996tt Private or Dealer

[veearrsix]

I've been looking to purchase either a 996 C4S or 996tt, and with the well documented issues with the C4S engine, my search has been solely with the specialist dealers to take advantage of the warranty schemes offered.

However, with the 996tt, is there less risk buying privately (alongside a PPI or course) as there are less 'catastrophic' problems?

 

[quattrosteph]

Do your home work first. When you know more about the car you can buy. A Turbo is stronger in my opinion. Dove House got a nice one for sale .

 

[eca02apc]

I'd say the same risks that apply to buying any car privately rather than from a dealer are equally applicable to a turbo. That risk being the lack of warranty.

If you're meaning whether there are fewer problems to look out for on a turbo compared to a C4 then I'd say no, they're just different things you have to look for. If you buy a pup of a turbo (and there are certainly plenty of those about) then it could quite possibly cost as much to sort out as a Carrera that required an engine rebuild.

If I were you I'd try to find a car you really liked, regardless of whether it was trade or private, then have a very thorough independent inspection performed to give you insight into its problems.

 

[Andrew911]

Would def go for the turbo & agree Dovehouse have a nice one. I bought mine from them c18 months ago & just outside warranty the rear spoiler mechanism failed - would have been a £1000 job but they did it under the warranty for me. There are some out there that been abused so personally I would go to a decent dealer who will offer a proper warranty.

 

[cheshire911]

Different problems on a Turbo vs C4S. Research as thoroughly as you can - discussion forum on here, talk to indys, test drive a few cars, talk to PPI firms - I found talking to brokers helpful - such as Adruan Crawford and Peter Morgan - though in the end I did not use a broker.

Talk to as many people as you can, see a few cars inn the flesh, get to hear the sound, see the oilk and voltmeter gauges, see that all the lights go out etc.

If private you have no come back - so absolutely must have a PPI unless you kkn ow what you are doing. Also do an HPI check and MOT history download. There are (as with any used car) lots of dodgy bad example turbos (and probably C4S's out there). Just make sure you pick wisely and have it inspected by someone who knows the car inside out and what to look for.

Good luck

 

[DavidL]

I've just bought having been looking for a while.
Prices (of turbos anyway) are definitely on the up and sadly there seem to be far fewer cars about. PH classifieds is on about 55 cars now whereas early 2013 it was closer to 100.
I looked at a few - dealers are obviously more expensive but you get more comeback. The last dealer car I looked at however whilst well presented couldn't be reconciled with the price. They felt it was appropriate but its still for sale.
In the end I bought privately. It was slightly optimistically priced but a deal was done. But RPM gave it the once over - I wouldn't have bought without unless from a well respected indie - 911v, Northways, Hartech, RSJ etc (this isn't exhaustive).
Obviously it was the car I wanted, so was pleased when it got the thumbs up with a few advisories.
I did an MOT search, tax check and HPI too.

And its great and ridiculously quick.

 

[cheshire911]

I concur with DavidL's comments. This time last year PH had close to 100 996 Turbos for sale. Bottom end prices were around £24k-£25k. This year different story - fewer cars and bottom-end prices have crept up to around £28k - £29k. But this is no indication of quality! Indy's will be dearer, but you have some safeguards. Beware of third party warranty's such as an AA/RAC plan or Warranty-Wise etc. The better warranties tend to be those which are not Insurance backed but provided by the dealer.

I smile every time I see my car - because I always wanted a Turbo and because I did the right thing in going to a Turbo straight away and not via the C4S route.

Indy's have little flexibility on price whereas private will give you more flexibility on purchase price without any warranty. My personal opinion is if you do buy privately, forget the Insurance backed after-purchase warranties. Thye are often not worth the paper they are written on.

Private car must be inspected thoroughly by someone who knows what they are doing. Based on that you can proceed to purchase or haggle the cost of remedial work into the purchase price. Ask yourself, where do the indy's source their cars from? You guessed it! Their cars are often via private ads and trade pass-offs as well as direct part-ex from a purchase of a car from their stock. You should not rule out a broker - may be worth talking to Peter Morgan and Adrian Crawford. I found them both helpful but for my own reasons chose not to use the broker route on account of cost and no visibility of the sales price of the car they would broker a deal for me on. I wanted a broker to be paid for a search and then present an array of vehicles with seller's prices - that's not how they work. Thye present you a short-list of cars at your budget price and they get paid for the search activities - lack of transparency meant it was a non-starter for me.

 

[eca02apc]

If you saw a nice Carrera that you fancied but that was a private sale, you could always enquire about a maintenance plan from Hartech or similar. That way you'd get the best kind of protection from the cost of a potential engine rebuild, if you didn't fancy taking the risk of having no warranty.

 

[cheshire911]

If a maintenance plan can be considered a "must-have" for peace of mind, it is for the non-Turbo cars. The Turbo cars less so - different engine and block and does not suffer from the mechanical issues of the non-Turbo engines and a potential rebuild of £10k. The Turbo is ahigh maintenance car however - but in different things- but generally the more reliable than the non-Turbo mechanicals.

 

[Ocean Blue]

However, with the 996tt, is there less risk buying privately (alongside a PPI or course) as there are less 'catastrophic' problems?

Having trod the same path before my purchase there is nothing catasrophic about the 996 engine. If your good with a spanner then things like heat shields will save you a fortune. An alternator for instance is north of £500, yet if you have the time and spanner the cost will be around the £100 mark. If you lift the front wheels off the ground you'll be able to tell if the steering joints in the bellows need replacing. I'd always use a PPI with any purchase, dealer or private regardless. Some dealers as you will learn are less than bothered about the condition of their cars.

 

[cheshire911]

Ocean Blue rightly points about dealers.My experience is that with few exceptions, most will only put right things that may go wrong during any warranty. Then 12 months in and you have the first service under your ownership and things come crawling out the woodwork that need to be fixed as well as the service. That is why even with a dealer, I'd recommend a PPI so you know what else might be coming up in the near/mid future. I think it goes without saying that you should aim for a test drive - there are mentions here on the forum of some indy's who don't allow test drive arguing the car's right and covered by a warranty.

Personally, I couldn't buy a car without a test drive.

Also beware of the amount of prep that dealers put into the cars - with some, you can see poorly touched in front bumpers (its poorly touched in if I can see the stone chip repairs), poor conditon wheels that have had a quick tidy up, low tread depth on tyres - Porsche advise change at 3mm tread depth - none of the 1.6mm legal limit stuff on high performance cars. If the dealer puts tyres on it, they may be budget tyres - and these cars need all 4 tyres to be the same and N-rated. So factor in a pair of tyres if they are worn.

Edited cos of typos hitting incorrect keys on the laptop - I wish the forum would enable a spell check option before a post can be made.

 

[DavidL]

Ask yourself, where do the indy's source their cars from? You guessed it! Their cars are often via private ads and trade pass-offs as well as direct part-ex from a purchase of a car from their stock.

This is interesting as I've seen a couple of cars go from private sales to dealer stock.
One was a black car from north Norfolk. Up for 21k and looked nice but I couldn't arrange an inspection at a specialist that was convenient for the seller so I passed. That car then was advertised at a more local dealer and then subsequently at a well known specialist for 28k. No doubt it was given a good going over but that's quite a hike and I don't imagine the vendor got his 21k either. It sold very quickly.

Another is a black car with tan inside which went from private sale to a dealer and is still for sale. I like the interior and had it been blue I might have pursued it but clearly its not everyone's taste.

It does make you feel a little better when dealers are happy to buy a car you have felt sounds ok. Makes you feel you have some sort of handle on the market!

 

[Clanky]

You should not rule out a broker - may be worth talking to Peter Morgan and Adrian Crawford. I found them both helpful but for my own reasons chose not to use the broker route on account of cost and no visibility of the sales price of the car they would broker a deal for me on. I wanted a broker to be paid for a search and then present an array of vehicles with seller's prices - that's not how they work. Thye present you a short-list of cars at your budget price and they get paid for the search activities - lack of transparency meant it was a non-starter for me.

To me, I can't see the point of paying someone else to do something I actually quite enjoy.
Love trawling through autotrader & various sites looking for the right car with the right spec!
Anyone want to pay me to do that?

:grin:

 

[Clanky]

However, with the 996tt, is there less risk buying privately (alongside a PPI or course) as there are less 'catastrophic' problems?

Having trod the same path before my purchase there is nothing catasrophic about the 996 engine. If your good with a spanner then things like heat shields will save you a fortune. An alternator for instance is north of £500, yet if you have the time and spanner the cost will be around the £100 mark. If you lift the front wheels off the ground you'll be able to tell if the steering joints in the bellows need replacing. I'd always use a PPI with any purchase, dealer or private regardless. Some dealers as you will learn are less than bothered about the condition of their cars.

+1

I can't remember how much I was quoted to swap out am AOS on my 4S. Something like £650.
Got the part for £80 & did it myself! Took about 9 hours mind, but I reckon I could do it in half that now that I know how to get it off & have the modifies tools for the job now!

:thumb:

 

[kas750]

Ask yourself, where do the indy's source their cars from? You guessed it! Their cars are often via private ads and trade pass-offs as well as direct part-ex from a purchase of a car from their stock.

This is interesting as I've seen a couple of cars go from private sales to dealer stock.
One was a black car from north Norfolk. Up for 21k and looked nice but .I couldn't arrange an inspection at a specialist that was convenient for the seller so I passed. That car then was advertised at a more local dealer and then subsequently at a well known specialist for 28k. No doubt it was given a good going over but that's quite a hike and I don't imagine the vendor got his 21k either. It sold very quickly.

Another is a black car with tan inside which went from private sale to a dealer and is still for sale. I like the interior and had it been blue I might have pursued it but clearly its not everyone's taste.

It does make you feel a little better when dealers are happy to buy a car you have felt sounds ok. Makes you feel you have some sort of handle on the market!

I was looking at that one as well..that was quite a mark up!