How much to pay for a PPI on 308?

It IS very high. I paid $250 in CA by a VERY well known shop. That included compression/leakdown testing. That was 3yrs ago.....I can't believe we've experienced THAT much inflation!
I'll wait for the pro's to give the official word, but I can't believe a 308 would be much more than a Porsche. $250-$350 range.....

FWIW, YMMV


BTW, Good luck and Congrats on the *almost* 308 purchase!
JIM

 

$600 is cheap. We were charging that when we quit doing PPI's and it did not cover our costs. If it is a real PPI that is. Most turn into taking a walk around the car to look for all the big parts.

 

That's about right, however I'd break it down in 2 parts. First to do a frame, body and basic safety check. If it passes that, $300 spent, then have them do the compression/leakdown and the other mechanical checks. If done correctly I would guess it is about a 4-5 hour process.

 

I'll back down on my comment. I'd take Brian's word. ASK what you are getting for your $600 though.

JIM

 

A thorough PPI takes about 3-4 hours on the car then another 2-3 hours to prepare the detailed parts and labor quote.

At a fair $100 per hour for a pro shop that equates to $500 - $700 for a real PPI that overlooks nothing.

Just my .02

 

I paid $250 for one, and was happy with results (that was almost 2 yrs ago, but doubt inflation/demand for 308 ppis went up that much). I think $600 is way too much. Also, if done by a logically thinking mechanic, common sense approach will eliminate many of the tests which are not necessary. Bad symptoms will give away causes which THEN would call for compression testing, leakdown, etc etc. Why over do it?

 

When a mechanic calls for every test in the book, it shows he really doesnt know his trade, period. Causes/symptoms can be traced or eliminated as testing proceeds. testing for everything no matter what the price can be motivated also by fear/ignorance.

 

The mechanic does not call for what tests are done, it is the buyer who decides how in depth they want to go.

I own a shop that is entrusted with cars ranging from 308's to a Million dollar Miura SV.

We give our customers a choice of what they want to test for.

From a basic safety check to full lab oil analyses.

You should decide what's important to you, what you're willing to risk & how much you can spend to fix things if you don't have them checked.

Maybe the car overheated at some point and has a weak cylinder or two, it would appear to run fine but down the road it will be expensive.

The horror stories that I could tell you about "quick PPI's" and what it cost the owner later would make you sick.
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A ferrari shop worth anything at all will be able to spot a dead 308 from twenty feet away.
Your inspector should not waist your ppi money on a "dead" 308.

 

This is very true, you should not be wasting PPI money on a rough car.

My comments were not 308 specific and I should have stated that earlier so not to confuse a PPI on a $30,000 car with that of a $300,000 car.

Sometimes I forget what section I'm replying to and this is 308 specific so my apologies for any confusion.

 

"$600 is cheap. We were charging that when we quit doing PPI's and it did not cover our costs. If it is a real PPI that is. Most turn into taking a walk around the car to look for all the big parts."

I paid 700 in '08 and thought it was a fair price - the mechanic took me through every step of every single thing he looked at. I learned a lot about the particular issues common to 328s and specific things to periodically check. I didn't need training on mechanical work, having done it all my life but the specifics for the Ferrari were well worth the money and they did a great job.

 

Those issues need to be discussed and decided in advance. In order to serve the clients needs you really need to know what their needs are. We used to get asked to inspect unmitigated junk all the time. Customer insists on going down that road against advice on POS cars. Buyers get target fixation quite commonly and are their own worst enemy in a purchase. One good thing about doing PPI's, you learn early on which customers you want to distance yourself from.

 

I had a PPI done recently before I purchased my car. I wanted a compression test done. The shop said it was unnecessary. I paid to have it done anyway, the numbers were great and I sleep better at night. It was just what I needed to feel good about a vehicle that was over 20 years old and a lot of money for me.

 

I have done a lot of leakdown testing on US v8s and frankly, I can't imagine that a PPI for a few hundred bucks that could include a leakdown test. It takes at least an hour to do a leakdown on a V-8, more often 2 or more if access is difficult. I have heard of a "leakdown tests" being performed on one cylinder but that's like checking the air in one tire or compression in one cylinder - a waste of time and money providing no useful information.

 

Look at the 4 cars and PPI the one you like.

You should be treating the PPI on a car just like a home inspection when house buying.....you only do it when you've decided to buy barring some unknown problem. If it's a car you might be interested in buying you are wasting your money and the sellers time. When I am selling a car I will agree to a PPI once price is set and a deposit given, not before....I'm busy.

 

In December 2007, I paid $500 for a well-known shop in CT to do my 308.

Very thorough work, 150 photos, all numbers, personable and patient shop owner/head mechanic. My only disappointment was that they didn't catch the overheating issues I've had to deal with here in TX.

In retrospect, it was not the right time of year to buy a car that had spent its life in New England and was suddenly bound for use in Texas.

 

Like others have said, it really depends upon what your purposes are. If you're (as the buyer) trying to find every conceivable fault of the car in order to try to work the seller down on price then an in-depth PPI is what you'll want (First Approach). If you just want assurance for yourself that the major components (body, engine, suspension, transaxle) are in reasonable shape then you can probably make do with a lesser PPI that just focuses on those major components (Second Approach).

Unfortunately, whenever I'm selling a ferrari I get the distinct impression that frequently the potential buyer has taken the First Approach. As the seller, that is pretty darn annoying, after all, it's a used car, so if the plug wires don't look new or the tires are half-worn or there's a trim ring missing for the antenna, so what? It's called a used car, and that's why it costs less than a new car.

What is a reasonable topic for buyers and sellers to discuss however is potential faults with major components which aren't self evident or aren't inherently consistent with a reasonable used car - low compression, broken synchros, chassis damage, etc. So, a PPI which is focused on this type of information seems like a wise undertaking for a buyer who isn't particularly mechanically skilled themselves.

Just my $.02.

ps. a PPI for a ferrari is going to be a lot less more expensive for two distinct reasons: a) anal f-car buyers who tend to put significant liability back on the shop when some surprise fault comes up down the road, and b) most ferraris aren't bought locally, so the PPI shop isn't likely to get the repair work and the relationship with the new owner so they need to actually make a little money on the PPI itself!

 

Beautifully said, this is how it should be undertaken IMO.

 

"Very thorough work" "...they didn't catch the overheating issues I've had to deal with here in TX."

Hmmm...Frankly, this PPI sounds like more show than go. Providing a bunch of pictures and NOT finding a basic issue like engine cooling is not "thorough work," it is half-assed work and is anything but "thorough"...

Taking a bunch of digital pics speaks more about trying to LOOK good than anything else. The fact that they DIDN"T identify a basic issue is the the most important thing about the PPI not that there were pretty pictures.

 

LOL.

I've seen that before.

You are selling a car for $30, with fair number of miles, but other wise, a 90% car, and someone wants you to spend $30K on repairs and rehab and restoration, and then they will buy it for $30K. When you tell them to go buy a restored car (which costs $60-$80K), they say that is too much money.

Doug

 

agreed,I paid $500 three years ago and that was becuase I'm freinds with the machanic.theres alot that needs to be done if you want a real ppi

 

Agree, it was dumb, and has cost me some $$ to get corrected.

Due to past personal inability to travel, I've bought two Ferraris sight-unseen; next time I inspect all prospects personally.