Procedural question regarding purchase

While I was searching for my 355 I checked out several cars long distances away. I always checked the car out first and then scheduled the PPI if it ended up being something I was very serious about. In many cases the visual inspection, general "feel" from the dealer or private seller, condition of the car, suddenly missing or hard to obtain maintenance records put me off the car immediately and I chalked it up to a quick trip and enjoyed a night in the town before heading back. If/when everything felt right then I scheduled the PPI. In some cases mandating the PPI put the seller off which was again a teltale sign that was not "the one".

Just my experience FWIW.

Another option to avoid flying blind (no pun intended) is to post the car you are interested in on FChat in that region. I have seen many FChatters willing to check a car out for someone and I personally have done it several times for people for cars they are interested in at FoD. Then at least you have a bit more confidence before booking the flight.

Cheers and good luck

 

My personal order of operations is PPI first, personal visit second. The trip and my time is usually more expensive than the PPI.

 

If you see anything of interest in the Denver metro area I am happy to take a look for you - Cheers and good luck with the search - That is half the fun!

 

I trusted the seller (something that most here would not do).

I researched the car here by viewing all the sellers old posts, talked to the seller on the phone and via e-mail. Spoke with the mechanic that last worked on the car. Flew out Friday night after work, bought the car Saturday morning and had a wonderful 1,100 mile drive home. No PPI, I feel the seller was pretty honest about the car and the only issue he did not disclose (lets be fair, he may not have known about it) was a worn front end which I kind of expected from the mileage anyway.

Ok, the part during the drive home where the car overheated on me was not wonderful, I watch my guages pretty closely and car never got to the red, but awfully close. After tightening one hose clamp, car no longer leaks and is awesome. Had my dealer do a leak down test to confirm no damage when they did other work later. Both my wife and I love it and loved the drive home in MY Ferrari (I just like saying that).

 

This is exactly what I just did with my 430.

See the car first. Make sure you want it before going down the PPI road.

 

I would suggest it depends on whether it's a dealer or a private seller unknown to you personally. I would personally feel comfortable writing the check for a car from one of the Ferrari dealerships and small number of other major highline resellers.

If it is a private seller, practically speaking you have very little recourse if something is not as represented. In that case I think a PPI by a tech of your choosing is money well spent.

OTOH, a used car is a used car, and they're almost never perfect, so if it's a significant amount of money to you then a plane ticket can be a wise investment.

I've bought two cars long distance - a Ferrari and a Porsche. No major issues with either, but each took some money to get up to my standards.

My bias would be to work with a dealer. You may pay a bit more, but the odds of them abandoning you if things go south are low.

 

If you want to trust the ppi get one its better than nothing but most places don't even offer them, to my h headache for almost no income. She. And if they miss something buyers go berserk when they only paid $200-$500 for a ppi.

I fell ppi's would hold more water if they cost much more.


I have never bothered with a ppi I do my own research and make a decision. Every used car will have issues of some kind.

 

Paul. I'd also like to encourage you to ask fellow F-Chat members for help once you are serious about a car. I have looked at Cars here in the Raleigh area for guys and I have had someone (Friendly Texan) look at a car for me. Several others have volunteered. The wealth of knowledge on here is exceeded only by the members willingness to help.