The affordable 997 thread

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

$27K is by far the lowest I've ever seen on these cars.

That's the normal price for that car. In fact, he'd take less. I've seen them for thousands less on this thread. If it was a 996 with those miles, it would be $10k less.

[wayner]

On the topic of affordable, I read an article recently that, to paraphrase, said a 911 costs $10k a year until depreciation settles down and they sit at $30k, where they will stay for quite some time.

So,based on that article,my imagination kicked in and, although you might get lucky and there may be some relatively free years, if you take that $10k number and buy a $30k car that will not depreciate very quickly, and own it for three years, that $10k per year pretty much covers the cost of a new engine.

At that rate I'm really wondering if keeping a newer one under warranty is really that much more expensive?

[Paul K]

I'm not a big fan of cabs, but...

2006 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 AWD 2dr Convertible - $24999

2006 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 AWD 2dr Convertible

MUCH better, IMHO...

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/cto/5715558584.html

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by speeder

That's the normal price for that car. In fact, he'd take less. I've seen them for thousands less on this thread. If it was a 996 with those miles, it would be $10k less.

I bought a 2005 997 for about $27k back in 2014. It was on Ebay, not exactly a real "find". I flew to Charlotte and drove it home through the Smoky Mountains, which was fantastic. Really nice clean car with about 75k, decent records, Sport Chrono, Seal Gray over Black. Good deals are out there if you shop around and are willing to travel.

[cmccuist]

How far would you be willing to travel?

This one is in my (current) home town of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

The guy wants 100,000 riyals ($26,000).

2007 Carrera 4S
Only 62200 Km. All Services at the agency. Accidents free. Special color. Sports Design wheels. Super clean. Carbon fiber Package. Tanned interior.
Sports exhaust and sports Chrono package and sports seats (All Agency ordered) no third party parts or modifications
Full front protection. Solar tinting.
New set of LED’s front and tail lights (originals available)
Reason for Sale, Lack of use, and second a Porsche not needed.

Price reduced to sell.

[willtel]

Originally Posted by cmccuist

2007 Carrera 4S
Only 62200 Km. All Services at the agency. Accidents free. Special color.

What color is it? It looks black in the picture.

[sammyg2]

If you can get past black wheels .......

2006 Porsche carrera 4 911 cheapest here with these miles - $23700 (Oc)

This is very nice Carrera 4 911. Car is stick shift . New clutch. Just serviced. Runs very smooth and strong . Clean title available. Great tires . If your looking for a nice looking Porsche look no further . This is the one for u . Only 93k miles . Call or text me


I'm not the first owner
I will provide u with Vin so u can run your own car fax .
You can also call the dealer and ask for car history using the Vin.
Please don't waste your time or mine . If your serious come and look at the car .. no low offers please .


714 791 33 four zero ..

2006 Porsche carrera 4 911 cheapest here with these miles

[cmccuist]

Originally Posted by willtel

What color is it? It looks black in the picture.

It's a dark green. Doesn't show up well in that picture.

[Vipergrün]

I blew what I think was a good deal on a 2009 Carerra S, 63K miles, super clean, could have got it for 40K, and no IMS worries. Not sure I'd get a 2006-2008 due to the continued IMS issue....

When I pull the trigger it will probably be a 2005 Carrera S.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Vipergrün

I blew what I think was a good deal on a 2009 Carerra S, 63K miles, super clean, could have got it for 40K, and no IMS worries. Not sure I'd get a 2006-2008 due to the continued IMS issue....

When I pull the trigger it will probably be a 2005 Carrera S.

Why would an '05 be better wrt IMS issues?

[James Brown]

05 is the big change back to round headlights and airbag, my choice for entry level also

[Vipergrün]

Originally Posted by speeder

Why would an '05 be better wrt IMS issues?

It's my understanding the 2005 can have the IMS bearing replaced while doing a clutch job and the 2006-08 requires cracking the case, and it all went away in 2009.....

[wildthing]

Still waiting for 997.2 S'es to go below $40k. I've seen a few listed for 44k. Maybe next year around this time.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Vipergrün

It's my understanding the 2005 can have the IMS bearing replaced while doing a clutch job and the 2006-08 requires cracking the case, and it all went away in 2009.....

I thought that I heard somewhere along the way that it's only the 2005 base model 911 that can have the bearing changed, not the Carrera S. Maybe because the S model is a 3.8(?) I'm really not up on them.

I have an acquaintance in Minneapolis w a nice '05 Carrera S, I've mentioned it here before because he really drives the thing and has had zero problems since new as of the last time I talked to him. I have heard since I've been here that it may be available due to some health issues he's having. I'm trying to find out more, I'm interested.

[jorian]

Originally Posted by speeder

I thought that I heard somewhere along the way that it's only the 2005 base model 911 that can have the bearing changed, not the Carrera S. Maybe because the S model is a 3.8(?) I'm really not up on them.

I have an acquaintance in Minneapolis w a nice '05 Carrera S, I've mentioned it here before because he really drives the thing and has had zero problems since new as of the last time I talked to him. I have heard since I've been here that it may be available due to some health issues he's having. I'm trying to find out more, I'm interested.

My 05' S has the upgraded bearing installed. As others have said, 06' and later need to have the case split to access the bearing. If you can afford it, get the 09' and later cars and drive with relative confidence.

[Halm]

Change over for both 3.6 and 3.8 was mid-year, 2005. There is a thread over on RL that has breakout of change based on engine serial numbers. I have it bookmarked on another computer and will try to post the link tomorrow.

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by Halm

Change over for both 3.6 and 3.8 was mid-year, 2005. There is a thread over on RL that has breakout of change based on engine serial numbers. I have it bookmarked on another computer and will try to post the link tomorrow.

Yes, the lawsuit had the VIN #s but even with that document ( read it and was more confused after) it's a bit of a crapshoot... I heard of folks buying basd on that and having the new IMS anyway.. It's a lawsuit filing, not the end-all be all sadly... If you can buy an 05 and the PO tells you he did the IMS (and proves it), you're golden. If you are buying hoping you can, it' s a bit of a crapshoot ;-( which is reflected in pricing (see next post)

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by wildthing

Still waiting for 997.2 S'es to go below $40k. I've seen a few listed for 44k. Maybe next year around this time.

Good luck w/ that ! Learn to love the 991 maybe ?

I've been looking actively for 2 months now. Admittedly it's harder for me since I want a white one with a stick shift. I'm starting to think this thread should be renamed "the affordable 997.1" ;-) there are no affordable Mk2 997s if you want a stick and *not* a black cabrio with a beige interior ;-( Sems like Porsche made 95% PDK and 90% black cars in that era.

I missed on 5x 997.2 cars - not waffling, just doing due diligence - by hours, a day, they are going over market like hotcakes... Low 50s to low 60s !!! 997.2 are getting a serious bump in the market for decent cars that are non pdk. I see them routinely $5000-10K over what they should be under normal depreciation, or the few languishing ones have areason to languish when you read the carfax (accident, electrical issues reported multiples times, etc..)

To the point where I gave up when when I could afford a nice 991 (my color and specs too) practically still in break-in for only $5K more than a 997 with 50K miles... Insane ! So that's what I did, I think (if Carmax would consent to actually shipping it to me under 14 days from barely 300 miles away, useless muppets)

Man, the guy that invents an easier IMS replacement for 997.1 is going to turn that market upside down ;-)

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Halm

Change over for both 3.6 and 3.8 was mid-year, 2005. There is a thread over on RL that has breakout of change based on engine serial numbers. I have it bookmarked on another computer and will try to post the link tomorrow.

Here's a link to engine codes and serial numbers as applicable to different models: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/93289189/Porsche_Engine_Codes_1952-2012.pdf

My understanding is that the M96 engines in the early 2005 997 and 997S are those with the replaceable IMS, and that anything with an M97 code is the non-replaceable IMS. The 987 only had an M97 engine, hence no replaceable IMS. But I have never seen a direct cross reference between engine code, engine serial number, IMS design, and VIN number, so without actually pulling the transmission I am not aware of any way to tell which IMS will be installed. But if you have an M97 engine or anything from 2006 and on, pretty safe bet that it will be the later IMS design.

[edgemar]

I wonder what is more preferable... a 997 with a M96 engine with a new LN bearing installed or the updated design in the later 997's with the M97 engine.