So, I'm off to view/buy a 2005 997 next Friday...

[Mark Howard]

I've been scouting for a 997 for awhile after my much regretted sale of my 993 a few years ago. I found a 2005 997 with 21K miles that meets my color and option requirements.

Anything I need to be aware of when I look over the car? I have searched the forum and have not found much in the way of mechanical issues. This is my first venture into the water cooled world and I must admit am alittle nervous.

The dealer is asking $45K (not a CPO car), and through my research it looks like that is the asking price for most 997s that meet these mileage/condition standards. I am curious if anyone has bought a similar car recently and what they paid for it. I see many similar cars on Auto Trader and Cars.com for that price, but none of them are moving leading me to believe the market is flat right now. I would really like to land it for $41-42K

Any thoughts? I suck at buying cars and negotiating deals....

[EarlyPorsche]

Looks like a decent price for a nice car. If you get it into your zone its even better. I've had an 06 997 since 2005 when I bought it new and it hasn't seen anything but oil changes. I don't let it go 20,000 miles like the book says between changes.

If its seen maintenance then I would vote get it.

[Dottore]

Having just done this myself, I encourage you to check out the 997 Forum on Rennlist.

Far more 997 folks there, who are very helpful, and have lots of obscure information.

Ask about a 997 on this board, and you'll find people posting pictures of Obama with a turban 4 or 5 posts into the thread....

[EarlyPorsche]

I dont think I've used a forum for my 997. Its weird how reliable these new Porsches are. Oh I had the door handle become a tad loose but that was a simple thing and not the cars fault. Then again my 1966 is just as reliable as my 2006; neither require much.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Dottore

Ask about a 997 on this board, and you'll find people posting pictures of Obama with a turban 4 or 5 posts into the thread....

That's hilarious. And unfortunately, true...

[RWebb]

be sure it wasn't sitting on a car lot in a low area of NOPSI during Katrina...

[R K T]

+1 on Rennlist for 997s

[Mark Howard]

Thanks Guys. Good info.

What are some strategies on negotiating with the salesman? I am driving 5 hours to Houston to look at it, so he thinks surely I will drive it home at the asking price. Wrong.

My strategies so far:

• Its a flat economy and cars like this aren't moving quickly (its been on his lot for almost 4 months)
• There are other cars offered at similar prices that are not moving (cars.com etc.)
• Needs new tires
• Seat heaters are not working (he told me this)
• Out of factory warranty
• Listed as "clean", not "extra clean" by their own admission (has some rock chips)

I need to squeeze about $2-3K out of them to make it within my "authorized budget" if you know what I mean Gotta keep the household commander happy. Honestly I still can't believe she authorized me to buy one!

[Dottore]

Absolutely get a PPI done by a reputable expert. Ask here for a reputable expert in the place where the car is being sold.

As part of the PPI get a full Vehicle Analyses Log and DME print out done. This will tell you whether the car has been driven idiotically and over-reved etc. It will also tell you how many hours the engine has run—and if you then divide the mileage by this number the result will tell you whether the car has been driven swiftly (as Dr. Porsche intended) or not. I recently did this calculation on a 20,000 mile car that turned out to have been driven at an average of 10 mph throughout it's life. In other words it spent it's entire life sitting in traffic—not a good thing.

Tires, batteries etc etc are small beer. Make sure you are getting a good basic car. That's more important than saving 1 or 2 thousand bucks.

[Mark Howard]

Agreed. I do have a local mechanic that is checking it out for me. Never thought about the mileage/hours calcs, interesting.

[jorian]

6speedonline.com also has a pretty active 997 forum

[slow&rusty]

Very cool...I would love to drive a 997 and see how they the latest generation of Porsche drives...would be an uber cool car to own. Let us know and post pics of the new acquisition!

[Rick V]

Great cars, very reliable ( Porsche mechanic here) The one thing I would ask about is why, if it is at a dealer, they won't CPO it. If they say age, that is an acceptable answer, but the only one. Most dealers will make an age exception for the higher line cars, even if the manufacturer won't allow it. The non CPO is a little red flag, but no where close to a run Forrest type of thing.

[s_morrison57]

Whats a CPO ?

[Rick V]

Certified Pre Owned

[Mark Howard]

Let me clarify, not a Porsche Dealer, but a Motorsports Dealer of a number of different sports and luxury cars...BMW, Porsche, etc. Hence CPO is not available. My bad for not being specific...

[porsche4life]

Its not victory is it? RUN FOREST RUN!

[Christien]

Originally Posted by Mark Howard

What are some strategies on negotiating with the salesman? I am driving 5 hours to Houston to look at it, so he thinks surely I will drive it home at the asking price. Wrong.

Here's some help from the "other side of the fence" (I buy, sell and finance cars for a living).

The fact that you're driving 5 hours does indeed indicate you're serious, and you're much more likely to buy the car than the guy who just dropped in driving by. That said, I never take a sale for granted, no matter how far away they're coming from.

I don't know how they markup cars, but here on a 997 our markup would be anywhere from 3-10k, depending on how we came across it. Usually in the rage of 4-6. At that kind of markup, negotiating 2-3k off the price isn't really likely, because it's taking half the profit. Remember, we have to make a living too! If they haven't marked it up too much (say, 4k) they might prefer to wholesale it, because then it doesn't need a safety check, emissions test, stuff like that. It's a much easier sale with less cost involved.

If it's been on their lot for 4 months, yes, they're going to be motivated to move it, but not firesell it.

I just looked up recent wholesale auction sales for an 05 997 C2 coupe. Wholesale price on a 21k mile car is $45K. Another sale at 36K was $43k. So the price is already below market value. That may be due to some of the flaws you mentioned.

It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't move much on price, if at all. They *will* let you walk away, even knowing how far you've come. In fact, having looked at wholesale prices, I'm surprised they wouldn't just take it to auction if all they want for it is 45.

If they won't move on price, maybe ask them to put new tires on it, included in the sale price, and also get the seat heaters fixed. Even though you probably couldn't care less about heated seats in the south, it'll make resale easier down the road if everything works.

[Mark Howard]

Thanks, Christian, that's the advice I was looking for. All your points are well taken.

[Christien]

No problem, glad to help. Let us know how it turns out!