I need some help, thinking of buying a 997 from a dealer they took on trade its a silver carrera 4 wide body manual trans 60k miles. What should I look for make sure it's done maintenance wise and is there anything I should look for prior to buying it? What would be a good price ? They have it latex at $38900

 

-Maintenance records. Maintenance records. And more maintenance records.

-Carfax AND Autocheck report (sometimes an accident won't show up on one, but it will the other). It will also tell you how many previous owners the car had. I'd personally try to avoid any cars with more than 2 previous owners, but that's just me.

-IMS bearing (intermediate shaft bearing). No doubt you've come across this discussion before; see if it's been done. If not, perhaps you can use it as a bargaining chip. You WILL want it done immediately for piece of mind; replacing an engine will cost half of what the car costs.

-Get a pre-purchase inspection. If you can find a good independent Porsche tech rather than taking it to the dealer, so much the better. Otherwise the dealer is great, just more expensive. A quick visual inspection of your own should tell you what shape the body, interior, brakes, wheels/tires and undercarriage are in.

-NADA lists book value at about $41k. I'd offer $37,000 and see where it goes?

Happy hunting!!

 

If it is a 2006 then it could have either the old style or new style bearing, if you get the engine number and do some searching you will be able to see if it has the newer style bearing fitted which will give a bit more piece of mind on the IMS.

Other than that I aould say it is like buying any other high performance car look for maintenance records, look for wear and tear, look for excessive smoke on cold start up and for the sake of a few hundred dollars have an inspection and used any issues that pop up as a price reducer.

 

I have the same exact car and purchased it last summer at 60k miles. Good PPI, one owner, clean car fax. Mechanically car was/is great. It was a one owner, but not a garage queen. Some wear and scratches on the interior. Full leather interior, 19" carrera wheels. I bought it from European Motorcars in CT and negotiated down to 35,900. I feel I got a good deal.

A negotiation point might be that the deal perform the 60k mile maintenance included in whatever price you agree one. Plugs, cabin and engine filter, serpentine belt, break fluid flush, oil/filter. I paid about $1100 for the 60k Maintenance at my local PCA approved shop.

 

Seems fair deal pending inspection. At those miles....figure yourself for a new water pump though. Don't wait for it to go out... put a new one in now.
Not sure what the dealer gets for the repair, but it a DIY in a half day if your mechanical.


I agree with the others on the brake fluid, plugs, belt,etc. Id do new coil packs as long as youre in there. they are cheap enough.


Good luck.

 

Thanx guys

 

Nice! I also got my 911 from European Motorcars. I had a great experience with them.

 

If you need any assistance be sure to check out our tech articles here. They provide great literature about the 997 and what to look for. Good luck with your purchase!

-Luccia