mattonrennlist

https://www.carmax.com/car/14746110

Hi folks,

I have this car reserved and having it shipped up to the SF bay area. Assuming the initial inspections are good, I plan to purchase the turbo (Carmax doesn’t allow PPIs, but has a 5 day money back guarantee) and immediately bring it to RMG or the rennshop for a PPI.

1. Assuming the PPI comes back clean, what do you think of this deal?
2. Based off the pics and history (or lack thereof), any concerns you may have? (the leafs filled air filters are slightly disconcerting)
3. CarMax offers MaxCare, a third party warranty provider, and was quoted $4350 for 5 years/45k miles with a $300 deductible. I’ve read mixed reviews about filing for claims… what're your thoughts? yay or nay?
4. Anything else concerning or your overall thoughts?

Appreciate your opinion and expertise.

Matt

CarFax Report (Clean, shows 4 owners but 1 or 2 could be dealer? see attachment)

Build list:
PCNA
Commission #:
598899

Prod Month:
05/2006
Price:
$140,745.00
Exterior:
Black
Interior:
Black Full Leather
Warranty Start:
June 29, 2006
Additional Equipment
220
Axle-Differential Lock Rear
342
Heated Seats
404
19" Turbo wheels
450
Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB)
480
Manual transmission
640
Sport Chrono Package Turbo
692
Six-disc CD autochanger
A1
Black
AT
Black Full Leather
P01
Adaptive Sports Seats
XCZ
Sport Shifter
XMP
Sun Visors in Leather
XMZ
Rear Center Console in Leather
XNG
Instrument surround in leather
XNS
Steering column casing leather
XPA
Thicker Steering Wheel-Leather
XXZ
Footrest in Aluminum

99711mike82

I have personally driven this car, as I had it on reserve last week from So Cal. Unfortunately, they low balled the crap out of me on my 997 C2 trade in, and the numbers just didnt work for me. This car felt solid with tons of power. The pictures don't do it justice, it was dirty when I saw it, but it was still in great condition. I would only be worried about over-revs and the clutch needing to be changed soon as I didnt see that it had been changed on the vehicle history report. Also need to check to see if the cooland lines have been pinned. If not, budget 4K for the coolant lines and another $2500 for the clutch soon at a decent Indy. Best of luck my friend.... this car is a beast!!! Torque-galore!!!!!

-Mike in So Cal

pfbz

Have somebody inspect those PCCB rotors *carefully*. A full set of replacement pccb rotors and pads will run $23K+ just for the parts. No, not exaggerating... It's not the 56K miles that will kill them, but either monkey mechanics chipping them when removing/installing wheels, or track days. Not going to be a maxcare warranty item either.

Now Carmax does have a policy of 'fixing' many things that are wrong with the car for the first 30 days, maxcare or not, and you might get them to replace rotors if they are damaged or worn, but my guess is once they find out how much they cost, they'll fight it tooth and nail.

[and on the coolant pinning... If you have the engine down for pinning, any honest shop will swap clutch components for parts plus a tiny bit of labor, since they will be splitting the engine/transmission anyway]

In general on CarMax cars, I've heard from many folks who got great cars from them, but every 911 or Cayman I've looked at was pretty rough. Owners that didn't really take care of their cars, followed by a dealer that didn't treat a $70,000 Turbo any different than a $7,000 Subaru, and it showed in their lot condition.

triplenet

you can find a really clean low mileage 07 for 70k with all upgrades and lower mileage ....

60k miles I would want to pay in the 60's for a mint 07 ...

pfbz

I thought that car looked familiar... checked the VIN. It first appeared in Phoenix back on June 20th, and I put it under reservation!

I ended up releasing the reservation before looking at it because of a title transfer issue that at the time prevented the car from being registered out of Arizona due to an electronic title, and at that point they were unwilling to hold it, sell it out of state, or transfer it until they received the hard title. I'm in Colorado...

Must have finally gotten the hard title, as it sounds like it has since travelled at a minimum to S. Cal, Ontario, and now SF.

What are the odds that the first three people in this thread all had the same carmax car under reservation?

mattonrennlist

Thanks for the info Mike! Similar to you, I'm moving from a 997.1 C2S so most definitely looking forward to the torque. I'm also a bit worried about the DME after sitting so long at Carmax...

Good call on the PCCB's, most definitely will have the shop review that. Ideally I'd like to purchase from a private party but all the similar spec'ed ones I've found have been asking high 60's, without the "required" maint pieces done i.e. coolant line pinning and clutch job. Either way I'll update this thread and share my findings.

My patience and search skills are not as strong as yours, most of the stuff I've been finding are similarly spec'ed but much higher in price. Will have to find out if this is a junk carmax special or a lucky gem. To your point however, having to factor in coolant line pinning + a potential clutch job, the "value" quick diminishes.

Assuming that everything checks out well during the PPI and no major issues, then adding the 2 major jobs, is $67k still a good deal?

This is super helpful and I'm really questioning the condition of the car now. Being on the carmax lot for so long and not having anyone pull the trigger, regardless of e-title logistics, doesn't quite seem to add up.

mariodesmo

I've looked at four 991's in the past month at local Carmax stores. And unfortunately all of them have had a rough life, already. It's a real shame to see such nice cars already showing abuse. As noted above in another post, the previous owners must have paid little attention to their cars. All had scratched/worn seat leather and interior pieces, one had a damaged sun roof, all had paint chips and scratches, and a lack of service records. I was told they (Carmax) throws out copies of service records that may be in the car when it's received, to protect the previous owner(s) privacy! So beware and get a really thorough PPI done if you do buy it. I released all the cars I've reserved at Carmax after seeing them in person. Luckily I haven't had to pay for having any cars transferred, they were all here in the bay area. The funny thing is that three of the four were transferred to out of state Carmax stores, then were released there as well. So whoever paid to have them transferred released them as well. I asked a few of the Carmax reps I've spoken with in person where they source their Porsche's and was told that they get most of them from auction, or private individuals bringing in their cars to sell. Good luck with your turbo!

XPC5

Your plan of attack is good, if the ppi is decent, the spec of the car is great, locking diff and pccb are a great performance spec, and the leather console looks great, way nicer than the carbon trim ones. If you are happy with it, I would grab it. Or you could search for another 6-12 mo. For a better price or condition, these are rare enough that it takes time.

Johnny DB

Air filter looks dirty

upeshdesai

I also had this car on reservation for a day, until they told me it can't be sold to an out of state person haha, it seemed like a solid deal and I would have likely bought it if I could have!

AutoQuest Motorsports

PCCB's shouldn't be as concerning anymore as a maintenance item. We having been selling carbon ceramic brake rotor alternatives from Surface Transforms that are half the price ($11,998 for a full set) as their US distributor. They have better heat dispersion so lower operating temperatures leading to less wear and tear on the pads/rotors, and at the end of their life you don't throw them out like the PCCBS....you can refurbish them up to 4-5 times.

Food for thought

Quadcammer

car looks a little dirty and a bit worn around the edges. Filter is a BMC and has some junk in there, not world ending. an overrev report and PPI would likely tell you a lot if you don't mind some of the interior scratching and likely not the best condition paint.

Skwerl

Can't say I'd be too excited to drop $12k on discs either, though...

AutoQuest Motorsports

That is true, although I'd rather $12k than $23k haha

pfbz

Awesome that there are new choices, though I think for most just converting to iron rotors and matching pads will be alternative for a few grand.