Just did the 30k service..

[Perfectlap]

Same here, I'll go for the dealer maintained car every time. A prospective buyer has no idea what sort of training/competence a DIY owner has. As opposed to a Porsche mechaninc who does the same procedures hundreds of times the average DIY owner is doing most of these upkeeps for the first time on a particular car. Its a big difference in the piece of mind department for a educated buyer.

[kavlono]

Dealer maintaned-without a question.

[RandallNeighbour]

Now here's where I must differ with a few of you.

I've bought pre-owned cars from guys who really loved the car I was buying. They did all their own maintenance, and researched what needed replacement and did lots of preventative maintenance and replacement on the drivetrain, suspension, etc.

I'd buy a car from a guy who flat loved his car enough to learn how it works and how to repair it to his own level of satisfaction over a guy who enjoyed driving his car and took it to a dealership.

Last weekend I bought a floor jack. In a year or two I will have done some big repairs on the car myself and will be proud to say that if it needs fixing, I can do that myself or learn along side my mechanic while he does the work and I help him.

Whoever buys my car (which won't be any time soon) will drive away knowing that he or she has bought a vehicle that has been cared for by a hands-on owner who not only did his own maintenance and repairs to save money, but for the love of doing it and the love of the vehicle. <-- That's the kind of person from which I would like to buy my next Porsche, if I ever sell mine.

[deliriousga]

Sell your Boxster???? Blasphemy I say!!!

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

In many ways this thread has turned into a merely academic argument. You buy the car which is front of you.

If the Car is what mostly you want (buying used almost always entails some compromise - options, color, condition, etc.), the price is reasonable for the Car presented, it passes a PPI with few faults (remember this is always a What's Wrong with this Car Inspection - no Car comes away with an absolutely Clean Slate), Service Records (OPC or DIY) and it Tickles Your Fancy, you make an offer and hope it is accepted or a compromise is reached and you purchase the Car.

Changing Wear & Tear items such as Belts, Hoses Fluids and such is a given. But, realize that repair, whether it be OPC or DIY is, for the most part, Reactive, that is, you repair the Broken or Worn Part. Sometimes R&R is made because you're already in there... so you may as well do it, but most often as I say, it's Reactive.

Buying a Used Car, whether DIY or OPC maintained and Serviced is still an unknown to some degree. A Part may fail a week after buying the Car in either instance, and not be the fault of prior Service and maintenance in either case. You can cut down the Odds of a Bad Experience with a thorough Inspection, but you cannot ever eliminate them. The PPI Inspection is much more important then where, or whom, did the Service and Maintenance. A thorough one gives a good Snapshot of the Car as it is Today.

As stated by several others, OPC Maintenance can often overlook things, or simply not take the time and care a skilled DIY would because they have other priorities.

But, again, it's the Car which is in front of you at the time you're looking which matters far more than your percieved value of either OPC or DIY Maintenance and Service. A Good Car should never be discounted, or passed over simply on the basis of whom or where the Service and Maintenance was performed...

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

PS @ BruceLee - your comment about me was a little Snide and Uncalled For, what's your problem..? - Chill Out!!

[Ronzi]

Buying a used car is the pre-eminent example of caveat emptor. Buying a bad used car can be anything from mildly irritating to disasterous, with a bad Porsche tending towards the disasterous end of the scale, depending on one's own financial situation.
The reliability of the maintenance records can, and should be, one factor to be taken into consideration when making a buying decision. Not the only factor to be sure, but taking a seller's word for the efficacy of his undocumented maintenance practices when he has a heavy personal interest in the outcome of the discussion, has "gullible sap" written all over it. Maybe you'll get lucky and buy a car from Toolpants or MNboxster. But maybe you won't.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Ronzi

Buying a used car is the pre-eminent example of caveat emptor. Buying a bad used car can be anything from mildly irritating to disasterous, with a bad Porsche tending towards the disasterous end of the scale, depending on one's own financial situation.
The reliability of the maintenance records can, and should be, one factor to be taken into consideration when making a buying decision. Not the only factor to be sure, but taking a seller's word for the efficacy of his undocumented maintenance practices when he has a heavy personal interest in the outcome of the discussion, has "gullible sap" written all over it. Maybe you'll get lucky and buy a car from Toolpants or MNboxster. But maybe you won't.

Hi,

You are of course correct with your Caveat Emptor approach, but there's a reasonable limit. Do you restrict yourself to strictly one-owners? Or Cars under 30k mi.? Or Cars which are purely Stock with no Mods or Hacks? Or cars which have had no major repairs?

With each requirement you impose, you limit the field of available Cars and probably pass up several good ones in the Bargain. That would be OK if your search led you to the Perfect Trouble-Free Car, but there's absolutely no Guarantee of this happening.

Agreed, due dilligence is required, but don't lose sight of the fact that eventually you must make a judgement on the examples which present themselves to you. This judgement is much more likely to be correct if you base it primarily on what you see and what the PPI tells you. And, realize that the only way a Car gets a PPI to begin with is that you've looked it over and it appears good enough to warrant the expense of a PPI and further investigation. Whatever got the Car to this point, whether it be OPC or DIY Maintenance and Service becomes somewhat moot.

If you're comforted by restricting your search to only OPC Serviced and Maintained Cars, well that's up to you and certainly your right. But, you're likely to pass on some very good examples if you do.

Where I might employ the percieved difference between an OPC and DIY Maintained Car is during negotiation. But, by this point, I've already pretty much decided that this is a Car worth having. So again, I'm not sure how much weight I'd bring to bear, rather I'd bring it up to see if I could benefit from it...

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

[Brucelee]

I would buy Randall's car but then, we know how he is with his cars!

:dance: