experience w/Sport Trend Auto Sales

johnov335i · 09-01-2009, 01:38 AM

Hi there,

I'm looking to purchase my first p-car and am not finding what i want locally (in Seattle area). Searching through Autotrader I've come across a number of reasonably priced cars (for a dealer) through an outfit called Sport Trend Auto Sales in Los Angeles (Studio City). I ran three VIN's for listed 996's and each came up as a clean, 1 owner vehicle. Ran a search on the board and found one thread where folks referenced a good experience but that was back in '06.

From up north, things appear to be checking out... but before I call I was hoping to learn more from you folks (been doing that for a while). Has anyone worked with them before? Their website is: www.sportstrendautosales.com

Thanks,
John (in the market for a Mk II C2, cab or coupe)

ivangene · 09-01-2009, 02:28 AM

Hey, Bellevue here

Have you driven any?
cab or coupe is a pretty wide open search...

I worked with these guys before and I watch their inventory of P-cars. They get some nice ones in and are sort of under the radar for advertising...
http://www.ebautobrokers.com/

I am not recommending you buy from them, but I would recommend you drive a couple cars and get a feel for what you are really interested in.

What do you plan on using the car for ?

what brings you to look at Porsche - what are you expecting to experience ? -
If you pop over to ParkPlace in Bellevue, they always have plenty of cars to "test drive" too

You should focus there... get in one... drive it.... find out what makes each one differant and what features you like and dont like -
Ed

ahcjar103 · 09-01-2009, 03:03 AM

hey guys,

i'm in belltown. EB is right over in queen anne where the old qfc used to be. ed's right... they dont advertise too much.

sport trend does have a number of p-cars; IMO i'd really want to go down there and look at the cars for a couple reasons. 1) getting to LA is cheap ($150) and, 2) on one of their ads they list a c4s as manual when the pics clearly show it as a tip. could just be carelessness, but my general attitude is a seller that cares about the ads cares about the product (generally speaking of course).

best of luck in your search.

ps. my search recently ended, today actually. 04 c4s.

johnov335i · 09-01-2009, 03:26 PM

EB and Complete Automotive both seem like good outfits and are on my watch list along with the typical sites on the internet machine. Park Place on the other hand, while having awesome cars, continue to be out of touch with my idea of a fair deal. this experience has held true whether consigning or buying. Ahcjar103 – congrats on your new car and to your point, airfare is cheap and I’m thinking of lining up few vehicles in LA for inspection (private parties and dealers). There are more of them and they cost less than in the Seattle area (what doesn't?). A PPI would follow and then a glorious drive home on the 101.

I figured the cab or coupe comment would generate a response or two. I’ve driven both and am leaning towards the cab. Never owned a rag top and think the family will enjoy it (from the passenger or back seats!). I’m okay forfeiting rigidity for open air excitement. I’ll use the car as a DD though I have a Yukon to back me up when the weather gets funky. PCA events will be a blast in either variant and with instruction, hopefully my driving and times will improve. Why keep the coupe on the list then? Well, I know I’ll appreciate the handling characteristics more, I’m absolutely in love with the lines, and honestly, does the world need another 40+ year old balding male cruising around in a cabriolet?

A related question, does anyone have experience with the Speed Gallery? This is an indi across the street from STA.

Thanks,
John

ahcjar103 · 09-01-2009, 03:44 PM

agreed... park place prices their cars in the stratosphere, seemingly hoping to find whales that will drop coin just to say they purchased their car there. i went there to look at the p-cars they had on the lot and many of them were 8-10k higher than what you see out in the market.

haven't heard anything about speed gallery, however the general advice i got from the indy porsche shop who did my ppi was this: judge the car not the shop. even somewhat questionable dealers get good cars, and if the dealer knows something about the car that is faulty, it will come out in the ppi. a place like sport trends has a bunch of inventory so i assume they do some good business. on the flip side, i am not sure why they have a financing application on their website that requests your SSN and other personal info that does NOT use an SSL certificate whatsoever. that scares the heck out of me.

and when you do purchase the perfect vehicle, you'll have the wonderful experience of dealing with the DOL and paying use tax on "fair market value".... of which they said was 12k higher than i actually paid for my vehicle.

as far as cab vs coupe, personal preference obviously. i came to the p-car from an 07 328xi that i had leased. prior to that i had an m3 convert and loved the open air; would regularly swear to myself that the next car i got would also be a convert. when it came down to it though, i liked the c4s coupe body more than the cab.

adam
ps.

Meister Fahrer · 09-01-2009, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnov335i

Hi there,

I'm looking to purchase my first p-car and am not finding what i want locally (in Seattle area). Searching through Autotrader I've come across a number of reasonably priced cars (for a dealer) through an outfit called Sport Trend Auto Sales in Los Angeles (Studio City). I ran three VIN's for listed 996's and each came up as a clean, 1 owner vehicle. Ran a search on the board and found one thread where folks referenced a good experience but that was back in '06.

From up north, things appear to be checking out... but before I call I was hoping to learn more from you folks (been doing that for a while). Has anyone worked with them before? Their website is: www.sportstrendautosales.com

Thanks,
John (in the market for a Mk II C2, cab or coupe)

I went up there a few years ago when I was looking, over an hour drive for me.

They had a nicely priced C2 I saw on the web and had spoken with them, but when I got there it just looked a little tired and well-worn.
(Their cars all sit outside, iirc.)

Then they tried to show me several other cars that I wasn't interested in.

So I would generally caution on them, but I'm sure they have good cars also.

Good luck!

Nidan · 09-01-2009, 04:55 PM

When I was looking for my Porsche, I also asked this board about Sportstrend. I did not buy my car from them.

09-01-2009, 01:38 AM	#1
johnov335i User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 12	experience w/Sport Trend Auto Sales Hi there, I'm looking to purchase my first p-car and am not finding what i want locally (in Seattle area). Searching through Autotrader I've come across a number of reasonably priced cars (for a dealer) through an outfit called Sport Trend Auto Sales in Los Angeles (Studio City). I ran three VIN's for listed 996's and each came up as a clean, 1 owner vehicle. Ran a search on the board and found one thread where folks referenced a good experience but that was back in '06. From up north, things appear to be checking out... but before I call I was hoping to learn more from you folks (been doing that for a while). Has anyone worked with them before? Their website is: www.sportstrendautosales.com Thanks, John (in the market for a Mk II C2, cab or coupe)

09-01-2009, 02:28 AM	#2
ivangene Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Washington State - Near Seattle Posts: 6,111	Hey, Bellevue here Have you driven any? cab or coupe is a pretty wide open search... I worked with these guys before and I watch their inventory of P-cars. They get some nice ones in and are sort of under the radar for advertising... http://www.ebautobrokers.com/ I am not recommending you buy from them, but I would recommend you drive a couple cars and get a feel for what you are really interested in. What do you plan on using the car for ? what brings you to look at Porsche - what are you expecting to experience ? - If you pop over to ParkPlace in Bellevue, they always have plenty of cars to "test drive" too You should focus there... get in one... drive it.... find out what makes each one differant and what features you like and dont like - Ed __________________ 86' Coupe Guards Red 99' C2 Black/Savanna (sold / missed) Ed

09-01-2009, 03:03 AM	#3
ahcjar103 User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 20	hey guys, i'm in belltown. EB is right over in queen anne where the old qfc used to be. ed's right... they dont advertise too much. sport trend does have a number of p-cars; IMO i'd really want to go down there and look at the cars for a couple reasons. 1) getting to LA is cheap ($150) and, 2) on one of their ads they list a c4s as manual when the pics clearly show it as a tip. could just be carelessness, but my general attitude is a seller that cares about the ads cares about the product (generally speaking of course). best of luck in your search. ps. my search recently ended, today actually. 04 c4s.

09-01-2009, 03:26 PM	#4
johnov335i User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 12	EB and Complete Automotive both seem like good outfits and are on my watch list along with the typical sites on the internet machine. Park Place on the other hand, while having awesome cars, continue to be out of touch with my idea of a fair deal. this experience has held true whether consigning or buying. Ahcjar103 – congrats on your new car and to your point, airfare is cheap and I’m thinking of lining up few vehicles in LA for inspection (private parties and dealers). There are more of them and they cost less than in the Seattle area (what doesn't?). A PPI would follow and then a glorious drive home on the 101. I figured the cab or coupe comment would generate a response or two. I’ve driven both and am leaning towards the cab. Never owned a rag top and think the family will enjoy it (from the passenger or back seats!). I’m okay forfeiting rigidity for open air excitement. I’ll use the car as a DD though I have a Yukon to back me up when the weather gets funky. PCA events will be a blast in either variant and with instruction, hopefully my driving and times will improve. Why keep the coupe on the list then? Well, I know I’ll appreciate the handling characteristics more, I’m absolutely in love with the lines, and honestly, does the world need another 40+ year old balding male cruising around in a cabriolet? A related question, does anyone have experience with the Speed Gallery? This is an indi across the street from STA. Thanks, John

09-01-2009, 03:44 PM	#5
ahcjar103 User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 20	agreed... park place prices their cars in the stratosphere, seemingly hoping to find whales that will drop coin just to say they purchased their car there. i went there to look at the p-cars they had on the lot and many of them were 8-10k higher than what you see out in the market. haven't heard anything about speed gallery, however the general advice i got from the indy porsche shop who did my ppi was this: judge the car not the shop. even somewhat questionable dealers get good cars, and if the dealer knows something about the car that is faulty, it will come out in the ppi. a place like sport trends has a bunch of inventory so i assume they do some good business. on the flip side, i am not sure why they have a financing application on their website that requests your SSN and other personal info that does NOT use an SSL certificate whatsoever. that scares the heck out of me. and when you do purchase the perfect vehicle, you'll have the wonderful experience of dealing with the DOL and paying use tax on "fair market value".... of which they said was 12k higher than i actually paid for my vehicle. as far as cab vs coupe, personal preference obviously. i came to the p-car from an 07 328xi that i had leased. prior to that i had an m3 convert and loved the open air; would regularly swear to myself that the next car i got would also be a convert. when it came down to it though, i liked the c4s coupe body more than the cab. adam ps.

09-01-2009, 04:55 PM	#7
Nidan User Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Central California Posts: 30	When I was looking for my Porsche, I also asked this board about Sportstrend. I did not buy my car from them.