Keep Me Outta The Ditches

OK, been doing research, including hours reading the postings on this forum, which have been tremendously helpful! Now, I think I am ready to make an offer on my first Porsche, and I need your help. I am considering a car on eBay (which makes me nervous), so I want to insure a pre purchase inspection is done by a trustworthy, independent and qualified person. How can I find such a service in Houston, TX? Aside from the obvious (4 wheel drive) are there any other differences between a C2 and C4, 2002 Cabriolet, (trim, appointments, etc.) All else being equal, what price difference should I expect between a 2002 C2 and C4?

There are several dealerships in Houston, you could possible call them and arrange a PPI. Where are you buying the car from? Got mine in Houston from Expo Motors (they sell on ebay too), and the car is great. Do a carfax too, you can get service records, and then call the dealer with the VIN and they'll tell ya more about the car. As far as trim, the C4 has less trunk space (due to the AWD front axle), and a slightly smaller fuel tank. It comes with an deflated spare the needs to be inflated before it can be used (it also comes with a compressor to inflate the tire). It comes standard with PSM. The calipers and badging are silver. That's about it, no other differences.

cgreene, If the car resides in Texas, be sure to check it for flood damage. Also, C4's tend to understeer compared to C2's, but I really like my C4 in damp weather. BTW, I also found my car on eBay after first seeing it in Autoweek. Made owner an offer after it was on the market for a few weeks so didn't buy it via the auction. I did buy it sight unseen through pictures the owner emailed me, and I contacted several facilities that worked on the car and knew the owner. Everything turned out ok, but I wouldn't recommend this approach generally. Good luck.

According to Kelly blue book there is about a $4700 difference between a C4 and C2

Thanks, good to hear a positive report about Expo Motors, I have seen a couple cars there are look good to me. I'll look for a dealer in Houston to talk to regarding a PPI, but wondered in anyone had experience with one in particular they could recommend? Auto Inspections ( http://www.automobileinspections.com/ ) claims to have 10 years experience doing Porsche cars. Anyone used them?

I think that Advantage Porsche Audi is right down the street from Expo Motors...know nothing about the dealer tho

You'll find plenty of information in the archives.

I'll recommend Advantage Porsche as well, I trust their service department with my own car, [phone removed]. The only other dealer in town, at this time, is Momentum and they are owned by the same outfit. I have no personal dealings with their Porsche service department so I will refrain from comment. But don't get me started on their BMW service department.... FWIW both sales departments are equally inept IMO.

Tried several times yesterday to reach Advantage, all I got was voicemail. Will try again though. In the meantime, and for anyone else interested in a good, independent PPI source in Houston, I spoke with 3 people yesterday who seem to have their act together. Without actual experience I can only speak to first impressions, but all 3 sounded good. - ProTechnik $240 - EuroCar Werk $150 - Viking Motorsports $100 I'll let you know who I end up with and what my experience is like.

I guess YMMV... Advantage failed to disclose clutch and slave cylinder defect on my car, but then again they sold my car to me... Don't get me wrong I think the guys at the service department are really nice, especially the service advisor who is really nice, I'm just not convinced of their thorough PPI. Their sales department is a mixed bag, the guy who sold my car to me is a nice person and a couple of others there too... For PPI I always recommend my present mechanic , Mike Callas in Sealy and Viking from Viking Motorsports is a really nice person who used to be very active at our Local PCA ( he was the DE chair). As far as I know he is very experienced as well.

cgreene, do each of those prices include leakdown and compression tests? J

I believe EuroCar Werk includes a leak down test. The other two did not mention lead down test specifically. Neither of them does a compression test unless the car is pretty old, said it was really meaningless as there was no basis for reference, but the leak down test was more important.

cgreene, I'd recommend buying a certified car. An additional 2 year warranty is great peace of mind, especially with the dreaded RMS rearing it's ugly head. Pat