things that will reveal themselves when you start digging into the car. I don't think PPI's generally include removing interior panels and such to see what's behind them.

Just have a bad feeling about the car...

Also, I would not have sent the car to Becker for a PPI. I drive by there every morning and have taken my car there before (a long time ago). If the checks they did on my car years ago was an indication of their knowledge of Porsche cars, I would not put much faith in the PPI. They told me my motor was toast! It sat for years while I was starving through college. That same engine was sold not too long ago with disclaimers and guess what?! The fellow who ended up with it...got it running without a rebuild as Becker recommended (even then I suspected BS..it was a fuel issue!)! There were issues with certain items due to the long storage, but it was certainly not as their 911 wrench had said. Actually my car ran worst when I picked it up from Becker!

Anyway, Becker may have changed since my experience with them, but the bulk of their work back then was general automotive, and it still is. I might send my daily drivers there and they may do great work, but for a $40K used car PPI, I would send it to a shop that specialized in 911's.

If you are bent of having this car, I would suggest another PPI...Midwest Eurosport or Fischer maybe.

I have been wrong in the past, and I may be wrong about this car and Becker...but there are other cars out there.

Well, a few people recommended Becker and it was 3 miles from the dealer. Not sure that the dealer would have been able to drop off the car too far away. Regardless, I'd rather a PPI mechanic err on the side of caution and he seemed to pick up on quite a few things, most of which I didn't list here. As for people saying there are a lot of other cars out there, I'm only looking for a C4 cab, so I'm kind of limited. Let me know if you find nice ones!

From the list you provided, it doesn't look like they put the car on a lift anytime during the PPI....sounds more like a cosmetic PPI. Nothig wrong with that and it should be included in the PPI, but I'd be more worried about the parts that have to work. I'm not trying to piss you off here, but if we all soft handled you or the car the opinions of PP would really be worthless :)

Good luck with the car.

$41k should buy you peace of mind. Keep looking.

It was still on a lift when the dealer arrived to pick it up - he was upset that it wasn't ready. Additionally, they test drove the car for about 45 minutes and did a walk around of the car with me on the phone. They spent over an hour yesterday on it in the shop and more time today, plus the drive. I'm not saying that it was the most thorough inspection, but I feel I got my $140 worth.

Thats BS.:rolleyes:

I can't believe they didn't do a compression test. In any case if they call you back you can do a final PPI and go from there.

Here's the frame of mind I want you in:

For $41.5k depending on the PPI, you can tell the dealer to have his parts runner drive the thing half way across the great state of Illinois for a PPI if that's where you want it done...

Good luck- I think you made the right call.
-BG

RE: Compression test

I have had a couple of PPI dealers tell me not to worry about compression or leak down test because they thought the cars "ran great" and "no smoke." I think I would spend the extra money though and ask them to go ahead and do, especially if an older car. I was curious why a dealer would do this when its just more money for them.

16,000 miles and 993, it should be okay as far as compression and leak down if strong and no smoke but for another $ 150 or so, what the heck.