Buying Previously Owned from a Dealer....

[Rondog]

OK boyz.... I'm close....found an PO 2006 987s with just a couple thousand miles on it, appointed the way i want and priced pretty close to the "trigger" point...

The dealer is one of largest in CA and i would have to fly up to see the car and consumate the deal....

the dealer has said that the car was titled in a nearby city but was not purchased at their dealership-- i asked where it was purchased and sales rep said she couldn't tell. Now... i am not necessarily a conspiricist, but it did cross my mind that in todays connected world-- and Porsche being i forward think company, that they should pretty much be able to tell me the complete transaction history on any vehicle purchased in the last -- let's say 2-3 years.

Am i wrong here? Regarldess of where purchased, shouldn't they have records of any service done to the car. Again the rep says she checked but nothing could be found.--Alright, perhaps i am paranoid -- with so few miles maybe it hadn't been serviced... BUT THEN AGAIN!!!!! maybe there was LOTs of trouble and that's the reason the previous owner chucked it in!!!! (perhaps this gives you a glimpse into my sick sick mind)

Should i trust the dealer's answers? (The angel on my shoulder says they wouldn't risk their reputaion by blantantly lying....BUT the devil on my shoulder tell me they are all lying, cheating, scum)

Now after all this... there is the full Porsche warranty to fall back on -- should i even worry about this stuff?!?!?

Finally--- anyone have experience with what a dealer marks up a used car...supposedly it was turned into one of the dealer's other brand (Infiniti) dealership. (can youimagine trading a Box for an Infiniti??!?!!?) IMHO-- any publically listed price has room for discounting--- concur??

Demonized in Irvine,

Rondog

[Brucelee]

Several quick comments.

Yes the dealer can and should provide a full vehicle history. Since the car is new, it should be pretty simple. They will NOT provide the previous owner's name but that is not useful anyway. What you need is which dealer sold the car.

Given how new the car is, likely all the Porsche service computer has in it is the prep and delivery date. Nothing wrong with showing you that either.

Given the new car warranty, the issue you COULD be concerned about is WHY it came back so quickly. This can be benign, such as the person simply hated the car or, it had mechanical issues. That is why the service record is important.

Perhaps the car was what I call an almost lemon law car, one that was in for several issues, several times.

That is why you need the name of the original selling dealer, who is likely the servicing dealer. Those service records will only be at the servicing dealer's desk.

Good luck!

[Brucelee]

PS-on the price, remember, once titled a car is considered USED, no matter how new it is.

The price should reflect that fact!