You certainly bring up a good point. I think the key is to do a thorough research, and do what is comfortable for you. My choice was to go with a CPO because that would require the least amount of worrying and researching, but of course that convinience usually comes at a premium. I don't know much about third party warranties, but as long as you're comfortable with it, I think that's what matters.

 

Considering your pricerange, I think I would try to find a 2006 997S, I have seen them recently with only one previous owner with just under 20k miles for $47k (private, not from a dealer).

I would avoid CPO as it is always combined with the dealer markup ($4-5k) plus $2k for CPO. You would get a much better car if you pay the same from private. Once you find the right car, make sure it has every receipt/repair/service document and take it to the shop for a prepurchase inspection (about $200) - while it is no guarantee, the shop will want you as a customer and will be honest with you and warn you if appropriate.

What I think works best is to put together your dreamcar in your head (for example 06 997 S with less than 25kmiles; ideally red/blue/green/pink exterior and tan/black interior. Sport Chrono/Full Leather/Whatever a must; Bose/Sport Seats/Whatever desired.

If you post this here, you will have a ton of people looking for your car ...
(and if they find it somewhere in the US and it checks out okay, you invest $500 for an airline ticket and a minivacation before you buy it)

Good luck - you will not regret it, most reliable car out there

 

I agree, go for the '06 2S. $47k for a car w/ 20k miles is a great deal. The best I've seen is $50k for a loaded '06 2S w/ 20k, and it went fast. I think overall prices are starting to come down. Earlier in the year there was no inventory, but that's gradually changing.

 

I wouldn't necessarily "avoid" CPOs. You just have to look for the right price! I personally found 2 '07 CPO C2 for under 50k (well, they were listed for more, but I negotiated it down to under 50k), and purchased one of them. This was far cheaper than any private seller prices on a comparable vehicle.

Even if there's nothing seriously wrong with the car you buy, routine maintenance stuff, like a clutch job for instance, will run you thousands. A certified car has to have at least 80% of everything, including break pads, tires, clutch life, etc, etc. The certification is done by Porsche, not the individual dealers.

I do agree that you shouldn't get ripped off from a dealer jacking up the price 10k for a certified car, but if it's a difference of 2-3k, that would be a no brainer for me. The thing about the dealers is that you can seriously negotiate hard. If they don't want your money, then no big deal, go to the next one.

And look for dealerships far from central metropolis areas...

 

911Rookie - point taken and agree, it all comes down to price; very often people here on the forum are seriously considering paying $10k more than private just because of CPO, for $2-3 I probably would have considered it as well.

Another big price difference for me was Sales Tax - private purchases don't require sales tax in Nevada while they do for a dealer, thus this was another $4-5k difference that eliminated the CPO for me

 

Not sure if it matters, but it was based on 2007 model year cars.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100318/..._dependability

"J.D. Power's 2010 dependability study surveyed more than 52,000 original owners of 2007 model-year vehicles..."

 

I know what you mean... If I hadn't found a good deal on a CPO, it would have been hard to justify a huge premium. That's why I think you have to be willing to travel. I live in LA and OC, and both places have dealers with more buyers than inventory... So their prices are outrageous!

And the taxes... In California, we have to pay taxes no matter what. But I think private sellers tend to be wiling to "fudge" the selling price for cash transactions. No dealer in their right mind would do something like that. So this would, indeed, save another 1-2k from a private seller...

 

I agree with Cattman. The IMS and RMS failures are so rare. The incidences are probably similar to flying statistics - hundreds of thousands of flights a day, but only a major crash will be get the spotlight. I bought my '05 997S with 20,000 miles and a CPO warranty, but I am also a fanatic when it comes to maintenance. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another '05. Porsche makes a tremendously reliable and exciting sports machine.

 

I was in the same boat about 1 year ago, right about the same price range. 2005 was really my only option, 2006 was too much more. I ended up buying a silver 997.1 CPO from a local Porsche dealer, long story short, they wrote up the contract in a bad way, fortunately I had the upper hand and returned it. 2 weeks later I found another one from a local BMW dealer. Asked about the 3rd party warranty through the BMW dealer and it was crazy expensive, but I had a PPI at another local Porsche done before I purchased, it was the dealer where I use to take my 993 and the finance guy said he could offer me a 3rd party warranty for 3k less the BMW dealer. So it all worked out.

Moral to my story?

- Don't worry about the engine failure, I read too many times that it's a rare problem
- Get the deal you need, CPO through a P dealer or reputable dealer
- If it's not CPO, ask your local P dealer about adding warranty
- Don't settle, make sure you get the car you want
- Buy a Porsche, forget the Vette. I laugh at my friend with the Z06 that tells me how much better his car is then mine, but I tell him I can't afford the gold chains and suede sweat suit I need to drive it.

 

You would be able to afford it if you didn't go out and buy 25 pink lacoste sweaters that you tie around your neck when you drive your 911.

 

Depending on how firm your budget is- if you'd prefer to stick closer to the $45K area, and if you don't need rear seats, there's a lot of well equipped CPO'ed 2008 Cayman S's out there with around 10K miles for that money, and you'd be warranty'ed out to 2014. Great drive, awesome soundtrack with PSE- as good as the 997 in many ways. I would prob take a one-owner, low mile, CPO'ed '08 Cayman S over a higher mile / multiple owner '05 997 esp for the long term- (no offense, fellas)

 

I'd recommend buying only what you truly want and if you can't afford it, then pocket the money and wait a year. If you can afford what you want, then go for it but don't look back.

 

Totally agree. I was in a similar situation last year and thought of getting a Cayman S to save some cash, but in the end I waited until I could get a 911 as that was the car I truly wanted. Don't regret it one bit. BTW, don't forget to factor in the cost of regular maintenence.

 

I'm in the same boat. I'm looking at a used too. Just to clarify RMS = rear main seal and IMS is what?

 

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...e&aff=national


Look around for '06 C2S - they still can be found for $50K budget.
Of course, they may not be ideal but you gotta be vigilant and do PPI and study car`s history prior to committing to it.