I tend to judge the car by the seller - is the seller detail-oriented? What is the car's condition when I show up? Is it clean, in a clean garage? How about service records? How much does the seller know about the car? Does the seller know as much as I do, even if all my learning has been from reading?

OK, if all that passes, THEN we are 70% there. I drive the car to see how it feels overall. If there are weird noises, funny driving problems, electrical issues or the like, then the only attention to detail has been clean-up for presale.

When I found a DME relay in the glovebox of the car, I knew it was the real deal. That and the fact that one of the previous owners owned a race shop near the Atlanta race track, and had a 917 in there. :)

I felt comfortable that the car was in the shape represented by the price. There have been no surprises so far.

No PPI, bought it in non running condition with 80k.
Car had come back from sheister mechanic who had it for 3 years for oil leaks. Car wouldn't stay running and leaked worse than ever.
Had it running the same day, then replaced head studs as one was broken. $6600 for the car delivered, $10k in parts and upgrades. More upgrades to come.
It's an addiction.......

In my case "PPI" stood for "post-purchase inspection". I won't bore everyone with the details & why it wasn't possible, but I was sweating until the PPI was completed. Thankfully it all turned out very well.

I see every reason not to PPI here is acceptable. For me, I test drove the car in the evening, went to collect cash, show up after midnight, transaction done around 2am. Couldn't sleep the rest of that night.

No, but it had good provenance, sold by a very anal local Porschefile (in a good way, Tom), through a very reputable local dealer (Road Scholars). I paid top dollar, but it has been a complete joy to own and drive. Plan to be buried in this car!

No. I bought my 86 back in 1996. It was a 10 year old car that had been a DD for the PO. He was one of the types that took it in to local shop with a good reputation. It was exactly the car I had been looking for. I had looked at a lot of Carreras and all of them had major flaws and most were lacking in one or more areas. My car was near perfect.

Yes I did. As the car was 1200mi away, I asked a friend to do a cursory check and based on that arranged for a PPI. It was after the PPI that the owner lowered the asking price based on the brake pad/rotor wear. It was/is a great car from the start and was basically as advertised by the PO. Based on all that I flew down, took it for a spin, bought it and drove it back to WA state from CA. Got a great car from a PO who really took care of it and it showed.

Kind of hard to fill out the poll answers.... because I've been through about a dozen 911s.

Burned on my first porsche, because I didn't get a PPI. 944 turbo that had serious issues, I ended up selling it less than a year for 1/2 of what I paid. I learned my lesson, and got a PPI with every non-project car since.

Yes on all 3 Porsches.

No, but got lucky. I love my ride..84 zinc metallic, going to send it to TRE for some TLC!

YES! Every time.
 

It pays for itself by avoiding a bad purchase. Or as a negotiating tool to pay for any fixes.

My first attempt revealed an odometer case that had been opened.
The owner was as let down as I was.

I didn't. Title was clean and it had a bunch of miles. I wanted a project and got one. I knew what I was getting for 7K.

No, my 74 is missing too many parts and th rest are in boxes.... :eek: I bought one that has been taken a part to previous owners ago... both found it was out of their hands and I was the fool to buy it :D

Yes. I did b/c the car was 2500 miles away. PO had the car for 4 years and maybe 4k miles. He offered up his PPI which showed no major issues and some minor ones that needed to be addressed. Ended up with the PO's shop although that's probably not the best thing to do. I also ended up with an inch thick file of work history on the car.

Funny I wasn't sure about the shop and in one of my first conversations I made it clear that I was looking for a car I could drive the pi$$ out of. The shop owner's tone changed imediately and he made a comment that the PO had not exercised the car nearly enough and he felt a 911 should be driven and not stored. He didn't pull any punches on my PPI. He also prepped the car for the trip home. Called me everyday with updates, etc. They weren't perfect, no shop is, but overall I'm happy with the results.

J

I didn't...located a 46K mile "garage queen", and after talking with the owner a bit, I had a pretty good feel for both him and the car. Flew up, checked her out in person, and then had a 500 mile "silly grin" for the trip home. Ten years later...no regrets :).

Only bidder on an E-bay car in northern Maine thus no PPI.... but the entire history of the car was in the owner's Rennlist posts.

'81 SC - No PPI. Saw the car on Pelican, sent a guy I never met from the Audi forum to check it out, more concerned that the seller was a fraud. He wasn't and the car was just as described.

'95 993 - It was at one of those fancy car places near LA, you know the one. Sent it to Hergies for a full PPI. 30 minutes into it, Hergies called me and said it wasn't a good deal. Best $80 I ever spent. Made me appreciate the value of a good, honest mechanic.

'96 993 - Took it to the local porsche dealership. What a waste of $400. Confirmed the fact that the dealers know nothing about air cooled cars.
"Yeah, the brakes don't look stock"
"Don't they say Porsche on them? Well, what kind are they? "
"Yes, but I don't know."

'96 Miata race car - No PPI. Knew people who knew the car. What a disaster. Had to sell it.

'00 Miata donor car - No PPI. Looked at pictures on Ebay and talked to the salesman. My mechanic here told me not to buy it. Low ball bid was winner and car was turned into a great race car.

'01 Suburban - No PPI. Looked at pictures on Ebay, never talked to anyone. Low ball bid was winner. Total steal, great value for what I paid.

Got one scheduled for Aug 30th. Car is 1500m away so a PPI is cheaper than a flight. It is potentially my first 911 so I just don't have the background to make a well reasoned analysis of the mechanical fitness and nuances of the car.

No I had a Post Purchase Inspection done instead and what a waste of money I won't mention names but it was done by a "respected Porsche repair shop". He basically gave me a list of cosmetic needs that were plain to see by even the most inexperienced person. Luckily everything on the car was as described by the seller and the car runs great

I did not, however I got my car for a price I couldn't say know to. I paid for that mistake during the first year of ownership. Needless to say I've already dumped as much as I paid for the car in modifications. Hard to say whether I came out on top or broke even. These cars are a wonderful sickness really.

I don't know how it is in Oregon, but in CA you could have taken the shop that performed the ppi and had them pay for it. We are incredibly thorough with our ppi's (bmw's) because of this.