MonkeyBoy,

I would not feel bad! You did the good research and had a gut feeling that you wanted to throw on the water. I, for one, believe this is a blessing for you! Keep on looking, the right vehicle is out there!

And if you know of the right vehicle, please PM the gentleman and let him know about it!

I would look at the 95s then - as D Hanson said. They have 12HP less but are easier to chip than the OBDII cars so you can actually have more power for a lot less money. The main issue on the 95s is the engine wiring harness. There was a recall for this after a few cars shorted out and burned to the ground so just make sure that the PO had this taken care off. Also try to find one with a reasonably new top. Tops for 993s are pricey - you are looking at $2K for a quality top and install. Many people will tell you the 95s have less reported problems than the later cars and they can also be had for quite a bit less. Good luck.

Thanks - I'm well aware of the differences between the years. I've been looking since July and PPI'd 4 or 5. This one actually turned out the best - but it was also the most expensive by $5K or so.

how do you know someone from here bought the car? You didn't post the link until late in the game.

You never mentioned the paint meter in your original post. That information would have changed a few opinions. Your first post just sounded like a cursory PPI. It's hard to tell whether there really wasn't anything wrong with the car, or the shop was lazy (the latter happened to me).

If this was the best car you've seen and it was $5K more expensive, I suppose that's telling you something. But why PPIs on 5 different cars? Are they all long distance? I think you need some better pre-screening. The PPI should be the last step, and you should be ready to go before it takes place...then if anything you don't expect or haven't seen pops up, you revisit the price. The stuff you listed was mostly ticky-tack stuff that should have been picked up on a visual. But the undercurrent was a car that hadn't been valued by its previous owners.

At any rate, if I were looking for a 993, I'd be going for a 95...don't have to deal with the CEL/carbon issues. Wiring harness is a dealer fix, and the rear alignement can be dialed in to cure the tire wear problems (so I've been told).

There is always another car out there. And if you want a good one, you generally have to pony up the extra dough.

I had a hunch it was Jacobs..heck I think I have seen the car while driving by. A black 993 on a BMW lot is not hard to miss. Bill Jacob is a large company here, with a lot of lines. It is not unlikely that the car was bought by a walk in. The BMW lot there moves a lot of used cars. There is always something used but interesting on the lot.

I think "static" got it right...the think that made some of use uneasy about the car...uncaring PO's.

I wouldn't be sore about the car...you'll be bragging about "the" one soon enough.

I just happened upon this thread... that car seems like a very nice car to me, at a good price. If it was me, I would have snapped it up. Not sure about a black car in the snow, though... sounds like you'll be chasing your tail to keep that thing even partly clean.

That one sweet ride. Should have asked a couple of Chicago Pelicans to do a quick look see after you placed your deposit.

It was someone from Rennlist with whom I was trading PM's (he wasn't looking for black or a C4). I found out about the paint meter from the dealer after I turned it down - I had told him the findings of the PPI and I guess he checked.

All but one of the cars I've PPI'd have been long distance - C4 cabs are few and far between. I value opinions on the board, and since I wasn't looking in the $41.5K range before I wasn't sure of the value of this car. In this case, I rushed and put the deposit down and did a PPI so that I'd at least have the right of first refusal. Any way, I'll keep looking.

That was the point I was trying to make early on. Some dealers get real anal on PPIs and point out lots of little stuff no-one would really care about. After all, it is a used car. That was actually one of the cleaner PPIs I have seen with a picky dealer, except for the fender.

Low miles cars have their downsides also which is sitting for long periods of time. I would rather have something that I know was driven once a week or at least started that often. Otherwise, there could be little nit picky things, tires, and etc. that would cost some money on the front end. That car, however, would have held its value very well once sorted if not wrecked. You could have driven it for another year or two and sold it for about the same with only 35k miles on it. In two years, most 993s will be approaching 100k on the odometer that you see for sale.

Keep the faith. The right car will come. You could pick up a nice 964 C4 cab maybe for real cheap or did they not make 964 C4 cabs. Just a thought and I wouldn't trade my 964 for a 993, but mine is set up pretty raw.

1) A PPI should be picky-that's what you pay for: information to make a decision. Surprises are bad.
2) When you are spending that much $, you don't want to lay awake at night wondering if you made a bad deal.
3) If the car was really the right one, you would know it and wouldn't have that uneasy-"I want to believe" feeling.
4) Get a leakdown in your PPI. Its worth the extra $1-200 (again no surprises=happier ownership).

MonkeyBoy I have seen more people talked of cars on this bbs then you can believe, later wishing they would have bought the car, next time when asking ask something like this, ask them please give you thier opinions on facts only, you may find very few replies and only those with cars that are simular to what your looking at will reply, I hope you find the right car, Kevin