I'm certainly no expert on DME readouts and overrev's but I've got to say WOW, that readout would make me very, very, nervous.

Granted your car is a little older, but here was my readout on my car when I purchased it. At the time, my car had about 6,800 miles on it.
DME:
Range 1: 168
Range 2: 45
Range 3: 3
Range 4: 0
Range 5: 0
Range 6: 0

I'd take Larry's advice and walk. Still lots of good cars out there to be had that have not been pushed like the one you are looking at. As others have said, the DME shows one thing pretty clearly. Driver probably pushed the other things on the car to and over the limit as well.

 

Thanks for the replies so far, I sincerely appreciate it! What I'm trying to get my head around is how these DME readings could possibly affect the engine in the future? It obviously "survived" the somewhat aggresive driving so far, the PPI came back clean. In speaking with him, the Porsche Tech actually seemed to really like the car and didn't see a problem with the DME. He agreed it had been driven "like a Porsche should be driven," but wasn't bothered by the Over revs. Just to be clear, this is a private party sale, the car isn't being sold by the dealer who did the PPI. Everything else about the car I really love, this DME situation just popped up this afternoon and I'm really torn here. Is the life of the engine going to be dramatically shortened because of how it has been driven for the first 28K miles? What components would tend to be impacted? Sorry for so many questions guys, I'm just trying to get a firm grasp of what I'm dealing with here.

Thanks,

Jay

 

Jay --no one can guess when or if a car will go kaboom . All one can do with a used car is find one which is as close to its condition when it was new . Obviously the thread opinion is varied . You could seek a second opinion from another shop inspection too but no matter how many opinions you get that car (even though it survived) is not in its near new condition .

I value what lengths an owner takes to preserve a car's engine health . If a car happens to be modified then it needs to be even more closely supervised but even if the car is bone stock that does not give a driver a free pass at abusing that engine .

I'd rather have a car that has no doubts but that's just my sentiment .You did ask for an opinion. You have to decide what works for you . I wish you the best no matter what.

 

I agree with the Porsche tech. These cars ARE meant to be driven! I have yet to see one thread where someone bought a car with a bad DME, and it went kablooey!

In fact, when you look at all the cars that have had problems on these threads, they seem to be the "babied" ones. There is clearly no indication that bad DME=bad engine/car life.

Outside of the DME, how does the car drive? How is the car's overall condition?

There's a lot more to buying a used car than reading the computer metrics.

 

Thanks Larry, I really appreciate and value your opinion! I have been reading your posts for months, you have helped so many Porsche owners with their acquisitions. I need to sleep on this situation and re-evaluate things in the morning. If anybody else has information or perspective, please feel free to jump in and share your opinion.....

Thanks again guys!

Jay

 

RiceEater, thanks for jumping in. I haven't driven the car yet to answer your question. I'm in Los Angeles, the car is in Northern California. So, my plan was to drive up this Sunday to close the deal and take delivery. I have studied detailed photos and the car has been extremely well kept. I love everything else about the car, this DME is now my sticking point. The PPI was today, obviously the Over revs raised enough concern to reach out to you guys for help.

Jay

 

I agree with the Porsche tech. These cars ARE meant to be driven! I have yet to see one thread where someone bought a car with a bad DME, and it went kablooey!
2 min 30 sec = kaboom !! It happens . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zq2MNxXqlw


In fact, when you look at all the cars that have had problems on these threads, they seem to be the "babied" ones. There is clearly no indication that bad DME=bad engine/car life.

No one is saying that a bad DME = bad engine life . All one can do is interpret the diagnotics and try and reduce the risk . I hardly think "babied" cars are more problem prone otherwise no one would ever buy a new (infant) car .

Outside of the DME, how does the car drive? How is the car's overall condition?

There's a lot more to buying a used car than reading the computer metrics
I agree . But also part of buying that car is being able to sell that car with a bad DME someday . quite often a car can have a bad DME and look beautiful . In fact even cars with salvage titles can be rebuilt . But why buy it ? Why commit to something with full knowledge of a red flag ?

 

Larry, the video you posted above shows the engine having trouble, making a smoke screen, but then it keeps going! In fact, the video car lost control later and couldn't keep up.

RMS leaks and engine reliability really have no pattern on this board. My best friend's C4S was babied and garaged, and had its engine replaced at 8500 miles due to a bank of cylinders giving out. The car was never tracked and had a perfect DME (dealer checked so they could see if he voided warranty but found nothing). On the flipside, there are tons of track junkies here with 997's where the engine is going strong.

You are correct, there is no official data showing a pattern, which is why I'm making the point that DME is not as important as some people make it here.

If those range 4's and 5's happened more than 70 hours ago, I say the car is safe and is ready to be driven like it's supposed to!

 

[QUOTE][/the Porsche Tech actually seemed to really like the car and didn't see a problem with the DMEQUOTE]

Jay -I gave this a lot of thought .

The Porsche tech is somewhat in an awkward position . Obviously the seller knows that his car's sale relies greatly on the technicians opinion . Plus a skilled tech can fix the car if its yours or his so it makes no difference to him who owns it. Plus you said the car is in another region . Does this owner service the car at that shop or did you select it ? That's important . Lots of questions .

Since I am not a certified porsche technician and you want to have certainty on the truth about that car .. this is what you could do .
Get the owners approval to take the printout to two Porsche shops and pay them just to provide an unbiased private interpretation of the data .

BTW --Even if they all love the car I still feel its a red flag .

But I still would wish you the best .

 

Rice -- look again at 2 min 21 and you'll see two white cars . the car that blew veered off and the smoke is misleading . It leaves only the one white car way in front.

I just can't see past the red flag . Buying a car (especially an expensive car) has to come with some peace of mind that those before loved and respected it as much as the buyer wants to in his future .

There are too many other cars . Maybe he can post what he's looking for and perhas there's one that he doesn't have to travel to get . He did say that he waited and lurked the forum . What if he waits just a little more time.

Even if he doesn't buy a Porsche then he still has his savings . Sometimes that's a better thing than buying the wrong car when all the warning signs are visible.

 

If I would be looking at this and had opportunity to take other car with clean counts in this area - I would do so. I am not sure what is incentive to take any chances here, as it is your car and your investment.

I just got mine 2006 C2 with 43K miles - it only has 500 something counts in range 1 and 56 in range 2. that shows more than counts - it shows it was driven by lame non-racer middle-age lawyer who cared and never abused his vehicle.

Your counts may indicate racing enthusiast who could also care about car well but at same time could also beat it into dust. It`s all about chances we take.

 

Jay, I would pass on this car. It may be everything you want, but the DME would concern me bigtime. Unless this car is one-of-a-kind, why run the risk? There should be safer alternatives out there...

Another poster also made an excellent point: When you go to sell this car, the DME can be a big sticking point. You can show them the DME and prove that it happened a long time ago, but why put yourself in that situation in the first place? Seems like an avoidable hassle...

Good luck with your decision, whatever it turns out to be.

 

Bag it. That's why the DME scan is so great. It is not an opinion. It is a hard fact. I've never seen anyone post a DME scan with a range 5 overrev. Not that it was in that range for long, but I've not seen one and I've read all the threads. People get nervous about range 3, which techs seem to acknowledge is not an issue. Range 5 and 6 seem to be grounds for denying warranty coverage, if the car was under warranty. You don't have warranty, but it is a big red flag.

As Big997Fan said, when you try to sell the car and the guy asks for a scan, you are going to cringe. I'm not sure what the color and equipment of the car is, but I'm sure you can find another one.

My car only had range 1 and 2 ignitions, just as a data point. Oh, and before I asked them to fax me the output, the tech said " the car has no faults and no overrevs". Tech knowledge of this info seems to be VERY limited.

Not that the car will ever necessarily blow up. Same thing buying a car with body damage. Maybe it was rebuilt perfectly. You will never have a problem. But recognize that the resale value is impaired and you could have an issue. Hell, if the guy wants to sell the car in the low 40's or high 30's, maybe you want to go for it. Everything has its price.

 

I think you're going through way too much agony and denial over this car. Unless the price is really good move on and find a car that you like that is 'issue free'. The marketplace is biased, right now, towards buyers so you should have no problem.

 

[QUOTE=yrralis1;2465574]Jay,

This is what I would do if your set on this car. I know what its like when you find "the" car you were looking for. I know it would have been very tough to walk away from my 997S if something like has come up.

I am of the point of view that middle aged lawyer cars that have been babied and hardly ever see redline are the ones that tend to have issues. A redline a day keeps the mechanic away!

Jason