Jim, I've nearly bought a boxster several times. I have no shame.

I was never a cab guy until we rented one in SoCal... Perfect place! I think in AZ with our 8 months of perfect weather, a cab would be great too!

I guess, if I'm going to become a cabriolet guy, I'll have to change my attitude and fashion style from this to this….

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1428775042.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1428775054.jpg

I happen to know that Speeder looks fetching in a vintage convertible ;). I bought my Carerra cab before I knew that there was any prejudice against soft tops because I thought cabs are the closest in spirit to the original racing roadsters. I still think so. I've met dozens of people with the top down. Mostly members of the opposite sex, kids with huge eyes who wanted to know what it was like to drive a Porsche, and middle-aged men who wanted to know if it had the G50 or 915, the Euro pre-muffler, a Steve Wong chip, and if I ever track it. And some day I'll buy a 996 or 997 turbo cab with a tip. I should have done that instead of buying the RS6.

It's just weird to me that people react to Porsche convertibles as if they were alien concepts.

Porsche #1

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1428775640.jpg

Convertibles with black seats will burn you if you get in with shorts on in summer. There is a practical reason to go with light colored seats on a ragtop. I have had anything from black to white and white seats, as pimp as they were, were perfect!

Back to this particular car. I can't understand why you guys would encourage to put up with out of state, questionable history cars from a sleazy dealer if you can pick up a local car from a fellow PCA member with full records for likely less money. That really should not be hard in CA. I got my 993 from its first owner straight out of his garage ...

G

George, id imagine craig has been looking locally as well

All we need is just a little patience
Said, sugar, make it slow
And we come together fine
All we need is just a little patience
Mm, yeah ...
:)

I have exhausted the usual Socal car selling suspects. E.g. craigslist, autotrader, PCA classifieds, cars.com, Truspeed, Autokennel, DC Motors, etc. There are literally dozens of silver and black 996TT coupes, but the good cabs are nowhere to be found.

I really would like a car in some color other than silver and black (and red, unless you want to keep it until you die and use it as a coffin). I would even consider a yellow cab.

Yes, the Phoenix car is $3k overpriced, and the dealer said it's been in AZ since 2009 and it wasn't, but the mileage, wheels, and color is perfect...and I DO NOT believe the sales contact is a sleezy liar. I just think he was repeating what was told to him. I actually like him.

George, even in SoCal it's not that easy. Unless you don't mind waiting months for the right car. It's not exactly a Camry, especially if you don't want silver.

The dealer just said the owner was a snowbird with a house in Scottsdale. He said the guy kept the car registered in NY and that's why carfax shows annual inspections in NY, NY.

First, can that be done? Can a car get inspected in AZ, yet show registration and inspection in NY? I don't know why anybody would want to keep it registered in NY over AZ. AZ is one of the cheapest car reg states in the country.

Craig, I see plenty of cars here that have out of state plates. May have to do with where the owner claims residence too. Who knows what the game is. I tend to buy off condition, not the BS story I'm given. Sellers lie, not just dealers.

So true…unfortunately.

Undercarriage…

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1428784516.jpg

I'm on my phone, hard to see much. It looks dirty but not rusty from what I can see. Am I missing something?

I'm on the phone as well Matt. I can't tell. The exhaust does look a little rusty for most of it life being in AZ...but again, my phone is too small for my 55 year-old eyes.

Anybody else at the computer?

I'm on my iPad and it looks pretty darn good to me.

I am but I am also a 911 dope... Trans and crankcase a little oil but not bad for the age of the car... whiteish oxidation/light rust on exhaust... the tubs on the left and right closest to the camera have what looks like some light surface rust.

I can kinda see the surface rust on the tubs your referring too on my phone. Is that normal for a dry region as well, or is that something that would come from salted roads?

I guess I should look under a local CA car just to see what the difference is.

I'm a native Socal boy so I know nothing of this rust you speak of...

Me too...all my life in LA area with the exception of college years. I've never owned a car with rust issues.

Reality check. This was a brand new Porsche in NYC? That means it was probably purchased as a status symbol by a finance guy. The car was always garaged, never used for commuting, and probably was driven 500 miles a year, tops, and only on summer weekends to the Hamptons. I doubt the guy was redlining his shift points.

I don't see anything atypical regardless of climate.

ok Matt, now what is the right price? He wants $54k. I offered $50k. We're at a stand still. What's the fair price. You name it and I'll lake the offer.

I'll go offer him 45k to make your offer look better! ;)

I see A LOT of oil, dirt and surface rust on that under carriage. IMHO, there's no way that's an AZ car.

Mmmm, I just bought one with almost double the mileage @ 43k. I took that crappy cel pic and upped the contrast and brightness and inspected on a 55" screen. It looks a lot like the underside of my (mint) car. The engine case "oil" looks to be just the cosmoline applied by the factory. Mine has it in all the same spots.

Everything looks pretty good, although I can't figure out why the muffler is so rusty.

Honestly, a pic like that isn't going to tell you much, especially if you don't know the cars. You need to get it on a lift and get a good bright shop light up there and really spend several minutes going over everything. If you're serious about the car and get together on price with the seller, then invest in a real 3rd party PPI from a trusted shop. Anything posted here, my observations included, are just armchair quarterbacking without seeing the car in person.

I had the extreme good fortune in my case to find my dream car locally, and did the PPI myself.

$50K is the right price.

On paper.

If it's the car that grabs you, +$2K makes sense (it's not my money).

These cars are rising in value and this is the wrong time of year to buy a convertible... Of course.

Have to say - and betting dtw will back me up - these are fantastic cars to have the privilege of owning.

I should clarify my remark here; what I meant was that I'd buy a coupe. It's intersting that Porsche switched to building almost all 996 turbos as cabs in '04 and '05, I remember a friend buying a new 996tt coupe in '05 and having a hard time finding one at the dealer. There were plenty of cabs, of course.

Just ran into the guy a couple days ago, meant to ask him if he still has that car.

I'd personally want one with a lot more miles for a lot less $$. These are strong cars, (in fact that's an understatement), as long as it was maintained and not abused, higher than average miles would not stop me at all as long as the price reflected it.

Whatever you do, have fun with it! I like the interior color, I think it's a plus. That "football color" leather has become very fashionable in recent years and it looks fantastic, IMO. As to the price, there are a lot of 996tt cabs around. But then I like black, silver and even Guards Red in 996 cars, they look better in red than any of the previous cars, IMO. :cool:

The oil was the first thing that jumped out at me too. Is that really normal for 21.5K miles? I mean, it looks like something that simple green and a power washer could cut through in no time but it's just a little surprising.

Is no one concerned that this was a Hurricane Sandy victim? Especially considering dealer lie and surface rust on exhaust? Saltwater will do that.

I personally would not buy any car that was anywhere near NYC during Sandy. I know they shipped about a million of the dried out cars out west and they flooded Craigslist for quite awhile.

A guy I work with drives a Civic that was nearly new when Sandy hit. From the look of the leather it swam around for a bit - it's as hard and dried out as the stuff in my mom's '98 Buick. I've also never seen a car with so many warning lights lit up on the dash. The a/c, speedometer and tach work and that's about it.

I think your offer is fair. You're paying more for the low mileage, as Denis noted with a little higher mileage you can get one for far less. Though like techweenie said, if you absolutely love it, what's another $2k?

I agree with Dave, that looks like cosmoline. They are caked with that crap for rust protection. None of it looks wet like an oil leak. As for the surface rust, I'm yet to see a Porsche that doesn't have some surface rust on the exhaust. I assume it's due to condensation on the exhaust.

Here is the underside of my "near mint" GT3 which was a California/Arizona car. All factory cosmoline. I have wiped some of it off, and will eventually get to cleaning it up nicely.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1428844929.jpg

Interesting, thanks. Now I can't say I didn't learn something today.

Yeah, there is nothing rusty or alarming in that underside of motor shot, just dirt. There is oxidation on the exhaust pipes and mifflers, (which some are referring to as "tubs"), but that would be found on a 6 month old car in the desert.

It could certainly be cleaned-up better with a hot pressure washer. JAndrews car looks nice and clean underneath. :cool:

Jesus Christ, when did this forum get filled up with concours weenies?

I like clean engines, not sure if that makes me a "concours weenie", whatever that is?

I care more about clean mechanical parts than the outside of the car, FWIW.

Definitely does not look like something I'd spend $50k on. I still don't get the urge to get into this car. I hear you on having trouble finding one, but isn't the hunt half the fun? I like black, silver and red. Red is actually stunning as mentioned before. It gives a 996 a more classic look.

edit: So I guess these things look like this in AZ too. :) My 993 has both engine and transmission rebuilt, so it looks a lot shinier. I still would not buy the car because it traveled state lines and don't like sellers that come down zero on their price. It is part of the procedure to meet in the middle. Some private sellers may be firm, but this from a dealer is very strange to me. He must have a hunch that spring will bring in that buyer at 54. It may be Craig. ;)

Good Luck!

G

that does seem like a lot more dirt than mileage would account for. My 84 has 72K and is a lot cleaner that that.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1428880863.jpg

Some of you guys have some crazy arbitrary requirements for a car. Never crossed state lines? Never had more than one owner? Never been in a region that experienced a natural disaster? You just eliminated 95% of the cars out there for no good reason.