Hi Everyone,

I frequent this forum often but this is my very firstposting.

I have been a Porsche admirer my entire life but I havenever owned one. I’m seriouslyconsidering buying a used Carerra S Cabrio and from what I have read on theseforums, 2006 seems the model year that might fit my budget. I live in NY and although I know that theCabrio may not be a smart purchase in my climate, but I still really wantone. I have several questions for thegood people of this forum.

- I don’t have a garage but I was thinking ofputting a tarp over the car during the winter months and just keeping it in my driveway,is this a good idea?

- Where would one go to get a good deal of a carlike this?

- Would you buy a car from the internet, withoutseeing it in person or test driving it?

- Would it be possible to purchase one with under40k miles for around $42k

- Is the 2005 model year really inferior? From everything I read, the 2005 still had mechanicalproblems.

I have been looking at dealer listings and in general thelisting prices are way above KBB or Edmunds values.

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

just make you get the s model.. even the s does not have that much grunt..

 

Get a good quality outdoor cover (Suncoast) I bought my fitted interior cover from them.

Search the Classifieds of Porsche Forums. That way you'll most likely get one that has been cared for, from a true enthusiast? They are literally everywhere on the web.

If you are buying it sight unseen, have a PPI done from a mechanic that can give you a true idea of what the car looks like and it's mechanical state. You can also post on the forums for someone that lives in the area to go take a look at the car for you. Guys do it all the time and I've personally done it for a couple guys.

As for price. You should be able to find something in that range. Will depend on mileage and mods for sure.

I would personally go for 2006 and up. 2005 still had some issues with IMS and some of the early 2006 models still had the 2005 IMS.

Best of luck....

 

I think if you're deathly afraid of the IMS bearing failure issue, get 06 or newer, I bought an 05 that I know has the upgraded bearing (built in April 05, so it was one of the last 05 models built)...got a good deal on it but it had over 50k miles which is NOT a problem for a 997. Many would say you should be more concerned with a lower mileage car, but really I think what matters is how it was driven and maintained versus the actual # of miles driven. I would suggest not buying the car in the springtime if you want the best deal....buy the Cabrio in the fall or at the start of your cold months...cabrio prices come down a bit during that time of year. Good luck! post pics when you get it!

 

I found my P-car using cars.com

You can search by "certified" cars on that site too...I'm in Nashville, TN and found my car all the way over in Pasadena, CA at the Rusnik Porsche dealer...purchased it from only looking at the pictures, speaking with the sales rep and having a little peace of mind since it was a CPO car.
Car is perfect!

Good luck in your search...you'll find it!

 

Here are 9 2006 Porsche Carrera Cabrio's - $45K or under with the mileage you are ok with.

Go get one!

http://www.cars.com/for-sale/used/co...102&yrId=20144

 

I don’t have a garage but I was thinking ofputting a tarp over the car during the winter months and just keeping it in my driveway,is this a good idea?

I would be worries about falling ice and stuff like that. I would find a storage location for it. BTW, don't store a car in a underground parking where cars are getting in and out during winter. that bring huge amount of salty humidity in the underground parking.

-Where would one go to get a good deal of a carlike this?
search on porsche.com for used cars. you will get listing from all US porsche dealer.

-Would you buy a car from the internet, withoutseeing it in person or test driving it?
unless $40k is nothing for you, I would pay $500 airfare and $100 hotel to go see the car in person. EVERY single used car sale man will tell you their car are in mint condition! but it's all bull****. go see it. drive it. and take it the the closest competitve porsche dealer for a PPI. (man, they will hate you, but you have the throught about the car... in my case, they found a oil leak, a pugged tire and defective AC unit... on a CPO car... CPO does not mean "close your eyes and buy")

-Would it be possible to purchase one with under40k miles for around $42k
depend on options. in my case a carrera-S w/sport chrono was a must. a carrera-S makes the price jump. without the "S" I didn't feel the "porsche" lack of power IMO
and do NOT shop for a price. shop for a good car.
options on the car can gives you an idea of the 1st owner. if you see option like: carbon fiber everywhere, red stitches, rear lock differential... car might had hard time. but option like: 12 way electric sets, supple leather, can lead me thinking the guy bought it for a nice luxury car and not a race track car.

-Is the 2005 model year really inferior? From everything I read, the 2005 still had mechanicalproblems.
yes some 2005 will have IMS issues. especialy on very low millage.
buy from a porsche dealer and ask the car to be CPO. that gives you 2 years of waranty by porsche

 

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...nal&listType=1

 

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I found 2 nearby that I’m going to look atthis coming weekend.

1st is 2006 with 38k miles in black. It’s not that well optioned with just Bose,heated seats and navigation. They areasking 49k with flex. The productionmonth was June 2006.

2nd is 2007 with 50k miles in Lapis Blue. Not sure what the options on this one are. Asking $44.5k

I will take both to the local dealership and ask for a PPI. What can I expect to pay for a CPO and thewarranty?

I checked out the Porsche dealer pre-owned CPO inventory andthere seems to be one really nice deal from a NJ dealer. 2009 Scabrio with 26k miles well optioned asking 64k. Even though it seems like a great deal, it’s a lot more than I want tospend.

Again, thanks everyone for the great advice.

 

Check out stasales.com they have many used porsches to choose from.

 

gregikh, what a coincidence? I am in the market for a 997 C2S Convertible, and this is my first post as well! I am looking for a 997.2 (2009 and above)

I've done quite a bit of research. I would also recommend that you check out Autotrader.com and Carmax. Carmax has a few 911s in their stock, and they can ship them to your nearest store for free or charge a small fee.

Good luck!

 

Cabs are great. When the top is up, it one car; when down, it looks like another car. To sum up, it's like having 2 cars at the same time.

I still have my cab. Things you have to worry about would be the top. The top costs a lot to replace. Wind noise may bother you once in a while. You mentioned about snow --- just don't forget about the sun also. Oh, and never keep the top down for a long time when the fabric is wet.

 

Love my cab!

 

Hi Everyone,

I spoke with a number of dealers about CPOing a car andfound out that there seems to be no standard. One dealer told me that he will not do it. Another told me that he would but the carwould need to be brought to “CPO standards”. I read between the lines which, probably means $1000s before even theCPO charge. I decided to by a newer car,possibly even a 991, with a warranty still intact.

I found a 2013 991 Cab S, with only 2800 miles. I’m not sure what equipment it has or whatthe original sticker was. I will begoing there today to check it out, but the asking price is 103k. I would assume I can negotiate this downanother 6-7k, which would bring me to the 96-97k range

Can you guys tell me if this is a good deal or not? The stock Cabrio S is 112k, assuming I canget a 6% discount, the price would be around 105k.

Would you guys pay 8-9k more for and just order one from thedealer.

Obviously, if the used 991 is loaded, this becomes a nobrainer.

Thanks for your wisdom, experience and kindness. This is my first Porsche purchase.

 

CPO was something important to me when I bought my 2006 c2s cab last fall.

if you found the car you want and it's not CPO. I would pay the 2-3 grand a P-dealer ask to get it CPO.

it's not like a mazda3 where you can get a replacement engine for $500...