FWIW, I bought my car from Sonnen Porsche in Mill Valley. They were more than human and fair. I can't say the same for Rector or Porsche of Fremont (M-B dealer).
Rector just turned me off without anything specific. I made an appointment to see a car at Fremont, drove 40 miles to discover that the car was sold. No phone call or email,
Be sure you buy a car that has been CPO'd. You will pay more from a dealer but you won't lose any sleep.
Third party extended warranties can be a huge disappointment and they are not inexpensive.

 

So I assume it's prudent to take the car to another dealer / auth shop for the PPI?

I'm going to look / drive a car today. Research :-)

 

Good luck. The journey can be as rewarding as the destination.
Let us know your results.

 

Just got back from the "Research" mission. It was mainly to sell the wife on the idea. She was sold by the time we reached the end of the onramp.
The She drove and gave the green light to purchase a car.

Now, I just have to find the car.

 

Have fun. Take your time, there are many out there. Be sure and do due diligence.
Don't compromise (as most of us has done at one time or another) as you will pay a dear price, either kicking yourself or monetarily.

 

Welcome and good luck. To jump off what Joe has already said and we both were looking for cars around the same time, do not, I repeat, do not settle. If the deal does not seem right, whether it is the specs, price, condition, walk away. I probably looked at a dozen or so Porsche before I found the right car. The payoff and reward is knowing that you found what you were looking for and in the condition you expected at the price you were willing to spend. For me, I paid extra for my car then the avg FMV at the time, because it was worth the extra money for the already installed techart, fabspeed and suspension goodies. Yet still, I paid about 35% of what the after market items would have cost counting labor and install (including paint work). So when I looked at the price I paid for the car, it was right in line with what the car was worth, without the aftermarket goodies, then factoring in the real cost had I added those parts myself afterwards, minus 65% and you can see what a great deal can be had when you find the right car.

To break it down further, the aftermarket items on my car, should I paid close to retail pricing and installation, would have come out north of $10-11k. So I paid about a $4k premium for my car because it had these things already installed. Not too shabby in my book.

PPI is a must, but keep in mind that buyers still need to be educated. The PPI is good to know a basic overview on the condition of the car, but in the grand scheme of things, it means nothing. They are going to tell you about things like fluid levels, leaks, brake lines, pads, rotors, exhaust system, etc. The PPI does not typically include a DME scan and you would have to request that separately. That to me was more important then the actual PPI as I could visual see most of what the PPI was checking on my own. Nevertheless, the PPI and DME is a great way to give yourself some peace of mind on the condition of the car and the way the previous owner took care of it.

I would also say pay close attention to the interior. Was it clean, scratched up, do things seem in order or are there a lot of rough wear on the car. Exterior too. Paint condition, engine cleanliness, does it have all the original parts and pieces in the trunk. Like the tool kit, pen, compressor, etc.

You will want to know the car is complete and well taken care of. For me, besides my home, this was the largest purchase I ever made. I saved for years to get the childhood car of my dreams and I was damn sure going to make sure it was the right car and would last me for a long time to come.

Everyone on these forums have been great and extremely helpful. Larry is someone that stands out as a huge help to everyone on the forums. Joe has been gracious as well.

 

Thanks everyone.

I appreciate the encouragement to wait. It's all just so exciting! I have to keep in mind that if I don't do my all to get what I want then I'll cringe every time I see it drive by. This forum has been fabulous and supportive as well as informative.

 

Skizot hit it.

Keep looking until you know it's right...then the real pleasure begins.

Best of luck on your search!

 

Just let the first candidate go. Wife and I went over the finances and she said if it's too good of a deal I could jump, otherwise if I wait I can increase the budget. I can wait. My budget right now is providing with a '06 CPO under 20k miles. I'm right on the cusp of pushing into an '07 CPO that'll include a little factory warranty as well so I figure it's worth the wait.

 

And then you can wait, and wait again.
Seems you want the deal more than the car.

 

Oh I want the car. I just want to have the right car. This car was good but for the money I need to know that I couldn't have done better. Not better in terms of cheaper, but in terms of what I wanted.