VA and D.C pelicanites, where to get PPI?. Please help.

[Andrew Luu]

Hello Everyone,
I am trying to locate a Porsche shope (not dealer) who does good PPI inspection. I know there is one off of Pickett Rd. in Alexandria (I believe it's called Autothority) but was not able to find the number for them. Please let me know if you know someone in the northern VA area who does PPIs. The current owner of this Porsche I am interested in is located in Springfield, VA. Thank you again for your help. Best regards.

[Andrew Luu]

HiI have found intersport in tyson's that can do the job. Thanks again.

[Jim Richards]

Intersport is good, at least the one time I was there for some work on my 993. So, did you find an early car you like or did you go newer? I remember we both looked at the 73 911T in MD.

[Rick Lee]

Since the car is in Springfield, RPM is right there off of Backlick Rd. My favorite is Dulles Int'l Motorsport, but they're in Herndon. Give Stan or Bill a call at RPM (703) 550-8240.

[ChrisL]

I've used Porsche Pitstop (4536 Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria, Virginia 22304, 703-212-0900) twice and thought they did a great job. Not too far from Springfield.

Chris.

[APKhaos]

Andrew,
There are several really good independents around the area - its great. Charlie Murphy at Intersport talked my out of at least two cars early in my search. He basically refused to do the - told me to keep looking. Either of these two cars would have been many $$$$ of work for him. He's a straight arrow.

Others probably have similar experiences with most of the shops around the area - no bad apples that I've heard of.

Good luck with the car.

[Andrew Luu]

Jim, Richard, Chris, and Tony,

Thanks for all the help guys. I have called Autobahn in Fairfax (they're the only one that still opens after 5pm Friday night) and schedualled a PPI. The mechanics told me that it will be a 3 Hours job and asked $240 for it. Does this sounds about right to you?. What are the things I need to pay attention to when having a PPI done?. Also, after the PPI, should the mechanic talks to me alone about the condition of the Porsche or to the seller as well?. I will post the pics if it passed the PPI. Thanks again.

Jim- I sorta gave up on the ealier Porsches as they are very difficult to find one that does not need extensive rust works. I found a 77 911, carrera 3.0, turbo conversion body with a '86 3.2L with 70K miles on the engine. The seller asked $13750 for it (he paid 23K for it at Pitstop 5 years ago). The body is straight with a little rust due to a repaint. Overall, it test drive very nicely and it looks wonderfully.

[ChrisL]

Andrew,

Three hours sounds right. I paid Pitstop $180 (3 hrs @ $60/hr) just under two years ago. I can't get used to $80 an hour for a mechanic, but that's what the local Saab dealer charges. You can probably get an Oracle DBA for that much, for goodness sake (bit of IT humor).

Chris.

[Jim Richards]

Andrew, I think I paid $200 for a PPI. Now that I've been through it and also have some ownership experience, I'd ask a lot more questions about all systems while the mechanic is looking it over. I'd also insist on a good test drive with the mechanic. The guy that did my car raced Porsches and drove it vigorously with me sitting on the passenger side. I wish I had him also drive it for a while in typical conditions, you know, sitting in DC area traffic for example. After I completed the deal I started to notice things like the clutch pedal hanging a bit after releasing it (a common 993 thing). Also the little noises that I hear now that we didn't pay attention to during the spirited test drive.

Good luck with your purchase. It sounds like a real nice car. Once you've got your "new" car you need to hook up with us DC area Pelicanheads. We've had 2 engine drops (one for clutch, one for 2.7 to 3.2 swap) and one Fun Run in the past few months. Another NoVA Fun Run is planned for mid September. A few of us are hooking up with the Western VA Pelicanheads for a drive in SW VA next Sunday. Lots to do and great people to be with. Looking forward to meeting you...