Hey how's it going guys, this is my first post here. I am currently in the market for a 996 Carrera, 02 and up, and I stumbled upon this one here. Are there any New Jersey members who might have possibly looked at it? From what I see it looks very clean and carfax shows routine maintainance has been done by the same consistend dealer. What do you guys think?
here is the link
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...superSpotlight=

And while I am on the topic, I kind of have this dilemma going between either getting an E39 M5 or a 996 as mentioned. My budget is in the low to mid 30's, so the only Carreras out there in that range that are 02+ are higher mileage ones. Would it be too risky to buy a higher mileage Carrera maintainance wise? Should I shun away from higher mileage 996's? Also, do any of you know if the 996 would cost more or less to maintain (the M5 would cost on average $200/month to maintain for a year). Thanks,

 

M5 costs $2400 a year on maintenance?

 

BUY A 996...Look through the Forum you will find posts of guys with over 100K on there 996 and they are running strong... I have 51K and maintance is about 1500 year..

 

An M5 will perform better than a stock 996. I came from BMW and almost sold my 996 because it was so much worse. Instead, I invested a ton into the suspension and now I love it. NEVER, EVER buy a car like this without getting a PPI done. Carfax is worthless. Maintenance is much cheaper for a 996.

 

This 2003 Targa i test drove a few weeks ago. It drives nice, clean interior but..
It needs about $1500 in repainting. The door, front bumper, and quarter panel have many scraches.
Hope this helps.

 

I had an '02 E39 M5 before moving to an '03 C2 996. I tend to think of the M5 as more of a daily driver and the C2 as more of a weekend enjoyment car. The M5 has brutal power/torque which makes you as the driver feel like the king of the road...you can seemingly pass anyone easily and at will. In the C2 I get the feeling there are many cars my equal or better power-wise. As a sedan the M5 tends to blend in with the overall car population and does not get nowhere near the recognition and props the p-car gets. The p-car give you a lot more ways to mod it to your individual taste (bumper, skirts, wings etc.) whereas the M5 is very limited in that way. The p-car wins by a landslide in road feel, handling, steering responsiveness and sound. Looks-wise no contest...the C2 has a much better "turn around and admire me" ...much more photogenic. I think the p-car community has more enthusiasm and a better Internet environment...more opportunities for meets, drives etc.

So, I'm not sure if this rambling helps but if it's a close and I had to pick one I'd go with the Porsche. I'd be great to have both...like when you need to take a few adults out for a nice dinner, golf trips, formal events, business meetings, etc.

BTW I got mines with over 50k miles. No problems so far. I think you will find is that these cars run much better if they are driven hard regularly (not necessarily daily) and of course maintained on schedule.