Hi Folks.
Well..after hawking around in here for an eternity swotting up on 997 ownership and getting all nervous about the various reported issues, I am happy to say that I'm now into my first week of 997 ownership and I'm absolutely SMITTEN !
I'd like to briefly share my buying experience as I am sure there will continue to be lots of people in the same boat as me over the coming months, and I hope this helps and reassures them.
Now, like most of you guys I suspect, I like to regard myself as a pretty shrewd guy. And shrewd guys don't opt to line the pockets of car traders who are just looking to make a fast buck right ? In 23 years of buying cars, I have never bought a car from a dealer. And I wasn't looking to start now. I'd wait for the right car, buy well, and underwrite my own warranty by putting some money aside each month.
So, after catching a flight back to T5 one day, I thought I'd call to see these boys at 911 virgin and pick their brains about 911 ownership. After all, I'd read some pretty good feedback.
As I turned up, I was greeted by Tom with a friendly handshake and invited to sit in the office to see how they could help. He then listened, answered all my questions over the next hour or so and gave me some advice about what I should look for. What I should be worried about, and What I shouldn't waste my energy worrying about !
It was obvious to me that these guys were both passionate and experienced in the subject matter and at no time was I given the hard sell about why I should be buying a car from them. If my memory serves me correctly I had to ask if they had anything suitable !
And at this point I started to consider the facts/merits of buying from a specialist like this.
I'd travelled far and wide and looked at a range of 997's privately, ranging from overpriced cars with no warranty, to cars that were a little scruffy and not owned by real enthusiasts (one guy tried to convince me that although his 2008 car was serviced 2.5 years ago, because it had only done 10k since, it wouldn't need doing for another 10k, regardless if that took another 10 years or not lol!). To be honest I was tiring of using my weekends up and weighing options up about warranties etc which is when I considered softening my approach on buying from a specialist.
Tom found me a lovely aero kitted car, we chewed the fat about a deal ,and he let me slap a refundable deposit on it providing I viewed it quickly, in case it didn't meet my expectations. I didn't need to worry - the car was awesome !
A part of the deal was to get the car serviced at a dealer of my choosing, and Tom even called to explain that they had authorised the dealer to fit new air conditioning condensers at significant cost - even though it was only an advisory point for the future. He didn't have to do that but I think that speaks volumes about the reputation that they are looking to build for themselves. The handover experience last Tuesday (the night before my birthday!) was amazing and just made the whole event very memorable/special indeed. Nothing was too much trouble - they even asked me if they could make a fresh set of plates up for my private reg !
So now I have a cracking car, with a 12 month warranty and lots of confidence to enjoy my purchase properly. And I have the safety net of calling these guys for advice whenever I want. And to be honest, in terms of what I paid/the package I got, versus what people were asking privately, it all ended up being a bit of a no brainer !
So, in summary, for those of you who are in the same boat I was a few months ago, I would summarise like this;
- Use the mass of knowledge in this forum and use the search facility. In hindsight, I've asked some pretty basic questions which I could have found using the search function, but the patience and quality of advice has been fantastic - I've even received some PM's from people offering to help! I came from a great Alpina owners forum - a hard act to follow - and have to admit that I was worried about a forum associated with a marque like this - would it be a bit stuffy and highbrow. Not one bit. All sorts of people owning all sorts of cars, sharing the same, great passion. Brilliant !
- Speak to the specialists, and if possible visit them. They live and breathe these things and help remove many of the internet myths out there with good impartial advice. I visited three - Cameron, RSJ and 911 Virgin, and all gave at least an hour of their time quite happily.
- Benchmark some prices both private and specialist and write down a list of pros and cons, costing in things that you should associate wth a private sale (PPI, warranty, servicing, travelling costs etc). Its surprising how the gap narrows between the two when you look at it like this !.
- Don't worry ! Yes, some owners have had some very unfortunate experiences, but I think you can find an Achilles heel on every owners forum. All things considered, I think these cars represent amazing value for money and I think as prospective buyers - it's odd I guess, that we go out of our way to look for the negatives! I did it - and if I'm honest, all my Google searches had the words 'IMS/RMS/Bore Scoring' in them. I never searched 'best things about 997 ownership' lol !
I hope that I haven't dripped on too much there and I hope that those of you guys considering making a purchase end up with the same fantastic feeling that I'm having right now.
Thanks again Tom @ 911 Virgin. I'll be back for a green GT3RS in a couple of years mate (Wife: no you bloody won't !))
I will post up about my views on how the car's been behaving in due course :>)
Safe driving and thanks again to everyone here for their help in the purchasing process.
Nat
Well..after hawking around in here for an eternity swotting up on 997 ownership and getting all nervous about the various reported issues, I am happy to say that I'm now into my first week of 997 ownership and I'm absolutely SMITTEN !
I'd like to briefly share my buying experience as I am sure there will continue to be lots of people in the same boat as me over the coming months, and I hope this helps and reassures them.
Now, like most of you guys I suspect, I like to regard myself as a pretty shrewd guy. And shrewd guys don't opt to line the pockets of car traders who are just looking to make a fast buck right ? In 23 years of buying cars, I have never bought a car from a dealer. And I wasn't looking to start now. I'd wait for the right car, buy well, and underwrite my own warranty by putting some money aside each month.
So, after catching a flight back to T5 one day, I thought I'd call to see these boys at 911 virgin and pick their brains about 911 ownership. After all, I'd read some pretty good feedback.
As I turned up, I was greeted by Tom with a friendly handshake and invited to sit in the office to see how they could help. He then listened, answered all my questions over the next hour or so and gave me some advice about what I should look for. What I should be worried about, and What I shouldn't waste my energy worrying about !
It was obvious to me that these guys were both passionate and experienced in the subject matter and at no time was I given the hard sell about why I should be buying a car from them. If my memory serves me correctly I had to ask if they had anything suitable !
And at this point I started to consider the facts/merits of buying from a specialist like this.
I'd travelled far and wide and looked at a range of 997's privately, ranging from overpriced cars with no warranty, to cars that were a little scruffy and not owned by real enthusiasts (one guy tried to convince me that although his 2008 car was serviced 2.5 years ago, because it had only done 10k since, it wouldn't need doing for another 10k, regardless if that took another 10 years or not lol!). To be honest I was tiring of using my weekends up and weighing options up about warranties etc which is when I considered softening my approach on buying from a specialist.
Tom found me a lovely aero kitted car, we chewed the fat about a deal ,and he let me slap a refundable deposit on it providing I viewed it quickly, in case it didn't meet my expectations. I didn't need to worry - the car was awesome !
A part of the deal was to get the car serviced at a dealer of my choosing, and Tom even called to explain that they had authorised the dealer to fit new air conditioning condensers at significant cost - even though it was only an advisory point for the future. He didn't have to do that but I think that speaks volumes about the reputation that they are looking to build for themselves. The handover experience last Tuesday (the night before my birthday!) was amazing and just made the whole event very memorable/special indeed. Nothing was too much trouble - they even asked me if they could make a fresh set of plates up for my private reg !
So now I have a cracking car, with a 12 month warranty and lots of confidence to enjoy my purchase properly. And I have the safety net of calling these guys for advice whenever I want. And to be honest, in terms of what I paid/the package I got, versus what people were asking privately, it all ended up being a bit of a no brainer !
So, in summary, for those of you who are in the same boat I was a few months ago, I would summarise like this;
- Use the mass of knowledge in this forum and use the search facility. In hindsight, I've asked some pretty basic questions which I could have found using the search function, but the patience and quality of advice has been fantastic - I've even received some PM's from people offering to help! I came from a great Alpina owners forum - a hard act to follow - and have to admit that I was worried about a forum associated with a marque like this - would it be a bit stuffy and highbrow. Not one bit. All sorts of people owning all sorts of cars, sharing the same, great passion. Brilliant !
- Speak to the specialists, and if possible visit them. They live and breathe these things and help remove many of the internet myths out there with good impartial advice. I visited three - Cameron, RSJ and 911 Virgin, and all gave at least an hour of their time quite happily.
- Benchmark some prices both private and specialist and write down a list of pros and cons, costing in things that you should associate wth a private sale (PPI, warranty, servicing, travelling costs etc). Its surprising how the gap narrows between the two when you look at it like this !.
- Don't worry ! Yes, some owners have had some very unfortunate experiences, but I think you can find an Achilles heel on every owners forum. All things considered, I think these cars represent amazing value for money and I think as prospective buyers - it's odd I guess, that we go out of our way to look for the negatives! I did it - and if I'm honest, all my Google searches had the words 'IMS/RMS/Bore Scoring' in them. I never searched 'best things about 997 ownership' lol !
I hope that I haven't dripped on too much there and I hope that those of you guys considering making a purchase end up with the same fantastic feeling that I'm having right now.
Thanks again Tom @ 911 Virgin. I'll be back for a green GT3RS in a couple of years mate (Wife: no you bloody won't !))
I will post up about my views on how the car's been behaving in due course :>)
Safe driving and thanks again to everyone here for their help in the purchasing process.
Nat
