Yep - Folks on the board are always making claims about being able to find clean,low mileage preowned cars for many thousands of dollars less than I was ever able to find. All of the low mileage '06 cars that I was finding were priced in the high 60 to low 70k range - and that was in the dead of the Northeast winter. After a multi-month long search, I gave in and just bought a new '08 at a hefty discount.

 

hi mileage with 39K miles????? since when this became the lambo forum??????

and I bought mine with 80K!!!!!!!

 

I have been looking for awhile and this is by far the lowest price on a 997 to date for someting in the vascinity. I do however understand everyones concern about the miles and hidden charges, but the owner has already made it clear that the car will need svc soon, so I will work the price out more to compensate.

Here is the question, does anyone see deals out there below 55k for a similar equipped 997 and if so, please share.

 

45k for an 05 997 sounds very good. 40k miles doesn't sound high at all to me but the wear and tear items are a good point. Make sure you have the car checked out buy an independent shop and see ask the seller to discount the car proportionately for whatever the upcoming service will cost you.

I think the first round of 997s are about to hit a price drop since people are going to want to upgrade to the '09s very soon, which means you're also buying at a time where the car might see a round of significant depreciation shortly. If you really like the car negotiate a little bit harder and go for it I'm sure it'll be a good car for you.

 

From my point of view the car at the price asked is pretty fair. The car has some miles on it but by many peoples standards the miles are reasonable, these cars are not like Ferraris or Lamborghinis they were built to be driven! There are many folks (with big smiles on there faces) driving Porsches with 100K+ miles.

All in all you tend to get what you pay for, new car = 0 miles and lots of warrantee at a premium price, used car = some miles (reflected in the price!) and less (or even none) warrantee. Overall if the car is good value to you and it checks out (PPI essential) and you can afford it with a smile on your face then buy it and DRIVE it! If I was going to buy this car I would get it checked out and then buy it at a fair price. If it has 11 months of warrantee, book it into the dealer when the car has about 1 week of warrantee left and PAY FOR a detailed inspection, you may most likely) find nothing, but even if they find one simple thing you will get great return on your money. Put about $250 per month in a savings account while you own this car, that will pay for all routine maint (including tires) and leave you with a nice reserve if you need to spend big $.

Personally I do not buy cars (especially Porsches) to have them sit in the garage nice and clean, I keep my cars in excellent shape, all clean and nice, my new 997S has 3,000 miles on it (in 4 months) and I have the memory of some great drives and 2 great track days so far. It is a car not a piece of jewelry, sure I will take a hit when I sell it, but I will have had my fun and the new owner will get a car that has been over maintained (I do simple stuff myself – part of the fun) with some nice upgrades (B&M short Shifter next) and about 40K miles (I will sell it around 4 years old probably) for a decent price – the depreciation is simply something that you have to accept to play in this game. You want to play – you have to pay!

Simple maintenance items (oil changes, fluid checks, brake bleeds, brake pads) are expensive at the dealer but are not hard – you don’t need many tools and you can get help at RENNTECH, for me doing these simple maintenance items adds to fun and leaves me extra $ for track days.

 

The big service items are clutch, tires, brakes and once it crosses 50K miles the warranty expiration .

I don't think you will get a better price for that car and agree that it's "fair" . I disagree about 40K miles being in any way low mileage on a Porsche . I agree that it's not a Ferrari where the miles are an issue but it's not a Honda either where 40K miles is not a huge issue .

It's a Porsche and after having had 8 of them I learn what miles mean when I go to fix the car OR sell it . Upon trade in I have had several used car lots say that once it crosses 10K miles it takes its first hit . After that when it nears warranty end and 50K it takes the biggest hit .

What I don;t want to see is that you buy the car and hit that 50K mark and face big expenses and are stick with the car as selling it becomes hard . It's a great car but just as with any car the novely erodes fast when daily service issues become common .

45K can buy a lot of cars and it's true that it won't be a Porsche 997 but it also won't consume the same maintenance, insurance, and headache that a car which needs service will give either .

My vote would be to either buy the newer and lower mile Porsche and sink MORE money into it right from day one to hedge all these service concerns OR buy a different car and wait until the time is right to buy a new Porsche .

Your first Porsche ought to be a dream come true in my opinion rather than a possible money pit .

So what if you buy it and beat the odds ? What if you pay the 45K and sink 5K more into parts and service and drive it ? What if every sic months you replace the rear tires (routine) driving 15K a year . In two years you have a six year old car with 70K miles and selling that car may not be easy .Fixing it would be expensive and the reality of the dream could have been hedged right here and you might remember that yrralis1 gave you the heads up BEFORE you ever wrote a check.

But if you MUST do it .

I wish you the best.

 

And you might remember I suggested months back to you that this was your best route to go and I stood alone on that thread too . I know it was not an easy (or inexpensive) decision but now that you are here with that new car do you have any regrets ? Pr are you still beaming with new car happiness ?

 

If the clutch goes, then it is a great opportunity to put a lightened flywheel in. Cars will always cost money to own, they require maintenance bases on time and milage, if you buy a car you expect to pay for wearing parts. I drive mine as much as I can, and I could care less if the car cost money to maintain, I say drive it and enjoy it, buy a Ferrari if you want a garage queen.

 

Martin,

Well said, drive it and enjoy it.

Ed

 

So went to see it and the owner just recently bought a new M3 E92. He regreted seeling the car but had a couple of other expensive toys, to say the least (widebody X5, e92 and a one of a kind baddass Harley. Def a car guy. Worked for Porsche and doesnt want to sell to them to see them sell it back to the public for 56-58k.

Anyhow, the car was in great condition besides a couple of dings on the passenger side, which could be taken care of. Otherwise, the car interior / exterior were in excellent condition. The clutch felt great, new pilot sport tires and the brakes-transmission-shifter fell great.

The carfax also checked out fine. It was a leased car and was purchases at auction. Avg, 12k miles a yr.

Honestly, havent seen anything priced so low in the area, and honestly, it does meet my price point, so i will need to do my research and make sure this is the one.

He has agreed to let me get it checked out and has been very professional.

$47.5 seems to be his final offer.

Take it or leave it GENTS??????

 

Pics

 

Yanno what -- you've got to get this out of your system . Buy it and drive it in the best of health. If you have gone this far to look, negotiate, drive it and photographed that car whatever it costs in time and expense almost sounds like a labor of love than repairing a car .

If he bought the M3 it does sound like he tried to keep a balance but wasn't ready to simply give his car away trading it in .

So when are you getting it ? Welcome to the 6 .

 

Buy it! Good price! 39,000 miles probably freeway type of driving which is better than city driving. Less use of clutch / brakes etc. Still can't figure out why people think that mileage like this is bad. Car should be trouble free for at least 100k miles. Brake jobs are not too expensive if you use an independent shop and not the dealer. Coolant is lifetime. Transmission / diff. oil is good for 120k miles. DIY oil change is less than $100. So what else? Inspection is still wise, of course.

 

The worst thing you can do to mechanical things is to let them sit. You need to drive your cars, fly your planes and run your mechanical things regularly. 39k on a car is nothing these days, you can drive it for years, maintain it, use it, enjoy it. Use it up like it was meant to be used and ditch it when you are sick of it or rebuild it if you like it.

I have two 356 Porsches that have hundreds of thousands of miles on them and they are hardly suffering from depreciation. The Roadster is over 200,000 miles and these are old engines and old technology.

My 911S had 6500 miles on it when I bought it. It was a 2005 and I bought it two months ago. It now has 11,000 on it and I couldn't care less how many miles I put on it. I don't use it for a daily driver but I get in it every chance I get.

Remember, your life is getting used up too, you had better enjoy things while you can. You buy a car to experience it not just look at it. Otherwise one may just as well collect Faberge eggs or watches or Barbie dolls.

Buy the car, if you don't like it you may lose a couple of grand or make a couple of grand. The price seems good to me I notice no 997's in the $47K range, those that do please point them out. 996's are still trying in the mid $40's

 

The "S" was a typo . He's looking at a 997 (non S) car .
As for the "s" cars dipping into the upper 50's I speculate that a two month window following the facelift launch will cause a temporary dip in price as some trade in their former cars .

Right now the timing isn't ideal simply because dealerships are clearing inventory in preparation for 09 model year and many are waiting the facelift so the used market isn't flooded .

I decided to look at the individual websites of used car dealerships and saw some cars which were not listed on autotrader if that's where you are looking.