I hope it is OK to do this but I recently bought a 996 Turbo from RSJ Sportscars. I have no connection with them, other than being a customer who wants to share my experiences of RSJ with other forum members.
My wife and I have always wanted a 911 and as our kids are still small enough to fit in the back, we decided now would be the best time to do it. We put some money aside and I started researching the options, prices, and availability of cars in our price range. It was a toss-up between a 997C2S or a 996T. We liked both cars for different reasons: The 997 because it looks a little more modern but the performance of the 996 turbo ended up persuading us to focus on the earlier model. Initially we were looking for the Turbo S but when I discovered how much the carbon brakes were to service and replace we decided that the X50 was the better option. After all, apart from brakes that cost £3.5K per corner, the X50 is a Turbo S. In fact I drove both and felt that the carbon brakes were a little less powerful than their steel counterparts. To be fair I did not get them up to temperature and the owner of the S told me they were better when hot but for the sort of driving we do I did not feel the additional expense was justified. So I drew up a wish list of options; X50, carbon pack, low mileage, full Porsche history, Xenons, PCM2 Navigation, Seal grey or Silver, Black Leather, Suede Headlining, immaculate condition and so on.
Now I have had a few bad experiences with dealers and warranties in the past and as a result I avoid them at all costs. I would rather look at private sellers, get a detailed specialist inspection and back it up with a high-end third party warranty. I end up paying roughly what I would from a dealer without having to deal with salesmen and fight with warranty company staff employed to find a way not to honour the agreement should you ever need them. I looked at a few cars over the best part of a year and had Peter Morgan do some inspections but was getting nowhere. The spec of car I was looking for was quite specific and therefore hard to find. One evening of idle surfing the Pistonheads classifieds I spotted a car with almost all the options and as I had a day off the following day I decided to go and have a look, despite it being offered for sale by a dealer.
I turned up at RSJ with my three year old daughter in tow and was welcomed by Joel, the owner. It was hard not to be impressed by the extensive collection of immaculate cars regimentally lined up in the showroom. Equally impressive was Joel's knowledge of Porsche and relaxed approach, we chatted away about the car without me ever feeling under pressure to buy. Isobel on the other hand was more impressed by the free lollypop and I had to keep half an eye on ensuring her fingers did not deposit sticky fingerprints on or in the car. The Porsche we had come to see was in outstanding condition and I struggled to find fault with it and I tried very hard. However, despite having almost all of the options we wanted, the most important one of all was missing; it was not an X50. We thanked Joel for his time and went away to talk it through with my wife. A few days later Joel rang to ask if we had made a decision, I explained that we were really looking for an X50, he took a few details and said he might have something coming in soon.
A week later I was at a garage having some work done on my car. Being rather bored I started idly browsing the Pistonheads classifieds, despite only looking the previous evening. However, there at the top of the 996 Turbo list was an X50 in the correct colour and with almost all the options we wanted, it was at RSJ so I rang Joel immediately. He said that the car had only just arrived and it was in excellent condition so we put a deposit on it under the agreement that should it fail Peter Morgan's inspection we could back out of the deal.
Peter Morgan's inspection highlighted a few minor issues (usual stuff: brake discs had a slight lip, one of the radiators was corroded etc) but stated that it was in their opinion a well looked after car in excellent condition. I rang Joel and told him about the report. He offered to fix all the issues and would have the car ready in just over one week's time. So I advertised my car on Pistonheads to make space on the drive. I did not expect it to sell quickly as it was a rather unusual car (V8 Supercharged Monaro with 500BHP and LPG) but unexpectedly within 10 hours of advertising it I had a call and the chap came around at 7:30am and bought it. Now I was stuck using either a 45yr old Landrover or a Caterham Seven for my commute in London traffic for a week. Later that day I emailed Joel for the Porsche details, mentioning that I had sold my car. He offered to push my car to the front of the workshop queue and I ended up picking it up after only two days commuting in the Seven (which turned out to be fun as the schools were off and the roads relatively clear).
The car was in excellent condition and all of the issues had been addressed as promised, radiator replaced, brakes skimmed (as suggested by the inspector) new pads fitted and a fluid change etc. After a day or so of ownership I spotted a few things that the inspection had not picked up and I noticed that the brakes were wobbling slightly under braking. I rang Joel to talk through them but based upon my previous experiences with dealers I was prepared to be disappointed. How wrong I was! Joel asked if we could bring the car back so my wife took it in complete with both our girls. He arranged for them to be dropped in the town centre for shopping and lunch whilst the work was done. Joel telephoned me to say that they would address all of the issues including fitting brand new discs. When my wife and the girls got back the RSJ workshop manager patiently looked after them (thanks Martin) whilst the work was completed, despite my youngest being a little fractious and both girls insisting on spinning around in his chair.
Now, after two weeks of Porsche ownership we are very happy and more so because we have confidence in the fact that we bought the car from RSJ. I had the wheels balanced at a tyre centre in Cheshire at the weekend to cure a slight vibration at speed. They spotted that one of the rear wheels has been repaired caused in their opinion by pothole damage a few years ago and that the wheel is not perfectly round. I mentioned this to Joel who apologised for not picking up the fault but I guess to be fair to him RSJ do not take each car they buy on a 400 mile road trip before selling them. He said that if the wheel is buckled it will be replaced.
RSJ have changed the way I feel about dealers. I know that there are still a large number of unscrupulous car salesmen out there who are only interested in the sale and once the deal is done they leave you in the hands of worthless warranty companies but at least I now know that there are exceptions. I paid high-end money buying from RSJ but it is a high-end car from a high-end dealer and was pitched at exactly the right price. When I compare this with the potential of buying cheaper privately, adding the costs of having an OPC inspection, having to address the issues they insist upon before offering warranty (assuming they offer it at all) then finally the cost of OPC warranty for a year, I know we paid a fair price for the car. What's more, if / when we come to trade in for a 997T I will be back on the phone to Joel.
B
My wife and I have always wanted a 911 and as our kids are still small enough to fit in the back, we decided now would be the best time to do it. We put some money aside and I started researching the options, prices, and availability of cars in our price range. It was a toss-up between a 997C2S or a 996T. We liked both cars for different reasons: The 997 because it looks a little more modern but the performance of the 996 turbo ended up persuading us to focus on the earlier model. Initially we were looking for the Turbo S but when I discovered how much the carbon brakes were to service and replace we decided that the X50 was the better option. After all, apart from brakes that cost £3.5K per corner, the X50 is a Turbo S. In fact I drove both and felt that the carbon brakes were a little less powerful than their steel counterparts. To be fair I did not get them up to temperature and the owner of the S told me they were better when hot but for the sort of driving we do I did not feel the additional expense was justified. So I drew up a wish list of options; X50, carbon pack, low mileage, full Porsche history, Xenons, PCM2 Navigation, Seal grey or Silver, Black Leather, Suede Headlining, immaculate condition and so on.
Now I have had a few bad experiences with dealers and warranties in the past and as a result I avoid them at all costs. I would rather look at private sellers, get a detailed specialist inspection and back it up with a high-end third party warranty. I end up paying roughly what I would from a dealer without having to deal with salesmen and fight with warranty company staff employed to find a way not to honour the agreement should you ever need them. I looked at a few cars over the best part of a year and had Peter Morgan do some inspections but was getting nowhere. The spec of car I was looking for was quite specific and therefore hard to find. One evening of idle surfing the Pistonheads classifieds I spotted a car with almost all the options and as I had a day off the following day I decided to go and have a look, despite it being offered for sale by a dealer.
I turned up at RSJ with my three year old daughter in tow and was welcomed by Joel, the owner. It was hard not to be impressed by the extensive collection of immaculate cars regimentally lined up in the showroom. Equally impressive was Joel's knowledge of Porsche and relaxed approach, we chatted away about the car without me ever feeling under pressure to buy. Isobel on the other hand was more impressed by the free lollypop and I had to keep half an eye on ensuring her fingers did not deposit sticky fingerprints on or in the car. The Porsche we had come to see was in outstanding condition and I struggled to find fault with it and I tried very hard. However, despite having almost all of the options we wanted, the most important one of all was missing; it was not an X50. We thanked Joel for his time and went away to talk it through with my wife. A few days later Joel rang to ask if we had made a decision, I explained that we were really looking for an X50, he took a few details and said he might have something coming in soon.
A week later I was at a garage having some work done on my car. Being rather bored I started idly browsing the Pistonheads classifieds, despite only looking the previous evening. However, there at the top of the 996 Turbo list was an X50 in the correct colour and with almost all the options we wanted, it was at RSJ so I rang Joel immediately. He said that the car had only just arrived and it was in excellent condition so we put a deposit on it under the agreement that should it fail Peter Morgan's inspection we could back out of the deal.
Peter Morgan's inspection highlighted a few minor issues (usual stuff: brake discs had a slight lip, one of the radiators was corroded etc) but stated that it was in their opinion a well looked after car in excellent condition. I rang Joel and told him about the report. He offered to fix all the issues and would have the car ready in just over one week's time. So I advertised my car on Pistonheads to make space on the drive. I did not expect it to sell quickly as it was a rather unusual car (V8 Supercharged Monaro with 500BHP and LPG) but unexpectedly within 10 hours of advertising it I had a call and the chap came around at 7:30am and bought it. Now I was stuck using either a 45yr old Landrover or a Caterham Seven for my commute in London traffic for a week. Later that day I emailed Joel for the Porsche details, mentioning that I had sold my car. He offered to push my car to the front of the workshop queue and I ended up picking it up after only two days commuting in the Seven (which turned out to be fun as the schools were off and the roads relatively clear).
The car was in excellent condition and all of the issues had been addressed as promised, radiator replaced, brakes skimmed (as suggested by the inspector) new pads fitted and a fluid change etc. After a day or so of ownership I spotted a few things that the inspection had not picked up and I noticed that the brakes were wobbling slightly under braking. I rang Joel to talk through them but based upon my previous experiences with dealers I was prepared to be disappointed. How wrong I was! Joel asked if we could bring the car back so my wife took it in complete with both our girls. He arranged for them to be dropped in the town centre for shopping and lunch whilst the work was done. Joel telephoned me to say that they would address all of the issues including fitting brand new discs. When my wife and the girls got back the RSJ workshop manager patiently looked after them (thanks Martin) whilst the work was completed, despite my youngest being a little fractious and both girls insisting on spinning around in his chair.
Now, after two weeks of Porsche ownership we are very happy and more so because we have confidence in the fact that we bought the car from RSJ. I had the wheels balanced at a tyre centre in Cheshire at the weekend to cure a slight vibration at speed. They spotted that one of the rear wheels has been repaired caused in their opinion by pothole damage a few years ago and that the wheel is not perfectly round. I mentioned this to Joel who apologised for not picking up the fault but I guess to be fair to him RSJ do not take each car they buy on a 400 mile road trip before selling them. He said that if the wheel is buckled it will be replaced.
RSJ have changed the way I feel about dealers. I know that there are still a large number of unscrupulous car salesmen out there who are only interested in the sale and once the deal is done they leave you in the hands of worthless warranty companies but at least I now know that there are exceptions. I paid high-end money buying from RSJ but it is a high-end car from a high-end dealer and was pitched at exactly the right price. When I compare this with the potential of buying cheaper privately, adding the costs of having an OPC inspection, having to address the issues they insist upon before offering warranty (assuming they offer it at all) then finally the cost of OPC warranty for a year, I know we paid a fair price for the car. What's more, if / when we come to trade in for a 997T I will be back on the phone to Joel.
B
