Hi All,

Just another newbie hoping to get a 997 Coupé in the next 6 months.
Love the wealth of info on the site.
Just wanted to say hello.


I'm in the SF Bay Area... Anyone recommend a good broker in the area.
I've talked to a few but nobody seems to know the ins and outs of these cars
like I'd hoped for.

 

Welcome and good luck on the search. I have to say that it was pretty fun and exciting when I was searching for my car. FWIW, I found my car on autotrader.com and the seller was a private party in Santa Clara/San Jose area. I actually found a pretty good selection from both dealers and private party sellers in No. Cal.

 

There have been some nice cars listed

 

I scoured Autotrader, craigslist, yahoo for months. I eventually found my car via Yahoo...it was a car I had seen early on in my search but only became viable after the seller lowered his asking by about $6k.

I was about to go for one in LA but the PPI didn't come back as clean as I would have hoped. There definitely is more inventory in LA IMO.

 

Good luck! Do some searching, this site is a great resource!

 

So... I plan on getting a CPO car... would you recommend an independent inspection as well?

 

You won't need a broker . just find the car you like first .
Wecome BTW.

 

Yes, I'd get a full PPI/DME even on a CPO car. I'm pretty sure that heaven forbid you bought a car with overrev's in the 5 and 6 range and the engine blew up that Porsche would not warranty the damage. PPI/DME well worth the $260 - $300.

 

Sorry. Not hip with the lingo on This end. What's ppi / dme?

Private professional inspection?

 

Sorry, my bad.

PPI = Pre Purchase Inspection. Basically they'll go over the car and check everything and document what they find. When I had mine done at a Porsche dealership, it was the same inspection as what they would have done if they were looking to CPO a vehicle.

DME is basically a computer readout from the engine to determine if the engine has ever been over-reved (for example from a missed-shift). Most likely will be done along with the PPI. Big thread here on over-rev's but basically look for a car with NO over-rev's in ranges 4 thru 6. 1 thru 3 are ok (and most likely normal).

 

The DME scan is explained here. It is the engine diagnostics display of engine over revs.
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-over-rev.html

I understand that it is often hard to build trust and confidence when walking into a car dealership. It is up to you to determine very quickly whether or not you can count on them . There are some outstanding dealerships so it's not just finding the car . You have to also find a team you can count on to be by your side with that car . Now they may not know the Dme results and it won't take long to find out . as for the CPO .. there are critera and they can actually show you things like the brake pads , and service history . Rear tires are expensive and they can wear quickly so check the tread . Also look for any soot on the driver side tailpipe . Drive the car , do the inspections , and if everything clicks .. make an offer preferrably at months end .

 

Wow, thanks for the tip. I'll put that on my to do list.

 

Hella,
One thing to keep in mind when buying these cars is basically that they are really good cars. What I mean here is that for the most part, they are well engineered and if a car is well maintained, it will run well. That doesn't mean you can't pick up a car with some issues. My second P-car was a 993. Bought it from a dealer, found out a few weeks later that the steering block was shot....my guess is that they knew that, but 750$ later, that car was sorted out and was great from there.
My point here is...get the best car you can, with color/options/model choices you like. You may have to spend a few bucks to sort out some initial issues...so keep a few bucks in reserve (or get a CPO). Make sure to get on top of maintenance in the first year...wear parts, leaks, etc.
With that being said, there are some deal breakers for me...as an example one thing that immediately turns me off on a car is paint or interior leather condition issues...to me, those are much harder to sort out than dealing with a car with no life on a clutch.
My 2 cents...

 

Thanks, I'm just trying to wrAp my head around this stuff.
I still drIve my 62 vw bug that I bought when I was 18 so I
plan on having this car for some time. Honestly, I'm into the stripped
down cars. I don't want nav or anything that I'm going to look
at 10 years from now and consider obsolete. I just want a simple
good car.

 

Hella...it's actually great that you are moving from a bug. Most carrera owners aren't proud of the association, but the carrera is basically a highly evolved bug...way beyond what anybody could have thought it could do in terms of performance. If you can drive a beetle...you can drive a carrera, but obviously you need to take a little time to adjust to new limits.
Getting a low option car is a good way to go if you don't feel the need for those options. Everyone has their own list of need to have, nice to have, can live with and can't stand options in their head. It's actually to your benefit that you don't have that all set in stone at this point.
As long as you can afford the purchase, my thought is jump in with both feet and enjoy the car!
MM