Awesome! Another one here in DFW! The guys at RAC are great. I am confident you got yourself a great ride. Hope to meet you at one of the local events soon.

Jamie

 

Thanks for the good word for RAC. I had never heard of them but took a chance after talking to them. The car passed inspection and they are bringing it to San Antonio, TX. Check arrived today and waiting for it to clear and get the car down here.

Cant wait!!

 

Just an FYI make sure to really inspect the car upon delivery. I had a ppi done by park place and they missed a ton of stuff to the tune of 3 grand. If I hadnt been so excited to get the car and confident because I had a PPI I would have refused it on delivery. They missed a ton of stuff that cost me good money. Money I could have negotiated off on the car had I known. Lesson learned. Then again I doubt who you are purchasing from is as shady as park cities autohaus in Dallas tx is.

 

I would agree with the park place warning. In this case the PPI was ok, but they did miss some things although small in comparison. Problem is I am not local to Dallas and needed to set up the PPI on short notice. They did an ok job but I have noticed a few things they missed that perhaps a good indie would have found. Either way I am happy so far and the car (and my garage) look awesome. Ill get some pics up when I get a chance.

 

There is just no substitute for seeing a car in person. Mine had a rank smell to it as well, if I had seen it in person never would've even considered it. I ended up trading it in because of all the issues combined with the smell.

Congrats in the ride I'm sure it's a great feeling.

 

SCORE!!

 

My new baby!! Ill get better pics at some point.

 

Damn nice pick up! I am going to be in the Market for a C4s shortly (1 year or so)....but the ones I have been finding are all so high mileaged....

 

A high mileage should not be a problem if cared fot.

Jb

 

Love this thread, but it's created another issue for me. I finally decided on the 996 over the NSX and now I'm torn on getting the 4S after looking at all of these fine examples! I may end up having to purchase from out of state though. I can't find anything in my area that I like. Anyone with previous experience with purchasing out of state? I've done it before with a M5 but I considered myself lucky. Plus, it was still under warranty.

 

no worries. i have done it several times. First talk to the service center which works consistently on the car you may be interested in. If the owner does not give you a source, move on.

then, if you are really interested (say 90% probable), find a different service center to do a PPI. Most Porsche dealers will do one for $300. if the owner will not take his/her car to a dealer, move on bye.

then if it passes, go look at the car your self and check the sources. The local PCA is always a good source of information.

there are many posts here of drivers who fly cross country and drive home. it is always a fun trip. I did it myself once, and had a great time.

GOOD LUCK

JB

 

I have bought several over the internet. If your looking for a specific car it is sometimes the only way to get it. Last one prior to the Porsche was an infiniti G35 with a manual transmission. What I have found so far is that PPI's should never be performed at the dealer. The last 2 were performed at dealers and neither caught what I feel they should have. Do not just have the mechanicals checked out. PPI's performed at a maintenance shop will focus on mechanicals, but pay for a body guy to check it also for prior damage, paint quality, etc. There is no replacement for going to see the car yourself but I have never been able to. The stars never seem to align for me to go pick it up. If your going to ship absolutely DO NOT use the recommended carrier by the selling dealer but DO get a quote from the selling dealer. Reason I say that is they get kickbacks from the carriers and will still pass on the full price to you. Know the shipping price upfront before you dealer with contract shippers because they vary widely.

I am sure I could post a few more notes but that is all I have for now. Dont be in a rush.

 

Thanks for the responses guys! I appreciate the tips. So hard to be patient, but I know I'll find the right one if I wait and take my time. I just know it will more than likely be an out of state purchase. I just have to do the things suggested to protect myself. Nothing like getting the car and then having something fail. When I got my M5 I was on cloud nine. Watched it back out off of the trailor and I was grinning ear to ear that evening. The next day I watched it being loaded up on a flat bed headed to the dealer for the next 5 days... It was under warranty so I wasn't too upset, but I don't want to experience that again.

Sorry....didn't mean to hijack this great thread. Back to posting the beautiful C4S pics!!!!!!!

 

I just did this a month ago. I went to Charlotte, NC. to pick up a 2004 C4S Blue after 2 months of searching on line all over this great nation. Only saw one in Maryland with way too many miles. My son (17) flew out with me and helped me drive back - he was excited. I looked from California to NY. Had a few possibilities in Texas but to be honest, I really didn't want to go that far. Also had possibles in Connecticut, PA and Ohio. Ended up with an 04 with 41,500 miles for 36K. Here's what I did: Every night online looking at E-Bay, Cars.com, Cargurus, and autotrader ... monitored all 4 sites closely. Identified a car, put a deposit, got a PPI and called the dealer or owner several times asking questions. One guy stopped talking when I mentioned a PPI - dropped him. A dealer in Texas did not want to fix the problems found during a PPI - got my deposit back and dropped him. Before buying a plain ticket, get the carfax, be satisfied with the PPI (I talked to the inspector in both occasions) and had the salesman/owner send pictures and describe the car while standing in front of it. If there's nothing to hide, they won't mind. My son and I checked the car with a fine tooth comb at pick-up (inspection check list, flashlight, crawled underneath) and I'm very satisfied with the purchase.

Hope this helps and ... good luck!

 

Nice story. I'm sure my son would love to accompany me for a flight/roadtrip too! Love reading purchases like this. I did the same online search to those sites every evening before going to bed. Every night I'd crawl into the bed and reach for the laptop. Then the wife would say "there it is" like she knew my routine! Ha!