First, the car appears to have been maintained extremely well by the previous two owners. The car was a European delivery to the original owner, and the guy just drove the car alot. The car recently had the RMS done as well as a Sachs clutch installed. I plan to use the car as a summer toy and do about 8-10 track days a year with it. Withe the miles, obviously the asking price is very reasonable.
My questions is what should I be looking for or worried about on a car with over 100k miles? I do not want to get a great deal on the car and the end up forking over another $10-15k over the next two years. At that point I would be better of just buying one with 20k miles now.
Any opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Pat

 

Pat,
Is this car seal grey with MY02 5-spokes, PSE and PSS9 coilovers?

Andy

 

Yes, that is the car I believe. Is there something I should know about this car?

 

For car with over 100K miles. The smart thing to do is arrange with current owner to bring car to a local indie for PPI. A must things to do list: Full leak down test, full compression test, tranny and clutch inspection. Keep in mind, the two most expensive to fix or replace on high miles Porsche are engine & tranny. Suspension, brake, and other engine related parts are not so expensive to replace.

If you do get a really good deal, I mean 20K or less.

 

I wouldn't touch it unless it has a new engine in it. Being a Porsche you WILL have maintenance costs, but one with mileage that high seems to be stacking the deck unless you're a big DIY guy.

 

That talks about the reliability on that car. That car was never at the shop and driving all the time!
The offset of the low cost for a high mileage car depends on the maintenance they did on the car. If the car is cheap (has to be on the mid $20K) I would say go for it. Clutch will be the first thing to go but if they did it, you are fine. check compression on the cylinders. The engines on the P- cars are super strong, so you can't tell a tired engine from a new one!
Godd luck and enjoy!

joel

 

A good PPI will help you answer your own questions.....

Our input doesn't mean a thing if he's already having blow-by.....

-Eli

 

Thanks for all of the feedback. I looked at the car today and it is in impressive condition. Never been in a wreck, no paintwork and it looks like a 25k miles car instead of the indicated 106k. Even the interior looks nearly new without any visible wear. I am fairly picky and I would place overall condition of the car at a 9 out of 10 with 10 being a brand new car.
Maintenance is up to date with a recent RMS repair and while they where in there they put a Sachs stage 2 clutch with a lightweight flywheel. The car also has PSS9s installed, aligned and corner balanced within the past 12 months. The car also came nicely equipped from the factory. I think anyone here would guess the car had 25-35k miles on if you looked it over. It is almost unbelievable how nice the car is with 106k on it. It was a two owner car and has obviously been taken care of.
I think that will take everyones advice and have a leakdown done just to be safe. I spoke to the mechanic at the Indy that did the maintenance and he was at a loss to think of anything the car might need anytime soon. He is known to be extremely picky and nit picks cars to death, so that was a great endorsement from him.
As far as price, it is closer to $30k than $20k, but after looking at it it still seems like a solid deal. What are everyone's opinions now that I have looked it over?

Thanks for the feedback.

Pat

 

Pat,

I think the price you reference is too high considering the milage. I realize you reference the condition as primo for a 02 with 100K+ miles, but out here in SOCAL you ca nfind a car with 1/2 the miles for low $30's EASY!!

Like this http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...eadExists=true and this is asking price which says you ca nget it for probably $32K.

Good luck with the search. You are in the drivers seat ( no pun intended) this time of year and with the economy in the pits IMHO.

demosan

 

Wow, even in *great* condition, i'd never give that much for a car with that high of miles. there's too many good deals out there these days .

 

offer a lower price and see what seller say. it sounds like a solid car but mileage will scare 99% of buyer so use that to your advantage. i'd not pay over 23k.

 

I just bought an 02 C2 just like the one referenced above (50k miles), but here in Texas. They were asking $33.9K and I got it for $32K.

 

I went to look at it again on Saturday and the previous owner has put $10k in the car in the past year. Everything from brand new Porsche factory battery, 6 new coil packs, the PSS9s, the Sachs clutch and lightweight flywheel, new tires, new windshield, RMS repair and all other services that needed done. He will give me a great trade in on my car (almost what I could sell it for outright), but the lowest I can get him to go is about $28,000. What does everybody think? The car drove amazingly well and was extremely tight for the miles. Again, I would place the overall car as a 9 out of 10 in both appearance and drive. The car looks and feels like a 30k mile car. I really like the car and the private party value lines up with what they are asking. I have just seen so many posts like the ones above that say I should be buying the car in the low $20s that I am confused. I have not seen any really nice 996 cars in the low $20s even for MY99 cars with 50-60k miles. I would think a MY02 with the condition and upkeep this one has had would be at least as valuable as a MY 99 with 60k miles. This cars original window sticker was in the glove box and it stickered at $94k new to give you an idea of the options on this car. I am really torn about whether to buy this car at $28k with the feedback that I have gotten so far. Please let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Pat

 

People always tell you that for a few G's more you can find a better deal with less miles. What happens is that when you go shopping for a Porsche, the brain stays idle and you cannot compute. You are in love with the car. Take a third party with you (friend, girlfriend) to take a final look. maybe they will open your eyes, or say it's ok. It's a love affair. my car is my misstress, so I know the feeling.
What is the worst it can happen to a high mileage car? engine? do you have $12K saved for just in case the SHTF? If so, go and get it... and take pics.

My car is an 02 with 84K on the clock. by next year, I will be around your mileage. Had done the clutch, rms, end links, coils, sparkplugs, starter amd some other stuff... I'm just enjoying the ride!

I hope this helps!

regards,

joel pirela

 

The answer is simple....NO!

Buy a lower milage car. Garage queen if possible. Youll save money through less repair and better resale.

Low milage garage queen are the target!