Used Porsches?

I am looking to purchase a '99 or '00 996 but am very weary of buying on Ebay. Has anyone purchased from EBAY here and if so how has it been? How can you be sure the car wasn't in a collision or abused in some way? Does carfax show that? The cars look great on the screen but I just don't want to get burned. I have a friend who's a dealer that can get me cars from auction but that seems to also be hit or miss also because you never get the records with those either. I'm starting to think that purchasing from a fellow private owner would be best. What do you guys think?

I think you answered your question already. I bought mine through the dealer so I could get the factory extended warranty and the relationship of buying from them. Can't go wrong with an PCar enthusiast either! Happy hunting. Oh yeah....and of course the obligatory posting of pics upon purchase are a must

If you find a dealer that wants your service work after the purchase you might be able to find a car through your friend and have the dealer run it through the inspection and add the Porsche Certified warranty. This would cost about $2000 total. If your friend found a decent car at wholesale prices at the auction this could work well for you. I did some very similar and I'm very happy. I have also been blown away by the service that I've received and I guarantee I have a long-term relationship with a dealer who will be selling me cars in the future.

Shop ebay. Get in your car and go look. Print out a sheet on all of the cars you are interested in from ebay and autotrader. You're gonna have to drive some miles but after looking at a dozen or more cars you will find one you want. Use the autotrader and ebay sheets to negotiate your purchase price with your seller. If you do your work you will get a good car at a better price. I just did this. I bought the best car my wife and I found. And the seller took a heavy reduction because I showed him the printouts on the other cars. We got a near perfect car with 35,000 miles on it at the lower end of the price range. As a matter of fact it is perfect except for a few barely perceptible rock abrasions in the nose. Do the search, BE the search, grasshopper.........

The place where I got my car lists on ebay - ExpoMotorCars. The car was in great shape, off a 2 yr lease. Once you find the car you want, have a PPI done (Porsche Inspection) about $200, along with a car fax, that will give you a level of comfort about the car. Use the carfax data to call the servicing dealer, they can lookup the car history based on the VIN, and the service manager, might be able to tell you a bit more than might otherwise be disclosed. Happy hunting...take your time, don't rush into a bad deal...

I bought an out of state car about 5-6 yrs ago. The color was rare, and my price was tight. The seller sent me pictures, and it looked ok. When I arrived to buy it, the paint looked very poor. Even 30 feet away I knew that I should turn around. I'm not against traveling to buy a car, but will want more info about the seller's reputation in the future.

You CAN NOT judge the condition of a car based on photos alone. Stone chips, scratches, etc. generally DO NOT show up on photos, even relatively tight shots. I had my '80 928 w/ over 200k hard miles listed on Ebay about 2 years ago, and the pictures I took looked gorgeous, but reality was a much different story. The nose was chipped almost to primer, several panels had been painted years earlier by the PO, and the paint had faded differently, was very thin and developed spider-web cracks in several areas. I was sure any bidder who didn't actually see the car, would want to justifiably back out of the deal. Since I needed to move the car, I ended up selling it locally to avoid potential problems. Not all Sellers will be upfront with you, and if you get the car shipped sight unseen, you could be in for an unpleasant surprise with no recourse.

For about $150 you can have a local auto inspector check out the car-- both exterior (for scratches, etc.) and will take it for a test drive. They will generate and send you a reprt via e-mail.

I found mine on Ebay but to keep a long story short, I ended up buying the car directly from the dealer that had listed it there. The car is absolutely immaculate and I couldn't be more pleased with how the entire transaction went down. If you're interested in more information on the transaction or would like to contact this dealer I'd be happy to share that info. with you. They cherry pick the cream of the crop cars and rely on a volume basis to make their money. The price for my car was extremely fair. David

Buy one from the owner or a dealer. Delaer can get you extended warranty, while owner ( if he is a good one) will deliver pristine well maintained car... Look for the one that meets most of your requirements and bargain... Good luck

I was looking at ebay and Expo particularly, but then I found that my local Porsche dealer was able to come close/beat the buy it now price for similar ebay cars, AND the dealer car had the certified warranty. C.

Just one datapoint on cars on Ebay: I bought a used Excursion diesel for towing on Ebay. I called the seller - a Toyota dealer - and asked how he wanted to do the transaction. To my amazement, he put the truck on a flat bed, sent it four hours to my front door, let me look the truck over closely, and then took a personal check. I don't expect a good buying experience like this happens everyday. Steve 99 996