Portiacraft - North London Independent

[mSEEKER]

Hi

I am looking to buy a 911 from Portiacraft, does anyone have any experience of their aftersales service and general deceny after the money has changed hands?

They seem to be really good guys but when parting with the best part of £20k assurance would be nice.

Is also not 'the done thing' to have the car inspected if buying from a Porsche (Independent) dealer? There is a 6,000 miles unlimited warranty on engine, gearbox etc etc included in the sale.

Thanks in advance

[woodlands]

My advice is simple.
If Portiacraft will stand behind everything for the duration of the warranty, take the car to JZ and get them to do a PPI. Then have everything fixed BY JZ on the Portiacraft warranty.

JZ have a good reputation, so at the end, you will have a sorted car.
PPI will probably cost about £100.
Of course, you could tell Portiacraft that you want the car PPI's at JZ, and see what the reaction is. If they have an issue with it, then so should you, pure and simple.

A friend of mind bought a car at Portiacraft, and was relatively happy until he got the real low-down when he sent it into JZ for a service and inspection.

Best of luck

[deadslow]

I recall some discussion of this dealer (not all that positive) on porsche-one.net - maybe you ought to check this site, I'm sure its in their Dealers Name and Shame section.

[mSEEKER]

I can't seem to be able to access the name and shame section within Porsche-one.net - any advice?

Thanks

[koenig999]

Get it inspected. No question.

They won't let any other N London mechanic inspect thier cars - bad blood in the past.

Peter Morgan is ok there though.

Koenig

[rubystone]

>> Edited by rubystone on Sunday 4th December 21:58

[MartinD]

I have been to look at a car there & ....... well, the salesman had said on the phone comments like immaculate, as new, well cared for, lady driver etc,etc. The front end had been resprayed (shame it didn't match the rear/roof)the interior was filthy as was the engine bay.
The tech.info.the salesman gave us about an engine rebuild was complete & utter B/S
A chap was looking at another car & commented that the ashtrays were still full of fag ends.
Both these cars were on display for sale out front.
My observation based on one visit to view a car, so make your own mind up !

[mSEEKER]

Thanks for everyone's advice (keep it coming!) I've only spoken with the young guy and whilst he seems full of knowledge he is always very vauge on servicing costs..........often using the line 'we'll make it a cheap car for you to run'.....

I have seen a couple of similar cars but advertised for around £4,000 less (£18k vs £14k). I am starting to feel a private sale with a PPI might be a better bet.

I also googled Portiacraft and there are lot of stories of the warranties not being honoured and 2nd hand replacment parts being fitted instead of new OE!

One other point, they advertise the cars on their website & Autotrader at £1000 less than the forecourt price! It's slightly confusing...

[rob05]

Seems a positive review of this independent.....er not!

[deadslow]

Have checked the 'Dealers: praise 'em or shame 'em' on porsche-one.net - this lot get a terrible write up. Proceed only if you are mad.

[a911dom]

Well I didnt have any issue with Portiacraft. They had the car I wanted and they dont do anything to the cars until they are sold, then they get serviced and (as in my case) have additional work carried out at the new owners discretion.

The younger guy there seemed quite 'short' and 'to the point', but I didnt ever feel that I was getting put over a barrel etc.

As said above however, if you want an independent inspection I cant see that they would be able to refuse (as it is entirely at your risk/expense).

Good luck, but from my experience, dont exclude them if they have a car you want.

Dom

[cyrus1971]

My personal feeling when I lived in North London (8years ago) following a few trips to Portiacraft is that I would not buy from them. Subsequently I have found Cridfords in Surrey to be more akin to my buying style. I am not connected to Cridfords at all, just bought my Boxster there about 4 years ago and was pleased with the service and price – the salesman was called Jonathan I think.

>> Edited by cyrus1971 on Monday 5th December 09:37

[gmmk]

What Cyrus said. My experience as well.

[993buyer]

I went to see a 993 there which was described as 'one-family owned, simply superb', but it was IMHO a very unimpressive car.

Admitedly it was the only car I looked at there, and they had quite a few other cars in stock. Looking over the one car told me all I needed to know.

[EK993]

I bought my 993 C2 from Cridfords. Dealt with Jonathan. Would never go back there again.

[cuneus]

aka Crookfords

still revenge was sweet when I "intercepted" a car coming to them, paid the seller a bit more and a lot less than they were going to sell it for

[993buyer]

Interesting re Cridfords.

I was quite impressed with a 993 I saw there a few weeks ago. It wasn't the colour I wanted, but I e-mailed them a very fair (IMHO) offer the next day. No response for 3 days, so e-mailed them again. Still no response so e-mailed them again. I guessed they were sitting on my offer while they had another buyer close to committing. I have no problem with that as it's sound business practice but thought they could have let me know. Sure enough I got an e-mail the next morning saying it was now sold but they would let me know if they got any others.

By that time I had found another elsewhere and was waiting for Peter Morgan to inspect it. Anyway 24hrs later I got another e-mail from Cridfords saying their buyer had failed to raise the money and the original one was back up for sale. From what you're suggesting it sounds like I was lucky to escape unscathed.

[axj]

Why do'nt. you ask them (+ carry out company searches )to find out how many Limited Companies have been "trading as Portiacraft" over the last 5 years or so as this will give you a good idea as to their ability to honour any commitments to you ?

[dazren]

mSEEKER said:

I have seen a couple of similar cars but advertised for around £4,000 less (£18k vs £14k). I am starting to feel a private sale with a PPI might be a better bet. I also googled Portiacraft and there are lot of stories of the warranties not being honoured and 2nd hand replacment parts being fitted instead of new OE! One other point, they advertise the cars on their website & Autotrader at £1000 less than the forecourt price! It's slightly confusing...

Looks like the thread starter has done a litle more research and will be considering more options in finding a car. Being mindful of Ted's No naming and shaming policy this seems an appropriate time to bring this thread to a close. Good luck with the search.

DAZ
(moderator)