Hello experts:
I'm eying an obvoiusly used 2006 Carrera which looks quite appealing to me but I have not made a decision. I'm an absolute P-car wonna-be/beginner (please bear with me) and a C2 will be just fine and right for me (I think). Your input will be highly appreaciated! TIA, Bernd.

The car:
2006 Carrera C2, 17,703 miles, 1 local NorCal owner, clean CARFAX, looks "new" from outside, some blue minor spots on passanger side seat, supposedly new f/r tyres (Conti), DME report pending, Porsche pre-owend approval in negotiation, asking price $ 49,995 [Base model: $ 71,300.00, MSRP: $ 88,620.00], purchase date: 08/12/05 (!), DMV/title date 09/16/05 (!), sorry no pictures.

The options:
Slate grey metallic, blk standard leather, pwr seat pkg, bi-xenon pkg, heated front seats, 19" Carrera S wheels (Lobsters), colored wheel caps, PASM, sport chrono pkg, navigation for PCM, Bose, remote CD changer, black mats w/ lettering, thicker sport steearing wheel/smooth leather, metall door sills.

The car is obviously highly optioned and looks very nice in this color combo. Have yet to drive it. I'm concerned about the 2005 purchase/title dates wit respect to warranty. If the DME report is clear, I could get weak for $ 49,995 but including CA tax/fees/etc. (basically drive off the lot) and incl. Porsche pre-owned approval/warranty extension. Anything else in particular to look at? Brakes? Any suggestions for a different offer/negotiation from my side?

Thanks so much in advance for your kind input.
Regards,
~ Bernd

 

The car has a nice color and all the right options . I can't seen to find it on auto trader or cars.com. It usually helps to read the sellers comments . It's the only visible clue of owner sentiment and sometimes that can reveal quite a bit .

It's got acceptable miles for the price and it will come down to four things :
1) The diagnostics
2) how it drives --check every control . Don't get overwhelmed on the test drive .
3) are you ok with it not being an S.
4) warranty

Check those tires . Inspect brake pads. See when the brake fluid was changed as well as the filters cleaned or replaced . Inspect or any soot on driver side. look at the garage floor and see if there is any fresh oil .

That's about it.

 

Hi yrralis1:
Thanks for the quick reply. I had already the pleasure to be engaged with you in many discussions here and always got good advise. I found the car on craigslist (SF/Bay Area) and it was too recent to be offered on cars.com or autotrader.com hence you could not find it. I was probably the first person showing interest as the car was just released from ther in-house service/finishing procedure. They did not advertise a lot of options on craigslist:
(2006 Carrera Coupe Slate Gray 6spd 15k miles one local owner, 19", Bi-Xenon, PASM, Sp. chrono, Nav...Loaded. $49,995) and I was suprised to see all the other option when I saw the car in person.
Coming back to your suggestions:
1) The diagnostics: DME is pending (probably Wednesday) and I aslo asked for an inspection report (aslo pending). If both come back clear (showing acceptable over-revs and details on the performed brake/filter inspection) then I'm one step further. I'll get back to you with that information. Tires look new with a lot of thread and I was told that they replaced the old ones during in-house service (Continentals). The service report will also tell.

2) how it drives --check every control . Don't get overwhelmed on the test drive . I have not driven the car yet, just checked some major function. I will follow a rigorous check-up and test drive procedure (as good as I can) and will look for anything I'm not happy with. The paint has no rock-chipping and looks gorgeous in CA sun light. I just have problems to distinguish it from meteor gray metallic.

3) are you ok with it not being an S. I know, I know. It's always easy to long for more. I believe that a non-S makes the most sense for me right now: i) it would be my first P-car, ii) it will be/needs to be my DD, iii) I will drive with my 9-year old and well-behaved son in it (so there will be the unavoidable mishap or so), iv) I do not want to get over my head although the finances for a newer or S-variant would be ok, v) my dear wife and my son downright love the car (my son because it's a rare color, my wife because of its understating and eleangt curb-appeal and the fact that it is a 6-spd manual (!). The non-S as a pre-owned yet appealing vehicle makes just the most sense for me right now and I can always up-grade later when my life circumstances have adopted accordingly.

4) warranty: Very important: I think that a Porsche pre-owned approval is a must and I will insist on that. Depending on the in-service date (pending) my warranty will be extended till 2011 or 2012. That should be ok. I believe that their asking price needs to include the Porsche pre-owned approval and all tax/fees (~ 10 % in CA) that would bring my offer to $ 45 - 46 K (if all reports come back clean). So far, they were easy to work with, procative, and very friendly.

Thanks again for your advice. I hope that nobody will secure the car before I had a chance to do so since I provided so much info.

Regards from NorCal,
~Bernd

 

good luck! I think I was looking at this car last week.

 

This all looks good .
1) You like the car . The slate is a beautiful color BTW. Porsche has three colors (slate , meteor, atlas ) which have slight differences .

2) Wife and son like the car . That's three for three .

3) I like the car . I'm jumping on board and I'll give you my reasons .

4) I found the car . it wasn't easy . I read a few reviews of the dealership and almost all of them give outstanding sales and service experiences . That goes a long way .

5) Miles are low enough to give you enough time to enjoy this car and saves you enough money going in to get a great taste of a first porsche . It has all the right options and after reading your posts --it's priced well.

6) Warranty - That's going to be the hardest part . I am under the impressionn that the purchase date begins the warranty which means it just came off . Can they CPO it ? They may have some wiggle room . My guess is they are trying to figure out how.

If it doesn't have warranty .. how ready are you to take the risk ? I would not get extended warranty . Instead I would try to negotiate a reduced labor rate into the sales contract .

I think they'll make a CPO .. but I'm guessing .

5) The DME - It may fly . The "local owner" wording as well as the understated color and 3,6 engine sounds like a mature person who wasn't looking to be speed racer . Only one way to find out though --that's the DME . Level 1 and 2 ought to be ok . I pefer no 3's and 4's are a dealbreaker .

I think this is going to fly .
Congrats in advance if it all checks out . Make sure the car has clear side markers on delvery .

 

Try to get full PPI (arounf $270) and CPO (around $3K) included into asking price if you can.
DME scan is usually a part of full PPI but it has to be 'reminded' about.

Press on CPO status, do not let it slip. With CPO you will be able to fix most serious issues on dealer expense anyway. Pay for it if they will categorically reject including it into asking price but I think they should agree on this. It will be very important for you.

 

Always try to push price down but looking realistically I see similar cars as this one to sit in $52K-$56K price segment here in MA.

$45K for such car with 17K miles and CPO would be a perfect price. $50K is a bit worse but still pretty good. But CPO status is really a key, good PPI results do not mean much to a dealer but CPO is a commitment for them so they really sniff up car pretty well prior to signing into this.

 

If this is the car I looked at last week, which based on the location and options it is, they offered it as a CPO to me.

 

Larry,

You forgot my favorite gray, Seal! Also very close to the other three.

 

Hello All:

First of all: To those who answered and gave good advise to my question: Thank you very much.

I received the DME report for the car (at least some of it):

Range 1: 159
Range 2: 4
Ranges 3 - 6: 0

That looks pretty encouranging to me! Anything else I should look at? Please chime in! I need as much info as possible in short time. More details are in my first andTires as new as of 08/31/09. My plan is to test drive ASAP and determine compatibility with our driveway entry angle.

 

That DME is very clean, good luck with your purchase. All signs point to go at this point!

 

It's a cherry . Since the 997 doesn't have a spolier lip like the Turbo or Gt3 it should make it into a fairly steep incline on a stock suspension .

Post pics !!!!

 

ahh... Great thing to check beforehand! If it doesn't work, maybe you can drive at an angle through the grass to get to the top of the driveway....

...after all it IS a Porsche!

 

Did you get the car?!? I'm sure it's pretty exciting to be so close. I've wanted one forever and just picked up my first 911 a few weeks ago, a 2006 Carrera S coupe. The car you're looking at sounds great. I got my 'S' with 9K miles and a year of factory warranty left (thanks to a late in-service date of 9/06) for $49K with the exact same equipment as yours minus just the Bose & CD changer, so I think there should be more room in that price. Or at least they can include the CPO in it. New tires are a bonus...as you probably know, those alone are worth about $2K.

Definitely try the driveway angle if you can. My car has a lowered suspension and I bought the car long-distance so I couldn't try it first, and it can scrape pretty hard on my driveway if I don't get the angle exactly right. The neighbors are entertained.

Keep us posted!

 

True story: The driveways in Santa Clara are the worst I've ever seen. When I got my Porsche home I quickly learned that no matter what angle I tried I wasn't going to get it in the driveway. My other car is a lowered C70 with ~5 inch clearance in the front, the Porsche is ~4 inches. A quick trip to Home Depot and I had fabricated a nice set of wood ramps to get it in and out without a scratch. I called the City to see what my options were to redo the driveway...got to love California - have to have 18" of level sidewalk for wheelchair access. Long story short it's going to cost me about $8K to redo the driveway to code. I'm considering it, but right now I set up the ramps to get the car in and out of the driveway. It's a pain but worth it. I would still by the Porsche had I known this issue prior.

EDIT: And yes the neighbors are entertained by my process