Lewis James

[Dsternum]

After a brief hiatus (after 7 years of 987 Boxster S ownership I stupidly bought an Audi S5 at the start of the year), I need to get back into a Porsche. As such I'm on the look out for a 997S with a short but fairly specific must have spec list.

I've looked through the listings on Pistonheads, Autotrader and here and one car that ticks all the boxes and comes within budget (£25-27k) is from Lewis James, Huddersfield.

Other than a couple of negative comments on Pistonheads and a few seemingly positive ones on here, I can't find any feedback on them at all (I've picked up that they're reasonably new). Being based in Plymouth I can't exactly pop in so I'm trying to get a hand on whether it's likely to be worth my while making the journey to seriously consider the car.

Has anyone bought from them, and if so would you recommend or buy from them again? Obviously given the distances involved it would be sales only, servicing being done with a local indy. Does anyone know if the warranty they offer is purely with them or if it's something I can use elsewhere?

I'd be grateful of any feedback on them you guys can give good or bad.

Cheers

DS

 

[kas750]

I went across a couple of times to take a look at the Lewis James stock.
I found them pretty friendly although the cars that they had at the time that I was interested in, were not "stand out" cars and were pretty run of the mill condition wise.
If I was in a position to buy another car one day I would buy from one of the probably 5 or 6 top indies in the country which they are not.
There is a food chain for used Porsche stock and some are higher up it than others.

 

[Jcx]

My cynical view: forums such as this remove negative comments made by members about dealers. As such you are unlikely to find negative feedback about dealers on forums. Such a lack of negative comments is clearly is no indicator for their good standing. Read between the lines of what people do post.

Perhaps there should be a code along the lines of "i bought from xxxx and had a mixed experience. Happy to share details privately with anyone to protect the guilty and innocent alike."

Mods is that acceptable?

 

[threespins]

I've called in a couple of times, and agree with previous comments. I would not buy from them.

 

[Sym322]

I have purchased two Porsche from Lewis James in Huddersfield. Although not my current one and only because they couldn't find the right one for me in my time scale....!
Nigel and Craig the two Directors are very helpful and their after sales service I could not fault. Although their cars for sale could look better, this is only cosmetic and nothing a little TLC couldn't sort. I believe that the stock is of good pedigree and do care about their customers throughout their ownership. :thumb:

 

[cheshire911]

I visited them last year when I was on the search. Kas750 and I were on the hunt at the same time it seems - we seem to have seen the same dealers' stock in a 100 mile radius of Manchester.

Even test drove a C4S before deciding it had to be a Turbo. Pretty friendly guys. I think both the Directors are ex-JCT Leeds. Did not buy from them as they did not have Turbo in stock when I was looking.

Stock-wise, I'd say not the tidiest I've seen. Standard of prep appeared low (its a low standard when I can spot touched in stone chips rather than front PU off and a re-spray). Similar comment on wheels - some showing signs of corrosion. Tyres also on the low side on some cars - around 4mm.

Price-wise, they are in the lower end of upper third in the price spectrum of High-Medium-Low. Put another way, top-end of the medium price range.
I think they woulkd be better to price low end of medium or top-end of low prices.

Cannot comment on the warranty as did not buy from them.

If you choose the premium indy's the premium price means you will likely get a car prepped to a better standard, tyres changed if on the low side - changed with premium brands not budget and any mechanical stuff that is likely to be required over the warranty window fully rectified.

The choice is yours.

 

[Maxie]

I've popped in a few times to LJ and the cars seem reasonable enough however I do echo earlier comments about them being able to present their cars in a better light (I don't think a detailer has been deployed to prep any of the cars for instance).

OP - I will be passing by there early next week as I have family in West Yorks.; if you'd like me to have a look at anything for you, please shout.

~ Maxie

 

[Sym322]

I popped in last week and do know that they have invested in a detailer very recently therefore their stock will start to look better then of previous :thumbs:

 

[Dsternum]

Thanks for the advice and thanks for the offers to pop in.

The car in question is a silver 05 plate with just shy of 50k miles priced at £26.5k.

http://www.lewisjamesporsche.co.uk/porsche-911-carrera-2-s-in-huddersfield-west-yorkshire-3105615

As I say it ticks all my requirement boxes but there's just something that doesn't feel 100% right with it (the 4 owners and relatively low miles keep bugging me for some reason). So I think I'll continue my search for a car that is 100%.

I maybe up that part of the country with work in the near future, so will try and pop in at that point but I'm just not feeling that it's worth the trip up from the deep South at the moment.

DS

 

[cheshire911]

If it doesn't feel right for you, then sensible move. You always have to consider that 4 prior owners over a short period MAY mean owners who have done the bare minimum and passed the car on - each time it collects things to be done and it may hit you. I stress the MAY in this sentence.

The world is your oyster - there are a lot of cars out there, the right oine is the one that feels right, then stacks up with an inpsection and you buy it being fully aware of what needs doing now and in the next 12 months.

Keep us posted. We all try to help fellow enthusiasts here on this forum.