Fess Up: Did you get a PPI before buying?

[Karter18]

No specific PPI. Was looking and a friend who is a driving instructor owns a used dealership told me about the car that was in the works from an estate sale. He got possession of the car and my wife was on business there and was able to see it and drive it, etc. Also got to talk to the owner of the shop that had serviced the car for the past 15-20 years. The car needed a few small things and did not pass smog the first time, passed after getting the car warm. As we went through the process the car was looking nice and right at purchase we found all the manuals with purchase in Concord, CA and services stamps at the dealer there and near Stockton where car lived all it's life. Car is dry as anything even battery box just has scratches from type 49 sliding around on paint easily touched up.

No smoke ever, a couple of drops of oil on the garage in two months since I have taken possession but they are smaller than a dime if ever. New tires, shocks, turbo tie rod ends and she drives great.

[Handlebar]

I bought my first 911 last Friday from an out of state seller (privately owned). It passed the PPI with flying colors, and I drove it 700 miles home. I LOVE it, and have no regrets - at least none in the last 4 days or so!

I looked at a different 911 two weeks prior, was described by the dealer as "great for a DD, terrific shape, etc." The PPI done there was the "Run, don't walk" variety.

I'm a fan of PPI. I don't personally know enough to avoid paying for a PPI and I also do not feel comfortable about believing that I know if a car is really solid mechanically, or just looks good cosmetically. I don't have the background to make that call.

[Tim/oh]

I did not but wrestled with it. A combination of things factored into it. I liked the guys candor and honesty. I knew his background from a friend. The car was amazingly original. Had service records and one of the invoices was for a no start issue. Shop did diagnosis, ck'd DME relay,inj pulse, fuel pressure, head temp sensor, air flow meter, crank sensors, ign patterns, grounds, throttle swtches, drained old fuel, pulled fuel rails, ck'd injectors, did compression ck 165-175 lbs, new plugs, fuel filter, timing..... narrowed it to bad DME. The good news is that was 1000 mi ago, the bad, it was 6 yrs ago. So I took a chance. Time will tell if I lucked out or not.

[gshiwota]

I have purchased 3 old 911s in the past 9 years.... Here's what I've learned about PPIs

2008 - #1 - 40K mile '82 SC - Purchased without PPI but I did speak to the seller's mechanic prior to purchasing. I was told it was a solid car that wasn't driven much. 2 months after owning the car I found 1 broken headstud. I'm not 100% sure it was already broken before or it broke after I bought the car as I was the first person to put real mileage the car. I ended up pulling the motor myself and having the headstuds replaced. Lesson learned... get a PPI before purchase however I'm not 100% sure it would have caught the headstud problem.

2011 - #2 - 152K mile '86 Carrera w/ recent engine rebuild - Purchased with PPI. Mechanic told me it was a solid car with only a rear seal oil leak. I drove the car for a while and confirmed it was a solid car. Fixed the leak and sold the car 2 years later. The buyer took it for a PPI to the same mechanic I used for the original PPI. The prospective buyer was told the car was abused and had a lot of mechanical issues - I'm not sure why the story changed so much as I fixed many of the issues I found while owning the car. The same mechanic reviewed my car twice and had very different opinions each time. If anything, the car was mechanically more solid at the second PPI than the first. Lesson learned... PPIs are very subjective.

2014 - #3 120K mile '88 Carrera - Very original and unmolested car. No prior engine work but car has complete service docs. I purchased this car under market value assuming that it'll need mechanical work. No PPI - Lesson learned... I'll let you know as I have only owned the car for 1-week.

[TubbyAZ]

I'll come into the confessional.

I saw mine on our company internal website for sale by a coworker. He happened upon it, sold by an older gentleman who decided it was time to stop driving. Car lived its whole life in the Phoenix metro area, not a hint of rust anywhere.

In the past, my coworker has flipped a few cars, including some interesting old BMWs for other coworkers who were very happy with what they bought. I inspected the repair receipts (not quite complete, but lots of work like suspension, clutch, fuel pump, alternator etc). He also had a short list of items that a reputable local shop recommended.

So I wrote the check. I got lucky. The damn thing just runs. It leaks/burns a total of 1.5 qts of oil during the 3000 mile oil change interval.

[pmax]

No PPI here.
Car was serviced regularly , the needed items list was taken care of one by one, no leaks, seller was a great guy according to my reading. He did a PPI about 8k ago.

[dicklague]

I had a friend with Porsche connections look for me. I wanted an RS tribute that was in good condition. Looked at quite a few cars.

My friend sent me to TRE Motorsports. They had a car that I might like......ask for Dave.

No PPI......this guy Dave said the car had a fresh 2.7 motor with fresh EFI pump about 1500 miles on the engine.....built by Mark Kinninger in San Diego.

Dave said it had a "crunchy gearbox" but ran well. Great suspension, hard old race slicks on it roll bar and a 20 foot body.

So no PPI, but I was lucky it seems. Dave Bouzaglou turned out to be a straight shooter and one of the best in LA if you need a PPI, and a world recognized expert on long hood cars.

Mark Kinninger has a very big reputation for being a great engine guy, so I really lucked out.

Engine is still great after 120,000 miles.

The trans has been fixed and the body and interiors restored.

PPI is a good idea, but sometimes you can get lucky. I certainly did.

[1975porsche]

No ppi on the three I have.

[gliding_serpent]

I know everyone screams "get a PPI" to everyone else, but based on my experience looking for a 911, lots of cars get bought and sold without them.



So fess up: did YOU buy your car without one?



Note: this doesn't apply to projects, but cars you were planning on driving. For those that did get a PPI, what was the result? Did you pass on the car? Buy it? Use the results to get some $$ off the seller's asking price?

I did a ppi for an internationdl buy and i suspect it was worth near nothing. Why?? Because i asked if there was evidence of repaint/overspray. They said no evidence they could see. 5 seconds after seeing the csr post purchace i could find significant evidence of windows in overspray.

Any body damage or evidance of repair? No they said, all panel gaps good, and frame looks great. Drivers front spoiler cracked with lifting paint and poor bondo job. Rear lower bumper panel is out of place.

Engine was said to be 5% leakdown across the board. Any bet they did not turn a spark plug?

So i thought i was getting a top notch paint, excellent bodywork car with a fresh engine. Reality... I suspect the engine will match thr body, but here is to hoping...

[stevedollar]

No, but I looked the car over before I handed over the check (it was a local EBay purchase). Although the seller disclosed a problem with the window switch, it turned out the window switch was fine but the much more difficult to replace seat switch was broken. Otherwise, it was pretty much as described although being over 25 years old, some stuff like rubber fuel lines had to be replaced. I can't say I would recommend against a PPI but I have never done it and I believe you will get some surprises no matter what you do. The main thing I would worry about is collision repairs.

[shaunmbenson]

Just bought my 3rd 3.2 and it was the first I ppi'd
Glad I did -- mechanic said it was excellent generally but needed about $4-5k.
So $5k came off asking and I have a sorted car with a few key mechanicals done on my watch - including a current targa top rebuild. It's nice when that first $5k worth is already known and factored.

Very glad I spent the $350.

[JINKATIN]

I did not have a PPI done, he did have a huge folder of records of all work done to it. So test drove it, loved it, and bought it.


Charlie

[rwilner]

i'm just bumping this thread for more responses...curious if more people or less people are getting PPIs, with market going so crazy. My guess is that the trend is fewer PPIs, as there is likely a long list of cash buyers for desirable cars. (read: seller's market).

[Willem Fick]

Sadly not. Bought from what was known as a reputable shop, not knowing the owner would later see his day in court for his bad dealings. On the upside got good enough at assessing p-cars that I later started doing ppi's for others and cost the same dealer two sales. In retrospect would still have bought my car, just would have oaid a lot less for it.

[Bleedsblue]

Wow! 70% no PPI? I'm one of them.

I basically did my own PPI based on knowledge of '90s BMWs, which isn't perfectly transferable, but my car ended up being better than I thought.

I looked for rust; felt body panels for signs of repairs (though already had clean CarFax/title, too); pushed and pulled on suspension components; watched the tailpipes during cold start and once it warmed up; and most importantly, drove it for a good 15min during which I tested every switch and function.

[Jesse16]

None for me either. I think that % of no's is a reasonable indication of how good the cars and the owners are in general also. A car guy and his gut have got to be right at least 75% of the time! You'd have to dig hard at a shop to beat that %.

[Bleedsblue]

^Agreed. I forgot to mention I tested my self-PPI knowledge by taking my newly purchased 911 on a 1,000 mile road trip back home through a snow storm. Started right up the second day in 30 degree weather.

[mike27t]

I did a PPI (Post Purchase Inspection)

Did not have an opportunity/time to take it to a shop prior to purchase as there were multiple buyers ready to snatch the vehicle up from under me. I have some idea of what to look for as one would have with any car, but also researched where to look specific to 911's.

In the end I had minimal items to address once I purchased the vehicle.
Oil line leak
Torn axle boots
Worn tie rods

[douglas bray]

Nope, I knew enough to judge for myself. Car was better than expected in many ways, not up to snuff in others. I'd say I did really well. Have done lots of PPI's for European buyers looking at cars in SoCal. European Collectibles is finally on to me. LOL

[Jerome74911S]

No PPI for me, but then I was not confused into thinking that I was buying a new car - it was 36 years old at the time. Therefore, there were some issues that were a surprise, and other things that were a surprise, too, but in a really good way. So, it was okay.

Actually, I had to compete with a mechanic who mainly was building 911 race cars at the time, because he really wanted the car for himself and he was hustling around trying to come up with the cash to buy the car, but I beat him to it. I drove it home 800 kms five years ago, and it's still going.