Buying my first Porsche - thoughts please

[Smaat]

I'm currently looking at the below vehicle:

Charles Ivey - London
Porsche Specialists
996 Carrera 4 Cabriolet Manual

Full Black Ruffled Leather,Air Con ,PSM,On Board Computer,6 CD Changer,F.S.H.
Basalt Black
62,000 miles
Apr 2001
£13,995

http://www.charlesivey.com/sales/car_details.php?s...

I'm a total newbie and am trying to be cautious by using a dealer and getting a low mileage vehicle. Please let me know why you think of this. All advice most appreciated!

[Rockster]

My standard reply is to treat the car exactly what it is. A used car. A thorough used car check out is paramount.

Also, you must have a 15 mile test ride then a 15 mile test drive. The route should give the driver a chance to demo the car in a variety of situations. You want to experience the car as you intend to use it. From driving in city traffic to cruising the highway and with of course the occasional hard acceleration run.

Once back at the starting point then you test everything. Assume nothing works until you verify it does.

After this check out then you have the car PPI'd. The PPI after the test ride and drive stands a better chance of catching any leaks that might be present.

[douglasgdmw]

If you want to be extra cautious then I would recommend an inspection as well. I have used Peter Morgan before and his inspections are 2nd to none, knows the marque inside out (written a few books about Porsches) and will also give you an indication whether the car is competitively priced.

Just look up Peter Morgan Inspection in google to get his site.

George

[Hilux2400]

It's a 12 year old car and I hope you are lucky with your purchase. However, don't be deceived into thinking that just because it's a Porsche it will be fault free and that the warranty will cover everything. Do your own HPI check. Get an independent inspection at about £300 and set aside about £2 to £3K for a few repairs in the first year. Then sit back and enjoy your motoring.

[Smaat]

Thanks for all the advice.

Whats the difference between a ppi and an inspection?

I have googled Peter Morgan and will contact him to do an inspection and take it from there.

Does the price seem alright for the year and mileage?

The dealer said they provide a hpi certificate is this not sufficient?

I did get the vehicle document number and checked past MOT history and the mileage did check out back until 2005 (as far as the computer records would go).

[Smaat]

Has anybody had any past dealings with Charles Ivey?

Is their warranty any good? I have been given the option to extend the 6 month warranty for an extra 12 months at a cost of £800.

[mollytherocker]

Ppi is just a pre purchase inspection, so just means inspection.

Hpi is mainly a search to confirm that there is no outstanding finance on it.

[Hilux2400]

The HPI will also give a record of registration changes, whether mileage ties in with known MOT's, any write off info like category "D" (I was almost caught by this when told the vehicle was "D" when it was actually "C"),whether the car was first registered as a UK car.

It might be the best £30 you will ever spend.

[Pugley]

This link may be of assistance to any prospective new owner:-

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Smaat]

Can't get hold of Peter Morgan. Does anybody know of another specialist near Putney, London who will do a PPI?

[Tydeides]

Sorry reply re Charles Ivey went into another thread, random! I found Charles Ivey to be very good, they fixed a problem on my 997 that my OPC had consistently failed to do under warranty.