PPIs

[BK911]

Just curious if I am the only one who thinks this way...

Most of the cars for sale say something like PPI at buyers expense. But if I pay for a PPI on a car and decide not to buy it, I would want to be reimbursed from whoever does buy the car. How about the seller get the PPI, post the results, and add $50 to the price of the car?

Just thinking out loud.

[mca]

Originally Posted by BK911

Just curious if I am the only one who thinks this way...

Most of the cars for sale say something like PPI at buyers expense. But if I pay for a PPI on a car and decide not to buy it, I would want to be reimbursed from whoever does buy the car. How about the seller get the PPI, post the results, and add $50 to the price of the car?

Just thinking out loud.

Most likely b/c the buyer wants to pick who does the PPI. My guess is that the buyer wouldn't want to use the seller's mechanic. I suppose that this prevents the seller and his/her mechanic from giving a false report that benefits the seller.

[Techne]

And if paid for one then don't buy the car, I would offer to "sell" it to the buyer for future use. I wouldn't just hand over a copy to him.

[996cab]

I would like to see sellers have enough confidence that they might agree to pay for the PPI if no sale if the PPI reveals some specified issues, i.e. Buyer pays for PPI, as long as it passes A, B, C and D, they agree to buy. If it fails A, B, C or D they do not and the seller gets the PPI and pays for all of the expense or part at least.

[trader220]

Sounds nice but not realistic. When I have PPI's cars which I ended up not buying I knew going in I was eating the expense and I chalk it up to good fortune that I didnt buy the car. I really dont expect anything more as a seller or a buyer.

[the]

Originally Posted by BK911

Just curious if I am the only one who thinks this way...

Most of the cars for sale say something like PPI at buyers expense. But if I pay for a PPI on a car and decide not to buy it, I would want to be reimbursed from whoever does buy the car. How about the seller get the PPI, post the results, and add $50 to the price of the car?

Just thinking out loud.

Normally, a shop will only give the PPI results to the person who paid for it.

So, you pay for it, it's yours. If the seller wanted to buy it from you, I guess you could try to do that. But if I were the seller, I wouldn't pay you for it. It's not much use to the seller.

[Peter Zimmermann]

A PPI is nothing more than an insurance policy, no different than a home inspection performed prior to purchase. When the price of a PPI is compared to the cost of a G 50 clutch replacement, 915 synchro repair or any number of a hundred different items, that price pales in comparison to the repairs a buyer would have to deal with had a PPI not been done.

In addition, in most cases, a PPI provides the buyer with an incredible bargaining tool - a document that describes a car's shortcomings with real repair numbers included. The buyer should pay - always.

[JoeyD911]

Take it from someone with painful experience. New Engine..... 14K.....PPI .....priceless no matter who pays for it. It would have saved me a small , well spent, fortune!

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by the

Normally, a shop will only give the PPI results to the person who paid for it.

So, you pay for it, it's yours. If the seller wanted to buy it from you, I guess you could try to do that. But if I were the seller, I wouldn't pay you for it. It's not much use to the seller.

Why not? If it shows a defect you weren't aware of, it might prevent a prolonged sale period. Either fix it or discount the car.

I'd want to know why a buyer backed out after spending for a PPI.

[BK911]

For the most part I agree with everybody. But what if you have 5 potential buyers? Do you get 5 seperate PPIs and have 5 different people pay for them? Ethically you can't use one purchased from somebody else. What does a PPI cost? Maybe $250 for a REALLY good one? Say a $10k car? What is a 2.5% investment for a possible quicker sale?

To quote Mr. Zimmermann, "The buyer should pay - always." My point exactly. In my scenerio the potential buyers are paying. Seller step up, get the PPI, and charge the actual buyer.

Again, just my opinion. But man does it sucks when you are ready to pull the trigger on a "fresh rebuild" to find a bad hole during a ppi. I saved a lot of money not buying the car, but still wasted my time and money on the ppi.

[techweenie]

Key point:

The PPI is arranged for and paid for directly by the buyer. Seller is not involved -- and seller especially is not to choose the shop. I had a situation where the shop had a long term relationship with the seller and the PPI was inaccurate. (None of the shops participating on Pelican, BTW.)

And a PPI isn't an insurance policy. I've had varied experiences with PPIs -- a couple weren't worth $0.02.

[kiwiokie]

I had two other PPI's done on potential purchases before I ended up with my SC. For me it was part of the price of entry and as others have mentioned it is cheap compared to the cost of missing a major issue. In one case I subsequently "met" online the new owner of one car I had been close to buying but opted out after reading the PPI. I shared with him the results of the PPI that I had done (no charge) but this was after he had purchased the car. All the PPI's that I had done on cars were reported to me and to me only. It was my decision whether to share the results with the seller of the car. It was for my benefit only therefore I felt it was my financial burden. Incidentally each PPI was around $300 and included a leakdown test. I looked at a few cars that the seller claimed already had a PPI report done and they were mostly worthless.