C4S at Christopher Neil Northwich

Hi new to the forum and have just bought this car from the garage. It's DG52NUM with 35k miles and looks immaculate. I just wondered if the previous owner was on this forum and if anyone could tell me more about the car. I pick it up Thursday and its being checked over and serviced ready.

Saw it on their website - looks very nice - I bought my 986S from there in May ... and Jeff was/is very helpful. [ ] Joanne

Thanks for that. I nearly bought a pre-facelift one from Cheshire Oaks but then saw this on Friday. Bought from Jeff but was just a little nervous about buying from a non-OPC. Just looking foward to picking it up now. Did you get the 12 month warranty? Have you had any issues at all?

Dave, check it's a C16 car not an import and check the VIN for the age of the car. If it's an import you may well have problems insuring it.

Thanks for that. Already insured it and got two-years warranty off Christopher Neil. I paid for the second year. Will check it's not an import.

Supplied new by Road Range Liverpool! Had me worried for a moment....... Getting very excited now!

Dave, before you get too excited, check it's a C16!!!!! It doesn't matter who originally supplied it, they may have imported it if they are not an OPC. Also check that the 10th number on the VIN corresponds to the year of the car, it should read something like this WPOZZZ99Z?S6..... Edit. Yours is a 996

Road Range at Liverpool are OPC and they moved the Porsche side to Cheshire Oaks some time ago.

Oooooh ok, if they're an official centre then you should have no problems. Enjoy the new car, while I was driving mine it was absolutely fantastic.

I will check it out fully and appreciate your advice on this. Just want to get out there with it now.

Dave, I've not had any issues, well - I took it back with a rattly exhaust and they sorted that out for me whilst I made myself a cup of tea in their waiting area upstairs! It's not the plush surroundings of the OPC - but I was quite at home!! Christopher Neil's was recommended to me by a mate who is TVR/Lotus mad and has been going to them for years, so I felt happy with them. Have they got any Noble's there this week? Joanne

Hi Joanne Ta for the reassurance. To be fair, I too have been visiting there for years. I always wanted a Lotus or TVR but needed reliability, hence the Porsche route. Plus, at 53, I'm too old now to comfortably climb in and out of a Lotus. I even remember their previous showroom. They've been going for ages and I think they're part of the Toyota dealership next door too. I'm sure there was a Noble there last Friday. It should be on their website and I'm not sure if it was new or secondhand but it was in the showroom. It looked new! Oh - apparently my car has the Porsche Anti-theft system fitted but my insursers claim not to know about it. The garage say it's a Class 1 Thatcham alarm & immobiliser. Can anyone tell me what the anti-theft system consists of please?

Hi Dave I was looking there at Christopher Neils at the C4S they had the other day as I went past - looked very nice I have bought my first Porsche about a month ago - was looking there at the time but they didnt have a C4S which I was after at the time - ended up last bank holiday weekend seeing a 996 Turbo at a Ferrari garage in Nottingham so ended up with that! I only live a couple of miles from Christopher Neils - are you local to there as well?

Interesting ... I bought my C2 at a main Lotus/TVR dealer as well ... I'm convinced getting a 911 from a non porsche main dealer is a good option. Typically these cars will have been p/ex'd and the dealer wants to sell them on at no loss or a small profit, but is not specialised enough to tart them up and sell them at a premium like an OPC or Porsche specialist will do. So, you have all the benefits of a main dealer security, yet a price more akin to buying privately. Couple that with an OPC 111 point check and warrantee and you can't loose.

I live in Kingsley so pretty close to there. Saw two cars on their website, the C4S and a C2 Cabriolet. Much as I really liked the cabriolet, the looks of the C4S just did it for me and both cars were immaculate. I was though very nervous at buying from a non OPC however we'll see tomorrow, when I'm due to pick it up. It was almost the same price as an OPC pre-facelift cabriolet and considerably nicer.

Diesel, .......you can't lose!!!!!!!!!!! Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. I've spent £10k on legals so far against the 'Porsche Specialist' I bought my C4S from. We've now both instructed barristers and it will end up in front of a judge so another £10k in the pot for the remaining legal costs. When I get judgement I'm only likely to get about 70% of my costs back so I will probaly lose £6k as well as all my time spent getting irrefutable evidence of this dealers misrepresentation of the car and constant lies. To be honest I don't think there are too many people like me who will go all the way to court, which is what these rogue dealers rely on to shift their dodgy imported cars. It wasn't the money that made me go to an unofficial dealer, my local OPC in Reading simply couldn't find the exact spec. on the car I wanted. Next time I buy I shall definitley go to an OPC where you do get peace of mind and ' main dealer security'.

The UK spec alarm has interior monitoring, door, bonnet, engine lid and glovebox/oddments tray contacts, immobiliser, tilt sensor and alarm siren. Edit: Just remembered the radio contact.

That was exactly my point - go to a main dealer, rather than a dodgy independent - just my point is that if the dealer you're going to is a main dealer for a different marque (like mine was for Lotus/TVR), then you are likely to get a better price than an OPC but with the benefits of a main dealer. It is unlikely that a main dealer, for whatever marque it is, is going to risk their reputation on selling a dodgy car. Or, if they did by mistake, are more likely to rectify the situation. it also avoid the troubles like http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7027859.stm of a private sale. Of course, everyone needs to do their due diligence in what they buy (caveat emptor and all that). I checked the VIN with OPC network, past service history and went through the key issues from Peter Morgan's book, before getting the 111pt check done.

I see what you mean diesel, any manufacturers main dealer is a much better bet than an independent, I agree. Shame really because there are, no doubt, some excellent independents out there who don't want to rip us off but is it worth taking the chance????????

I bought my C4S from a Lotus agent too! Nick Whale in Bromsgrove... I've been delighted with it, it was a good price, and they made me an offer for my PX that for once didn't make me feel sick. Enquiries I've made regarding the car since have been dealt with very professionally. At the end of the day, you've got to go into any transaction with your eyes open, and use common sense even with a main agent. I could tell you about the "993 RS Touring" I looked at at a well respected Ferrari main dealer a few years ago, that was nothing more than a bodykitted C2...

Robert, I could tell you about the "993 RS Touring" I looked at at a well respected Ferrari main dealer a few years ago, that was nothing more than a bodykitted C2... Some things are pretty obvious which makes our life easier but when you see an ad saying a car is a 2005 05 reg, you see the car has an 05 plate, HPI and AA data checks both say it was manufactured in 2005, it's registered in March 05 and the dealer assures you it has the balance of the manufacturers warranty............only if you knew how to read VIN numbers or got a letter of origin from Porsche would you know that all the above information was wrong. Mine is a z3, so a 2003 model year despite HPI saying it was made in 2005. [&:]

Just had the call that she's ready, so I'm sciving off from the office for an hour to go and collect. Getting very excited now.[ ]

We'll expect pics and a 500 word report on first impressions as soon as you get back! Enjoy it!

Oh I live in Moulton - home of the Crows - guy I know in Moulton is a sales manager at Christopher Neils - if you get any problems let me know and I will give him the hard word!!!!! I was going for the C4S till I got talked into a Turbo by my son

Will post an update later. Picked it up and love it to bits. Bit shocked to see the mpg display start off at 9 and then, after a while it almost reached 12[&:] Still it was heavy trafffic and improved as I got on the country lanes, well to 12 anyway. I might need to switch that off! The reversing sensors that I had fitted before collection don't work so it'll be going back to get that sorted. What a stunning car - and so relieved that it fits through our courtyard gate. It was pretty close. She's safely tucked up in the garage now!

Brilliant - well done - have fun - there's nothing like the feeling of the first few miles / days. Mind you my C2 still brings a smile to my face every time i drive it and I've had it 8 months now. Ooo err ... hope you didn't find that out the expensive way :-O Yikes - you thought you were buying a 2005 C4S and you actually ended up with a little soft-top BMW [ ][ ][ ] Seriously though, when you have an HPI check done, doesn't it include some insurance in case the information you were given proves to be incorrect ? If so, can't you claim through them and avoid the legal fees with the supplying dealer?

Insurance!!!!!!! Bloody joke. As usual there's all sorts of small print that none of us ever read which excludes claiming more than 10p unless your aunt's a vicar in Cambridge [ ]. These data checks are hardly worth the paper they're written on.

Dave, glad you are enjoying the new C4S! Did you have the Porsche reversing sensors fitted? if so, how much may I ask? Curiously one of the things I really miss that I thought I wouldn't, along with rain sensing wipers, which I understand can be retrofitted.

I don't think that they're Porsche. They were fitted as part of the deal and, from memory, I think the garage paid £200 - which is good if and when they work. It's not that you need them, it's just for peace of mind in case there's any low obstacles around.

Robert - there is some info on the rain sensor retrofit here: http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/fb.asp?m=231175 . I did it on mine - very easy. I have heard that the Bosch ParkPilot system is exactly the same as the Porsche Park Assistant, but I'm not sure if it is available in the UK: http://rb-aa.bosch.com/advastaboschaa/Category.jsp?ccat_id=132&language=en-GB&publication=1 . There was a chap (from Belgium) on Renntech who fitted one, wiring it into the buzzer in the instrument cluster.

Thanks guys, I'll look them up. The park assist is as you say mainly peace of mind, but I am mainly paranoid about reversing over my kids- you do read about it sadly quite frequently.

sounds messy!![ ]

You will love the car had one myself a few years ago! Post some pics!

I'm crap at posting pictures but the reversing sensors were sorted on Wednesday. The auto elec swore they were working - until he realised that it was his tinnitus and not the sensors. He found a dry connection. First real drive, over the last couple of days, from near Delamere Forest up to Perth and back. Can sum it up in one word better than 500 - WOW! The run certainly did it good. The motorway was a bit boring but then onto the A7 both ways. The car really seemed to come alive and, whilst I'm certainly not the fastest driver on the roads, the pick up and the roadholding were great. Apart from the speed cameras, it's a fantastic road. Spent a rather nervous night at the hotel in Perth because the car park meant parking nose on between the hotel and the pavement and there were quite a few drunks about last night. I needn't have worried, there were no problems. Car started on the nail and never missed a beat, which was a relief really cos she is an October '02 model. Anyway, about 550 miles of great fun and ready to do it again now. Roll on the next trip......