Hi all,

New here and looking for a stock or mildly modified (I know this is subjective ) 996tt.

My apologies in advance for another one of "those threads." Also thanks in advance for any feedback! Thanks to this forum, I know what questions to ask and what to look for specifically. The knowledge has really helped my used car buying experience!

Does anyone recognize this car that is being sold in the Dallas/Fort Worth area?

Polar Blue on black '02 with 51k miles
6-speed with recent clutch/flywheel/accumulator replacement as well as general service
Light modifications (exhaust and diverter valves. not tuned)
Asking $47k (a bit high imo, but negotiable according to the seller)

Autotrader car ID:
AT-FA2849C

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...=64144659&ct=p

Thanks!

 

Mines modded and for sale around the same price....Only $50k..

 

For the miles and few mods seems like low 40's is 'fair' and under 40 would be a good deal. The full carbon interior might be worth a little more to some, be sure to check it in person as the factory carbon is hit or miss for peeling/yellowing (especially in hot texas). Great color though!

 

Did you google the vin?

She was sure a party girl.... 6 owners of records, and that doesn't count the dealers that may have drove her for a few months.

 

Don't know much about the car, but I can tell you its been listed for a while (2-3 months)

 

Did you see the low Milage 2001 996tt on here for $39,000?

 

I'm thinking the same on price. Sounds like there's a crack in the wheel, but no discoloration.

From what I understand, there have been 3 owners. The first purchased the car from a Dallas Porsche dealer then sold it back, the second did the same, the third (current) owner purchased the car from that same dealer and has put 3k miles on it over the past 6 months. It sounds like the current owner had the dealership replace the accumulator, then replaced the clutch on his own dime soon after. A bit later, they had a shop do a thorough service of the car due to what ended up being a normal noise. Service records match up with this story. Sounds like they got hit with too many maintenance bills all at once.

No, but thanks for the heads up!

 

Dealer "ownership" should not create a title change or 'ownership record' in carfax, etc. A dealer can hold a title almost indefinitely and not change title. (Which is why many folks 'scam' the system, gaining a dealer license to just drive cars and avoid taxes...)Make sure you understand the ownership issue if it is important to you in your decision. If you are being TOLD stuff, see if they'll put it in writing.

Enjoy the hunt!

A

 

Adam, this is not always the case...

 

Which part? The title or the people driving cars and avoiding taxes?

If a dealer buys a car back from person 1, doesn't title it, and then transfers the title to the person 2, Carfax still shows 3 owners? Does it vary based on state or what?

How does a dealerships owning a car create, or not create, an 'owner' record?

These are actually pretty important details when trying to deconstruct an autocheck or carfax history....

Thanks for any info

Adam

 

I like polar. It's rare and looks great.

 

you asked a lot of questions there that have very long explanations based on different situations. Certain title laws do vary by state and I can tell you that sometimes dealers title cars for various reasons even if they intend to sell them. For example (this is just one of thousands of examples that I can come up with), when buying a car from out of state, some states require that the car be re-titled within a certain amount of time otherwise there are extra fees associated when the car is titled. In the situation you mentioned, the dealer was a "middleman" and did not title the car or register it, so it will most likely not be a 3-owner car. However, I have seen cases (in the situation you have described) where a dealer has brought a car to service while it was in inventory and carfax has registered it as a new owner (it might not add an owner in the summary, but it will say new owner reported in the history text) - this is much more likely to happen when a car is sold to a dealer that is not local to the previous owner (or customer #1). I know this sounds confusing, so I can clarify that if you need me to.

What you should know is that carfax is not accurate and should only be used as a guideline to source history - it is in no way, and end-all for the history of a car. Take carfax reports, not with a grain of salt, but with a large helping of it. I have seen PLENTY of situations where people have gotten F'd by using them. In the cases where you dont know the owner or cannot physically inspect the car yourself, it can be a useful tool.

 

Looks like the seller is taking the car to CarMax this week. Best offer over $40k now. Craigslist post:

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/1336501060.html

 

Looks like a clean ride for $40,001.