How do PPI logistics work?

I'm looking to get my feet wet in the Porsche ownership rabbit hole. I found a '02 Cab, Tiptronic with 11K for a reasonable price at a dealer and am very interested as it will probably sell quickly. Obviously I am responsible for paying for the PPI, but how does it get to the inspecting garage? Driven, towed? At my expense? How deep does a PPI have to go in a 16 year old car with under 12K? Any concerns with very low miles versus high miles. Just looking for answers as the different expenses can quickly add up. Thanks in advance for any information or advice anyone can give.

You ask many "loaded" questions! Hopefully, the car should be capable of being driven to the PPI place. Talk to the dealer that a PPI at a place of your choice is a requirement for your possible purchase and work out details with them. Such a place should be a Porsche focused repair place with experience with issues on the 996 series. The dealer should understand, if not walk away. PPI should go as deep as with any other car. While mileage is an issue so is lack thereof. Time will degrade some systems regardless of use. There will be others who have more experience/opinions on super low miles than I do. They have have some valid points...listen to them. If you reveal your location it is possible someone here might "know a guy" local to the car who could do the job of a proper PPI. BTW: Welcome! there is much to be learned from many here. Good luck on your search/purchase.

First put down a refundable deposit so dealer won�t sell it out from under you and is more likely to accommodate 3rd party ppi. I�m assuming you are not local to the car? I�m willing to bet a member here lives close to the car and would probably be willing to drive it to an independent shop for ppi.

Thanks guys, I don't mean to ask loaded questions and i get they are very open ended but are also intended to be so as to learn the most I can. I am local to the car and drove it yesterday, it was very nice and looked every bit as new as a 16 year 11K mile car would. I'm trying to approach this unemotionally but I like it and based on the condition and miles it probably won't last. This Is why I'm trying to understand the logistics of the PPI. Should the dealer let me drive off with it and take it to in independent? Sorry for the dumb questions but I usually buy Toyota's and Honda's where these types of precautions aren't normally necessary, a new engine isn't tens of thousands. This is a whole new world to me. I come from a place where you and a buddy go to a dealer or private party and say looks good I'll take it, or no thanks I'll pass. I'm also open for PPI recommendations in the Chicago area. I've read some of the threads on here and most are from years ago and have mixed reviews. I'm open to all thoughts and opinions

Negotiate on a price, pending ppi. Put refundable deposit, if the accept. Find 996 independent shop and personally schedule appointment and payment plan. You, or dealership delivers car to shop. Shop talks to you about results and cost for repairs. Use these numbers for renogotiatios. Buy car.😊

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Your original questions were fine. It's just that low mileage cars are controversial. Work it out with the dealer on transportation to PPI. There are a lot of Chicago area guys here. My guess is they will chime in for suggestions of a place. Yeah, a rebuilt engine can go from $10k to way over $20k depending on what is done and who does it. So more than Honda/Toyota engines. I like what 85 says above, too.

Its listed on a Local Dealer website with Carfax etc. Does it make sense to post a link here to get opinions on the car?

Sure, that has been done before. Give folks and opportunity to give you feedback on what they see and think. Go for it.

Here goes, https://www.4porsche.com/vehicle-det...il-id-24761209

Looks pretty nice - just not sure about that price tag

It's beautiful, but overpriced and won't sell quickly...Take your time and do it right!

First thing I see is the dealer serviced this car. Ask to see the service records. Review work done. Post significant work here. Important is how often the oil and filter was changed. Porsche has ridiculous recommendations...10-15k!! The oil should have been changed at least once per year, minimum, regardless of mileage. Gets any fuel/water condensation out of engine to prevent internal bad things from happening. On second though maybe I'll just run over and buy this thing JUST KIDDING!! In addition, Price is high

From Carfax: Find out what "wheel(s) repaired" on 7-18-11 means, specifically.

And a solid negotiated price is $?? (Can I ask that?) If everything checks out, 1 owner, low mileage . I have never bought a Porsche before and definitely don't want to overpay. This is a Porsche dealer so I don't expect them to budge as much as if this were the odd duck at a Ford dealer or something. Also I really had my heart set on a 997 cab but the locality and condition are being taken in consideration. Not to mention the whole IMS thing the hangs in the background on any 996.

I like that it one owner and maintenance done at dealership it's being sold at. STILL need independent ppi, but from here it looks very nice. Hasn't passed through multiple owners, who may or may not afford maintenance on these cars. They should have room to negotiate, trade in was probably around 20k?

"From Carfax: Find out what "wheel(s) repaired" on 7-18-11 means, specifically." Not sure but its likely it was the rears as the fronts were just replaced. Rears had some miles on them, so likely it was them in '11

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Understand, however was the "wheel repair" some touch up paint or did a crack have to welded or wheel straightened. Should be in the dealer repair file as far as specifics. There are plenty of nice example out there 996 and 997. Don't necessarily fall in love with this one. If you want a 997 look around. You live in the Chicagoland! I've lived in the burbs three different times in my life. Lots of P-cars around. It's not like around here!

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This is true about oil changes, but doubtfull it was done since it is not dealer protocol. 1st step of any PPi is remove oil filter & inspect. If metal etc is found PPI is over & minimum charge should apply.

Low mile 911's are interesting. Conventional car wisdom says low miles means it's practically a new car that somebody else ate the depreciation on, and you get to feel like the first owner even though you're not. Most buyers of other car brands like low miles because that means more miles are left for you to enjoy. 911 wisdom, especially 996 wisdom, says high mileage means that if something could have happened it "would have by now." Maintenance is a constant with these cars, and it will "always be something." That doesn't mean it will always be something major, but I can pretty much promise you you're going to have little things needing done every year. Cars that sit around have big question marks hanging over them because there are so many questions that likely can't be answered. Generally a car that sits has rubber bits that dry up and crack because they aren't being fed any sort of lubricant on a regular basis. Plastic bits can begin to crack and fail due to age, regardless of use. So just don't come at this with the mentality that low miles automatically means low maintenance. Regardless of the low miles, you're going to have to do a lot of the same preventative maintenance that any 996 would need. My opinion is that an IMSB retrofit is an absolute must on this car. The 2002 (Mk.2) 996 has the single-row IMS bearing that fails faster than the earlier dual-row design. At 100,000 miles we could tell you - if it was gonna go, it would have gone, like I said above. At 11k miles, who knows, man. There's one way to find out, and you're not gonna like it. So I'd just address it. Perhaps try to use some of this "deferred maintenance" argument in bargaining for a lower price. But also be ready to pay to play, as we like to say in the Porsche world. Best of luck!

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I cant disagree with anything said here. The salesman I was dealing with was a former mechanic (Porsche) before he was selling cars. This is a Porsche dealer. He readily admitted that the IMSB is a liability. I told him if I bought the car it had to be fixed regardless of the miles and he didn't disagree with the thought process. He also recommended replacing the RMS with a better seal at the same time. I'm planning on using this as part of my negotiation strategy. I'm not sure what the IMSB fix cost is out the door but its 1700 bucks just in parts so figure from there. Still haven't had anyone say what a good price for the car is, just the asking price is too high. any suggestions/

@prairiedawg: Agree that the price is a bit steep on this one. If it were a 4S, maybe a different story. We also have a Porsche tech in the Chicago area who could travel out to the car for a full PPI. If we can help, feel free to let us know. Thanks!

I'll take a stab at it. if it was turn key, 25K. Negotiate rms,ims,aos,water pump from there. As a porsche dealership, they know the costs for all that, and it's $$$$. Offer 25 and they do the above.🤑

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Sounds like a deal, I'll take it. I think I'll have a hard time convincing the dealer to replace perfectly fine water pump, AOS, etc. You have valid points but they'll just wait for someone else to bit the car I would think. The IMS, RMS is a different matter altogether. I don't know if they would install an aftermarket IMS Solution kit. I think that's the only direction I would go is direct oil feed. They surely wouldn't pay for aftermarket parts, maybe labor?