Who are you paying the dealer or the seller? If it is the dealer THEY are selling it!

 

My cousin purchased a 997 that was a consignment. He pushed for a CPO which was factored in to the final price. My presumption was once my cousin committed to the car the dealer purchased it outright in order to CPO it.

Afterwards, I spoke to the salesperson (same guy I bought mine from) and he said the dealer doesn't like to purchase cars outright if they can't make too much money from it. They were willing to consign it since they still make money and since the car sits on their lot it increases their inventory without overhead. Makes sense to me.

It's all in the negotiations. Good luck with purchase.

 

So apparently they WILL certify it. Below is the email they sent me. Is this the route you guys would go if you were me over any third-party extended warranty? Also should I have an outside Porsche mechanic take a look at it before or after the certification inspection?

"The cost to Porsche Certify a vehicle depends on if and what it may need to meet the Certification criteria, like new tires, brakes, or other service requirements.
There is a cost for the inspection as well as the extended warranty itself. The average Porsche costs around $3-6k to Certify.
We would inspect the Panamera Turbo and give you a quote to Certify it if you wish."

 

The very first 911 I considered wasn't CPO. I negotiated the price including the CPO with a condition that it'll pass PPI. Go with CPO!

I brought in a friend that was a Porsche mechanic. He asked the car to be placed on lift. He visually inspected the following:

Underbody for any leaks
Checked clutch pedal feel
Test drive
Brakes and tires

The above were all good until he noticed some overspray to the front bumper and rear fender. When questioned, the salesman said...oh rear fender got hit by a shopping cart and was touched up.

Before going in for inspection, I told the salesperson to make sure he has a paint meter, which apparently was locked up in the manager's office and couldn't be opened (B.S.).

I walked away.

I ended up buying a car from a different dealer and the salesperson was a friend of the Porsche mechanic. I ended up not doing a PPI but I would in the future unless it's from same salesman.

Always follow your gut instinct.

 

Dealer sounds like a place I'd walk out of and never return. They are telling you they have no clue what condition this car is in. I have owned 40 Porsches so I'm pretty well known at the local dealers and they know what my response would be to a stupid statement like that. I'd look elsewhere would not trust a company like that. My local Ferrari dealer has done these kinds of sales but they would NEVER put a car for sale without knowing its condition.

 

I think that's a valid point. If I were a car dealer, I'd definitely inspect any car I offered for sale, even if it were on consignment. Sure, I'm selling someone else's car, but it's still my reputation if a customer buys it and discovers serious problems.

Being CPO is not a complete panacea. From what I've read, dealerships vary in how conscientious they are about honoring that warranty. I'd be leery of accepting this car even as CPO from that dealership unless you had another possible dealer who could do any actual service.

 

Thanks so much everyone! What do you think of the below as a potential reply from me to them? I'm trying to be very careful with all communication & keeping it all in emails for record-keeping / accuracy purposes.

"I'd expect a dealership such as yourselves to thoroughly inspect any vehicle you put out on your lot for sale. It's been pitched to me as no less than flawless so if it takes some additional labor costs on part of your staff to prove it, I don't see why you wouldn't make the effort to confirm it's quality & stand behind your claims. And if it does require various repairs in order to meet certification, why should I have to pay for what the dealership selling me the car neglected to take the time to discover or make me aware of prior to its pitch? The price we've agreed to for the vehicle is one reflective of it being in perfect order to pass a certification. If you guys can pass it and cover any fixes needed to certify, then that's what I'm looking for. If there's an additional "start the 2 yr / 100k extended warranty" cost on top of those things, I'm interested to know what that cost is."

 

That is a reasonable reply (though as I said I would walk away), and look elsewhere. There are many members (and closer to your area) of this forum who like myself have strong relationships with dealers. I am sure that if you put out the call people would help you find a car from a dealer who is more upfront and honest. I am guessing you never got all the cars service records, which is the first thing I'd ask for if you were still considering this car. If they refuse or tell you they do not have them then, run away! Good luck

 

Since you previously asked my opinion, and I really appreciate your candor and honesty about the issue, I would just point out two more points:

1. Porsche and the dealership are two different entities and you need to know who is warrantying / guaranteeing what if an issue may come up in the future.

2. More importantly, this car is a great car and it is what you are going to take home and live with -- not the dealer or PorscheAG (or NA). If you can't afford a $10k-$20k fix if necessary, you don't need to be considering this car. These are lifestyle expenses and not investments. For every car I buy, I always ask myself if I am willing to spend another $10k-$20k to enjoy the lifestyle experience. It is the same question whether it is my 2010 PTT, 2007 997TT, 1997 Landcruiser, etc.

Just my .02

 

I love all the feedback guys. Thanks so much. To be fair, the dealership really hasn't acted all that shady up to this point. The car really does "appear" to be in amazing condition & I love everything about this particular Panamera both inside & out, which is why I'm still continuing with the conversations. Below is the response I received back from my somewhat hardball email to them. I've since replied asking for a copy of all service records (as I've only seen brief descriptions on CarFax here: http://bit.ly/1IlzR1z). We'll see what they say. Also, they've agreed to let me have an outside Porsche mechanic come to the dealership & inspect it prior to purchase, which is probably one of the last steps I'll take after all the finances are agreed to.

"We had inspected our Porsche Panamera Turbo before offering it from our Dealership, it doesn't need anything and it is in excellent condition. The Porsche Certification inspection is a little more in-depth and requires that all parts are Porsche Original, with current codes. The Certification inspection costs more than the standard inspection because the Technician has to fill out a long checklist and the whole process is more time consuming. The Porsche Certification requires that even the tires have to be Porsche Original with the current N-Code (factory and generation code), and that is why there may have been additional costs to Certify the Panamera Turbo. Even though the tires are in great condition, they may not be the right code for Porsche to Certify and they are expensive to replace. I am sure that the owner has performed all his service with us and we used the Porsche Original parts, so this shouldn't be an issue. We have paid our Service Department to perform the Porsche Certification Inspection to confirm that there is nothing needed to Certify your Panamera Turbo. This will take place tomorrow morning and I will have your quote with the Porsche Certification and extended warranty."

 

Just another note. I bought a 2010 ptt cpo in february and I'm taking it in Monday for the 5th repair (covered) since then. I would be pretty frustrated if I had no warranty. I'm not really clear on what my extended warranty wouldn't cover if I didn't have the cpo, but I'm still hoping to iron everything out in the first 2 years. At this rate, I'll probably trade it in for a 3 year old model when the (6 year) extended warranty has one year left. Food for thought.

 

Interesting. In regards to these third-party warranties, if I only roll with the 2-year CPO warranty, when those 2 years are up or close to up, am I simply able to add a third-party extended warranty later on at that point through Fidelity or does the third-party extended warranty have to be applied alongside the CPO warranty? Why have both at once unless you're somehow only paying for the third-party one as per the time the CPO one ends? And if a third-party policy is able to be decided on & added a couple years into my ownership, I'm assuming they'd have to have someone inspect the vehicle to ensure there's not some pre-existing condition that someone all the sudden makes a claim for after picking up the policy. Any knowledge of how any of this works?

Also, does Porsche have a set CPO deal as far as mileage goes? I've seen both 2yr / 100k and 2yr / 60k listed by people describing their CPO deals. I'm curious if they're both options and the 100k is just more expensive or how does that work?

Thanks everyone!