Tcc1999

Seven owners? The thing is, most of the people here already own a Porsche so it is easy for us to say "Red Flag" or "Might consider if . . . ", etc. That is, we don't have the angst, anxiety, excitement of buying a new to us Carrera. Those emotions sort of short circuit good decision making, tunnel vision ensues and you end up doing things that you'd otherwise never do. One example is that there are a lot of Carreras out there for sale so patience and persistence can lead you to a car with few or no complications. But in the end, if seven previous owners and price go hand-in-hand, and you do not want to wait/search for a "better" car that meets your criteria, if the car checks out and you can live with the long line of ownership then make the deal. Just try to objectively weigh the plusses and minuses.

Dark Helmet

how many of the owners are private dealers who owned the car for very short periods of time.

mine had 5 owners, two of them were obviously just transfer agents. 3 actual owners had the car for about 3 years each. I was OK with that.

rickdogg82

Thanks for the input everyone! Lots to think about.

MarcoRemius

Mine was similar. Showed 4 owners, but 2 of them were dealer transfers. Ended up being a 2 owner car. Big difference. And Carfax isn't always right. When I got the title, it was titled in the dealer's name, not the PO which was indicated by Carfax.

rickdogg82

There is a span where there are three owners in 20 months (one for 5 mo) but nearly 16kmiles rolled up. It is during this time that there is no maintenance listed on the Carfax. This alone does not mean it was not maintained. My C55 has been serviced its entire life at MB dealer but no reports of it on Carfax report. Of course something major problems could have occurred and not reported as well.

First three owners were 14 mo, 14, mo and 23 mo for 16k miles with what appears to be regular maintenance and 20k miles service. Last owner was two years with what looks like regular maintenance - couple oil filter changes and brake system flush plus crankshaft oil seal replacement.

3point8

I personally would pass. I bought a 2-owner car. the person I bought it from knew his stuff and treated the car right but I had no idea about the first owner. I've since learned that they replaced some front end damage (did not come up on carfax because it was paid for in cash) and they rode the clutch because that now needs complaining. plus I think resale would be lower on an 8-owner car when you go to sell.

iammulva

FWIW, I had a PPI done on my car. No service records when I bought it. I think it was 4 owners. 42k miles at the time. No major problems (yet). I didn't consider the resale effect though.

oalvarez

and don't forget the cost of performing a major service on it.....$1500-$2,000 at the dealer level.....no way would i buy a car without any service records and NOT have a more comprehensive service done on it. add on the fact that you'd be the 8th buyer and we're talking a pretty decent discount from the market value. as the gent above said, think about what the next buyer would bid you for the car, and not to forget that there are many out there to choose from.

i think the discount should be 5%-10%, easy.

0-Steve

Personally I wouldn't worry about it too much. Both my current 911 and past Boxster had 2 previous owners and I only kept the Boxster for a little over a year. It was a perfect car but I wanted a 911. I feel like a lot of people buy expensive toys later to realize they don't use them as much or they are more costly than they thought.

Already planning my next P car after only 6 months!

Captsteve123

Be patient as an earlier post stated. There are plenty cars out there with good records, or less miles for same or less money.
Is the car going to be a daily driver? Find one you like, plan to play and fix stuff if needed.

Harvey Yancey

The last owner had it for 2+ years and almost 30K miles. I wouldn't worry about it.

wardrive

When you buy a private sell car its all about the seller - how long they had the car, what records they can show you, etc.

If it was a 7-owner car, but the current owner (seller) has a good history with the car, shows he took care of the car, has all maintain items done (i.e. annual oil change, etc.) then I would buy the car.

Personally a 7-owner car sounds like it would be hard to know the full history of the car - which in the case of a 997 - is worth a lot if I was going to buy. A PPI will only tell me to the current degree. I would pass if the current owner doesn't have the requirements I outlined above.

gti2kids

There's a silver 2006 C2S in SF $47,500 at just 16K miles.

Do you live in LA? If I were you I would buy the car in SF over the phone, fly in and drive it home.

http://www.carsauto.com/2006-porsche...a-s-c-980.htm?

(I have no relation to the seller. I am just following car prices near where I live).

Good luck

rickdogg82

This car looks very nice. Thanks!

gpjli2

Service history is the most important item when buying P. Also I'm loving folks whose cars had 2 previous owners that think 7 must be ok then. Imagine trying to explain "8 previous owners" when you try to unload it. Big investment, shop around. pay a little more. Listen to that nagging little voice in your head that's saying "What the f*ck is wrong with this picture?"