997.2 C4S with no maintenance history

[StuartH1]

Can't help with a recommendation for inspections, I've never used one, I've heard Nick Giles well recommended.

It might not be necessary if you're buying from someone with a cast iron reputation like Paragon for example, I'd buy a car off them unseen and drive it away without even checking it over, I have no connection at all with them but those guys will only sell top grade cars and they give you a cast iron warranty.

So do some due diligence on the dealer as well.

 

[Greenace]

Yeah, I don't know the dealer. They're a 'prestige, sports and luxury' dealer not a Porsche specialist. Reviews are favourable, though, and I got good vibes from the chap who showed me the car. It's more for my peace of mind - 16 year old car and all that...

 

[StuartH1]

Yeah, I don't know the dealer. They're a 'prestige, sports and luxury' dealer not a Porsche specialist. Reviews are favourable, though, and I got good vibes from the chap who showed me the car. It's more for my peace of mind - 16 year old car and all that...

In my experience, they only usually prepare them cosmetically and usually hope they don't present any mechanical issues during the warranty period, whereas a specific Porsche Independent will usually go through them mechancially.

It's fine if you know what you're doing and/or get it checked, I bought one of mine from a generic supercar dealer and it needed a lot of mechanical work, but I knew that when I bought it and still wanted it.

 

[squicker]

Thanks Rodney. I’ve filled in gaps by calling dealers before and, like you say, had mixed results. It missed one service in 2023 but other than that it’s spot on.

I’ve not come across a car with zero supporting paperwork before, though. Not even an old MOT or invoice for tyres. A good healthy maintenance file is always a good thing IMO. Maybe I’m just being over cautious…

It's increasingly common, and a primary reason is fear of GDPR. If a dealer passes to you an invoice with my name and address on it, that's personal data, so I will be able to say that a breach of GDPR has been committed, and there is case history to support this. In one case, a dealer left an old invoice in the glove box by mistake and the new owner contacted the old one with a question, and sure enough, the old owner contacted the ICO and a small fine (I think it was £5000) was levied on the dealer. So dealers have been advised to either redact the PD from history, or bin it; they can't be bothered to redact it, so they bin it. It is sound cybersecurity advice to destroy all data that you do not need so to avoid compliance costs of that data. The more that car histories become digital, the less the paper trail is needed.

When I sold my last Porsche I wrote a letter saying that the dealer could retain the history until sale and then pass that information onto the new owner, specifically to protect them and help the new owner, but I suspect I am rare in considering this point. In reality, the history is somewhat academic, I'd put a lot more weight on the PPI than the fattest of history files ;-)

It's not necessarily a concern a car missing a service. I have a small collection of cars so some are sat in storage as I don't get around to driving them every year, and sometimes that means they're SORNed and miss a service, but there are no miles on them in that case, so not anything to worry about IMO as I'll get them serviced when I get them out of storage.

 

[Motorhead]

I'm thinking of Porsche Inspections in Buckingham to do the PPI. They seem well regarded but any opinions or suggestions welcome on that.

Last year my nephew used Porsche Inspections to do a PPI on a 981 Cayman and asked me to review the report. I didn’t ask him what it cost but it was very comprehensive, and apart from a full mechanical inspection it included a body paint depth survey and impressions from a short test drive, and the report was sent to him on the day of the inspection [he’s in Bucks]. A few minor items were highlighted and the seller - a Porsche sales specialist - fixed everything for the previously agreed selling price.

It’s a plus from me for their services, and it’s worth having a good read of their website:

https://www.porscheinspections.com/index.html

Jeff

 

[Greenace]

In my experience, they only usually prepare them cosmetically and usually hope they don't present any mechanical issues during the warranty period, whereas a specific Porsche Independent will usually go through them mechancially.

It's fine if you know what you're doing and/or get it checked, I bought one of mine from a generic supercar dealer and it needed a lot of mechanical work, but I knew that when I bought it and still wanted it.

I suspect there's a few mechanical bits and pieces to attend to on this car. Out of interest, did you negotiate the price to take account of the work needed or did you ask the dealer to fix them before you took the car? I know different dealers do things differently so getting ready to prep for that particular conversation post-PPI

 

[Greenace]

It's increasingly common, and a primary reason is fear of GDPR. If a dealer passes to you an invoice with my name and address on it, that's personal data, so I will be able to say that a breach of GDPR has been committed, and there is case history to support this. In one case, a dealer left an old invoice in the glove box by mistake and the new owner contacted the old one with a question, and sure enough, the old owner contacted the ICO and a small fine (I think it was £5000) was levied on the dealer. So dealers have been advised to either redact the PD from history, or bin it; they can't be bothered to redact it, so they bin it. It is sound cybersecurity advice to destroy all data that you do not need so to avoid compliance costs of that data. The more that car histories become digital, the less the paper trail is needed.

When I sold my last Porsche I wrote a letter saying that the dealer could retain the history until sale and then pass that information onto the new owner, specifically to protect them and help the new owner, but I suspect I am rare in considering this point. In reality, the history is somewhat academic, I'd put a lot more weight on the PPI than the fattest of history files ;-)

It's not necessarily a concern a car missing a service. I have a small collection of cars so some are sat in storage as I don't get around to driving them every year, and sometimes that means they're SORNed and miss a service, but there are no miles on them in that case, so not anything to worry about IMO as I'll get them serviced when I get them out of storage.

GDPR - so much to answer for!

 

[Greenace]

Last year my nephew used Porsche Inspections to do a PPI on a 981 Cayman and asked me to review the report. I didn’t ask him what it cost but it was very comprehensive, and apart from a full mechanical inspection it included a body paint depth survey and impressions from a short test drive, and the report was sent to him on the day of the inspection [he’s in Bucks]. A few minor items were highlighted and the seller - a Porsche sales specialist - fixed everything for the previously agreed selling price.

It’s a plus from me for their services, and it’s worth having a good read of their website:

https://www.porscheinspections.com/index.html

Jeff

Excellent, thanks Jeff. Always a bonus to get first-hand experience

 

[squicker]

Last year my nephew used Porsche Inspections to do a PPI on a 981 Cayman and asked me to review the report. I didn’t ask him what it cost but it was very comprehensive, and apart from a full mechanical inspection it included a body paint depth survey and impressions from a short test drive, and the report was sent to him on the day of the inspection [he’s in Bucks]. A few minor items were highlighted and the seller - a Porsche sales specialist - fixed everything for the previously agreed selling price.

It’s a plus from me for their services, and it’s worth having a good read of their website:

https://www.porscheinspections.com/index.html

Jeff

Yes, I've previously had a PPI from Ant at Porsche Inspections and it was very thorough. Paid for itself in terms of all the items called out, which I honestly would not have uncovered, because I had objective evidence to ensure they were dealt with prior to my ownership and, where they were not, reduce the price.

Whilst you do have CRA protection on used cars from dealers, I think if you're not buying from Porsche (so have cast iron warranty coverage), it's well worth getting a PPI as there is scope for a tiring battle enforcing those protections! If it's a private sale it's a must have.

The other thing you could do is what I did with my GT4. Stipulated in the sale contract that anything arising in the 111-point pre-OPC warranty check must be covered by the seller so there are no defects preventing application of the OPC warranty, then use the 111-point check as your quasi-PPI. Bearing in mind there's a 3-month moratorium on the OPC warranty, I was relying on CRA protection for 90 days, but I had a lot of confidence in the dealer and car. I've also, on another car, agreed with my OPC that I can have two 111-points, one as a PPI at full price, the second one at 50% discount prior to warranty application to check nothing has arisen since check one because a 111-point check must be done at point of OPC warranty application. I did this when I was buying from a reputable indie who I knew would give me no grief, and I knew I was going to slap 3 years OPC warranty on it anyway.

But I'll say that Ant Shearer from Porsche Inspections is way more thorough than the 111-point check.

EDIT: Just seen car is outside the timescale for OPC Warranty so the 111-point check does not apply. I heartily recommend Porsche Inspections in the OP's case.

 

[Greenman986S]

If you don't drive like Chris Harris... you don't need 4wd