Would you buy an ex-press GT car?

[donutskidmark]

I recall one of the OPC’s sold the Miami blue 991 GT2RS press car for £265k-
This press car was a great spec but had about 20,000 miles on the clock, the going rate for normal low mileage cars was about £315k at the time…….it sold pretty much instantly.
I would have been happy to buy it despite its press car history- however one high end car dealer
I spoke to told me they had been offered a certain McLaren press car but they turned it down because
Chris Harris had been thrashing it around a track ……..

[Billy_Whizzzz]

No way. I bought an ex press 997 and it was a dog. ‘Maintained’ or not, I’m not sure how you could ever inspect the mechanical innards having been ragged from cold by numerous low rent journos.

[Andyuk911]

Billy_Whizzzz said:

No way. I bought an ex press 997 and it was a dog. ‘Maintained’ or not, I’m not sure how you could ever inspect the mechanical innards having been ragged from cold by numerous low rent journos.

Ha ha, however, they do run on 0-30(?) oil ...

[CharverDeeksWorth]

Years ago my Dad bought a 997 Carrera, RX11 HZM. That was an ex press car and it was in great condition, never skipped a beat but I doubt a base car would have been as thrashed as GT cars.

[tedblog]

With the new data protection laws you never know the previous owner these days.
Dealer can sell hire care and ex fleet cars and you dont know that thet were.

[Centrente]

Press cars are handed to all kinds of media from when they are brand new, sometimes with delivery+ mileage. Media have been known to pick up cars from the factory and drive them back to the UK. For better or worse, these days that includes YouTubers and other social media. Whether they are more sympathetic to mechanicals than a local newspaper journalist of yore, who knows. It's quite hard to thrash a modern supercar on the road without getting banned or killed, but also quite possible. There are also considerations like launch starts, speed bumps, etc.

So the equation is this on one side, vs being maintained and repaired weekly by the importer, on the other.

On balance I wouldn't buy a press car of a high performance marque. I reckon the average owner of a GT3, for example, is going to be more sympathetic, and have fewer reasons to thrash it, than a different and unknown media driver twice a week.

[Tripe Bypass]

I see the ex press 991.1 gt3 rs RF15XLG is up for sale.


https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202402156...

Any takers?

[av185]

Drove an RF Lava RS with around 3k miles on at PEC and around Buckingham back roads for an afternoon in 2016 could well have been that car.

[AndrewD]

Not a Porsche, but back in 2009 or 2010 I bought the ex press manual Gallardo Superleggera after a full fettle by the factory. Still have it and will probably never sell it.



Now sporting a factory large wing.

[superlightr]

Off brand but Im looking at an ex press RS6 today. 11000miles 1 yr Had all the jouros in it for sure, lots of vids etc. Its about 8k cheaper. My thoughts are along the lines of consumables ie brakes/tyres more then anything else. Ie if it doesnt have brake warp when I drive it and has new tyres and new pads then Im more relaxed about it I think. Any views?

https://youtu.be/lDaghfes-0c?si=oMRaPNy7imEDwU-h

https://youtu.be/KHx6Ra_ftJk?si=w9qI-g71DdDcVWLr

etc lots of vids

[andymc]

Ask for an extended warranty?

[superlightr]

It has 2 yes left but yes good point

[T1berious]

Depends on the GT car but Volkswizards experience with that Frozen Berry GT4 and the shambles that followed would have me running a mile.

However I accept that might be an isolated occurrence and not representative of all the care cars in the press fleet receive.

[The Wookie]

Wouldn't stop me, in fact my Evora S was an ex-marketing car that I'd ragged round the track myself when I worked there

Pros:
- Cars are generally serviced and maintained within an inch of their life
- A Porsche no doubt will have a clean bill of health with regard to overrevs
- They'll typically come with a fresh set of boots, rotors, pads etc
- Often cheaper because people are scared of them
- Press cars being modified for increased power might be a myth (excluding maybe cowboy firms like TVR) but they are certainly often 'blueprinted' in terms of suspension (perhaps engine and gearbox too) to make sure they are representative of the exact design intent rather than just being within specified tolerance of it. Might not make as much of a difference with a Porsche but on something like a Ferrari or a Lambo I bet most ex-press cars will be noticeably 'good ones'

Cons:
- A youtuber has likely incompetently ragged it around Goodwood with a terrified racing driver in the passenger seat at some point
- I'd be making sure that the paint is in good condition as no guarantee it will have been fully tidied up to fix inevitable things caused by it being a working vehicle, e.g. extra stone chips, unsympathetic washing by journos for photos, that sort of stuff.

[Heathrow]

I own an ex Porsche Germany GT3 RS press car. It's on its second Mezger engine (not on my watch). Make of that what you will.

I think it's a bit of a voyage into the unknown, frankly. I've owned mine for a while and like that the car has a bit of history and a story to it which adds to the ownership experience. Depends what you're looking for I guess. Not for everyone, I'm sure.

[PinkHouse]

Heathrow said:

I own an ex Porsche Germany GT3 RS press car. It's on its second Mezger engine (not on my watch). Make of that what you will.

I think it's a bit of a voyage into the unknown, frankly. I've owned mine for a while and like that the car has a bit of history and a story to it which adds to the ownership experience. Depends what you're looking for I guess. Not for everyone, I'm sure.

If it's priced right and you go in with your eyes open as above then it can be a good buy for some

[Far Cough]

I wonder what happened to the yellow press GT4RS that an OPC couldnt sell so was outted to an indy ( Ashgoods IIRC) and it didnt sell there either. Last I saw was it was being advertised less VAT for export

[av185]

See the GT4RS thread which recently referred to that car still overpriced at £140k.

[Far Cough]

av185 said:

See the GT4RS thread which recently referred to that car still overpriced at £140k.

I`ll have a look as I unsubscribed from that one

[Nuttcase]

I read statements on this thread that press cars are "meticulously maintained" etc, which would imply that they are subject to more frequent oil & filter changes etc. Is there any evidence (such as service records of a purchased press car) that this is really the case? If not, I doubt very much that they are serviced beyond the scheduled maintenance requirements and likely just checked for error codes, fluid levels, tyre condition etc, and valeting each time a car is returned back from press.