If I'm looking at a used 997S at a Porsche dealership (non CPO car), would I be stupid to have the PPI done by them as well? Obviously everything else being equal, I would for sure rather have another Porsche dealership do the PPI but in this case, the next closest Porsche dealership is a couple of hours away.

Thoughts?

 

maybe a good porsche mechanic/tuner in your area?

 

You should ask why it is a non-CPO car. Is there a reason that the dealer cannot CPO the car? If so you should know what it is. Porsche is pretty strict on giving a CPO, and it is worth alot in covering problems.

 

Joe, here is the thing. If it is already at the dealership and the economy being what it is, there is NO reason they cannot add the CPO designation to it and you get a good deal. They will charge for it and perhaps have to fix a few things to get it into specification to be considered, but I did quite a bit of research when getting my 997 and I can tell you, for certain, that any Porsche dealership can make a non-CPO car, CPO. They will charge you for the parts and labor to fix anything that needs to be addressed to get it to standards, including new tires, fluid changes, belts, brakes, etc. I would explore that option and tell them that you are looking to finalize an offer, but they need to work with you. I am guessing, from my own research, for about $2,500 you should be able to have that designation added to the car. I am not sure all the details and remainder of warranty on this non-CPO car, but if it is already at a dealership, it cannot hurt to ask.

If you decide not to go that route, then I would research on the customer service provided by this dealership and I would actually have them do the inspection. This way, if something were to come up and the car still has warranty, you have a strong case to dispute anything they might push back on as they should have caught it on the PPI. If you get it done by someone else, they can say that this or that should have been caught and you are on your own, if they do it, no leg to stand on and a good case to escalate should that even be necessary.

I would have them do it, along with a FULL DME scan and make them give you the 30+ page print out of the scan, along with signed copies of the PPI checklist.

I would personally crawl under the car with a light or ask to see it while on a lift (they probably wont) to check for any hidden damage. If they are as nice as the local dealership I work with, ask them to see the service records. My local dealership showed me the entire history of my car that was at least in their computer system.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the answers everybody. I did ask why this wasn't a CPO car and their response was two reasons. One, there is a little bit of aftermarket add-on's that was done to the car (exhaust and headers, lowered, but NO ECU flash) and they said that Porsche North America frowns on this a bit when it comes to CPO. Secondly, they said that with the extremelly low miles on the car (under 6,000 miles), it wasn't worth the $$$ and they didn't want to have to pass the cost on to the customer.

Think I'm getting a line of b.s. here? Since we're still about $5,000 apart on an agreed upon price, should I tell them to meet me halfway and have the car CPO'd?

Thanks for everybody's great help and advice so far.

 

I understand their position about the aftermarket stuff done to the car. In order for PCNA to approve CPO, the car has to be in factory condition, so everything to OEM standards. I would not say that this is BS, but the second part about the car having low miles and them not wanting to do it, blah blah blah...that is BS. If that car did not have the aftermarket stuff done to it, I'd almost guarantee that it would have already been CPO. My thoughts at least.

I still think that if you have them check the car out and they give you a clean bill of health, should anything arise you would be able to hold them accountable. We need to get you into a Pcar =D

 

The Porsche dealer that I had my recent 997 purchase inspected at told me they could not have CPO'd my vehicle because of aftermarket mufflers. So, seems like a legit reason from your guy.

 

I just bought a CPO'd car online which did not feature any aftermarket bits in the photos I examined before purchase. When I arrived to pick-up the car, I found a Fabspeed exhaust installed. Go figure.

 

Can a dealer under Porsche NA approved conditions (vs. some dealer just being lazy and not checking closely) CPO a car turned in after it has been modded if the parts are all Porsche OEM?

e.g. say when you bought the car, the factory build spec is X. But then you add an OEM SSK and PSE. Would that be considered a non-factory car because it didnt come that way when you bought it, or would that still be considered factory OEM because whether you added it on before purchase or after, it is still Porsche OEM parts?

 

My understanding is that if the parts added to the car do not modify anything (i.e. body kits, SSK, PSE, etc) then a-ok. I am surprised about the above mentioned CPO with after market exhaust. Go figure. Maybe that is something they can still do.