Winnetka

If I end up finding a car (looking for a 991.1 or .2) and the car is a plane ride away, it seems that I would need to find a local Porsche shop, work with them to have the vehicle inspected, and then once I know the car is solid I could purchase with confidence, fly out and either drive it home on a trailer or drive it home myself. I'd put together a pre-inspection list to have the car looked over as well. What does a service like this cost these days to have a reputable shop perform a pre-purchase inspection, and who would normally foot the bill, i.e. buyer or seller? Obviously, the buyer can't really do this in advance as you're instilling trust in someone you have never met but it needs to be done before buying a new car. Pardon the obvious remarks, I'm thinking aloud here but want to make sure I'm thorough and appreciate suggestions from those with experience in these matters particularly with 911 cars.

Does this approach seem sensible or is there an easier way to do this, a service offered that anyone suggests? I have not purchased a 911 in a long time (used to own some older cars 65 C, and 73E) in the late 80's.

Appreciate suggestions appreciated.
Kind regards,
Mike

subshooter

Hi Mike -

One option is that you can solicit someone here on rennlist or find someone from the local PCA club in the area where the car is located and have them scope the car out first. I did this for a complete stranger and checked out a car for sale at a Porsche dealership on consignment. Turned out the owner was a track junkie and the car was heavily tracked with rock chips all over it. He didn't buy it.

Good luck with your search.

duxsi

How long is the plane ride?
Might be worth a day trip..

HardRider

If your willing to pay shipping and the other inconvenience of buying across the country wait till November/Winter where prices really drop up North....

Tier1Terrier

I was once in a similar situation. In my case, I was able to identify a local independent mechanic who specialized in German cars and they agreed to check the car out. Fortunately for me, the mechanic found a number of issues that made me walk away from the deal and get my deposit back. Those issues were paint in poor condition, tires and brakes in below CPO standard condition (car was being sold as CPO and dealer refused to change out the tires and brakes).

If you can identify a mechanic that will look at the car on a lift, that would be best. I'd expect to pay around a couple hundred bucks for a good quick and thorough once over.

What city is the car you're looking at?

996scott

The last 2 Porsches I've bought were out of state. This is what I did for both purchases; Spent a lot of time talking to the seller asking a lot of questions about the history, condition, maintenance, getting pictures and videos so i had a really good idea on the overal condition of the car. Once I felt good about the car, and the seller, we negotiated a price. I then posted here on Rennlist asking for recommendations on a good independent shop to do the PPI that was near the seller. I had the seller set up an appointment for them to drop the car off for the inspection. The inspection is always payed for by the buyer. The shops usually have an inspection form that they use but you can give them some specifics on what you want looked over. The last PPI I had done was $400. If there are things that show up on the PPI that need fixing you can use that to renegotiate the price or just walk away if there are too many red flags. After that I flew out and drove that car home. Hope that helps. Good luck.

Hoosier_Daddy

Ditto on seeking the help of PCA. They will also steer you in a direction of some great shops. If you have the time... all I can add is that flying to take delivery of a car and a road trip back has been a couple of the greatest auto memories in my life (the longer the better and on as many back roads as possible)!

Good luck with your search. Patience and perseverance pay off mightily in these instances. I've always felt the search was half the fun!

WJGreer

My situation was similar. I asked a friend (not a Porsche enthusiast) who happened to live in the area to swing by the dealer and make sure the car didn't have any obvious issues. Then I asked around here to find an indy Porsche mechanic and contacted them about doing a PPI.

I think it was $475, for which they picked up the car from the dealer where it sat and delivered it back once the PPIU was finished. The dealer was willing to do that, and I was prepared to walk away from the car if they hadn't.

No huge issues with mine, so I negotiated the deal and flew out to get it the next weekend. The drive home was 12 hours, all on I-70, which isn't the most thrilling thing to do in a 911. But it was fun anyway.

ram_g

I have bought 4 cars remotely, including my 996TT. I’ve always followed a process similar to @996scott - ask a bunch of questions, agree a tentative deal, pay for the inspection, and then finalize the deal. Three of the four times I relied exclusively on the pictures and inspection and bought the cars sight unseen (by me), while for the Porsche I flew up there and checked out the car myself (in addition to the professional PPI) before forking over the money.

Heads up that not all PPIs are successful at flagging the issues. The last car I purchased was a super low miles Jaguar XKR that seemed to be in great shape and the inspector gave me a glowing report - “as new”, etc. Turns out that he missed some very basic things; the suspension rubber boots were all shot (which was clearly visible by just looking under the bumpers, no lift needed), some of the leather was badly stained, and several other items. I was left feeling like the dealer was dishonest and the inspector either dishonest or incompetent or both, and there really wasn’t much recourse that wasn’t going to be a huge hassle with uncertain success. So I think I’ll hesitate before buying another car that I don’t set eyes on myself.

Bud Taylor

I have bought lots of car remotely but I am picky and want specific options like a manual transmission and a slick top under 10K miles. They made a lot of these cars so if you arent so picky on options you should not have to travel. With any car get a PPI from an independent shop to include paint meter readings. Once it passes that then I would fly in to buy.

GoTime

Yep, I did this in April. Found a car in LA (I'm in Boston), had an independent PPI, and the PPI mechanic was able to arrange shipping for me. Didn't drive it until it arrived a few weeks later, but carfax was clean and all I needed was new tires.

straka

In my experience I purchased a CPO 991.2 from a Porsche dealer a state away. When it came to CPO warranty repairs my local Porsche dealer gave poor attention to my concerns. I was even asked why I didn't buy a Porsche from them even though they had no 991s in their inventory.

WillyDaP

I sold over 3000 vehicles in my Sales Career and most were shipped. We were super **** , disclosed everything, but I still told friends who I could not assist at the time to ask a lot of questions. One of the simplest ways to do an initial check is to call the PCA Region in the area and ask about the Dealership. This will usually give you a solid feeling if the Dealership is considered just average or hopefully excellent. CPO'd Porsches are a good choice as the Dealer criteria is fairly strict as it absolutely must meet Porsche guidelines. Good luck and, of course , if you can get someone to check out the car that is always good too, but you may find out from the PCA Region plenty concerning the Dealership and that may alleviate some of your concerns - good luck.

Cur

Almost same exact story, right down to locations. I'm NW of Boston and got my car from Newport Beach. Took a little longer due to shipping, inspections (and the dealer fixing a bunch of stuff!) but overall I'm *thrilled* with the car, and the wait was 100% worth it.

checkmate1996

I flew out to Long Island with my wife to buy my 991.2. We made it a long weekend vacation. Put a 1000 miles on the car. Had a fantastic time!