Another newbie

Ady. · 7 Jun 2019

Hi all,

I'm still a 911 virgin but am very close to my first. Could I ask your opinion on amount of owners? I'm looking at (actually put a deposit on) a 991.1 on a 15 plate however right at the end of the sales pitch they dropped in that it has 5 previous owners, that's 1 every 9 months

the opc tell me it's quite normal but I'm quite shocked by it...

Any comments would be appreciated

Thank you

Ady.

T8 · 7 Jun 2019

:welcome: to 911uk

5 in 4 years is about the most I would expect but isn't un-heard of by any means.

Typically it would mean that:

(1) = Porsche demo
(2) = someone who wanted a nearly new car without a wait
(3) = same as 2
(4) = someone who knows that 3 year old cars are real bargains in terms of newness v cost
(5) = A box ticker owning the car for a short while without losing many £££s in doing so.

Ady. · 7 Jun 2019

Hi T8, thanks for the welcome and the reply. That is an interesting theory and is probably accurate. I'm just worried that the car might have been absolutely leathered :?

It is OPC and does have a 2 year warranty but I doubt that will help suspension, brakes and clutch items. I just don't know what to do, I've always either been the first or second owner on all my other cars...

gilford · 7 Jun 2019

Don't let the amount of owners bother you, as long as history is good why worry?

I change my cars at least every 12 months, many people are the same, you're only here once why have the same car for long if you have the money!

jonttt · 8 Jun 2019

If you come from more mainstream brands the Porsche world can seem strange at times.

In the past I have seen cars which have had ownership something like:

- car specced and ordered by buyer pulls out. Rather than lose the build slot the dealership sees the order through and registers as the first owner (ie does not need to be a demo, they just want to hit their sales target to ensure future allocations)

- car sold as pre reg at probably full list price or very close, even overs (hence why they are not bothered at pre registering)

- new owner has it less than 12 months (paid cash for it)

- next buyer has traded in but has a wait for there new car to be delivered so buys a car from stock for 3-4 months knowing dealership will take it back ie its a cheap hire car for them

- next owners keep it c 12 months

I have seen that sort of scenario on a 5 ownership car in 3 years more than once.

Buy on condition and the OPC 2 year warranty is as good any manufacturer, they are sports cars, damn well made and made for it. Congrats and enjoy :thumb:

991.2GTS · 8 Jun 2019

Ady. said:
Hi T8, thanks for the welcome and the reply. That is an interesting theory and is probably accurate. I'm just worried that the car might have been absolutely leathered :?

It is OPC and does have a 2 year warranty but I doubt that will help suspension, brakes and clutch items. I just don't know what to do, I've always either been the first or second owner on all my other cars...

Before becoming a 911 owner I was of the same opinion as you. But as everyone else has said, it's not unusual to see cars with similar histories. I recently looked at two 2015 991.1's and both had had more than three previous owners. How many miles has it done?

spongebob squarepants · 8 Jun 2019

jonttt said:
If you come from more mainstream brands the Porsche world can seem strange at times.

In the past I have seen cars which have had ownership something like:

- car specced and ordered by buyer pulls out. Rather than lose the build slot the dealership sees the order through and registers as the first owner (ie does not need to be a demo, they just want to hit their sales target to ensure future allocations)

- car sold as pre reg at probably full list price or very close, even overs (hence why they are not bothered at pre registering)

- new owner has it less than 12 months (paid cash for it)

- next buyer has traded in but has a wait for there new car to be delivered so buys a car from stock for 3-4 months knowing dealership will take it back ie its a cheap hire car for them

- next owners keep it c 12 months

I have seen that sort of scenario on a 5 ownership car in 3 years more than once.

Buy on condition and the OPC 2 year warranty is as good any manufacturer, they are sports cars, damn well made and made for it. Congrats and enjoy :thumb:

My Merc had 3 owners and its 2.5 years old. Details as above I'm sure, others dillied, but the price was right because of the owners, and I snapped up at a bargain price. Doesn't matter, but use it as a bargaining tool anyway?!

Magic919 · 8 Jun 2019

The mileage will be the largest factor for suspension issues. Brakes must be to spec before it can be Porsche approved, so those are not a concern.

When warm, the engines are ready to use and I don't have concerns there. Some wally redlining from cold won't be good for any engine, but you can't assess the chances of it having happened.

Being keeper 6 of a 4 year old Porsche is slightly above the norm, but I'd echo the other comments above. If you plan to keep for a few years it'll not be a factor. Selling it in 6 months, I'd not be so sure.

Mad Mark911 · 8 Jun 2019

Welcome! As others have said - not a massive concern. These are just toys for some people and they are transitory. Equally, I get bored and change most of my cars every 12 months, but any maintenance is money no object and I always warm them up before using the performance potential.

My '64 plate 991.1 C2S was 4.5 years old and had 12K on the clock when I bought it in April of this year. It's had 3 previous owners and was an OPC purchase. It actually drives like a brand new car. Perfect!

Hamster75 · 8 Jun 2019

It does seem that these cars are used as a play thing with more owners than usual, my 991.1 has had 4 in 24k miles & looks drives & smells like a new one, I say don't worry about it :thumb:

findtom · 8 Jun 2019

Nothing to worry about. Buy on condition, mileage and service history.

Winny911 · 9 Jun 2019

I could understand if it was a rare car where you have no choice in the used market. But at the end of the day a new ish 911 is not rare there are loads for sale some with lots of owners and some with only 1 or 2

Why buy the one with more owners? That only increases the risk of poeple buying it to rag to and sell it on in my eyes. Plus when you sell it on you will be limiting yourself as some buyers will be asking the same question

Put it this way. When did anyone ever start a thread saying they were concerned about buying a car as it had too few previous owners?

Good luck what ever you decide

Winny

Ady. · 9 Jun 2019

Hi guys, thanks for all the reply's and comments.

The car has done 31k and is 64k price, it turns out the 5 previous owners doesn't include the current owner so I would be the 7th owner.

It is at an OPC however the service book has only one stamp in it (how did they miss that on the 111 check?) they say it will take them some time to check the history as the car has been around the country and they will have to try and find out where (don't OPC have a national database?) however they are sure that it's been serviced regularly.

I imagine I will only keep this car for no more than 12 months before moving up the 911 range or getting scared and running away :grin:

Again thanks for all your help but I think I'd be better of finding another and leaving this one for someone who doesn't mind the owner thing...

jonttt · 9 Jun 2019

Agreed, something does seem a little odd.

Re service history they will only have detailed records from within their own franchise but should have done that leg work before selling it to trace the full history, begs the question if they have and there is a problem with it :?:

You know more about what your looking for from the experience :thumb:

T8 · 9 Jun 2019

Ady. said:
........ it turns out the 5 previous owners doesn't include the current owner so I would be the 7th owner.

It is at an OPC however the service book has only one stamp in it (how did they miss that on the 111 check?) they say it will take them some time to check the history as the car has been around the country and they will have to try and find out where (don't OPC have a national database?) ...........

Either one of those would be the straw that breaks the camels back for me. :nooo:

There's no 'national database' as there are several different franchises in the OPC network each with their own.

Another newbie

Ady.

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T8

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Ady.

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gilford

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jonttt

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Imola

spongebob squarepants

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Magic919

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Mad Mark911

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Hamster75

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findtom

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Winny911

Sao Paulo

Ady.

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jonttt

Monaco

T8

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