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Originally Posted by cas951
I Agree with t2-bxtrs comments. I've never used a PPI in all the used cars I've purchased and have purchased many in my lifetime and have bought and sold 3 Porsches in the last 3 years. I've used my own experience. I've seen many PPI's done and have seen various methods done during a PPI dealers included. The 3 Porsche's I've sold all had a PPI done to them. Two were done by a Porsche dealer and one by a private Porsche specialist. The ones done by the dealer was all "Visual Inspection" and I wouldn't have paid that money for them to do that. The one done by the private Porsche specialist was complete and I wouldn't mind spending the money to have this done in that shop. His inspection included a compression check on the engine and a complete road test. The dealer did not do this to the other two cars.
I use a combination of my own judgement, Smog test and car fax (don't flame I'll explain).
A personal inspection will provide you a lot. Use your own car as an example. You can tell if a car has been in an accident. Residue will be visible near the door hinges, hood and trunk hinges. You can also see resprays just by focusing at the paint to see discolors or mismatched paint or oversprays.
A road test will give you the feel of the car while you drive and most of us should know if it fels right or not. if it doesn't feel right to you walk away. There's a reason it didn't feel right. Make sure the radio is off and not full blast while doing a road test. You want to be able to hear everyuthing as much as possible. Do turn on the AC. Drive it at freeway speeds and rev it as long as traffic permits. When done with the road test park it in a clean area. This is where you will see if there's any leaks on the ground. Once parked check under the car for leaks. After a 10-20 mile ride leaks will show if there is any. Most people should know where the transmission, Engine and drive shalfts are located. This is where you look. Any wetness is a leak and not a good sign.
Smog test most of us hate as an owner registering a car. As a buyer I use it to my advantage. Smog test results will show you what you missed during your inspection and road test. Pay attention to the results. If results are barely passing walk away you will have issues next time you do a smog test for registration. To me this is better than a PPI. Excellent smog results assures you that you have a excellent running engine and all eng components.
Car fax: Everyone has their own opinion. I use it verify mileage and service history and how many owners. Keep in mind there's a lot of self maintainers out there like I am. If a car was serviced by a major shop it will show how often it was serviced. More importantly is what was done last and when is the next service that needs attention. If service records don't show up ask for receipts if the seller was a self maintainer. To be honest I trust myself servicing my own car as long as the job is not too major. A major accident will show here if Insurance was involved. Carfax can be had for as little as $2.00. Yes I've done it many times. It's called craigslist.... The longest I waited for results was 1 hour and done it 5 times last year.
There are other areas I didn't cover but that's another chapter. :-) 
Just my thought. |
Without the car on a lift, you will not be able to see if the car has been hit. You cannot see well repaired damage to a Porsche, not can you see repaired frame damage.
Without a paint meter, you cannot see paint repair of many good paint guys.
Without getting under a car, you cannot see oil leaks that are slow, such as the beginning of the RMS leak.
Etc. Etc.
Again, if you don't want to spend a couple hundred bucks on a large purchase, not an issue.
It is your money. You have been luck so far, and that is a good thing.
Re: Car Fax, I always run one. It is pretty good for mileage checking and title issues, although is clearly not perfect. On repairs and the like, it is useless.
Still, it is cheap information.
Specific to smog test, that costs $59 bucks here in CA and is requred to be done by the dealer before turning the car over to you. I don't know how this is done in other states.
I cannot agree that a smog test can be used to assess a car better than a PPI. The variables are too great. Who is doing the smog test, who is doing the PPI. What state are we talking about. Etc.
These are very different animals. What will the smog test tell you about the car's unibody frame?
Hybrid Mode
