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THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHEttiquette for contacting a past owner?
Leading reported evidence
Use cars
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
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Discussions
Read evidence and context
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Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
Although I almost always buy used cars from owners, I have twice contacted the previous owners of cars (not Porsches) at dealers that I was very interested in.
Leading evidence: 'Use cars' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Use cars' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. 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.
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.
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Suggestion
One of the many reasons people might elect to use a dealer is to avoid this very issue.
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
Use cars
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
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.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
Although I almost always buy used cars from owners, I have twice contacted the previous owners of cars (not Porsches) at dealers that I was very interested in.
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.
13 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: 20261026T112012Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
You bought your pre-loved P-car through a reputable dealer, and included in the package was a pile of service receipts.
Name(s) and address(es) of the previous owner(s) are right there on the old receipts. Is it ok to contact the old owner to get some commentary on the car? If ok, what's the best method? (Look up the phone number?, Keep driving by the address until you see someone watering the lawn?)
If you were the previous owner, how would you react to the contact?
Along those lines, if you were ever been walking down and saw your "old" P-car parked, what would you do? (Wait for the owner to chat him up?, Keep walking and put the past behind?)
Obviously, the case here isn't so hypothetical. Interested in your comments...
(and Waz....how did you feel about getting that call that your "old" engine had blown?)
-jerry
The shoe is on the other foot with me. The guy I bought my Boxster from over 4 years ago calls or e-mails me every few months. And I keep asking him if he wants to buy back his Boxster, and he keeps asking me how is the car. He only had it for 30 days and did not want to sell it.
I would not mind if someone called me about a car I had sold, but everyone is different. Jeff
I would not mind hearing from the new owner of my 1999 C2. I would be curious to know what happened to it, where it is, and that the new owner cares about it as much as I did.
Anybody see this car??? It was traded to Suncoast Porsche in Sarasota.
I would take exception if the contact was to complain about a problem and they were looking to me for a solution (considering the car was traded to a dealer).
Don't be shy call them. ..
I called the last two owners of my 99 C2, looking for old keys. No luck on the keys. One of the owners was very nice and the other one still hadn't gotten over losing 20k plus on the car and got real nasty with me.
I have to say, some unknown person who bought your trade-in would be the last person you would want to hear from. Even though Porsches are a bit special, it would still take a lot of nerve to impose yourself on some prior owner like that. I think it would be stressfull for them as they would assume you are calling about some problem you have discovered and even if the first thing out of your mouth was that you weren't, they'd still probably be worried about you knowing who they are in case something came up in the future.
Little bit like having the person who buys your house call you up later on. the real truth is you JUST DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT...............
That is WHY you trade a car into a dealer instead of selling it directly.....
But hey, everybody has their own opinion............
It is why most people hate their inlaws..........they are POs.......
I would not hesitate to contact a previous owner, but *before* I bought rather than afterward. Although I almost always buy used cars from owners, I have twice contacted the previous owners of cars (not Porsches) at dealers that I was very interested in. In both cases the POs were very receptive and helpful. They seemed impressed that I was interested in talking to the POs, and one even mailed me the complete service records along with other materials (the dealer hadn't even asked for them). I'd think carefully about good opening lines, however, so as not to put them on the defensive. In short, my PO contact experiences have been very positive and helpful, and I bought both cars.
I would think that the dealer would not give out the previous owners info without the approval of the previous owner. With privacy laws the way they are. Therefore if the dealer gives the info then contact the previous owner.
The new owner of my past 996 happens to have been a distant friend...
I certainly have a lot of attachment towards the car.. I was always enquiring about it, but NOT thru the new owner! Funny but I was quite shy to ask him, always thought maybe smthg is wrong... Until it happened! I was blown away by the news of the broken engine and i even felt more embarassed.. Again, it's all about luck and I keep saying he got a good deal for it...
No regrets!
Wael
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