Is This Porsche Worth It?
 

It's a 1999 911 Cabrio. It has 140k miles on it and the owner is asking $14,500. The guy is a little negotiable on the price and he replaced the battery last year along with new plugs and a water pump. I'm an 18 year old college student, I currently drive a BMW e46 M3 with 160k miles (which has been trouble free) but I am looking to upgrade. What do you think? My dad has the newer Cayenne Turbo S and I love it, so I'm kind of stuck on getting a Porsche. Please don't recommend me getting a Subaru or Toyota or something.

As long as you can afford the maintenance I say go for it. Get a good PPI though. The last thing you want is a 911 with issues. Especially being in college. Hopefully, a lot of wear parts have already been addressed/replaced with 140k on the clock. Good luck!

As already stated - PPI, to include tires, brakes and clutch (if appropriate), make sure you can afford the full maintenance or age will creep up on you. I would also look at the maintenance records (both from the owner and dealership where the work has been done) and be sure that all the normal maintenance - including majors - has been done.

+1 On all the above. Keep us posted on what you end up doing.

Thanks for all the info so far. The fact that you aren't telling me to avoid this car like the plague due to it's high miles is really convincing me to go for it.

I own a '99 with 142k miles on the odo and it runs great. I bought it 3 yrs ago with 128k miles. I recently put it up for sale but too many potential looky loos were obsessed with the high mileage so I took it off the market and I'm going to keep it. A high mileage vehicle only means it is driven. Check the records, talk to previous owners (if possible), and check to see if some of the more serious repairs were done. I believe the 99's had the double row IMS so it's entirely possible that there has never been a failure. On the other hand, a previous owner may have had it replaced. A driven Porsche is a happy Porsche!

This. So long as it has been maintained, mileage really shouldn't be a huge concern.


As everyone else has stated, get a good pre purchase inspection, and you should be safe.

Good luck with your first Porsche!

bill at eurotech in framingham is a great porsche tech, i would have him do the ppi if i were you, you want something more than a generic porsche dealer just going through the motions and not giving a ****.

Cabs are notorious for the top not operating correctly (but they can be rectified) . Does it have the hard top with it? Massachusetts you are gonna need one. Consider those two questions for a DD. Not nice to be caught with the top down in a thunder storm. Then to find it doesn't operate as intended. Everything else is fine. Even the high mileage tells you that it is being driven and seems to be OK. Hard top and room for negotiation, will cost at least another $1000 if you can find the same color then add the shipping cost. So knock him down $1500 no hard top.
You have GOT to read up HOW the 99 is supposed to work. All electrically operated functioning parts and sequences, Alarming the car etc If all check out during the PPI (you have to tell who ever does the PPI to check out these things for you) (HE sure as eggs are eggs wont even know these things) Telling you that brakes and tires are wearing is all crap. Wearable things we don't want to know, we can see that for ourselves. Thing's that are supposed to work that are not working. That's what you want to know.

Deal sounds fair. Trans rebuild if 2nd gear issue pops out and IMS/Clutch might be something to budget for though. These cars can be hit or miss. In my 3 years of ownership....with a 2000 996 C2 bought at 57K.....I blew through $7,500 on maintenance. Just throwing that out there. Also, find a good independent German mechanic. After getting my trans, diff, IMS fix, AOS, water pump, clutch replaced....I think I have a pretty decent car now. MAF was a cheap replacement also. Now 78K on the car. No issues so far besides the normal oil leaks and broken oil filler hose....that cost way to much to replace besides duct tape fix.

If the car passes the PPI, then pull the trigger;). The price is commensurate with the mileage and in fact, it might even be below market. I bought my 2000 C4 with 107K miles and four years later, I am at 135K and loving every minute and mile I drive. If you keep the maintenance current and find and keep a good mechanic, you will be very happy with your purchase:D.. You need to understand that you are buying a 14 year old car and things are gonna break but regular maintenance is crucial on keeping it on the road. Good luck and welcome to the group

+ 1 to all of the above comments and recommendations. So , did you get a P-car yet?