I'm looking at buying my first p-car but have some reservations about a particular vehicle. It's an 2007 w/ less than 30k miles and has one year left on the CPO. It looks clean in person except for minor wear on blk paint (we all know about blk paint) and drives rather nicely. However, the vehicle history shows this car has having had multiple owners - two previous dealers took ownership and 2/3individuals. I would then be the 3rd or 5th owner depending on how you look at it. It has been previously auctioned off as well. Would this be enough to scare you away from the car? How about from a resale point of view- will I get hosed on the resale in a couple of years due to a somewhat sketchy background? I plan on taking the car into the dealer to get it inspected but don't have any experience with buying vehicles w/ multiple owners.

Any and all feedback is much appreciated. Thanks!

 

Id walk...that many owners is just not in my comfort zone.

 

What's the price? If you don't mind sharing.

 

Do a PPI and if it checks out and the price is right then why not. You have a year of warranty which helps provide peace of mind.

 

997 owners are not a Rag the Ride group, they/we take care of out cars.
I would look at it,...my 2007 had 2 prev owners and was at auction.
CPO and checked out....Carfax showed all the right service....and the book had the stamps etc...

 

Dealers may just register but really not drive the car much / at all. So I would count these guys out. More important would be the time the individuals would have owned and maintained the car. Also note that IF the dealers pulled the car in, it might have gotten any and all services and maintenance needed to prepare for the next buyer and Porsche would pay the parts at least as the car would have been under maintenance for most of the time. So the car could well turn out to be a pampered puppy

 

A few months back, I saw a 2010 C2 Cab that was in truly mint condition, two owner, with 4,500 miles on it. It was at a BMW dealer who had just taken it in on trade. They had no plans to keep it on their lot and intended to sell it to a wholesaler. The car was beautiful inside and out and I would have bought it had it had Navigation/PCM.

Point is, I wouldn't be intimidated by the number of owners and that the car had been sold prior at auction. Every car is different and has a different story behind it. The key for you will be to get a quality PPI and evaluate your budget to determine if this aggressively priced car is a stretch for you or not. Buying used cars can be a really enjoyable experience - but can be a disaster just as well. Remember, there are lots of cars out there, thus don't be compelled to settle or you'll just end up with a bad case of buyers remorse. Good luck.

 

Owner's don't matter. What matters is the condition of the car relative to the price you can afford. As above, do a PPI to see about the current condition of the car. If you can, check with the dealer who has been maintaining the car and check out the service/maintenance history. Make sure the CPO is legitimate and buy it if the price is okay to you - relative to other similar vehicles for sale in your area. The CPO would make me comfortable with the car if the other factors check out.

 

Do what makes you feel comfortable. For my first P-car, I was very careful and would have the same concerns as you. Now that I am on number 2, I am less concerned and agree with the above in that the car itself is the story - not the prior owners. One technical thing that you need to be aware of is that CPO will not transfer to you if you are buying from an independent dealer. You did not mention above who you were buying from. That would be a question I would get straight - does the CPO really transfer t oyou if you buy it.

Good luck with it.

 

My 07 GT3 had 3 previous owners, 2 of them were the same guy. I think that people worry too much about silly things like number of owners and over revs. The car is still under warranty, if something isn't working right then get it fixed. You are buying a used car, it won't be perfect.

 

If you like it, it is in good condition, and it checks out in a PPI/DME scan, I vote for buy it. And then drive it like crazy!

 

I would buy, base on the following:

1) You plan on keeping it for a while. You're going to have to sell this story to the next owner. So if you keep it a while (~5yrs) then it's an easy sell since no one would keep a troubled car that long.

2) Check thoroughly for accidents. Do a paint meter check, do not trust the CPO coverage on this. Do not trust carfax or autocheck.

3) As others mentioned PPI with DME scan is a must as well.

 

Correct, CPO stays with the car, unless it goes through a dealer, then the CPO does not. Private sale your good, for the new owner.

 

That's not an automatic walk away situation for me.

Does the car have good service records?
Get a PPI done. IF it checks out then you're good.
The 1 year of warranty should pretty much erase most doubt.