Is there only one P-car dealer in Cincy, are they other dealers within a reasonable drive. I would have a look at the Porsche site under pre-owned and they will list everything available across the country. With the 991 coming out and fall quickly approaching, I'm sure someone will be interested in selling a car at a good price. Just have to be patient. I checked out cars for > 9 months, a guy on Rennlist shopped for > 3 years.

 

I looked for over a month for an 06 explicitly. Prior IMS problems, newer really more then I wanted to pay. You need a CPO, mine has a CPO, came in handy the other day, my DME had a communication error. I cleared it but the Porsche dealership went ahead and replaced it. Other then CPO I do have one bit of advice and my friend the Ptech agreed, stay away from garage-queens(super low miles)! This again is opinion! Best of luck to you!

 

I purchased an 06 997 C4S two years ago. During the PPI at a dealer, they found a slight RMS leak and fixed it - having the dealer inspect it and fixed under warranty was worth the price of the PPI ($175). Since it was a private party purchase, I decided to get an aftermarket warranty for piece of mind. During my research, I realized that I could not shoulder the load of getting a new engine which could costs almost $20K, not sure what a used one costs, but $10K would still be prohibitive, plus any other repairs. I could not get the CPO warranty so the aftermarket warranty was good for me. With about 18K miles with the original tires, the fronts were still very good and are getting dried out (past its 5th year). The rears were replaced last year at about 19K miles...yes, the first owner was very gentle.

I renegotiated with the owner when the rear tires came in low (recommended changing by the dealer), along with brake fluid flush recommendation. It was good that the RMS was picked up by the warranty. For your situation, if the owner is not willing to meet you half way on the RMS repair, I would walk. You WILL find a good condition one...it took me about 3 months to find that one and it took close to 3 weeks to complete the transaction (from first meeting/drive to inspection to repair of RMS to payment)...that length really allows you to assess this purchase and lowers the pressure to act (in comparison at the dealers).

Good luck!

 

As a buyer in the same shoes, much of this depends on the price of the car and the options. If it's a car you really like, e.g. options and color combo and the price is good, why pass on it bickering over $1500. If the price is right and the options are good I'd buy it and not be concerned about a RMS seap. Just get it fixed when it's really a problem or when you do the clutch.

But if he's asking $65k, and it's a low option car, forget it and walk. To me it all depends on price and options.

 

1500 is the base bottom cost. However ....

He might might face more than 1500 . Let's add some things up :
1) Two new Tires - 1000
2) RMS and IMS dealership repair - 2600
3) Future expense - Unknown .

So that's 3600 to bring the car to spec and have the porsche dealership paperwork on two common problems (which can be fixed) .
Add this onto the closing price of the car , substract a CPO , throw in that the seller isn't flexible with price , and future doubts .. and it leads to the question ...

Is it worth it ?
Only he can answer that .

 

I don't know if everyone realizes how great it is to have a forum to talk about this stuff. My wife gives me a blank stare and I'm sure I sound like Charlie Brown's teacher to her when talking about cars.

The car has all the options I want and seems to be the color combination I want (Black/Black). I started out with a budget but was willing to add if the right car came along. Several factors went into the price I wanted to pay.
1. Will I be able to sell in a couple years so I can upgrade without being the one to take a majority of the hit?
2. Old man winter is very close. Unless this is going to be one of those winters that seems like fall, I won't be driving the car much if at all.
3. The 991 will be out by the time I start the car in the spring. Will the market drop on the 997 like it did with the 996?
4. The car needs new shoes on all four feet as they are dangerous from age and wear. $2200 for PS2's but willing to put PSS's ($1400).
5. The RMS is expensive ($1600 - $2600).
6. The old saying "if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, oh what a party we would have" applies here. What if something major goes out and runs around $1000k to fix? The car has no CPO and I'm then forced to pay it or park it.

With all of the above repairs, price on the car, and possible problems, I'm darn near $65k. I understand that the buyer is out some as well if he fixed the car before he sold it or gave me a price break, but I am on the bad end of the deal. He doesn't even believe there is a problem. I will move on as I believe there will be deals down the road given the about comments.

Anyone have a 997 4S Black/ Black they want to part with at a fair price? I assure you it will be going to a loving home.

 

Tell us more about the vehicle. Do you have some pictures? How much is he asking for the car? I'll get on Manheim and look for black book and check out wholesale prices for 2006 C4s in the US. If this car is super clean, low mileage, and the right price then spending another $4-5k for extended warranty, tires and RMS repair could be worth it. Get me the detail and I'll at least try to research it for you so you know what is out there on the market. Last I checked, there are about 600 911 Porsche's on Manheim and most are Buy-It-Now posted. The dealer will try to make $2k at wholesale so it's easy to figure out what the dealers are making retail. When you buy a retail most of the time the car is detailed, dents removed, proper maintenance and if it's CPO then you get the works and this is on top of whole sale prices. $3-5K profit plus all CPO costs.

PM me if you like. Manheim web site is down now BTW

 

You are too kind. I don't have 15 posts so I can't PM you. My email is BPRomine@gmail.com

I will respond to you if you can send me an email.

Thank you!

 

Sent

 

I have a Black/Black modded turbo that i hope to keep forever .

Here's my opinion .. I can address some of the questions .

You are looking at a 6 year old car that by the time its all fixed up it's nearly 60 grand (if not more) with a future of unknown repair . These cars are basically reliable but I feel that the current pricing on the used market has been outrageous . In fact two years ago the same car costs almost the same as now and I can't guess the future pricing in an overall economy which has such volatility . I don't think that an 8 year old 997 4S (that car two years from now when you go to sell it) will come even close to 60 grand .As for the 996 .. they have held value somewhat . The 996 cost a lot less with a significantly lower MSRP compared to the current car .

I feel the cost difference between buying that car Vs a discounted and modestly optioned new car is so minimal that the main deterrent for most ought to be the up front cost to buy it.

I'm not saying that there aren't any used car value bargains but there aren't many and to find one with the color/options/miles /smooth transaction . turns what ought to be a simple purchase into a mission.

The 991 will probably ask top dollar at its launch as all the "gotta have it" buyers will shop first. Plus the car will cost a bit more as it has some new options . One can wait and see but if he's looking for some type of savings then my vote goes to a new 100K car in the upper 80's (with a discount) instead of a 6 year old car at 60.
It comes with 4 years of warranty, new tires, no miles , and without any of the drama of a seller asking top dollar ona car that he sneezed in .. that's a lot of peace of mind .

But that's just my opinion .

There is one other opinion ... save the money and don't buy any car if there is even a shred of doubt . Having the savings will always be better than buying the wrong car.

 

All very good points. I have a great deal to consider. I would like to thinks that the search is half the fun but after the last couple of weeks I must say it is not.

 

I agree with others who recommend taking your time and not necessarily rushing into buying the first car you look at that has the options and color you want, as there will almost always be a similar car available in the future.

As an example, I did a quick query on Autotrader and found 18 MY-06 coupes currently for sale with black exterior and 6-speed (I didn't take black interior color into account). The pricing ranges from $45,500 to $65,995, with an average of $56,649. The mileage varies from 7,611 miles ($62,900) to 67,257 miles ($45,900). Only two were CPOed, and the average price for those was $58,932.

Interestingly, Kelley Blue Book would value the car you've described (without factoring in all the options) as worth around $54,850. It would have to be considered only in "Good" condition because "Excellent" requires no engine fluid leaks. So what does all of this tell you? That black 2006 coupes with 6-speed are plentiful and are generally priced based on mileage but average around $56,000 without CPO.

Others will disagree, but I don't necessarily think that cars with low mileage should be avoided because if that were the case the used car market would be the opposite of what it is (i.e., cars with lower miles would be cheaper than cars with higher miles). FWIW, I bought my MY-05 almost a year and a half ago with about 30,000 miles. I've only driven it a little over 4,000 miles and the only repair I've had to make so far was to replace the battery. And I looked for about 6 months before I bought it.

 

Not sure what they meant by cleaning the clutch but I believe they included replacing/upgrading the IMS. That would account for a good deal of the difference and would be well worth doing with the RMS.

 

Different opinion for you. If you're looking at an '06, you're looking at a car without a warranty. That is the price you pay for getting a less expensive car. You pay $100k for the car with the warranty. Yes tires are expensive. But these cars burn them up. At least you have the choice of what you would like to add instead of buying a used car with tires that are crap. A leaking RMS on a car with that kind of low miles - most would say that is not a surprise. It is also not the end of the world. And at $1500, not a tragic expense. At least you go in eyes wide open. How about the brakes and rotors? Those are expensive too. With such low miles, unlikely those are an issue. A 4S is a great car and good ones are hard to find. Include the expenses in the budget and pick her up. Many more issues are a used car deterrent. Many that I could name are: paint work, DME with revs above range 4, a modded car, low brakes,etc. Simply put, a used car will not be perfect. It is finding the right blend of exactly what you want esthetically, nominal issues and the right price.

 

Good advice. If you really want the car, let it sit for a couple of weeks (assuming it doesn't get sold) and go back to the seller. They may be more willing to deal. On another note, if you're worrying about repair costs, the 4S has a more complex drive train, but of course the wide butt. If you want to avoid a lot of issues, one possibility is to look at a 2009 C2/C4, no IMS, still some warranty and should be able to pick one up in the low-mid 60s. I wouldn't get too discouraged, better to do the extra homework now on the front end than half to pay after the sale. If you're going to park it over the winter, IMO if you wait a couple of months the prices will come down quite a bit.