Buying Advice for 2007 997 Turbo

[BHUPESH]

HI,

 

I AM NEW TO THE FORUM.

I am planning to buy a 2007 997 Turbo. The seller is ignorant and does not have the full documentation of the vehicle. I need help learning more via the VIN Decoder. i need to know the complete option list of the car. How can i?

 

I have driven the car. The engine and the transmission is top notch. No fault codes either. The suspension  and tyre need definite overhaul and replacement. Any idea what it would cost excluding the tyres. Since the road are quite bad in India, would you advice going for the stock coilovers or Bilsteins to make the ride a wee bit more forgiving. I AM NOT GOING TO TRACK THE CAR EVER.

 

All advice is highly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

  

[j_beede]

HI,

 

I AM NEW TO THE FORUM.

I am planning to buy a 2007 997 Turbo. The seller is ignorant and does not have the full documentation of the vehicle. I need help learning more via the VIN Decoder. i need to know the complete option list of the car. How can i?

 

I have driven the car. The engine and the transmission is top notch. No fault codes either. The suspension  and tyre need definite overhaul and replacement. Any idea what it would cost excluding the tyres. Since the road are quite bad in India, would you advice going for the stock coilovers or Bilsteins to make the ride a wee bit more forgiving. I AM NOT GOING TO TRACK THE CAR EVER.

 

All advice is highly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

To best help you the people here will want to know more about the car in question...

 

I am not certain what you mean when you say that your seller is ignorant. I assume this means you are not buying a certified car from a Porsche dealer. I suspect the car is without repair history and service records? Has the car had multiple owners? Have you arranged for a pre-purchase inspection?

 

Regarding suspension... Some Porsche fans find the 997 too soft to begin with. The 997 is certainly "more civilized" than the air cooled 911s, still it would not be my first choice for driving on rough roads. Your local Porsche club will be familiar with the road conditions that you are dealing with and will be best positioned to recommend suspension changes. 

 

Regarding options, most Porsche cars come with a small white sticker, about 10cm x 15cm, that I have seen applied to the underside of the trunk lid, the underside of the engine cover, or inside the first pages of the owner's manual. This sticker will have a list of options codes for your vehicle. In the US PCNA can provide this detail based on VIN. Good luck.

[JFP in PA]

HI,

 

I AM NEW TO THE FORUM.

I am planning to buy a 2007 997 Turbo. The seller is ignorant and does not have the full documentation of the vehicle. I need help learning more via the VIN Decoder. i need to know the complete option list of the car. How can i?

 

I have driven the car. The engine and the transmission is top notch. No fault codes either. The suspension  and tyre need definite overhaul and replacement. Any idea what it would cost excluding the tyres. Since the road are quite bad in India, would you advice going for the stock coilovers or Bilsteins to make the ride a wee bit more forgiving. I AM NOT GOING TO TRACK THE CAR EVER.

 

All advice is highly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

Welcome to RennTech :welcome:

 

You should never consider spending this kind of money without getting a full pre purchase inspection done at an independent Porsche mechanic of your choice.  While the PPI will cost you some money, a good one will spot any defects that need attention and provide you with a repair estimate, which you  should deduct from the car's selling price.  A quality PPI has saved a lot of buyer's from potential disasters, and will provide you with price negotiation leverage in your favor.

[BHUPESH]

Thank you. There are certain facts that i have failed to mention.

 

India has a minuscule Porsche population. Hence Dealers are not scarce. Mumbai dealership has been terminated. The new dealership is not in place. The car is being brought from a Mercedes dealer who had bought this car in exchange for him selling a high value Merc. Hence PPI is not possible. However, a independent tuner (whom i trust) has known this car and he suggests to buy with eyes shut. Since it is one of the last Mezger engines and also because it is a Turbo which are very rare in India. The new Turbo costs 6 (six) times the price offered to me. 

 

j_beede can you please provide me a link of the US PCNA. i will anyway go and try to look for the sticker you mentioned.

 

Once again appreciate your opinion and suggestions.

[j_beede]

Hello Bhupesh,

 

PCNA is simply Porsche Cars North America, you can find them at www.porsche.com/usa. I expect that you have already visited Porsche's India site at www.porsche.com/india? I see that Porsche's few dealers in India are concentrated between Mumbai and Bangalore. You may want to try calling Porsche at 1800 1036 911 or 1800 2096 911 for suggestions. My guess is that Porsche will be interested in helping as they strive to ramp up in India. From the India website:

 

"Porsche enjoys an extremely passionate and dedicated customer base in India and we certainly look forward to welcoming more enthusiasts into our family. I hope that you will enjoy the content of our exclusive India website and your suggestions and comments will always be welcome. You can reach us at info@porsche.in or +91 8655 000 911."

 

If you are able to locate the options sticker you should have no problem deciphering the codes using an on-line decoder like the one at www.kindel.com

 

Keep in mind that the option list for your car was correct when it left the factory... it is not uncommon for things like factory radios, phones, CD changers, steering wheels, seats, wheels, bumpers, wings, suspension components, etc. to be swapped out by owners or sellers along the way. For example, US spec 997.1 utilize a fiber based network as part of the information and entertainment system. If your candidate car has an aftermarket radio/stereo/DVD/GPS/amplifier the stock fiber network may have been preserved or altered or removed. This could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your preferences and plans for personalization or preservation. Such changes would likely conflict with your factory option codes and would be pointed out as part of a comprehensive PPI.

 

I wonder, If the car is truly an extraordinary bargain I wonder why a mechanic (described as familiar with the car) has not already purchased it for his personal use or financial gain?

...j

[JFP in PA]

Thank you. There are certain facts that i have failed to mention.

 

India has a minuscule Porsche population. Hence Dealers are not scarce. Mumbai dealership has been terminated. The new dealership is not in place. The car is being brought from a Mercedes dealer who had bought this car in exchange for him selling a high value Merc. Hence PPI is not possible. However, a independent tuner (whom i trust) has known this car and he suggests to buy with eyes shut. Since it is one of the last Mezger engines and also because it is a Turbo which are very rare in India. The new Turbo costs 6 (six) times the price offered to me. 

 

j_beede can you please provide me a link of the US PCNA. i will anyway go and try to look for the sticker you mentioned.

 

Once again appreciate your opinion and suggestions.

 

A PPI is always possible, and are should never be done by the selling dealers, but by an independent mechanic of your choice.  I also remain circumspect of this car's "extraordinary bargain" pricing, to me that is a red flag.  Every bargain priced Turbo we have seen was priced that way for a reason..........

[BHUPESH]

Thank you j_beede and JFP. 

 

The mechanic is an ex Porsche mechanic. He DOES NOT have the resources. Mechanic are not so affluent here in India. But having said that his knowledge is up to date and he knows his job well. Having said that, since i have purchased few Mercs from this dealer, I have the first right of refusal on the Porsche. 

 

Another Porsche and Nissan GTR owner has driven (rather pelted it for 120 miles) this 997 TT and has confirmed that all is Ok with the car EXCEPT the suspension and tyres. He isn't keen to buy as he has too many cars in his stable already.

 

Dealers in India have an attitude to sell new Porsche and discourage potential buyers from buying pre owned vehicles. Skewed mindset. Nevertheless, i appreciate your suggestions and will try and hook it up to a diagnostic unit to check all fault codes, if any, stored. The car is in stock condition and hasn't been modded.

 

I will take the car for a long drive and also get it checked before taking a plunge.

 

FYI the Porsche website does mention  "extremely passionate and dedicated customer base". Most being Cayenne owners and 90% of them being celebrities. Cause Cayenne and the Q7 were bought in order by these celebrities cause it was the next new thing after Land Cruiser. The current being RR Sport and RR Vogue.

 

Thank you guys. 

[BHUPESH]

Incidentally the earlier Porsches (like this one) were sold by a GSA as PORSCHE did not have any presence in India 

[E85997Turbo]

Very exciting - I wish you all the best - I have found my used 997 Turbo to be totally trouble free and has had zero issues of any kind but I agree that having the car looked over by a qualified mechanic before you but it is a great idea - especially In India where spare parts may be harder to obtain