996 deal - too good to be true?

[Rick Lee]

$35k for a 996 with a new clutch and engine? Are you kidding me?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10156&item=2452544476

[JeremyD]

Would make a nice track car!

[s_wilwerding]

I think you're going to start seeing more and more of this. You're already seeing 996s in the low $40Ks, and a car like this, with a rebuilt engine, is obviously lower.

For as much crap as people on this Board give them, 996s for $35K - $40K are a tremendous deal.

[PeteBrown]

My father is looking for a Black/black '99 996 Coupe and they are trading in the $40ks everywhere. The cars that have more than 70,000 miles have asking prices in the mid $30s. The best deals we have seen are '99 with about 40,000 miles with asking prices of $37-39k. This is only for the Coupes, the Cabs seem to be holding steady in the $45-$50 range.

[JeremyD]

Not bad stats for a water pumper - I'd hate to be the one that takes the depreciation hit on it...

[Hetmann]

We are going to see these go for what the market will bear. They are too expensive when new to begin with and they lose they cachet with the cars as jewlery crowd once they are not the latest thing and the old air cooled guys have yet to really embrace them. Supply and demand working here.

[keithlambert7]

Richard,

Don't think that's too outa line for the 996 prices now. That's why I bit the bullet and got my '99 cab, in the low $40's with 30k on the clock.

As long as your not buying it for it's resale price-holding ability (they'll likely go down further), so they're a pretty good deal right now, and a hoot to drive.

Keith

[Plavan]

I have the best of both worlds . The 996's are great cars. Mine is another EBAY special. Very fast and fun to drive. Good for long distance trips. I got the deal of the century last year on my 996. Mine was a repo that a wholesaler in Texas got a hold of. This was not some regular repo, it came with all the keys, and records. It was also loaded with the factory Aerokit, M030 sport susp, 18-inch hollow turbos, LSD (an option in 99), ABD, Traction Control, Hi-FI, Full leather, Sport Seats, 6-speed, Porsche Sport Exhaust (must have), did I mention it only had 23k miles!
To make a long story short, the wholesaler had no clue about Porsches. He had no idea of what he was holding. I had him read the sticker under the hood so I could decode all the options. He kept going and going with Porsche's 3 digit codes for options. I was getting so excited. I made a deal with the guy and flew out to Texas from Ca to look at the car (Had him take it off Ebay). I saw the records, and inspected it. I bought the car for $46K. I have been loving it ever since. The drive back to CA from Texas was a blast! I drove 800 miles a day, for 2 days, and it was very comfortable. Can you say triple digit speeds through New Mexico and Arizona (Almost got caught in N.M. whew!)
Do not knock the 996's until you drive them. They are great cars at great prices.

[s_wilwerding]

Another thing to consider is that 98 and 99 996s have 3.4 liter engines, while post-2000 996s have 3.6 liter engines. That's one reason the pre-2000s are cheaper.

[Plavan]

Actually, 1999- 2001 have the 3.4's and the 2002's-current have the 3.6's. You were thinking Boxster engine changes from the 2.5 to 2.7

[plain fan]

They are quickly becoming 964s. Good cars but just not quite what everyone wanted.
I've seen local dealers selling 02s for ~50K.
And fairly new turbos for ~85K or less.

[ValveFloat]

I would be wondering why a car with 64000 miles needed a new engine.
Was it a recall type thing?

[RickM]

Are both the 3.4 and 3.6, used in the "standard" 996, the "not used for racing" engines?

[jakermc]

That dealer is only about 2 blocks from my office. They always have nice stuff out in front. Every now and then I see a mint looking (at least from the street) 930 or pre-993 cab.

[Plavan]

Plain Fad- Nothing like the 964. Just market, supply and demand, and no one buying the newer 996's because the new 997 is just around the corner. It happens with every manufacturer. Hehe... just look at Corvette's for sale now :P

Most likely the new engine is due to a Rear Main Seal failure (RMS) Some Boxsters and 996 get them and Porsche tries to fix it once if it is within spec. If it happens a few more times or is out of spec you get a brand new motor even outside of the warrenty.

[techweenie]

Okay, you guys are (mostly) talking about asking prices. 996s are not bringing asking prices.

They can be had now in the mid-30s because of all the cars coming off lease, and the general notion that the newer cars are incrementally better.

I agree with Mr. Plavan as well, that there are enough rumors about new Porsches to suppress current 996 sales, and that has a ripple effect back to the '99s.

[Plavan]

Sure, you may be able to get a 996 for mid-30k.... But it will have 70k-100k miles, a rebuilt engine, and probably in poor condition, not what a real Porsche person would want.
You do not know what 996's are going for until your are in the market for one. It's easy for someone to say they are going for mid-$30k's when they are not looking for one, or trying to buy one. I looked at a bunch off 996's. The proof is when you see the car. You see the asking prices in the $40k's to $50k's because that is what good examples are going for. What do I mean by good examples? Good examples are what real Porsche people look for (ie taken care of, low miles, nice options, records)

[plain fan]

Well for that money I'd buy a nice 993.

[CarreraS2]

While looking for another car, I saw a very nice 996 for sale asking $39,000, but I know he would have gone down from that.

Records, no damage, around 44,000 miles.

I think that these prices aren't out of the ordinary for modern cars, which are now coming off lease. A '99 996 is now 5 model years old, it is very common for a 5 year old car to be worth 1/2 of its original sticker price.

I think leasing has really driven the prices of used cars down, for 2 reasons:

1) Supply side - after 3-5 years, all these high line cars come off lease and on to the used car market, like clockwork. Ever seen the prices of 3-5 year old Jags? Givin' em away!

2) Demand side - the demand for late model used high line cars is less because it is so easy for people to just get into a NEW one by way of a lease ("low, low monthly payments"!).

[Plavan]

Here is a picture of my old 993 (very similar to my 996 ) I will always love the 993 looks better than the 996. The 993's are great to, but I can tell you from experience the 996 is a much more fun/comfortable car to drive IMHO. Either way you will have a great car.