looking at an '02 996 in FLA: oh sages, please school me!

Firstly, thanks a million to the wealth of knowledge here. I have always dreamed of buying a P-car and have been window shopping in earnest for the past few months and Rennlist has been an invaluable resource. A quick snapshot about my car ownership. Currently have 2 trucks ('01 Ford Lightning and '01 Ford HD F-150) which have been promised to my 2 daughters. A '00 Mitsubishi Montero Sport XLS which is my wife's DD and an '01 BMW 740iL (my weekend car). BTW, my DD is a 2001 Suzuki GSXR 1300R Hayabusa. So why a P-car? Let's just say I am having a midlife crisis (turned 45 a few weeks ago). And now, I have my eyes set on a 1-owner blue/gray '02 cab, tiptronic with 39,330 miles listed for $41,900. I intend to have a PPI done (CARFAX has no red flags) and have contacted the seller (Jenkins Auto Sales in Pompano, FLA: http://www.jenkinsautosales.com/ ) for more details about the car. Hope you guys can put up with some questions: 1. Anyone have any experience with this dealer?? 2. Any recommended shops in the area for a PPI? 3. Anyone nearby that may be able to give the car a once over. 4. And the best for last, how does the price sound vs. mileage? And I have lurked here long enough to know that PICs always works to "grease" the reception for noobs like me (just a few for now to save bandwidth) TIA for all comments/tips/input.

I recently purchased a car from them, and I can't say I wouldn't recommend them, but here are a few of my recommendations. Do not have the car PPI'd at Champion (which they will recommend), it was useless. Coral Gable is close also, I haven't used them, but they must be better. Make sure that you investigate the car thouroghly, parts of my interior were sprayed to look new and it was not what I consider a great job. I am in Michigan so my dealings were over the phone and with pics, and I did not feel that everything was really disclosed properly. There were several issues that the dealer should have known for example: reverse lights did not work, headlight and windshield washers broken and a parking light out - all of which the agreed to fix though. These items were caught in the PPI. The sun visor covers were broken off, they were in the oddments compartment when the car arrived. Also, the driver seat belt latch was not working (sticking). Overall I am very happy with the car, but it took some fixing and $$ on my part to make things right. I did get what I thought was a fair price after searching for months for a specifc color and option combination. I spoke with them multiple times a day for over a week, but never got a follow up call once the car arrived, not a big deal, just odd to me. Good luck and make sure to have a PPI done. Oh yeah, I am kind of a perfectionist, so take this with a grain of salt! You can PM me if you would like any specifics.

The car looks nice in the pictures... and the price seems very good to me (I'm too lazy to check KBB but you certainly can). You can also take the Vin and go to (or call) your local Porsche dealer service department and get the warranty service history as well as the original owner's name. If I lived in CA looking at a FL car, I'd try to call the PO and ask about the car before going to all the trouble and expense of buying it. Welcome to the "45" club. I've been a member for about 7 months now. Fortunately, this is my, uh, third or fourth mid-life crisis (I started when I was 30) so I'm getting pretty good at it. Michael

That engine bay looks spotless, as does the paint, but seems like good advice from Don! Beware!

price is very good. make sure you do a good PPI before booking airline tkt.

Thanks for the feedback guys. DFC, your input is PRICELESS.

DFC says he's a perfectionist...but in reality, just about anyone who jumps into their first Porsche is a perfectionist also...it's just that you don't know all the things to check, but you'll surely want all the things DFC found wrong to be working right when you get it. There is a PPI checklist that you can download that will give you good questions to ask and issues to cover with the dealership....it also gives them the impression you know what you're talking about. Go download the checklist. You might want to negotiate things like....replace the brake fluid and radiator coolant...new oil and filter...brakes, tires. I had all those things done before I picked up mine so that I could hit the ground running and baselined all the fluids, brakes and tires at the mileage the car showed when I drove it off. I love that color...and the price isn't out of line....good luck in your quest.... .

Car looks great, price seems reasonable. My PPI was a bit of a joke at Sunset Porche in Oregon, but it served its' purpose I guess. We're all perfectionists - goes with the car. I like that you already have the three spoke steering wheel. I'm just upgrading to it (from the four spoke) and it is $815 just for the wheel and airbag. And it's not a midlife crisis - it's a lifelong obsession! Good Luck!

Troy - the '02 - '04 MY cars cames with the three spoke wheel standard. It was part of the '02+ facelift.

Car looks awsome for $41k, even with the tip.

My pleasure, hope it helps. Good luck, and let us know if you get the car and your impressions of the dealer and PPI. I drove many cars, read many books, and camped out on rennlist - but some things you would just never think to ask (or wre not quite as pictured), and once the deal is done and the car is shipped, it's almost impossible to get anything resolved. Oh yeah, and I am sure you know, but every little thing's expensive!