For used AMs not from the AM dealer, do you think PPis are mandatory? How much are they? Or do costs vary by dealer?

 

Unless your mechanically inclined and can check over the car yourself you better get one. When I bought my DB9 3 years ago I did the PPI myself but I also have been working on cars as a hobby for the last 15 years. It's definitely in your best interest to get one. Costs will vary depending on independent shop or if the dealer is doing it. Prices can range from $200-$500 (estimates).

 

It isn't mandatory but it's worth doing for most people with most cars. It's good peace of mind and can save you some big hassles if you do happen to catch something with the PPI.

That said, I didn't do one when I bought mine, but I bought it from another forum member and could review his post history to see what the car had been through, plus he had full records for it. He's also very particular about his cars so I knew it was well cared for.

 

also, if the ppi uncovers issues you can use that info to try and negotiate a better purchase price, or just gamble and hope everything is fine

anyone not getting a ppi when buying pre-owned even when buying from a dealer is crazy imo, its the cheapest insurance you can buy

 

In my experience, YES. ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.

The cost to repair these cars is astronomical compared to normal autos.

Let me explain.

When I was originally looking, I had two cars inspected at first, and passed on both of them. The first was a car in Chicago that I had looked over by Napleton AM. They found undisclosed paint work, a slipping clutch, two bent wheels, the tri-cam oil leak, and a slew of other small issues. All told, it would have been over $15,000 to repair the car and get it in decent condition. I walked away.

The second car was in San Diego. I had SD AM do the PPI, and they found the car was lowered (undisclosed), and had the tri-seal oil leak, along with a few other issues. All told, around $5k in repairs. We negotiated a new price, but I walked away not feeling comfortable buying a car that needed to much work at the start.

The third car I found was in Los Gatos at the AM dealership. It had every *annual* service since 2007 at the dealership, all paperwork and owner manual stamps, and had already had the tri-seal leak repaired twice (once was the "sealant" method, the other was the full fix), so I know I won't have the issue again. Came with a CPO warranty which really made me feel better. I haven't gotten all the value out of it, but it's actually at the AM dealer now for it's 7yr/70k service. Getting new door and boot struts, new door latch, and new windshield washer reservoir under warranty... so there's that.

Oh. A guy on this forum actually bought the car from Chicago that I passed on a few days after I let them know I wasn't buying it. He didn't have it PPI'd, and posted about how hard it was to shift. I sent him the results from the PPI and we haven't heard from him sense. Long story short, I spent over $1k inspecting cars I didn't buy, but if I had bought EITHER of the two original cars without inspection, especially the Chicago car, I would have been out MUCH more than the inspections cost me on repairs.

Not to say these cars are fragile, but there are specific and common issues that can be very expensive to address if you don't know what to look out for.

Just my $0.02.

 

Excellent write up Midwest!

I couldn't agree more.

the small cost of PPI is well worth it in the long run.

 

The problem with having a used high-performance car no matter what it is, is the person who owned it previously or in my case the three persons that owned it as the current vantage I have. Luckily with three previous owners I have no problems in the past 18 months that I have owned the car. That said I know people who have high-performance cars that beat the crap out of them and don't maintain them... And that is why who either need an inspection or a certified used car with a warranty,at least in my opinion.

 

What do they check in a PPI? Car sales guy sent me a checklist and said it was serviced 1000 miles ago, which was 8 months ago at the AM dealership.

Are independent technicians competent to do these PPI or only AM dealerships? AM dealer is asking $600! yikes!

 

Irvine,

The car I bought had the extended warranty inspection done less than 50 miles or so before I bought it... Everything looked good, exceptions were fixed so I was happy as a clam... Until I took the car into my dealer to purchase the warranty.

The dealer uncovered an oil leak in the engine bay, as well as a taillight that had condensation in it...

They are working with me to get these items repaired at a reasonable expense to me since I had the previous inspection report, but had the original,inspection not been done at the cars location, I would be coming out of pocket a lot of hard earned cash...

An independent mechanic can look for generic issues with the cars, but they are not familiar with the intimate details of what typically goes bad with AMs.

Equally, I would have an AMG inspected by an AMG specialist, Porsche, BMW, etc...

$600 sounds like a lot, until you get an inspection that might save you thousands in the future...

My .02 cents

 

I'll second what Batman said, and what I said earlier - $600 sounds like a lot until it saves you thousands. I spent over $1k on two inspections for cars that I walked away from. But it wasn't wasted money. First, the inspection cost goes towards the cost of a CPO warranty if you choose to purchase the car anyways. Second, as I said in my stories above, nearly ANYTHING wrong with the car will pay for the inspection via negotiations or via saving your ***. Both third-party cars I had inspected needed thousands in work, and one needed over $15k worth of work. $600 is NOT much to make sure you're purchasing a $60k+ car that doesn't need gobs of expensive work. It's 1% of the purchase price, and to be honest, you saying $600 is a lot makes me think owning an Aston isn't something you could stomach perhaps? I just had my yearly oil change done (7yr/70k) and it cost me $1,550. They also did around $1,500 worth of warranty work, but if I hadn't had the CPO and wanted those items fixed, it would have been a $3k service.

I mean, by all means do what you want here... it's your money after all! But I find it incredibly funny when people post these threads, there's a near unanimous agreement, and the OP doesn't take the advice. When I was originally car shopping, I posted a car that was local to me that I wanted to buy (didn't even have it PPI'd yet). I really wanted it, but people said it had too many owners, and the service history was sketchy and the price was too high. It was hard because the car was a few miles away, but I literally wrote in that thread, "I have to take your guys advice. I didn't post this thread to ignore what you guys say, I'll call the guy today and back out of the sale because you guys all make some excellent points". Because I was patient and listened to those that have been there before me, I avoided buying an Aston with SEVEN previous owners. I ended up getting a one owner car with fewer miles, more options, and a CPO warranty for just a hair over what I would have paid for the first one I posted. Be patient, and it will pay off. Be impatient or cheap, and it's much more of a gamble.

 

Here's another reason to get the PPI Inspection...

Because I had a prior PPI inspection when I went to purchase the extended warranty, Aston Martin reached out to the dealer rep to assist me in covering some of the repairs that were found during the warranty inspection.

The money spent on the PPI more than covered the additional expenses incurred during the Taillight, and AOS replacement.

+10 for PPI every time!

 

PPI is a must, you are taking a huge gamble w/o it. Not only does PPI finds issues, it also helps determine future service charges. They check your brakes, clutch, tires, etc. So you'll have a good idea what needs to be replace in the near future.

 

The cost of a PPI is a rounding error compared to the money being spent on these cars. Only positives and if the dealer or private party states they won't allow a PPI, run away.

 

Op,
Let me know if you'd like to see a sample PPI, and I can send you a copy of the inspection report I just completed. :-)