[Mark_G]

I also had the same spec Z4 back in 2004. It was good enough on smooth roads but the M Sport suspension was awful on typical UK roads. It was that stiff it skipped from bump to bump. I always regretted trading an S2000 for it.

The 987 Boxster S and 981 Boxster S I owned were better cars an all counts.

IMO of course.

 

[PeC]

I also had the same spec Z4 back in 2004. It was good enough on smooth roads but the M Sport suspension was awful on typical UK roads. It was that stiff it skipped from bump to bump. I always regretted trading an S2000 for it.

The 987 Boxster S and 981 Boxster S I owned were better cars an all counts.

IMO of course.

Yes the factory shock absorber is over dampened , in flat surface its good but everywhere else it skipped.
I quickly changed them to koni adjustable sports and it was perfectly balanced with them
The s2000 was my other huge favorite of course and still respect it very much.

 

[Hal H]

You guys act like you’re not going to drive the car hard yourselves anyway 🤣

I do all the time with mine -

when the oil temperature has reached within 15 - 20* of the typical operating temperature

I've never had an engine failure / issue with any vehicle by doing things in a sensible manner

If a person gets a vehicle to flog on that they don't own - I don't think they worry about the consequences of getting on it not warmed up properly, over-revving or missing a shift and forcing the transmission - either due to circumstances of the moment or inexperience

 

[RobertM]

Easy enough to tell if a PEC car has been properly broken in, look at the mileage. I doubt a PEC car is going to have more than two thousand miles on it since PEC sessions are limited to an hour and a half and it incorporates all seven of the experiences. Including instruction etc you'll likely only put a few miles on the car during your session. Granted, those driving sessions may be hard and they show the potential of the vehicle. So if the car has a few hundred miles then no "break-in period" was done not he car. If you get it with 3K miles on the clock then maybe a break-in was done.

Either way, if the dealer is willing to give you a CPO it may be worth the risk. In order for a car to be given CPO status it has to meet exacting criteria as stated in a 100+ point inspection. This includes remaining brake pad material, tread depth, all fluids, and a host of other criteria. If the car doesn't see those specs then the parts are replaced, including tires etc. As others have stated ask for the DME and see what it tells you.

Anyone here buying a used Porsche may be getting a car driven much much harder than a car driven at any of the experience centers. I trailer cars to Laguna Seca for local clients and I watch them smash those cars all over that track for hours at a time and most of those are leased cars. At least a PEC car has been properly maintained.

 

[JSH]

I wouldn't touch a used track-day car from a private sale, but a PEC with full CPO is a different story. If it's truly up to certified specs, you should be ok. I'd want assurance that it hadn't had any shunts or off-track excursions that could have messed with suspension or required other repairs. PEC is a pretty contained environment and the chances of anything other than engine/transmission/brake wear & tear is unlikely. Still, I would request a record of any & all maintenance and the CPO-completed items. I don't recall, does the warranty specifically exclude items found to be faulty due to use in "racing" events? If so I would expect some sort of agreement on this should there be a problem. I would have my oil and other fluids checked by a test lab like Blackstone at some point while still under warranty so any issues can be addressed.
They're expressing confidence in it with the certified status. It should be fine, especially if priced to reflect the harder use.

 

[EAA]

I wouldn't touch a used track-day car from a private sale, but a PEC with full CPO is a different story. If it's truly up to certified specs, you should be ok. I'd want assurance that it hadn't had any shunts or off-track excursions that could have messed with suspension or required other repairs. PEC is a pretty contained environment and the chances of anything other than engine/transmission/brake wear & tear is unlikely. Still, I would request a record of any & all maintenance and the CPO-completed items. I don't recall, does the warranty specifically exclude items found to be faulty due to use in "racing" events? If so I would expect some sort of agreement on this should there be a problem. I would have my oil and other fluids checked by a test lab like Blackstone at some point while still under warranty so any issues can be addressed.
They're expressing confidence in it with the certified status. It should be fine, especially if priced to reflect the harder use.

Pretty safe to say most have had off track excursions. The classes are not racing events.

 

[ThreePedalEd]

So I ran into a PCA member yesterday who's a long time 30+ year track enthusiast and who's adult son is a Porsche club racer / instructor. His response on buying a PEC car was "only at a huge discount". NOT broken in for 1,500+ miles, and 8k miles at PEC is equivalent to at least 50k+ miles of regular street driving including a few track days and auto crosses.

As for the CPO warranty, he said that is unusual to be offered, but to consider that Porsche won't cover something until it is actually broken, and will not cover "wear" items. So for example cars equipped with PCCB's in particular, are very likely (50%+) to have an eventual replacement that will run into 5 figures, whereas 90% of non-PEC cars ordered with ceramic brakes never need rotor replacement. That was just one example. This PCA member had a Cayman R that he would track 30+ days a year, and did almost all of his own maintenance.

Don't shoot me as the messenger. I'm just repeated what he said, but I trust the source.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[nova996]

I‘ve driven a car at PSDS (now PTE?) with like 110 miles on it when I merged onto the track at Barber. If you’re someone who worries about that, then I’d avoid this car.

If it’s a manual, I would avoid it personally. A lot of people will have driven the car, only some of them really know how to drive a manual well, and of those only a rare few cared about preserving this clutch or transmission on the day they drove it.

At a minimum, l’d want fresh pads and rotors. The cars in Birmingham get those all the time. Im not sure about Atlanta or LA.

 

[Grozk17]

Yeah a real mixed bag of unknowns. The Barber cars are run ~5k miles (at least that what was I was told when I was there) in full track, auto cross, etc (without any respect to factory break in recommendations). My favorite was repeated full bore launch control starts in the 911 turbo (5 each x 30 students) one day. Not sure I’d want that one…(but 0-60 in 2.8 was fun).

When I was there, one could request a manual car or PDK for track use, but PDK only for the autocross runs. You’d think the PDK cars would be less likely to get abused, but there was a guy (student) in my group who shifted into park while moving in at least 2 occasions as well doing “something“ to cause a loud power train “crunch” doing skid pad runs on a 911 carerra4 that had 60 miles on it when I drove it before turning it over to him. So I guess any of the cars could be abused-manual or PDK.

 

[alchall]

My previous Cayman base was an ex PEC car based out of Silverstone, had 2300 miles on it when I collected it, I had it for 2 years and it didn't miss a beat, it was in pretty much as new condition and CPO'd.

I would have no reservations about purchasing another.