I am considering buying this P-car. What do you guys think?

2003 996 C2
12,000 miles
Seal Gray
Black int.
6-speed
Xenon package
Heated / Power sport seats
Bose high end sound
18" Alloy Carrera wheels
Supple leather front and rear.
Suede headliner
3 spoke wheel.

NO PSM (Is this a deal breaker?)

The car fax shows a 2 owner car. No issues. Mileage checks out.

Bone stock

What I have been told by the owner is that it is always garaged and never driven in rain or tracked. He has the Authenticity letter from the original sale but not the window sticker. Looks like original tires... IOW, rears need to be replaced soon.

I am not sure about other options on the car... I need to check under the front or rear hood for a sticker listing option codes, right?

My one big conscern, of course, is that this is a garage queen and may be a "time bomb" for RMS or IMS issues. How hard is it to get a warranty for out of warranty cars.... even with low miles like this?

The price is $28,500

Does this seem like a fair deal?

Thanks for any input you guys might have!!!

 

For the mileage seems like a good deal. Just have a good PPI. Will likely need to put some $$ in new tires, etc, and if worried about IMS etc, can always do the LN upgrade.

 

I drove mine home and then to the dealer for LNE upgrades

 

How much should the LNE upgrade cost?

 

I paid 28.9k for almost the exact same car: the only difference is I have PSM but not heated seats (don't need them in Houston) and it's an 02.

The only time I consider PSM an advantage is in rainy weather, otherwise it never kicks in. If I'm "hot rodding" around on lonely streets I turn it off.

The Bose sound system I'm not all that impressed with. It is way too bassy for me even with the bass set at -3. the lowest setting. While listening to the radio the bass can be adjusted, but when I switch to CDs the bass returns to max and I can't find a way to turn it down: the button that adjusts it when the radio is on doesn't do anything when the CD player is active, and there is so much bass it's not worth listening to unless you're one of those guys that likes to rattle your trunk lid. I'm a musician though and I'm very particular about fidelity.

I'm very happy with the car though. It has not a scratch, ding, or stain on it, showroom condition. The car was local 3 owner with all the service records (37 pages) from the dealer down the street and all the major service items had already been completed by the previous owners. I purchased a 2 year/24k mile warranty for, if I remember correctly, around $3500.

I feel I scored a fantastic deal and couldn't be happier, unless of course it was a GT3. Whatever car you select in the end is just a car - a mechanical device. Something will eventually fail and sometimes there are no warning signs - it just breaks. Understand that, accept it, enjoy your ride and if it breaks, you fix it. Kinda like if your wife burns the chicken and sets the kitchen on fire: you don't get rid of her, you just repaint the kitchen and buy new appliances.

 

I hate threads like this... It makes me realize my car isn't worth anything anymore, hahaha.

Dude, just buy it. At the prices 996's are at right now, people shouldn't even worry about a "good deal"... They're ALL good deals, it's a recent model fricken Porsche 911 for under $40k!!! Get the one you like.

 

Plucker,
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. It sounds like you got yourself a great P-car and are really enjoying it. I am curious how long you have owned it, when you bought it and with how many miles?
I have been looking at 996's for sometime now and when I found this one with so few miles and a reasonable price I thought the time may have come to dive in. I guess one of the biggest problems I forsee is that the lack of regular driving may cause other problems to surface but as you said, something always will go wrong and you just have to deal with it. I can get a 48k/48mo warranty from the dealer for about 2.5k which I think I will do. if I buy this car.
Living in the SF Bay Area, I dont think the heated seats are going to be used by me much either... but they are an option on this car.
Some comments I have read about the PSM relate to the inability to completely turn it off and since I dont plan to drive it much in the rain mabey I can look at this as an advantage.
As for the sound system, I mostly listen to the radio while driving so I am not to conscerned about being dissapointed there.
I would never get rid of my wife, even if she burned a chicken and this is a car (911's) that I have been in love with my whole life so I would hope to keep it for a long time. I will keep the forum posted if I get this car.

 

Raphael,
You are right that I shouldn't have used the phrase "good deal" in my title because that is not really what I meant to say but rather that I am considering buying this car and want to get feedback as to what others thought. I like it and I plan on getting it. It is in great condition and has most of what I want, plus it strikes me as a fairly "good deal"...

You know how it goes, you buy something and then it is not worth as much but you shouldn't feel bad because you love your car, right? I just think that you are especially lucky to own such a car at 19 years old!!! Wish I had one at that age... good for you and thanks for the reply!

BTW, how do you like your Fabspeed setup?

 

Sounds like a good deal

 

I sold my well maintained 80k 2003 for $25.5k, so your deal sounds like a good deal if it checks out.

 

Wow, those are all great deals. I hadn't (still haven't) seen one under $26k, and I've been looking for over a year, every few weeks or so. I'd have bought that car instead of my MK1 C2 if I'd come across it...

 

BTW, I wouldn't worry about the lack of PSM at all. As high as the performance envelope of the car is, you shouldn't really be activating it on the street anyway...

 

For the mileage that is a great deal....just make sure and get a PPI done as that low mileage may detract from reliability since parts are frequently oiled up during normal usage.

 

Like you, I've always wanted a Porsche. I purchased it in July of this year with 44k miles from Global Motorcars, which by the way is the best car-buying experience I have ever had. Fantastic guys that deal in performance and luxury cars here in Houston. I traded an 07 MINI Cooper S. I loved the MINI but it's certainly in a different class than the 996. Best of luck with yours.

 

Lol, ya, I understand you. It's just they all seem like a good deal to me in comparison to what I paid.

& you're definetely right about that, I love my car & even though I could've paid a lot less if I waited, when I look on the bright side I say hey I got a Porsche 911 right after turning 18 with my own money & no car loan, so things could be worse. Plus everytime I get in it, the last thing I think about is money. The only thing is, Turbos & some GT3s are now going for what I paid about 2 years ago. I'm upgrading to a GT3 this year though so I'll be completely happy again once I do, haha.

... As for the Fabspeeds, I'm really happy with them. The quality/fitment is superb, they're plenty lighter than stock, & the sound is really great. When cruising under 3.8k RPM, they're surprisingly mellow, but once you go WOT or 4.5k+, they really scream. However, I found a muffler shop that'll make anything I want & they're pretty pro, so I'm going to design some stuff on my own & try to get something made in titanium if possible to get an even raspier cup style sound & save more weight. If it happens & my project turns out well, the Fab mufflers will be up for sale soon incase you're interested.