Fess Up: Did you get a PPI before buying?

[Michael T]

PPI's here. It kept me from buying the first 1989 Carrera is was serious about. It had broken head studs and a host of issues. My 1987 and 1989 Targas passed inspection. There were some things that did crop up, but nothing major. If something major is caught, it is money well spent. Usually there are going to be enough "little" things caught to make for the cost by negotiating leverage.

[tttoon]

Yes, but I wasn't really happy about how they did it. Significant orange peel in a bad respray of the hood was not mentioned, like some defects in the interior and badly placed window trim. They did not notice the vacuum advance being stuck, or the CIS that wasn't setup correctly (car did not run well above 4500rpm). No rust though, and no broken headstuds. I could've done a little better in the end I think, but the color (Minerva Blue) interfered with buying with my head vs. my heart.

[GeorgeT]

Clearly, this poll shows two things: A small percentage of people pay for a PPI, and two, a large percentage of those that don't wish they did.
PPI's are not perfect, but they increase your odds of a fair purchase considerably.
Even more relevant:
The Porsche community is one where meticulous owners are very common. Receipts and maintenance logs are fairly common. That stuff is great. Now, think about buying a used Camry or Malibu... often, you are lucky to find a Jiffy Lube receipt or two shoved in the glovebox...then, a PPI is even more valuable.
George
mobileinspections.com

[Jezza]

Originally Posted by GeorgeT

Clearly, this poll shows two things: A small percentage of people pay for a PPI, and two, a large percentage of those that don't wish they did.
PPI's are not perfect, but they increase your odds of a fair purchase considerably.
Even more relevant:
The Porsche community is one where meticulous owners are very common. Receipts and maintenance logs are fairly common. That stuff is great. Now, think about buying a used Camry or Malibu... often, you are lucky to find a Jiffy Lube receipt or two shoved in the glovebox...then, a PPI is even more valuable.
George
mobileinspections.com

True. All of the reading that I did when I decided to get one said that the last thing you do is NOT get a PPI. But, My gut told me to get it. I flew to Southern Georgia to check it out and drive it. The guy I bought it from was very straight up and I got a good vibe from him and his absolute stack of paperwork. I Googled him a bit and he had a history in Portland, as he had described. He also insisted that I come and look at the car and was wary of a transaction without meeting me.

When I received the car and took it for inspected at my local Euro shop, I was very nervous, expecting a call telling me that there was something horrific about the car. Quite the opposite. The shop owner went on about how nice the car was, kept asking me, "Do you know that he did this too!?". I was very relieved. There are good people out there, as cynical as I am. I got a great car without PPI.

[Targa4now]

No PPI here. After following this board for years I was sweating the decision not to do so. Lucky for me it worked out alright.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

No, I didn't and when I took to a shop after getting it home, they said a lot of parts were missing. The original owner was no help at all.

[calimedeiros]

I didn't when I got my. 81
Looked atvthe car engine sounded good pulled hard no weird noises original paint Plus if I missed something I can fix it myself with the help of you guys of course

[msort81]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

No, I didn't and when I took to a shop after getting it home, they said a lot of parts were missing. The original owner was no help at all.

Thank you Shaun for making me start the day with a laugh !!!

[Porchdog]

I bought my car from a fellow in management at my former employer.

He didn't use it much, but he had bought it new. I let him know that if he ever wanted to sell it, I was interested. I knew it needed work, I ddin't know how much.

He had gotten married and was buying his wife a car. He didn't have room for another car, so he took the 911 along to the Mercedes dealer. They offered him $8500. for the trade-in.

He came to work the next day and asked me if I wanted it for $8500. I took it home, looked it over very carefully and bought it.

I picked the "no PPI" choice. I inspected it, but I had minimal experience with Porsches and none with 911's.

I've had a happy 20 years with the car.

[McLaren-TAG]

I didn't but then again I bought the car with the Mechanic that had serviced it for a number of years also being the selling agent. He handed me a stack of documents of all the work he'd done to the car and every single piece of work was verifiable and matched the documentation so I knew what I was getting and it was a fair price so I pulled the trigger right there an then.

After a lifetime of waiting for the Porsche, it just wasn't worth it to keep waiting so I pulled the trigger. Regardless of whether we buy the cars in good or bad conditions, there's ALWAYS something you want to do to them that costs mucho dinero and wrenching on the cars is actually as much fun as driving them.

[93nav]

I was talking to a guy about a 964 (long distance), got a PPI and was told to RUN away from the car.

Looking at a 911 (again long distance), got a PPI, given a list of things that were wrong, and used that to get a 20% price reduction. PPI did not find everything, but it found at least 3 major (money wise) so they were not a surprise when I got the car.

[BE911SC]

I had one done but soon realized I didn't need to. PPI missed a few things too. I wasn't there to oversee the procedure so I may have not gotten all that was promised/paid for. PPI was done by a Porsche dealership with an "air-cooled 911 specialist." I didn't lose any sleep over it though. Strong car to begin with.

[jjonesx86]

I bought my 87 from a very reputable shop but still had a PPI done by a 3rd party. The real scary stuff checked out great but the PPI caught a list of things that I might have missed. I was buying from across the state sight unseen so getting the PPI was a no-brainer. But even if I had been there in person I'm not sure I would have caught all of the small details, I would get too wrapped up about the car to be critical. Things like the high beam stalk would stay on but not flash on and needed to be replaced. Alignment was off. Cabriolet latch motor needed to be replaced. Cigarette lighter was busted. Windshield washer nozzle needed to be replaced/cleaned. Fresh air blower needed to be replaced. The dealer fixed everything on the list which more than paid for the PPI.

[montauk]

Originally Posted by GeorgeT

Clearly, this poll shows two things: A small percentage of people pay for a PPI, and two, a large percentage of those that don't wish they did.
PPI's are not perfect, but they increase your odds of a fair purchase considerably.
Even more relevant:
The Porsche community is one where meticulous owners are very common. Receipts and maintenance logs are fairly common. That stuff is great. Now, think about buying a used Camry or Malibu... often, you are lucky to find a Jiffy Lube receipt or two shoved in the glovebox...then, a PPI is even more valuable.
George
mobileinspections.com

There are lots of folks, me included, that bought a 911 without a PPI and got a very good deal.

[triplenet]

I tried to get a PPI, but the rec'd indy shop had closed and the Porsche dealer offered only a visual inspection (under $100).
I figured I could do that good, so drove it, tried all controls, switches etc, looked at records (limited to last few yrs).
Seller seemed straight, car looked great.
Price was fair for all.
No regrets on this one.

[Guvnor]

Originally Posted by porterdog

Nope, I bought it off ebay sight unseen; made the decision in about 15 minutes.

I did the same thing... and thought I was the only one crazy enough to do this.

[SC Eddie]

No,PO was a Porsche mechanic for 20 yrs. and the price was right, could have rebuilt entire drive train and still would have been ok. Car has run great, just took it to Seattle on a 2200 mile road trip!

[morrisjm1]

Nope, bought it from my best friend. He wouldn't lie. He also said nothing happened after the prom, he took the girl that became and still is my wife; 33.5 years.

[pmax]

70% is unexpectedly high !

[heimtun]

I purchased my car long distance and did not see it in person until it was delivered. I felt a PPI was manditoy. The PPI gave me peace of mind that there were no major issues an it gave me a few bargaining points from minor issues. There were some minor issues that were missed - but I always expect minor issues when I buy an old car.
YMMV