Ex-Demo Thoughts
- Thread starter coffeekid
- Start date
The price would need to reflect the risk you are taking?
Not sure how OPC's organise their demo's but if anyone was given some freedom (no sales guy in there) the car would have been used hard early in life albeit briefly?
Having said that, I once bought an ex-demo Ford and it was superb for years.
Any propective new owner would see the car registered to the OPC and would know it was ex-demo too?
Not sure how OPC's organise their demo's but if anyone was given some freedom (no sales guy in there) the car would have been used hard early in life albeit briefly?
Having said that, I once bought an ex-demo Ford and it was superb for years.
Any propective new owner would see the car registered to the OPC and would know it was ex-demo too?
Personally I have bought ex demo cars in the past both porsche and BMW ,in the knowledge they’ve only been driven with sales guys in the car.
more recently I’ve been lent for days at a time demonstration cars to drive on my own.while I’ve always treated with respect I’m not sure everyone does this ,and so I’d be cautious about buying one now.
more recently I’ve been lent for days at a time demonstration cars to drive on my own.while I’ve always treated with respect I’m not sure everyone does this ,and so I’d be cautious about buying one now.
they certainly won't warm it up before giving it the beans
I'm certain that they will not have been run in, Porsche say maximum of 4,000 rpm for 1865 miles, and I can't see any dealership doing this before using the car for either loan or test drives. I've been given loan Porsches with hardly any miles on them and with no advice or request to treat them carefully. Cars used for demonstration test drives will have been given full beans, and inevitably not always properly warmed up either.
Does it matter? There are those that say not running gives a looser engine, but at the expense of longevity. Why else would Porsche recommend running in if it were not beneficial?
I suppose if you are buying a car to keep a year or two then an ex-demo might be fine, but if you are planning to keep for longer perhaps not such a good idea?
Does it matter? There are those that say not running gives a looser engine, but at the expense of longevity. Why else would Porsche recommend running in if it were not beneficial?
I suppose if you are buying a car to keep a year or two then an ex-demo might be fine, but if you are planning to keep for longer perhaps not such a good idea?
Mark,
I’d agree with all the above comments and would be less concerned if it’s going to be a relatively short-term purchase. The only saving grace is that by purchasing from a Porsche dealership you have the benefit of a decent comprehensive 2-year extended warranty which should be plenty of time to let any significant problems come to the surface. Also the dealerships won’t warrant a car which has significant engine over-revs.
Jeff
I’d agree with all the above comments and would be less concerned if it’s going to be a relatively short-term purchase. The only saving grace is that by purchasing from a Porsche dealership you have the benefit of a decent comprehensive 2-year extended warranty which should be plenty of time to let any significant problems come to the surface. Also the dealerships won’t warrant a car which has significant engine over-revs.
Jeff
Brian_Innes
Member
My first Porsche, a Cayman 987.1 2.7, was an ex-management car originally registered by an OPC in Surrey, and purchased with 2700 miles on the clock at 6 months old. It performed faultlessly for the first 10,000 miles, then at 13,000 miles a loud whine developed from the transaxle area. A subsequent investigation by my nearest OPC at the time in Aberdeen, revealed a disintegrated bearing on the pinion shaft driving the crown wheel gear in the diff. The resulting metal fragments had contaminated the oil lubricating the entire gearbox unit. When the transaxle oil drain plug was removed the oil was speckled with silver fragments.
Thankfully the car was still under Porsche manufacturers warranty and the entire 5 speed gearbox transaxle was replaced by Aberdeen OPC with a new unit sent from Germany. The car then performed perfectly well for another 12,000 miles and remainder of it's time with me .
I did wonder if that particular car had previously been driven hard when cold early in its life, perhaps as a customer demo or press car. I'll never know for sure, but it did raise my suspicions about its origin and history.
My subsequent Cayman R manual was also purchased with "nominal mileage" from the same OPC. It had been purchased for showroom stock and pre-registered by the dealership. I had no problems at all with that car for over 36,000 miles including extensive competitive motorsport use over a period of 4 years. It was my joint-best Porsche ever.
Brian
Thankfully the car was still under Porsche manufacturers warranty and the entire 5 speed gearbox transaxle was replaced by Aberdeen OPC with a new unit sent from Germany. The car then performed perfectly well for another 12,000 miles and remainder of it's time with me .
I did wonder if that particular car had previously been driven hard when cold early in its life, perhaps as a customer demo or press car. I'll never know for sure, but it did raise my suspicions about its origin and history.
My subsequent Cayman R manual was also purchased with "nominal mileage" from the same OPC. It had been purchased for showroom stock and pre-registered by the dealership. I had no problems at all with that car for over 36,000 miles including extensive competitive motorsport use over a period of 4 years. It was my joint-best Porsche ever.
Brian
Brian,
My point is that, had you been the original purchaser of that vehicle from new, and driven it like Miss Daisy for the first 2,700 miles, the same failure could just as easily have occurred.
Or perhaps not - there is simply no way of knowing.
Purchasing a pre-owned vehicle will usually be a lower cost option than purchasing a brand new vehicle - you pay your money and you take your chance, but getting a warranty will always help reduce the risk.
Another problem is that most cars nowadays are on some form of PCP on the basis of a monthly payment so are effectively just "rented" by the driver who may have less invested emotionally in the vehicle than a genuine enthusiast owner.
A printout of the onboard electronic wizardry could be requested to identify any over-rev occurrences to get an indication of prior usage.
Alastair
My point is that, had you been the original purchaser of that vehicle from new, and driven it like Miss Daisy for the first 2,700 miles, the same failure could just as easily have occurred.
Or perhaps not - there is simply no way of knowing.
Purchasing a pre-owned vehicle will usually be a lower cost option than purchasing a brand new vehicle - you pay your money and you take your chance, but getting a warranty will always help reduce the risk.
Another problem is that most cars nowadays are on some form of PCP on the basis of a monthly payment so are effectively just "rented" by the driver who may have less invested emotionally in the vehicle than a genuine enthusiast owner.
A printout of the onboard electronic wizardry could be requested to identify any over-rev occurrences to get an indication of prior usage.
Alastair
If your serious then get the OPC to check the cars usage and go through it with you they can tell rev ranges and the exact time things occurred. You can build a picture of how a car has been driven from new.
I bought a 3 year old 911 from a non OPC with very low mileage and wanted a warranty which I applied for after 3 months ownership, they traced 1 over rev which concerned me and when they looked at when it had occurred it was when being moved at the factory before it had been delivered, the OPC checked the car and warrantied it for me. You cannot hide much today.
It concerns me when you see Porsche GT cars up for sale at OPC's with 2k miles and 3 owners for over list and wonder how many of those 2k miles were done on track. The owners clearly had no intention of keeping the cars long term. You see on here and Pistonheads a lot of owners don't follow Porsche guidelines and the amount of times I've read OPC salesmen telling purchasers to just drive them they don't need running in today.
Vehicle sympathy is something not understood by the average car driver so I would if buying nearly new from an OPC get a download go through it with a technician (not the salesman) take his advice and if its okay buy with confidence, you will get 2 years warranty and you can then extend if you want.
I bought a 3 year old 911 from a non OPC with very low mileage and wanted a warranty which I applied for after 3 months ownership, they traced 1 over rev which concerned me and when they looked at when it had occurred it was when being moved at the factory before it had been delivered, the OPC checked the car and warrantied it for me. You cannot hide much today.
It concerns me when you see Porsche GT cars up for sale at OPC's with 2k miles and 3 owners for over list and wonder how many of those 2k miles were done on track. The owners clearly had no intention of keeping the cars long term. You see on here and Pistonheads a lot of owners don't follow Porsche guidelines and the amount of times I've read OPC salesmen telling purchasers to just drive them they don't need running in today.
Vehicle sympathy is something not understood by the average car driver so I would if buying nearly new from an OPC get a download go through it with a technician (not the salesman) take his advice and if its okay buy with confidence, you will get 2 years warranty and you can then extend if you want.
My first Porsche was a 944 demonstrator which was 9 months old and had done a fair mileage but I had no issues with it and sold it with 85k miles recorded.
I was taken on a test drive in a 718 when they were launched and the car with cold engine was driven aggressively by the salesman to my horror.
I recently asked to drive the new Cayman GTS 4 litre and due to covid was given the car for a morning to drive unsupervised. I'm confident that I treated it far more carefully than most at the dealership.
I'd only buy a demonstrator if the mileage was very low and the price signifigantly lower than new.
I was taken on a test drive in a 718 when they were launched and the car with cold engine was driven aggressively by the salesman to my horror.
I recently asked to drive the new Cayman GTS 4 litre and due to covid was given the car for a morning to drive unsupervised. I'm confident that I treated it far more carefully than most at the dealership.
I'd only buy a demonstrator if the mileage was very low and the price signifigantly lower than new.
My 996 Millennium Edition was a demonstrator c 3k on the clock. Brother owns it and now at 110k - no faults. Clutch done, brake discs and a couple of hoses but nothing material. I would ask to see the DME report for overrevs. Obv if it has hit the limiter even once in first 4k I would move on. Just bought a Mini 2.5k and 10 months old at 33% off list (albeit highly optioned car). Be interesting to see how I fare. Good luck with the purchase.
I do not know whether it still applies, but there have been instances where the ex demo label has been applied to cars that have been through the Porsche Experience centre. It is definitely worth asking a question about where and for how long it was used as a demonstrator.
(Granny, eggs, suck, sorry if it applies!)
(Granny, eggs, suck, sorry if it applies!)
JohnCRS said:
Agreed John. The PEC cars get pushed through the dealerships as demo's and lets be honest most are thrashed around the circuits as they put on a few thousand miles.
Its a question to always ask: 'Has this car been used at teh PEC?'
Just out of interest, which model have you ordered and when do expect to take delivery? I’ve been looking at the ex demo GTS 4.0s - seem to be a few rolling off this week presumably ahead of the March plate change, although most seem to have quite high expectations on price. My last 991 was ex Porsche GB with 400 miles on the clock, and absolutely fine.
AB2012 said:
I have order a Cayman GTS 4.0 Manual with a March build date so hoping for delivery in April
Yes there seems to be a lot more demos have been listed in the past week or two.
Also there are a few brand new unregistered cars out there in OPC’s that are not listed on their websites - just couldn’t find one with the right spec for me
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