I am considering purchasing an 2003 911 Turbofrom a Porsche dealership in Dallas. They disclosed that the vehicle has had paint work done to the front of the car and the hood has been replaced. They assure me there is no structural damage to the car. I drove the car and nothing felt out of wack. Under hard braking the brakes were very slightly not balanced. The left would grab a little more than the right but not enough to jerk the car around.

1)Is it stupid to be purchasing a Turbo that obviously has had a minimum of a minor front damage? The dealer obviously denies that it has been in a collision because it is not listed in the Carfax history. I don't know if it has or hasn't.
2) How much does a 2003 Turbo decrease in value if it has had repainting and the froot hood replaced? Front end damage?
3) The only issue on the Carfax was an odometer rollback notice where the milage was reported as 27,751 9/18/2007 and then 21,776 on 10/18/2007. The current millage on the vehicle is 22,235. The dealership tells me they believe a clerical error was made and is trying to get the carfax corrected. Any thoughts on this?
4) Can anyone recomened a good person/place to get a pre-purchase inspection in Dallas?

Thanks everyone!

 

Carfax is the biggest scam I have ever seen. I have done many inspections on newer cars that have had substantial damage to them, but show clean car fax reports. Since the front bumper covers are plastic, it does not take much to crack one if say, someone pulled in too far in their garage and bumped the wall, etc. The hood being replaced though is odd, and unless something fell on the car, usually would not be replaced. Get a good Porsche shop to do a full inspection and see if they can find evidence of previous damage. Unfortunetly, I don't know of any shops in Dallas off hand.

 

From what I have gleaned, a change in hood points to some front end damage. Doc's thought that something fell on it is a possibility, but very unlikely, as an impact dent from something falling in a garage etc, could have probably been resolved by a liitle "panel beating" and some paint, leaving the Original Hood and the telltalevery important Porsche data sticker still in place on the under side of the hood!(I assume it is missing on this car!)
I would proceed on the basis that it is more likely to have had some front end damage than it has not.
Problems and discrepancies on mileages always leave me feeling uncomfortable.

If you feel this is a brilliant deal and you are saving lots of money, it might be OK (But get an independent bodywork expert to examine the car for not only the extent of the repair but the quality of the repair. Remember badly finished hidden areas equate to early rust!)

Otherwise, keep your money in your pocket, walk away and look for another.
Regards Big Bob

 

If you live in the Dallas Tx area, you need to visit Zim's Auto. these guys are absolute guru's, and they have worked on all of my cars at one point or another and I have had nothing but good things from them. They are not cheap, but they dont cut corners either. I know the post is late, but I am a new kid to the site

 

That car sounds like trouble with front end damage and odo roll back. Like Doc said carfax's are only as good as what is actually reported. Have an expert look at the car and ask the dealer to privide information on where the supposed minor repairs were made. Good luck