11 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHFinding Prior Owner of Car
Reported or suspected cause
dealer had prior approval
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Identified cause
1
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that suspect a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suspected cause
(probably the dealer had prior approval to give out name and ph number.
Leading evidence: 'dealer had prior approval' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'dealer had prior approval' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
11 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T194705Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
I am trading my 00 c2 in for a Turbo. The carfax seems just "ok". I would really like to find the name of the prior owner(s) and contact them about the car. Anyone know how to do that? Dealers are not willing to give me that info.
Take a look in the owners manual. There were several reciepts and the previous owner of my car even filled out the owners information in the manual. They also left the welcome packet in the glovebox which had a letter to the owner from PCNA.
I have done this many times ....
From Carfax:
Look at the areas where the car was registered.
From Porcshe Web Site:
Get # of Dealer / Dealers in Area
Call Dealer Service department(s):
1. Very important ...Have last 6 of VIM handy and dont call at peak drop off / pick up hours
2. Tell the SA you are buying a car, want to confirm it was serviced by them, etc. Ask if they know the PO. Either way, explain that you know they cant provide the PO name, etc but if they would mind to call the PO and ask if it is ok to release the info, etc
3. If they have no history of car, move on to the next dealer.
4. Be Very Nice ... they are doing you a favor
Alternative Approach
if you get the right rep at Porsche NA, they can dig around and find the dealership the car was shipped to.
Service advisers
If you have a specific concern, I'd steer away. The service records and usually be pieced by calling the dealers that car was service. A PPI would reveal current issues. I don't think you will get a friendly response from PO by cold calling him. That is very creepy to me.
I contacted the PO of a BMW 540i I bought, and she was more than helpful in sharing any known issues with the car. She even offered to find the extra keys she had for the car and mail it to me. I suppose, like anything else, each specific situation and person is different.
FWIW: When considering purchase of a Mercedes SL with 4600 miles on it, I asked dealer for prior owners name and ph. which they happly supplied. Called PO (doctor) and he was very helpful about the SL that they traded in. Spoke at length about car and his new ride. This may have been the exception, but all they can say is "No" and hang up. (probably the dealer had prior approval to give out name and ph number.
My dealer provided a copy of all the service records since new, but blacked out PO name, etc. This is asking for trouble legally, and most business wont give this info out, privacy laws, etc.
