Seller Arranging PPI?

I would recommend against that. A friend bought a Mondial sight unseen with a seller-provided PPI, and it is very obvious that the mechanic was more interested in helping the seller than providing an honest look at the car.

This is particularly a problem with an out-of-state vehicle.

 

He also gets a free PPI on your dime, whether you buy the car or not.

Here's a question, though: Are there other qualified shops in the area? If he is a regular customer, regardless of who pays for it or takes the car in, they will know the car and have more reason to favor him. What does one do when the seller is a regular at the only qualified shop in the area?

And another thought: If he spends a lot of money there, then the car is more likely to be in good shape.


But if there are other shops to choose from, then he is a tool for trying to take it to his own; that more or less defeats the purpose of a PPI, as being independent in the sale is as important as being qualified to inspect the car!

 

I concur.

When I bought my Porsche 993 a while back, the selling dealer represented it as having gone through a '100-point' inspection at the local Porsche dealer. When the car arrived, I found out the inspection had missed stuff like old bald tires, past-due belts and an oil leak. Also it was overdue for service had a recall on the power top that had yet to be performed, so I'm guessing the seller had a buddy in the service department.

You need to pick the PPI location. If you have access to the service records, you might want to note the name of the facility and take it somewhere else -- a tech is more likely to find fault with someone else's work than he would his own.

 

If I was selling a car and the buyer wanted to do a PPI on his own dime, I would require that I also got a copy of that paperwork. After all it is your car. I have thought about selling one of my cars. If I do I will have a PPI done locally that will be available to the new purchaser. He would of course have the right to do his own as long as he is paying for it. I think it can be a nice gesture to already have that work done for a comparison.

 

Forget it. Even among independent mechanics performing PPi's (which yours in this situation is not), there is a range of (in)attention to details. The incremental cost of a PPi is so low given what is at stake that you are only hurting yourself by even considering shortcuts here.

 

Tell this guy that you're making an appointment at a shop of your choosing, if he balks, then you walk away.

 

This does sound a bit sketchy. However, here are some points to consider. In Houston, for example, there is only one guy I would let do a PPI on my car - Ferda at Vintage Motorsports. Yes, I use Ferda, but he will still tell the truth. Unforunately, after getting threatened with a law suit, Ferrari of Houston no longer does PPIs for anybody. The only other options are the Lambo dealer, who I know nothing about, or Drivers Source that just started working on Ferraris.

So it may be that your seller has enough pull to get the local Ferrari dealer to do the PPI, but you couldn't.

What I would do if the car is a relatively late model Ferrari is have the dealership do the standard checkup as if the owner was going to buy the extended warranty. This is a pretty extensive check and may run around $500 to $1,000. I don't think any dealer would be willing to fudge these results.

Dale

 

I ran something similar when looking for my car.

I had a dealer (non F dealer) take the car to F of Denver for the PPI. Turns out that even if the prospective buyer pays for the PPI, the owner of the car gets a copy, and can then present it to other buyers as a recent PPI.

Now I bought mine sight unseen, relied soley on both the dealer and F of Denver (amazing what you do when you have "gotta have it fever"). Things were missed even by F of Denver.

PPI = partial insurance. Not a bad use of $300, but, given my situation with the arrangement regarding who owns the car, you could theoretically pay for 4-5 PPI's before buying a car (at over $300 each).

Good luck!
Even a "pretty good" Ferrari is loads of fun!

 

Listen to your gut. Sounds like you have negative feelings about the seller taking the car to his established business contact for your PPI.

Clearly could be a conflict on interest. But you may talk to the shop and get a good feeling that they are honest.

 

I faced the same situation, and I went ahead and accepted the PPI from the seller's mechanic. It is biased, BUT, if you later find that they were inaccurate, you have legal recourse. As an out of location buyer, you are at a disadvantage and it may not be so easy to find an alternative. If the seller wants a copy, I would want to make sure that's not a way to influence the PPI - I would either ask him to split the cost if it's just so he can use it for other buyers, or walk, it he's trying to pressure the mechanic. Best advice I can give you is WALK AWAY if something doesn't smell right.