Hey guys, any opinions on that maintenance. Also, he is missing his records for 2011 saying that he only did maintenance but it was done at non-dealer Porsche mechanic that has since closed down. He can't find the maintenance record on that. Kind of weird.

How much should I care about this vs. doing a PPI with an engine and leak down test?

Thanks!

 

Has the 60k service been done? If not you'll be spending well over $1k unless you do it yourself. That will cover any maintenance items that may be missing from the paperwork history.

 

Hi John: Thanks for the response. The last maintenance was done at 53125 miles in April 2012. That's when they found issues with:
- Accumulator and Clutch Slave Cylinder replaced (owner was feeling clutch stiffness)
- Front left speed sensor replaced.
- Throttle assembly replaced.
- 2 radiators replaced
- Left condensor replaced.

Also, any opinion on that door dent (pics posted in on one of my previous posts). Any concern about the door frame or attached hinges?

Thanks again. I hope I'm not being too demanding on you guys...hopefully one day I'll be knowledgeable enough to give back .

nK.

 

For the door damage, I would take it to body shop that knows Porsche's and get an estimate. I could be a bit costly if the hinges are loose, and they need to do spraying to blend in the color. Hard to determine from pictures, and whether door is properly aligned. While in the body shop have them meter the paint thickness to determine if there was any bondo, repaint, or extensive body work in the past.

Know it seems a lot, but unless you know the cars history and trust the owner, it can be dicey. That all said, no matter how careful you are, it will still cost more money to get the car to your level and/or other expenses that occur to a used car. I just like to have the odds in my favor.

 

The 60k hasn't been done and is due. When you have the PPI done ask them what they charge for this major service.

Agree with above, take the car to a good body shop for an estimate.

 

Leak down test worthless. Won't even tell you if the engine runs.

You need to run the engine, drive the car, take the car out on the road and experience the car in its natural environment. A BBQ can be tested on the drive way. A car has to be driven to be properly checked out.

Drive the car. A lot. 15 mile test ride as a passenger followed by a 15 mile (over the same route) with you as the driver.

You want to experience the engine from a cold start, letting it idle and warm up to near operating temperature, then on the road in stop and go traffic, low, medium, and high (highway speed) cruising. Once up to temp then a few hard acceleration runs from idle to near red line with an upshift and continuing to ensure the engine pulls strongly and smoothly throughout its rpm range and makes the right amount of boost. At the end of the hard acceleration arrange to follow it with a hard braking short of ABS trigger.

After all the driving then have the car inspected which includes checking it for any fluid leaks. The 30 miles of driving give the engine, the entire car, a chance to manifest any leaks or other issues.

How the car checks out from a real test ride/drive and thorough used car inspection followed by a PPI matters more than a bit of missing service history.

Now a lot of missing service history would be a different matter.

The clutch accum/slave cylinder is a common issue and good to see it done.

Be sure during the test drive the engine/tranny get fully up to temp and then at a stop let the clutch out with the tranny in neutral and listen carefully for high pitched whistle. This can be a valve in the power steering system making noise which is a $1K repair at a dealer.

 

Honestly with the repairs done in 2012 it looks like it's already had most of the likely suspects for problems fixed... seems like a good car depending on what you can get it for.