Some PPI and pre-owned questions
 

I'm going to be buyin an 00-02 boxster within the next 6 months.

I've already been advised to make sure and get a PPI when buying a car. I had a few questions (please pardon my ignorance):

1. If a car passes PPI, does it qualify for some sort of warranty from a porsche dealer?

2. I've been told to find private party purchases where the owner worshipped the car, garaged it, kept all records, had regular service, etc... in that case, I'm probably out of luck as far as warranties are concerned, right? (Unless the answer to question #1 is yes.)

3. Is it better to buy private party or go straight to a porsche dealer and buy a certified pre-owned boxster?

Thanks!

Hi Fanatic,
I purchased a 2004 with the Porsche CPO and like the idea of 100k warranty....but there is a cost for this...I'm sure the dealer pays some fee to Porsche and completes an inspection...these costs are surely passed on to the buyer (me in this case). I guess I feel that things will go wrong with anything mechanical so warranties are worthwhile. I'm kind of a gearhead but keep religious to my one tenet....never work on your daily driver because you may not be able to drive to work!
I know on my Mercedes you could by an additional warranty under the following cercumstances...the car was not out of warranty and you bought it from a private party or MB dealership. I don't know how transferable Porsche warranties work...or if they are even available.

A PPI is simply a thorough check by a Porsche technician who may or may not work at a dealership. He looks for failed or worn parts you don't know about and tells you about it if he finds it.

Just because a PPI is done at a dealership does not make the car a CPO car. Porsche dealers do sell Boxsters that come without a warranty because they're too old for it or can't pass the CPO certification process. My 97 would never be given a CPO warranty, even if it had 10k on it and was showroom new. That's just a bad gamble.

However, all CPO Porsches have had a PPI done AND had repairs made to insure the car's suspension, brakes, tires, and everything else is "like new" or in fantastic condition...

well, at least that's what they're supposed to do! I know guys who payed a $3k premium for a CPO boxster and it had not been repaired as it should have been prior to being put on the lot for sale as a CPO car. However, the dealership fixed all the boo boos right away at no charge.

A CPO Porsche with their long warranty is absolutely the best peace of mind one can buy, within reason. I have heard that Porsche does deny repairs if there is the slightest chance you've abused the car and they can determine it's been beat up or modified and that's what's caused the problem (custom exhaust systems fouling out the 02 sensors, oil-based air filter fouling out the $400 MAF, excessive redlining of the engine, etc.)

Extended warranties offered by Non-Porsche sources are sketchy. Do a search here and you'll find that they are expensive and they wiggle out of paying the full labor rate and exclude things with the tiniest print in the contract they give you to enterpret. I'd not waste my cash on one, but I sure would buy a CPO boxster with a nice long warranty on it... stuff does wear out early on our cars, and if you should have an RMS leak and you have a CPO car in warranty, it will be covered.

On an unrelated note, save up and buy an S. You will not be disappointed, and you'll never drive around and see one and think, "I wonder if I should have spent the extra couple of grand to get the bigger engine."

Just found this info on a Porsche dealer site Lipscome Porsche in Springfield MO. it states the qualifying conditions for a CPO from the dealer.

"qualifying pre-owned Porsche vehicle is purchased while still under new-vehicle warranty maximum coverage is 6 years, 100,000 miles from original in-service date; if purchase outside new-vehicle warranty, maximum coverage is 2 years, 100,000 miles. "

Find yourself a car that's still under factory warranty, and go over to Warranty Direct for an extended warranty. If you're serious about having a warranted car, I think personally this is the least expensive way to go.

Definately get a PPI - this has nothing to do with whether or not or how or through whom you get an extended warranty. But it does ensure you have less chance of buying a car that will costs a lot of money in maintenance.