The car was pretty clean. It's a 1 owner 04 996tt vert with 48k miles. Asking price is 47k. We took it out and the car had some lag but when the turbos kicked in hauled ***. To my surprise it was a X50 car, is this rare for a vert?. Overall great car. Here are my questions,

-The carfax said 2 owners but they told it me it was one owner. The carfax said one owner leased for 1 year 7 months and the rest was another owner. The city of registration was the same. The dealer said that since it was leased, it was owned by the bank first then when the previous owner bought the car it was under her name. Does that sound right to you?

-They said that the headlights were polished and resprayed, it looked bad. What can be done about this beside changing the whole thing out?

-The brakes did not feel good. It pressed down to a certain point and then it felt hard and didn't modulate well or stop that well. My M5 brakes felt much better. I've never driven a P-car before, is the pedal suppose to be this stiff?

-Also on the carfax it said that it was smogged 2 years ago and it failed and passed on the same day. Anything to be concerned about?

-What price should I offer for this car?

The fact that this convertible is a manual with the X50 package makes it pretty tempting. Not sure if I'm a fan of silver though. Thanks for the input.

 

i have A x50 cab 04, thats a good deal.. buy it, you'll be happy.. the smog is no big deal, just take it to a dealer, or independent for an inspection

 

Seems flakey that it has two owners and dealer says 1. Be sure to get it inspected at ANOTHER place!

My brake pedal is pretty stiff compared to other cars. As long as it feels solid and smooth, probably normal - again a good PPI not at the dealer should reveal any issues.

 

Actually, the story on the carfax sounds plausible to me. I believe that the records might show a different owner if the car was first leased, and then purchased by the same person. There may be other ways to verify -- can you contact the original owner? Are there service records from before and after 1 year and 7 months?

Regarding the brakes, it's also possible that this is normal. The 996TT brakes don't seem to "bite" initially as strongly as one might expect (coming from a BMW or even some of the Japanese cars). You definitely have to put more pedal power into it -- but when you do, the brakes have great stopping power.

Also not too worried about the smog failure if it was fixed in one day. It wasn't likely a big issue. In fact, some cars just fail the test when they're not completely warmed up.

Good luck on the search!

 

I'm not as familiar with Porsche's as M's, but here is my opinion on the brake feel. BMW's tend to you pads with great initial bite, but they don't handle much heat. They will fade pretty quickly.

My experience with cars that have an aggressive street pad is they don't tend to have as much initial bite, but they will handle more heat. My quess is the 996 turbo is in this category. I'm with you that the 996 turbo drove didn't feel as if it had very powerful brakes, but I'm sure it's nothing a change of brake pads won't fix.

It really seems strange to me, because true track pads still have very good intial bite even though they will handle tons more heat than any street pad.

Later, Steve

 

a lot of Porsche owners do not know that a brake flush, with better than Porsche fluid is a must evert two years no matter what... if you buy this car i will sell you my flash (revo) for the k24 . it's a must.. i have out grown it, and moving on...buy the car first, then you can do this.... i would not sell my car for less then 60k, well, i have 20k into it... lol

stock, 50-55k cab turbos are not everyday, this is a 40 year anniversary . worth more to someone.....

 

I would get the car up on a lift before you buy it or have someone to a PPI. To much money to risk it.

 

I know a PPI is a must but i need to find a place in Burbank or in the Valley to get it checked out. Any reconmendations?

 

2003 is 40 year, not 2004.

 

Porsche Carrera 911 Coupe "40 Fast Years" Special Edition. Polished 18-inch
Carrera wheels keep the sports luxury look going.

Credit: Porsche AG

Porsche 911 Carrera model 996 Special Edition

Porsche celebrated 911's 40 year history in 2003 (40 Fast Years). The company introduced the 996 "Anniversary Model" in year 2004. It has got 996 Turbo model's front-end, only available in Carrera GT Silver exterior paint, Variocam Plus, special dynamic sealed panels, and special logo "40 jahre 911" on the back. There was only 1,963 units available, in order to remind the first year of the Porsche 911.

The "40th Anniversary 911" special edition is marking the climax of the outstanding career of what is known as the "996" internally at Porsche. It is based on the rear-wheel drive 911 Carrera Coupé and it has sport suspension and many high-quality equipment features.

Porsche Carrera GT color

The 911 anniversary model is available exclusively in GT silver metallic - a color that was only available until now for the 612-hp Carrera GT high-performance sports car.

The 911 anniversary edition is in excellent shape for its 40 years birthday. Distinguishing styling features are the front cooling air openings adopted from the Porsche 911 Turbo. The side air intake grilles at the front are painted in same color than body, GT silver metallic. Other cool and expressive styling details are the left and right sill trims, the shot-blasted, polished 18-inch Carrera wheels and the high-gloss polished exhaust tailpipes. A sliding sunroof and the bi-xenon headlights with washing system complete the exterior features. This model was the only Porsche 911 model since the 1980's to actually badgeted "911". There is an aluminium "911" logo on the engine cover at the rear.

 

Remind me to move to Germany in 2012 as it will actually be only 2011

 

FYI....Because this cab was made the same year that Porsche hit the 40 year benchmark does NOT make this a 40th anniversary edition, which is what you previously alluded to. The 40ths was for the carrera not the turbo.


PPI and you should be set OP, I also have an 04 cab and its a great car. good luck with purchase

 

Can you explain the headlight situation? What was resprayed? Polishing them may make sense if the lenses yellowed, but I'm not sure what would've been sprayed on them. If it's overspray from repainting the whole front clip due to a collision, that's a whole other ball of wax. A 1-year and 7-month lease is also a bit strange. I don't know many people that buy a car before the lease is up. An early buy is normally either because the original owner wants to flip out of the car and sell it, or in the worst case an insurance company had to buy it after it was totalled. The dealer's story could very well be plausible, and it probably is. You can never get too many details before buying a car, though. Especially if you don't absolutely NEED to get the car, and can't afford to let it sell away. I came from BMWs to my Turbo, as well, and the brake thing is probably normal. Modulating the brakes on the Porsche has a very different feel. I prefer the feel of the BMW, but the actual stopping power of the Porsche, obviously.

 

When I purchase a car, one of my rule of thumbs is, if it is questionable move on to the next one (don't want the headache).

 

all cars that year were advertised as "the 40th year" but as i cut and paste the wikipedia , there is only that one model.. anything is only worth as much as you are willing to pay; " it's got to be worth something to someone" . i agree, there's a reason that cars 47k, move on , or give them 35k