penrhos Posted March 1 Report Share Posted March 1 Sold my 987.1 last November and looked for a 987.2 2.9 for 3 months. I’m retired so lucky enough to have the time to search extensively. I looked at dealers and private ads (BoXa.net, Piston Heads, Autotrader and Facebook) and having owned a few of these cars felt confident enough not to be afraid of a private purchase. There is loads of information out there, plenty on this site, so if you list everything and check off your list diligently against each car you cut down your chances of being sold a pup. That doesn’t just apply to buying privately though with many dealers buying at auction with little paper work to check. However, like many things in life if it goes wrong you have to be in a position to put it down to experience which isn’t easy if money is tight. I think there is also the fun and sense of achievement when you get what you want after a bit of good natured cut and thrust with a seller. Which is what prompted me to write this. I made loads of enquiries on line and by phone and ended up looking seriously at 4 cars in Cardiff (close to me), Plymouth, Rugby and Ipswich. Couple of nights away with SWMBO so everyone was happy. Ended up buying the third car I looked at in Rugby and drove it back today. The seller was a character who I didn’t really take to at first when we spoke on the phone but I really warmed to him after a bit of face to face banter. He cherishes his cars but gets bored after a couple of years and enjoys the search and buying process for the next one. He picked me up at the station after my long journey and on the way to his house said he would appreciate it if he could give me 400 quid in cash from his private stash and add a similar amount to the agreed price for the car! The higher bank transfer would indicate to his wife that his car dealing was not quite the loss making process she believed😀. Had a text from him earlier asking if I got home ok and wishing me well. I don’t know anywhere near as much about cars as many who contribute here but I hope this inspires one or two who are fearful of the private purchase process to give it a go. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bally4563 Posted March 1 Report Share Posted March 1 If you had a couple you should no what you are looking for and questions to ask ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenman986s Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 Sure that £400 is genuine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattman42 Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 (edited) As long as the car is good, that's all that matters. Enjoy your new wheels and post details and pics when you can. Imho, buying privately these days it's not much different to buying from a dealer. Unless you are buying from the big dealers, there's not really much benefit as the off the shelf warranties mean nothing. Buy the car not the seller. For me, the hunt is the best part, I too usually get bored soon after. The additional cash is a bit odd though I must admit, although I wouldn't turn it down. Edited March 2 by Mattman42 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bike Loon Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 Did the seller say "Oooooldoutyaaaaaaand" and moan about a member of staff called John? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penrhos Posted March 2 Author Report Share Posted March 2 3 hours ago, Mattman42 said: As long as the car is good, that's all that matters. Enjoy your new wheels and post details and pics when you can. Imho, buying privately these days it's not much different to buying from a dealer. Unless you are buying from the big dealers, there's not really much benefit as the off the shelf warranties mean nothing. Buy the car not the seller. For me, the hunt is the best part, I too usually get bored soon after. The additional cash is a bit odd though I must admit, although I wouldn't turn it down. Thanks Mattman. To be clear, it wasn’t additional cash it simply inflated the sale price to make it look like he had sold it for £16k instead of the £15,600 it actually cost me. I know who wears the trousers in his house……😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaregs Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 To me that would be a huge red flag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penrhos Posted March 3 Author Report Share Posted March 3 5 hours ago, Scubaregs said: To me that would be a huge red flag. Explain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 It sounds similar to an overpayment scam, but in reverse. In your case, it’s the seller’s who’s put themselves at risk by giving you an undocumented £400. In theory, if you found a legitimate reason to return the car for a refund, they would be obliged to give you the full £16k and a court would back you up as that is what the paper trail would say. Often, people trying to complicate transactions are looking to scam you. Overpayment scam A customer attempts to overpay for an item or an order and asks you to wire them the difference. They may be using a stolen credit card or account to pay you, and if the legitimate account holder reports unauthorized activity, that money can be withdrawn from your account. Learn more and beware of overpayment scams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ribroaster3 Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 23 hours ago, Mattman42 said: As long as the car is good, that's all that matters. Enjoy your new wheels and post details and pics when you can. Imho, buying privately these days it's not much different to buying from a dealer. Unless you are buying from the big dealers, there's not really much benefit as the off the shelf warranties mean nothing. Buy the car not the seller. For me, the hunt is the best part, I too usually get bored soon after. The additional cash is a bit odd though I must admit, although I wouldn't turn it down. I liked reading that comment-i thought it was just me that had a Magpie approach to car buying!!! Ive had in the last 11 years -and I had to work hard to count back-9 XKR (coupe and soft tops), 2 F -TYPES, 3 Jeeps, 1 Qashqai, 4 RR sports and 1 RR Velar. Now with a 986s (about to be sold) and an Audi Q5 S line. I think I've made or at least not lost money on 2 of these when selling. 🤪 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ribroaster3 Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 23 hours ago, Mattman42 said: As long as the car is good, that's all that matters. Enjoy your new wheels and post details and pics when you can. Imho, buying privately these days it's not much different to buying from a dealer. Unless you are buying from the big dealers, there's not really much benefit as the off the shelf warranties mean nothing. Buy the car not the seller. Absolutely spot-on. Im currently looking for the perfect 981. The number of cars advertised by online 'reputable dealers' that have obvious issues that they haven't bothered to fix and /or 'didn't think relevant' is staggering. e. g. A £30k low mileage example with every option, including kerbed diamond cut alloys in the photos 🤨,-ran a background check on car analytics and its listed with a recent MOT advisory of leaking oil. Dealer says-'oh we didn't know about that when we bought the car in'. Car now reserved by someone.................. only one example of many-i could almost write a book about my recent dealer interactions........................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATM Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 23 hours ago, Mattman42 said: As long as the car is good, that's all that matters. Buy the car not the seller. For me, the hunt is the best part, I too usually get bored soon after. I was hunting for over 5 years for a 986 and when I finally bought one I could stop looking. I told myself no more hunting once I have one. And so far so good. I'm not looking at any more 986 cars for sale, I promise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penrhos Posted March 3 Author Report Share Posted March 3 1 hour ago, Nobbie said: It sounds similar to an overpayment scam, but in reverse. In your case, it’s the seller’s who’s put themselves at risk by giving you an undocumented £400. In theory, if you found a legitimate reason to return the car for a refund, they would be obliged to give you the full £16k and a court would back you up as that is what the paper trail would say. Often, people trying to complicate transactions are looking to scam you. Overpayment scam A customer attempts to overpay for an item or an order and asks you to wire them the difference. They may be using a stolen credit card or account to pay you, and if the legitimate account holder reports unauthorized activity, that money can be withdrawn from your account. Learn more and beware of overpayment scams. Hi Nobbie, I’m a long retired tax inspector who cut his teeth investigating lowly subbies trying to tell me they never did cash jobs progressing onto high net worth individuals and company bosses trying to defend their tax avoidance schemes. So, although not infallible, I think I am well placed to spot a dodgy geezer trying to sell me a car. The seller was a genuine guy who was trying to hide from his wife how much he was losing on his short term car ownership policy. Anyway, let’s all enjoy our cars and chatting about them. Sun is shining here and the roof will be down very shortly😀. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 37 minutes ago, penrhos said: Hi Nobbie, I’m a long retired tax inspector who cut his teeth investigating lowly subbies trying to tell me they never did cash jobs progressing onto high net worth individuals and company bosses trying to defend their tax avoidance schemes. So, although not infallible, I think I am well placed to spot a dodgy geezer trying to sell me a car. The seller was a genuine guy who was trying to hide from his wife how much he was losing on his short term car ownership policy. Anyway, let’s all enjoy our cars and chatting about them. Sun is shining here and the roof will be down very shortly😀. Would you also like a short course on how to suck eggs🤣 Have a good drive out, I would, but nursing a hangover🙁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penrhos Posted March 3 Author Report Share Posted March 3 24 minutes ago, Nobbie said: Would you also like a short course on how to suck eggs🤣 Have a good drive out, I would, but nursing a hangover🙁 😆 A good fry up and you’ll be just fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaregs Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 11 hours ago, penrhos said: Explain? The guy is lying too and deceiving his wife, being totally underhand. If he can do that to his own wife, he will have no problem at all doing it to a stranger. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moospeed Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 6 hours ago, ribroaster3 said: Absolutely spot-on. Im currently looking for the perfect 981. The number of cars advertised by online 'reputable dealers' that have obvious issues that they haven't bothered to fix and /or 'didn't think relevant' is staggering. e. g. A £30k low mileage example with every option, including kerbed diamond cut alloys in the photos 🤨,-ran a background check on car analytics and its listed with a recent MOT advisory of leaking oil. Dealer says-'oh we didn't know about that when we bought the car in'. Car now reserved by someone.................. only one example of many-i could almost write a book about my recent dealer interactions........................ When I was selling my 981 last year it had full OPC history and was still under extendable and transferable warranty. As far as I’m concerned, if I was buying from myself it would’ve been as promising, potentially more so, than buying from a dealership with your typical “specialist” warranty. Let alone the obvious better price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ribroaster3 Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 24 minutes ago, moospeed said: When I was selling my 981 last year it had full OPC history and was still under extendable and transferable warranty. As far as I’m concerned, if I was buying from myself it would’ve been as promising, potentially more so, than buying from a dealership with your typical “specialist” warranty. Let alone the obvious better price. Sounds like the ‘holy grail’ car 👏👍 well done mate. fingers crossed another one is out there with my name on it……… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moospeed Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 3 hours ago, ribroaster3 said: Sounds like the ‘holy grail’ car 👏👍 well done mate. fingers crossed another one is out there with my name on it……… There were a few others at the time which also had OPC warranty. In my opinion it’s worth keeping going if you can, some peace of mind for a reasonable(ish) amount. Even though I paid for three years and didn’t claim I don’t consider it a waste of money as I wasn’t overly worried about those expensive options list should’ve been covered. The replacement car bought the day after I sold mine, another 981, had a bit of RPM Technik warranty but not transferable or extendable. As the last service was from RPM it’s just not worth getting it serviced again now just to get the Porsche warranty so I’m trying to save hard instead. Not happened so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ribroaster3 Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 Wow 3 years OPC warranty reasonable cost??££ wonder what it costs nowadays?? im looking for a 10 year old car so no t sure about OPC warranty on that…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moospeed Posted March 4 Report Share Posted March 4 13 hours ago, ribroaster3 said: Wow 3 years OPC warranty reasonable cost??££ wonder what it costs nowadays?? im looking for a 10 year old car so no t sure about OPC warranty on that…. About £650 a year I think, got a package deal for a little discount. Did it save me £1,800 worth of worry? Impossible to quantify but it was some peace of mind. The only time you'd really find out is when something expensive broke. PADM mounts seemed to be a failure point at the time, and replacement not always a guarantee against reoccurrence. My current car doesn't have Sports Chrono, and whilst I didn't actively search for one without I haven't missed it at all. But I prefer that it's got less to go wrong. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ribroaster3 Posted March 4 Report Share Posted March 4 2 hours ago, moospeed said: Quote PADM mounts seemed to be a failure point at the time, and replacement not always a guarantee against reoccurrence. I hear you there. Strasse in Leeds have a good spec. 981 with PADM which I will not go look at. Those and the hideous blue interior are a bit off putting..............! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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