Advice on a 993 2S lhd

[Guest]

Hello all. I'm a newbie hoping to get behind the wheel of my first Porsche soon. The 993 is my prefered choice and a widebody S model top of the wish list. I want a lhd model for 2 main reasons - 1. driving position 2. affordability.

I've seen an example at Northway and wondered if I could get your opinions on it?
It's a 1997, Ocean with classic grey (ruffled). 58k miles, OBC, sunroof, Nokia 10 spkr DSP, Nokia phone kit, 18" turbo wheels.

It's a good solid car overall, but with some minor irritations. The car has had a fair amount of paint - but all cosmetic, not accident. It's not been done to highest standard - down to poor masking. Paint finish itself isn't bad. Interior is almost perfect. The car has a full OPC history, although it's only been serviced twice in the last 4 years. No stack of bills or complete set of MOTs.

PPI threw up various minor faults all of which will be corrected before purchase - main ones are 24k service, rear pads, brake fluid, correct repair to check strap, heater blower.

My question to you guys - Is this car worth 25995 given it's spec, mileage and history?

 

[Guest]

Hi Maurice. Thanks for your reply. The paintwork seems to be for cosmetic reasons - I had a good friend who runs a bodyshop check the car over. His paint gauge revealed uniform paint over the car, but more than factory (except bonnet - which has a bit more - understandable) but no filler. All panels appear factory - ie. no evidence of door/wing removal. Rear quarters have correct weld marks, all correct stickers are in place ie. underside of bonnet, bar code & chassis sticker on offside B pillar, and sticker on rear panel under engine cover. Boot floor ok and panels all line up and look correct. It just appears it's been blown over to tidy it before selling - it's definitely just been done as there are no stone chips on the car. Poor masking and a bubble on the scuttle (windscreen) are the let downs. I just can't understand why people don't do a job properly, especially on a quality car like a Porsche[]

It looks like the servicing has been done on mileage rather than time. The car has covered 23k miles in just under 5 years, so not alot really. It's services were carried out in 2000, then 2002 and lastly in 2004. All services were carried out by OPCs. I've contacted the garages to verify the history. The last service in 2004 has been verified. The service in 2002 was carried out by HR Owen - but I couldn't trace this as it appears the HR Owen computer records are patchy since Porsche took over? Is this correct?? I tried Porsche GB but they were no help whatsoever [8|]

The car appears otherwise well cared for. It has 3 previous owners - the last having owned it for 2 and a half years. It has P Zeros all round - all N rated. It's also recently had 4 wheel alignment done by Camtune. Brakes are fine (minor scoring). Interior is in very clean condition. HPI clear. No evidence/history of clutch change worries me, but the clutch "feels" light enough and progressive. Certainly better than some I've tried on lower mileage cars. Suspension also I guess will need renewing due to the 58k miles - but the PPI did not flag it up - ie. no leaking dampers, worn wishbone bushes etc.

The OBC illumination has failed - apparently this requires a whole new rev counter? Is this correct?? The new rev counter costs......are you sitting down.......£611 [:-]

Northway will be correcting all faults on the car except the rev counter, so other than potential clutch/suspension I should be on safe ground? I can list all the faults found if you guys want to know more.

How does it sound to you??

 

[Guest]

Hi, I had a look at that car too before buying mine. I think the price is about right if all the faults are corrected, and it seemed a sound car. Yes the paint all seemed cosmetic to me as well. My LHD 2S has also only been serviced to mileage rather than annually, I find a lot of European cars are like that. I paid an £1K extra for mine essentially the same but paint was nicer and it had a recent clutch change. Also I have just spent £700 on some second hand 18" wheels as mine only came with 17" wheels. That car has been with Northways for a while so you may be able to negotiate a discount. A figured a similar UK wide body car in that condition would be at a dealers for around £33-34K (seen a couple at 911Virgin with more miles while looking for mine).

 

[delboy]

Hi

I hada similar problem with HR Owen. They had serviced my 2S for 4 years, but were unable to give me copies of the work carried out.

I presume it's good old "Data Protection" again

 

[Guest]

Thanks Mankster. It's pretty difficult getting a value on a lhd car. As you say, it's a bit easier with rhd cars as there are a few more about, but lhd seem quite rare. Anyone able to comment on what this car should be up for - or is it fairly priced? Thanks in advance!

Delboy - the thing that surprised me was the lack of even an entry on the computer system that the car was serviced with them. The Porsche Centre (that was the HR Owen outlet) had no records for the car apart from a set of keys that were made for the car back in 2002. Apparently this was on the records due to the security nature of the work carried out. Does it sound right that that record of a service has disappeared off "the system"??

The HR Owen stamp doesn't appear (!) forged - and the book has been stamped on the service page, the body inspection page and also the airbag test page.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Guest]

If the paintwork is putting you off then it will probably have the same effect when you come to sell. If you can live with it and like the car otherwise then I would try to put a value on the negative effect of the paint, knock that off the asking price and push to get the rev counter fixed. No harm in asking and if you are not happy with the deal there will be another car round the corner...but the 'perfect' car will often take some hunting.