Hello all, just joined the forums, wanted to introduce myself and get a few opinions on some questions I have.

Over two years ago, I sold my much beloved '04 Subaru STi, gently modified and loved every minute I owned it. I had done some very basic track days, amateur racing, and even traveled to a few Subaru competition events to test my skills amongst other Subi drivers. Since parting ways I have had my sights set on a 997, and later this year I will be in a position to make a purchase but wanted to get advice from a more knowledgeable community whether or not I am being realistic in my goals, or simply dreaming.

I've been tracking the prices of '06 - '07's 997 models from various internet sources like autotrader, ebay, cars, yahoo and others for the last year. I'm not willing to take the depreciation bite of a $60K+ newer used model but I'm dead set getting into a 997 Cab S or 997 Cab 4S for at or under $35K. Does this sound realistic or again, am I just dreaming?

Any suggestions, resources or advice are welcome. Hope to see you all round the forums (or one day the track).

-Jason

 

Welcome.
Two thoughts for you:

1) $35k sounds really low for what you're looking for. Maybe with very high milage.
2) Not sure cab is the right way to go if you're really interested in the track.

 

If you have been tracking 06-07 S cabs for the past year have you seen any at or below your $35k number? There is your answer. You're expecting cars that were typically $110k+ new to be purchased for $35k four years later. I'd say that is dreaming.

You are welcome to join the group on the sidelines and wait out any (and all if you wish!) depreciation but I assure you it's much more fun to play.

Boxsters go well on the track, have open tops, and fit your budget. No harm in looking there. Great cars.

 

Thanks for the comments I have seen a few come up between $35-40K but they get snatched up rather quickly or have extremely high mileage, which doesn't interest me either. The options and availability is much better when I add another $10K into the budget but I can wait another year if I have to for things to fall into what I consider reasonable for a 5 year old used car, even one that started at $100K+. Hopefully the market will do well this year and I will have more wiggle room to play with. My plans are for the end of this year, hopefully in the August - September range, once the wife's car is paid off and we get back from our vacation.

I look forward to learning much about my new endeavor thanks again for the comments.

 

35K is tough for a 997 but I can tell you that a 996 will be in that range and will deliver 100% of the Porsche experience.

 

Another thing to considered, although you might be able to get it for $35-40, the maintenance is still the same, that means it's going to be more than your typical $35K car. Don't be shock to spend few hundreds on oil/filter changes and thousands on annual service.

 

I wouldn't get a 997 for $35k, that just sounds way too low. I'd probably expect it having either extremely high mileage, or being completely unreliable. If that's your budget, I'd personally go with a 996, but that's just my .02.

 

At that price point, I'd have to agree with the other posters that you are taking a risk getting a C2S cab 2007 (high mileage, accident). Get a Boxter or Cayman instead until you are financially able to get into a 997. Every day that goes by waiting to get into a P-car is another day you will never get back to enjoy this amazing automobile!

 

Again, thanks for the replies and advice. I've expanded my search by $10K, now looking at the $45K and under range for '06-'07's... This gave me at least 30 new options to choose from. Of course still hoping that this year does well for me. If it does I should be on track to play the P-car game with the rest of the fellas, instead of watching it from the sidelines.

Oh, and Surfah, you just had to say it... "Everyday that goes by waiting to get into a P-car is another day you will never get back to enjoy this amazing automobile!" ... because you're right, I will hate everyday between now and then but soon enough she will be mine!

Later,
Jason

 

Welcome to the forums and thanks for sharing your research. I'm in the same search mode and any feedback is valuable. Good luck in your "quest".

 

Jason, so true! My typical Asian mother thought it would be too showy to get a 911 when I finished residency so I drove a 350Z instead until I was 34 and got my C2S. The first day of ownership I felt like shooting myself in the leg for not getting into one sooner! After 4 years of happy ownership, she still puts a smile on my face driving to work every morning

Best of luck and take the plunge before you turn 40! Then you can start dreaming of Turbos, GT3s and F-cars

 

Good for you for having a budget. Smart. No matter how much $ one has, a budget is always a good idea. Even the Oracle of Omaha has a budget (it's a big one though).

 

It seems that a 996 is more in your range today. Nothing wrong with that. If you wait another year, you may be able to get into a base C2 997 for your $45k budget. So 996 today or 997 next year, which will it be?

 

I just ran a search using the Zag service to which USAA provides access for members. I specified Porsches in model year 2005 or later (which covers 997's I believe) and a price limit of 45,000. The return was about fifteen sports cars with four 911's including some S and at least one Cab. Typical listing was "single owner, clean carfax" with mileages for the 911's ranged from 35k to 50k. That's plausible since this service includes certain buyer guarantees that mean they filter the cars offered.

I only checked details on one, a 2006 911S Cab with typical options (see below) and 35,000 miles. Porsche recommends... I think it's 9k miles per year, so a car used 'appropriately' in this age range certainly will have at least 25,000 and would be acceptable to me and to Porsche with as much as 50,000 showing. Of course, we usually keep our sports cars for a decade and 150k miles, give or take a little, so we're used to big odometer values.

Nevertheless, a mileage like 40 to 50k seem reasonable to me if you exercise normal due diligence in the buying process.

I think at $45k, you're in the right ball park, albeit the low-rent end of the outfield. But I also think you're wrong to worry about the depreciation hit on a $60k used car -- at least if it's a car like a Porsche that sold for something north of six figures when new. By the time you get to half the original sale price, desirable cars have pretty much leveled off in depreciation. They still depreciate of course, until they get old enough to pick up interest from collectors as the 356 line does, but they don't show that steep curve of depreciation that reflects the special desirability of cars that still smell new.

Once it's five years old, a car like Porsche is going to show more variation from one example to the next than the difference in average price between one model year and another two years different. If you just don't want that much of your money tied up in a car, by all means stick to $45 or even $35. That will buy a very nice Cayman or Boxster and those are wonderful cars. The $45k presents some 997 choices worthy of close inspection. But if the prospective depreciation is what bothers you, then any Cayman or Boxster up to $50k should already be in the "doesn't lose much market value per year" category. And any of the 911 models will be in that group from about $70k and downward. Depends on the original model of course. Maybe the knee in the curve will come at $60 for a 'base' 911 or $80k for a well-optioned turbo.

Didn't notice your locale before I started this answer, but I'd be delighted to see you at the track, Jason. I'm in the California Inland area of Zone 8 of the PCA.

Here's the seller's list of equipment for that 2006 C2S... Oops. That didn't work. The website neatly intercepted my copy command and stuffed a bushel of html into my buffer. We'll have to leave it that the equipment list looks normal to an owner of a recent 911S.

Gary

 

Well 45K is very different than "at or under 35K " (first post on the thread) .
Plus the first post asked about 06 and 07 .. not 05 .

I looked on autotrader and saw cars upwards of 50K miles .
Does a bank even finance a Porsche once it crosses 50K miles ?

Either way ..
1) How many times have you seen a person buy a high mile old expensive out of warranty car on a limited budget only to get his finances jolted on the first major service ?

2) At what point does the 35K bargain become the 55K money pit ?

3) How many people claim the budget is A and it's really been stretched from B at all levels ? The difference is that at least a car on warranty has some built in cushion.

4) Sure --there are well cared for high mile old cars . If one believes he's doing the next owner a favor by selling it on the cheap ..... then maybe its better that he fills in the rest of that thought .