Are 996's over-priced?

[DWPC]

I've been shopping for 996 in the LA area for three months. Every car I've seen has been priced well above (15+%) the online car pricing references, and more telling, all but one of the cars I've shopped (maybe ten) is still on the market; in some cases over 60 days later.

This tells me that (1) I'm not being overly picky, and (2) that the sellers; private and dealers, are expecting unrealistic prices. The only other reason I can come up with is that super-low interest rates have taken away dealers' motivation to move high end used cars; but no sales means no profits. A Porsche dealer tried to convince me that $44K is a good price for an '01 Cab!

I'm not an "old hand" with Porsche so I wonder if others more familiar with long term Porsche trends have any thoughts on this.

[phillipj]

Dealers are a joke. Don't take into account anything they say (unless you happen to be one of the few who have a good dealer). I bought my 997 S from a independant Porshe dealer for $53.9k with 17k miles on it. My local Porsche dealer wanted $63k for the same car. Just be patient and keep looking. If you have cash you are in control. Yes some people are unrealistic about their asking price. There are so many Posrches out there for sale I'm a bit suprised you are having a difficult time.

What year and price are you looking for?

PM me and I'll give you referral in Studio City which is not too far from you. A good guy with good P cars..

Phillipj

Edited March 17, 2010 by phillipj

[Wicked 996]

I've been shopping for 996 in the LA area for three months. Every car I've seen has been priced well above (15+%) the online car pricing references, and more telling, all but one of the cars I've shopped (maybe ten) is still on the market; in some cases over 60 days later.

This tells me that (1) I'm not being overly picky, and (2) that the sellers; private and dealers, are expecting unrealistic prices. The only other reason I can come up with is that super-low interest rates have taken away dealers' motivation to move high end used cars; but no sales means no profits. A Porsche dealer tried to convince me that $44K is a good price for an '01 Cab!

I'm not an "old hand" with Porsche so I wonder if others more familiar with long term Porsche trends have any thoughts on this.

LA is a good place to look for them on the west coast - more of a dime a dozen. I picked up an 02 C2 for 23.5K had 45K miles on it and was in perfect condition with all original records.

That being said I could prob sell this car in the bay area for $33K as that's the commanding price around here...

[judgejon]

check for independent dealers. Penny Wolin in Sebastobol is great to work with. There are some good cars on consignment sale, find one you really like and go for it. and remember JFK's comment..."if you have to ask..." get the best car you can for what you're willing to spend. and if in doubt, be nice to yourself and get what you really want. good hunting...

[Cefalu]

I think the 996's are the best used car deal out there, besides maybe the Boxsters. I just bought a '99 996 cab with 56k miles for $21.5k. This car sold for $94k new. I had a PPI done and it's in excellent condition. Found it on autotrader. Craigslist has a bunch too.

[hoopdream]

In defense of dealers. I am not one, btw. I was in the market for a 996 and drove several over two years. Each was from 2000 to 2004 and they all had something wrong. The thought of buying a pig in a poke made me nervous since I don’t know much about Porsches mechanically. I was hesitant to buy any of them because I didn’t want any big surprise repair bills.

I found a 2003 C4S at a dealer for about $1500-$2000 more than what I could find it in a private party sale except that mine came with a 2 year new car warranty. Long story short, it’s a good thing I had the warranty.

Moral of the story: when buying a 7 year old car, it’s worth it to pay a bit more and get a new car warranty from a Porsche dealer.

[phillipj]

Agreed if the price is right.. Like I said..Some are fortunate to find a good dealer....

[thx1138jtx2]

Dealers will always mark a car high in case some sap poser who hasn't done any research walks in. In most cases you can talk them down, especially on cars that's been sitting there for 60+ days. The 03 C2 I bought was listed online for $32K and I got it for $28. And it came with the CPO warrenty. I was going to buy an extended warrenty anyway so that saved me at least another $2K.

Look for the car you like with the options you want, decide how much you are willing to pay and give the dealer that price. Then just walk away and wait. It took my dealer 2 weeks to accept my offer, but they did.

[direwolf]

I bought my 2003 C2 with 11k miles for $28K in Dec09. Super clean car and feels brand new. I too had seen lots of other cars with various problems.... just be paitent.

[Steve Tinker]

You guys just don't know how lucky you are - I couldn't buy a 996 ENGINE for those $$ here in Australia....

Porsche Centre Brisbane (www.porschecentrebrisbane.com.au) have a couple of 997's for sale. Check them out - the conversion rate is x 0.91

How would you like to pay $US139,000 for a 2004 997, or $US173,000 for a 2006 S model. And if you are feeling really flush this month, a 2008 997S model with 9000 miles is a snip for a ball breaking $US230,000.

And the corresponding spares and servicing costs follows suit - that's why I service my Boxster S myself and get most of my spares from the US - about 60% cheaper and I get them in just over a week from order.

[rpm996]

Patience. Good friends just picked up a 70k mile '01 cab with nice options for under $24k - from a dealer. My '02 C2 was under $28k just four months ago - with low miles and great options.

One bit of advice: expand your search area. Use Autotrader, cars.com, the PCA Mart, and Craigslist to search nationally - or at least west of the Mississippi. I found my car in MA, had it PPI'd there and then shipped to NC. If it had not been winter I would have flown up and driven the car home.

To search Craigslist across the country try using Search Tempest.

I'll admit that I spent many hours online searching. This is where narrowing your parameters really pays off. I wanted a full leather 02/03 coupe with less than 50k miles and a good set of options. On top of that my wife wanted red. That made the search harder, but also more specific. It took me 6 weeks, but I found exactly what I wanted. It was on autotrader, but I also found it advertised locally in Boston on Craigslist for $1,000 less!

Good luck!

Edited March 22, 2010 by rpm996

[bioman]

Hello All, new guys here.

I am contemplating picking up a 2003 C4S with 45k on the odometer. Very good condition inside and out and has a good maintenance record for the last 3 years at least. About $30k OTD(tax included) without any warranty. Is that a good deal? The one's on Autotrader in my area are going for $35-40k on average for similar condition and miles.

Thanks!

[rpm996]

Hello All, new guys here.

I am contemplating picking up a 2003 C4S with 45k on the odometer. Very good condition inside and out and has a good maintenance record for the last 3 years at least. About $30k OTD(tax included) without any warranty. Is that a good deal? The one's on Autotrader in my area are going for $35-40k on average for similar condition and miles.

Thanks!

That would be a very good deal on a car that passed a thorough PPI.

[hoopdream]

Hello All, new guys here.

I am contemplating picking up a 2003 C4S with 45k on the odometer. Very good condition inside and out and has a good maintenance record for the last 3 years at least. About $30k OTD(tax included) without any warranty. Is that a good deal? The one's on Autotrader in my area are going for $35-40k on average for similar condition and miles.

Thanks!

wow, that would be a good deal.

[harut]

I am planning on selling my 99 996 soon. Car has over $17K in upgrades in suspension and exhaust. Oh and a new engine replaced at 49K mile with all under warrenty up to 80K mile. It now has 95K miles on the car (45K on the new motor). Black on Black, Kinesis wheels, love it but gonna let her go soon. Will put it up around $26K. Let me know if you are interested.

[thesandman]

Patience. Good friends just picked up a 70k mile '01 cab with nice options for under $24k - from a dealer. My '02 C2 was under $28k just four months ago - with low miles and great options.

One bit of advice: expand your search area. Use Autotrader, cars.com, the PCA Mart, and Craigslist to search nationally - or at least west of the Mississippi. I found my car in MA, had it PPI'd there and then shipped to NC. If it had not been winter I would have flown up and driven the car home.

To search Craigslist across the country try using Search Tempest.

I'll admit that I spent many hours online searching. This is where narrowing your parameters really pays off. I wanted a full leather 02/03 coupe with less than 50k miles and a good set of options. On top of that my wife wanted red. That made the search harder, but also more specific. It took me 6 weeks, but I found exactly what I wanted. It was on autotrader, but I also found it advertised locally in Boston on Craigslist for $1,000 less!

Good luck!

Thanks for the information everyone. I am in the market for a 996 (possibly 997 for the right price). Does anyone know of a dealer in New York they would recommend? Also, once I get a car, are the warranties worth the paper they are written on if they are not a Porsche certified car?

[jthailer]

Patience. Good friends just picked up a 70k mile '01 cab with nice options for under $24k - from a dealer. My '02 C2 was under $28k just four months ago - with low miles and great options.

One bit of advice: expand your search area. Use Autotrader, cars.com, the PCA Mart, and Craigslist to search nationally - or at least west of the Mississippi. I found my car in MA, had it PPI'd there and then shipped to NC. If it had not been winter I would have flown up and driven the car home.

To search Craigslist across the country try using Search Tempest.

I'll admit that I spent many hours online searching. This is where narrowing your parameters really pays off. I wanted a full leather 02/03 coupe with less than 50k miles and a good set of options. On top of that my wife wanted red. That made the search harder, but also more specific. It took me 6 weeks, but I found exactly what I wanted. It was on autotrader, but I also found it advertised locally in Boston on Craigslist for $1,000 less!

Good luck!

Thanks for the information everyone. I am in the market for a 996 (possibly 997 for the right price). Does anyone know of a dealer in New York they would recommend? Also, once I get a car, are the warranties worth the paper they are written on if they are not a Porsche certified car?

European Motor Car on Long Island or High Marque Motor Cars in Morristown NJ.