Trying to buy my 996, dealer puts up roadblocks

So, A Lexus dealer has a 2000 cab with around 50,000 miles that I am interested in. The dealership is about 300 miles from my house, so I'm looking at doing most of the preliminary work long distance. I contact the dealer, pleasant emails are exchanged, and I begin to ask my questions. Let me preface this by saying sales guy claims he sold Porsches for 10 years before working at Lexus. 1) I ask if he knows if IMS or RMS have been serviced/changed in the past. Also ask about clutch, etc. Sales guy responds that neither him nor his "Master Lexus Service Technician" (who says has owned 10 Porsches in the past- according to sales guy) knows what those parts are and they assume I am talking about some sort of aftermarket performance mods. Say the car is stock and no mods have been done. 2) Also tell them I wouldn't buy the car without a PPI at an independent garage, and not the garage it has been typically repaired at in the past. I relay that I will ask that it be hooked up to OBD to check for over revs, and other codes as well as a thorough inspection for past accidents, etc by going over the body and engine. Sales guy tells me that they are uncomfortable with this because someone may hook up OBD and "mess with the computers". They say they had it checked out at porsche dealership, and that should basically be good enough for me. He is willing to send me copy of "safety inspection" but nothing else. I am assuming this is just a mandated state inspection. I am going to run away from this car, although it looks pristine from the photos. No PPI and no records means no deal for me. If I was able to get a good PPI and the car had no records, I would probably still pull the trigger. But missing both is just too much. In agreement? Thanks, Ethan

I concur. Sounds like they don't want you to look at it too closely...

He's a Lexus salesman and he and his mechanic are blowing smoke up your a#@. I agree with you, no PPI(a thorough one at that) no sale. As if you would be messing with the car's computers with an OBD code reader, he's not very knowledgeable and doubtful he's ever worked for Porsche. Pretty frustrating for you, maybe they are hiding something, maybe they aren't very bright. GL

Obviously they know little or nothing about the engines in the Boxster/996/997 series if they don't know what a IMS or RMS is. And there reluctance to let you do a PPI is crazy, and you can't mess things up with an OBD reader. Tell them if they want to sell the car they will have to take it to the mechanic of your choice (near to them) for an inspection at your expense. If they don't agree then tell them "happy hunting " for another buyer. There are way to many of these cars available to even consider buying one without a proper PPI, etc.

It sucks because the car looks great in the pictures. Owned by an old guy for the past 10 years. Less than 5000 miles a year. I just don't know if he wrapped it around a few phone poles in that ten years, or if he liked watching the tach get into the "pretty red part" every time he drove it.

move on, but you might find a local Rlister to drop by the dealer to help you get some answers or inflict some education on them.

Have your chosen PPI person drop by the dealer and take the car out for a "test drive".....

I've already said "to hell with it". Told the dealer thanks but no thanks. I think I'll just wait to purchase in the fall. My summer is so punctuated with vacations, work, etc. that I don't really have much time for a purchase until late August. I wanted to drive the car back from wherever I purchase it anyway, so I want to give myself plenty of time. Although, if this dealer would have been a bit more forthcoming, I probably would have gone down Friday and picked up the car. Oh well.

I would walk also Nittany. Plenty of 996 cars out there.

I would have the sales guy look at this thread.... inform him you are an "informed buyer" and are following "standard protocall" for buying ANY PORSCHE. PPI from an indipendant party know what you are buying - condition of all systems and overall, knowing what if anything needs work, and using that as a negotiation tool so you dont end up buying something and needing to drop $5k in it right away thus being over your planned budget for the initial buy in. trying to secure a warranty if possible

From their point of view it was probably too much trouble to answer your questions when another buyer might walk in the door tomorrow and ask none. Never underestimate the laziness of salesmen. They also know that an independent PPI will probably find some issues that they will either have to fix or lower the price accordingly.

Just move on. If they really want to sell it to you, they'll agree to your conditions. -td

Might also have to do with the point in the life cycle of their ownership of the car on their lot. If it's new to the dealership, they are less inclined to monkey with "non-standard" requests. Once its there for 30-60 days, things change -- like their price flexibility and their willingness to work with you may improve. Just curious, is there a reason you told them you planned to hook it up to an OBD? I agree with others that you not buy under those conditions -- but you didn't mention the price. That usually helps determine if I run away, walk away, or saunter and occasionally glance backwards

The price is 27,500. Black on Black.It doesn't have anything spectacular on the option list. A little high from my perspective. Sales guy asked me what a PPI involved over their "safety inspection", so I told him. As far as I am concerned, OBD should be hooked up as part of inspection. Dealer just emailed me back and said they would agree to an "approved" garage after I told them I was going to keep looking. I think I'll just check back with them in late August when the summer is winding down and see if the car is still available.

If they were "Porsche guys" back in the SC or 993 days they may be telling the truth regarding their lack of familiarity with RMS and IMS. Ask them if they know about Porsche's valve guides issues as a test I can't imagine anyone bying a used Lexus asking for a PPI. You may have surprised them. As for there being lots of 996 available... I am not so sure. I have searched my area using a 150 mile radius and found just 4 "candidate cars". Two were easy to eliminate and I am about to pull the trigger on #4. It weeps oil but will get RMS and LN Eng IMS right away. I see this as a necessity for any 996 purchase so I just add $5,000 to the asking price from the get go. In NorCal $27,500 for a series 1 996 is about right for a dealer car. That is way high for a private sale. With a 996 this old is there a benefit to going with a dealer car? I decided to go private sale and just bake RMS and IMS into the offer price. Good luck. ...j

There are 58 year 2000 within 500 miles of me on Autotrader alone. I found another 40 or so on autotempest within 500 miles of me (some may be overlaps). So with close to 100 cars to choose from within an easy drive from my location, I have the luxury to wait. When I started looking seriously about a month ago, there were over 150 available within 500 miles of me at one point. Then, of course, within 500 miles of me are like 10 major population centers (including NYC, Philly, DC, Baltimore, Chicago, Boston+++) , so there are a ton of cars available. I'm sure if I expanded to a nationwide search, it would be in the hundreds. Just takes a bit of perseverance and patience with looking through ads on various search engines. I'll find one eventually. I have noticed prices going up compared to just a few months ago, though.......

is this at koons? I dont' know anything about that car but.....for especially the 986/996's you either need to know the prev owner in and out...or PPI....if not run there are many shops across the country that are capable of great PPIs...wait for the right one

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If a 996 isn't a must need right now....wait a little longer...late fall/early winter the prices drop a little again

ok.. run away.. ok good.. ? are you just venting or looking for advice?

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Shark Attack - You got it. The post has been deleted. I didn't realize this was your forum. Sorry for the intrusion.

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His post is more a statment. I was just wondering what he was looking for. its not like their isnt more fish in the sea.. If they are giving him a hassle, I think it is a no brainer.. Take your cash and give it to someone else. My gosh dude... come on back when your period is over

Yep, its at Koons. Have any experience with them? Shark Attack, I just thought it was an interesting situation. After purchasing somewhere north of 20 cars in the past decade or so, I have never run into a situation where the dealership refused a PPI and so blatantly lied about their experience with a particular car. I am perfectly capable of purchasing an automobile. But all advice is always appreciated.

Want to buy my car?

RMS and IMS are the monsters in the closet of cyberspace. Those that own and work on P cars for a living and spend little time online most likely don't even know what RMS and IMS mean. An OBD scan tool will not read much except emissions related codes, and if that's what you want the Lexus dealer can do this for you. Perhaps you came across as a "tire kicker", asking the wrong types of questions first. If you are seriously interested in the car have someone close to it do a walk around inspection. Still interested, speak with the sales manager and tell him you would like to purchase the car pending it passing a PPI. Fill out a credit app, submit a letter from your bank or CU that you qualify for financing or you have funds ready to purchase. Financing is very hard to get on used cars these days and without some sort of substantiation, dealers may look at you like a dreamer. Prove them wrong up front.

I too am looking to buy. Had a similar experience with private owner. To me, the only way I will buy a car without a PPI is if the price was so silly, I would expect to have the motor tank on me, on the way home. In this scenario, the price of the car I looked at was WAY HIGH.. and he still dint want a PPI. Said someone would mess it up his car?????? huh??? Buzz

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Who knows what thier deal is.. Just sand bag here for a while and a well sorted car will pop up for sale at a fair price. No reason to spend time with someone that doesnt want to cooperate. Isnt like it is a rare 928 or something. Right now our cars are a dime a dozen. Good luck.. Just keep lookin.. although summer is tickin away

Hey Nittanyguy...I just noticed that you are from Central PA also....not sure exactly what you are looking for or if you have a set price range but I would consider this if I were you... http://www.euroimports.biz/details.asp?vehicle=826 I don't know him all that well and am not sure how negotiable he is on his price but I know he has a very good reputation.

Thanks for the heads up. I check his website regularly and also hear great things about his cars and service. Its just a bit more than I wanted to spend. I was also hoping for a cabrio or maybe even a targa.

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Koons Lexus is down the street from my office. Are you still interested? Edit: After looking at the pictures, that car is in rough shape. paint looks terrible, floor mats are worn through. It's a $20K at best if all the mechanicals are in order.

No interest. Especially if it looks ratty. WOuld need to drop significant $ on a paint job if in rough shape. Thanks for the feedback. I'll keep looking, maybe set aside a little extra for a newer model.

I have a 2004 C4S with 14K odo located in Walnutport. Come take a look