I'm in the market for a 997.1 TT. It was important for me to find a CPO car for peace of mind. But I know that whatever car I buy, I won't be able to resist the urge to modify (ECU, exhaust at the minimum, maybe turbos). If that's the case, should I still look for a CPO car or one that has been nicely modified (and well taken care of) by the previous owner. My thoughts are if I buy a CPO car, my warranty would be in jeopardy after I start flashing and upgrading stuff so I might as well not even worry about warranty. The market price for a 2007 CPO car and a nicely modified car almost out of warranty are about the same.

Ideally, I would prefer to have a CPO car, modify it and keep my warranty. When I bought my first 996TT in 2003, it had close to 3 years of factory warranty remaining. I flashed the ECU and added an exhaust the first month I got the car and never worried about the warranty. Others seem to do the same back in those days. From searching past 997TT forum threads, it seems nowadays people are much more worried about voiding their warranty due to mods. Is this because Porsche is cracking down on warranty claims on modified cars?

I called Momentum Porsche in TX about a modified 2007 997TT. They won't CPO the car because it has mods but it's priced higher than another 2007 CPO Turbo that they have. In my situation, which car is the better choice, a CPO or modified car?

 

You are entering late to the 997tt party and with that in mind it makes a tough decision .

If you buy a CPO car it's priced rather high to even start out . If you decide to modify it the car can cost double by the time you have it fully loaded up .

If you buy a car that is already modified you face the risk of it being driven hard Or the mods may not be identical to what you might have chosen .
An already modded car is best purchased if you know the owner , if he took care of the car , and if the car's history was an occasional sprint on an otherwise pampered car . However a 3K mile car where all those miles were at the drag strip is an older car than what the miles reveal.

My feeling is .. buy a new PDK 997tt and leave it bone stock at this point .

Lets compare price --
CPO 997.1tt = 85-95K . Add another 25K at least to upgrade suspension , engine, wheels . That's 120K and whether you retain the CPO warranty is a gray area .

A new 997tt (non S) MSRP =155 . Discount brings it down to 148K . The car is plenty fast . The suspension and PDK are improved . Even the wheels are nicer . Plus warranty is a set .. the car is new .


A 28K difference buys a three year newer car with a lot of perks .
If this was two years ago .. my reply would have been different.
Unless your goal is to create a record breaking type of car the 997.2tt PDK seems to be the better choice at this late stage.

 

go CPO

 

CPO car, find a mod friendly dealer and do the work with them, something happens they'll be in the hook for it.

 

A good option is to buy a 997.1 TT private party that is still under factory warranty, then get an extented warranty from easy care or other good company. You can get much longer coverage, you'll pay less for the car, and you can mod, as these after market companies usually would be unable to detect your mods

 

I opted to get a cpo car and have it uncertified to shave approximately 2000 off the price. I will be putting that money towards a 6 year warranty that will cost me 5000 with a 100 deductible or 4000 with a 250 deductible. The dealer told me it is wooj about the car's current mileage when it comes to the price of third party warranty. But now you have me worried about voiding the warranty if I put on an exhaust.

 

Buy a completely stock car that's CPO'ed, then buy the mods from a company that backs the CPO warranty 100%. Problem solved.

http://championmotorsportonline.com/...yagreement.pdf

 

I agree with Tom and that is why I deal with Champion!

 

Great advice from everyone .. thanks a lot! It really comes down to finding the right car and being patient, not one of my virtues!
Tom,
Speaking of Champion, I called Momentum Porsche about this car (link below). The salesperson says that it has $20K of mods, from Champion. I'm waiting for a list of what was done and havent' received it yet. Are you familiar with this car?

http://www.momentumporsche.com/used/...seHistory=true

Is anyone here familiar with this car and know if it belonged to a forum member?

 

Given your options, I'd go by the thinking that the car is only as good as its foundation. In other words, go CPO stock and do the mods yourself. If you're careful and selective, most of your mods won't completely void the warranty. I had a long discussion with my local dealer on this and his bottom line and experience was that the failed part would have to be directly tied to your mod in order to deny the warranty. From his decades of experience, that was a relatively rare occurrence.

 

Get a totally stock car with a CPO. Stay away from modded cars, unless they have a known pedigree (RUF). Lots of cars coming off leases lately, a modded lease run hard and put up wet is a recipe for disaster IMO.

 

Would you guys say that buying a CPO car form a P-dealer is pretty safe sight unseen, as long as the usual due diligence (checking Carfax, service records, DME readout, etc.) is done? Anything else I should ask the dealer for?

 

No way would I purchase one of these cars without seeing it first. I know it happens, not sure how frequently. Just becuase it is being sold as CPO doesn't mean it will always meet your standard.If you're crazy about your car, like many of us are, you wouldn't accept certain wear items...e.g. scuffs, scratsches, worn leather, etc. You're not going to get this detail from pics. For example, several years ago I was looking at a 07 turbo CPO that seemed very clean. Opened the driver's door and saw shiny silver on the edge of the door. This wasn't a chip, the paint looked to be rubbed down to the metal. For some this may be no big deal, I wouldn't be comfortable if my door look like that. If you don't want to fly out you can ask someone on here to check a vehicle for you. Still not the same but better than purchasing sight unseen.

 

Definitely at least do visual inspection. I was looking at two cpo turbo cabs at the same dealership. I was going to buy the blue based on pics and specs and price but once I saw the condition of the leather door panels I knew I had to go with the grey one. you couldn't tell how bad shape the door panels were in the pics.

 

...I also remember test driving a very low mileage turbo s cab being sold at the p-dealer. Got in to test drive and couldn't believe my eyes. They had used what looked like the high-shine tires dressing all over every leather peice in the car. I would NEVER do this to my car...you really need to see the car...IMO