Sir Crisp

I found a 991 S cab with most of the options I want. Always a catch. Car has 37,000 miles, but looks clean. How much should I be worried about that? It's a launch car. 2012.5. It's not CPO either. Was originally a leased car, now sold by a small used dealer, who likely picked it up at auction.

My concerns are 1. Resale, especially after I put 20k more miles on it, and 2. maintenance needs. and 3. obviously there's very little warranty left.

Price-wise, a good deal. About $10k less than if the car was under 20k miles.

Thoughts on this milage? Am I asking for trouble by not buying CPO at this milage?

plenum

Short answer... Find a CPO with fewer miles. There are a lot of 991s coming off lease this year (PFS pushed a LOT of 27, 29-month specials back in late 2013), and although you may feel that saving 10k up-front makes it OK to purchase a non-warranty, non-CPO car with higher miles, you just might end-up spending that much or more to deal with any unexpected tranny or engine issues over a few years! Now, I am NOT saying I know any better than anyone else on this forum how reliable or worry-free these sophisticated cars are as they age -- but why take the chance when there are just so many other options out there???? If you can't stomach the $10k right now, then wait about 8 more months and there will be even more out there in your price range I am betting.

Good luck!

zirrah

+1

You're not asking for trouble at that mileage, but you gotta figure that the 40K service likely hasn't been done and who knows what else. PPI for sure. If you budget the service into your offer, I wouldn't be concerned. 911's are meant to be driven and typically they do better the more they have been driven.

oalvarez

I'd like to know what the market opinion is as well. Having said that, work to find the car that best fits your wants and more importantly, your budget.

R_Rated

I purchased a launch car (cab) about 30 days ago - end of the month, end of the year A great car but 3 things need to be fixed - AC display is loosing pixels, an interior panel wasn't put in right(I could fix this but don't have time) and seatbelts were installed twisted. CPO is going to take care of this.

Launch cars didn't have full cow, PSE and backup sensors only with no visual are the things I with I had.

Cargurus.com was the tool I mostly used to see the market. Mine was 81K but had 3200 miles and CPO for reference.

Dewinator

I wouldn't worry about it, as long as it's discounted for the mileage in line with the rest of the market. I'd rather take a car that was driven normally as a DD than one with minimal miles that was thrashed every weekend.

That being said, if you're worried about resale in a couple of years, I'd stay away from the 991. They build so many now that it will be years before the depreciation curve starts to ease up, especially with a new model around the corner. People who leave it in the garage thinking their preserving the resale are going to have a nasty surprise. Buy a 991 if you want to drive it, but if you're looking for resale try something older or limited edition model like the GT4.

Sir Crisp

Great perspectives, and interesting that you mention that. I definitely plan to drive and enjoy it. I could see myself driving it every other day at least. Yet, I don't want to lose my a$$ on it either in 2 years. Looking at the 997 cab, it seems the depreciation is leveling out in the $50-$65k range.

It would make me feel a lot better if it was CPO. I suppose I could make them take it to the local dealer for a thorough PPI.

Speaking of limited edition, the Boxster GTS caught my eye as an alternative to the 991 cab. There's not many of them out there, and many journalists say they like it better than the 991 cab as an open-top sports car. Is the Boxster GTS limited enough to hold onto its resale better than the 991, or would I need to hop up to a Spyder?

Maybe I should just pick up a new Miata. Half kidding.

Larry Cable

if you are thinking Boxster GTS, get a Spyder

R_Rated

Don't sell the Miata short. It is a fantastic car and no shame in driving one of the newer ones. The Fiat/Miata/Abrath will be a killer little car.

Sir Crisp

In all seriousness, I'm a huge fan of the Miata. I test drove the new ND and it was a hoot. They nailed that redesign. Nailed it. Like a little street-legal go kart, it begs to change direction and be whipped, then asks for more. Since it only has 155 hp, you can wring that little 4 banger's neck on public roads, and not lose your driver's license in the process. For those on this forum who have never driven a 2,280 lb car, you need to go try one. The lightness is addictive.

Plus, they are so easy to mod, simple to work on, and are cheap and reliable to own. I'd probably lose as much in depreciation in 3 years on the 991 cab as the entire Miata MSRP! You can't argue with the economics of that thing. Killer little car.

Sir Crisp

So let's hear a sound off. How many miles before you would hesitate to purchase a used 991? What would give you pause?

BingoWest

I wouldn't buy a 991 without a couple years left on the warranty.

NoGaBiker

Never personally owned a Porsche past 45,000 miles. But I've sold to people I know and they haven't had problems to speak of. Certainly never anything like major drivetrain issues. More like convertible top cables, clutches, coolant overflow tanks.

And as to your earlier question, if I wanted a vert I'd be in a Box GTS before a Carrera Cab so fast it wouldn't even be an issue. I loved two Boxster S I owned, and that was back when they were a lot slower than 911 cabs (my brother had a 3.6 996 cab at the same time I had a 2004 Boxster SE). The 981 is a much prettier design than either of its forebears; it is larger outside and in (legroom in the 986 was a problem for me, but that was cured on 987). The two trunks proved much more useful and accessible to me than subsequent 911s' back seats (although if two people are in the Boxster you really can't have anything else in the interior -- my wife would fill the pax footwell with bags of crap apparently necessary for survival on a 3-hour drive. )

Finally, even if the Boxster depreciates at the same rate as the 911, since it starts at about 2/3 as spendy, the depreciation in real dollars should be about 2/3 as much.

Finally finally, Miatas are great cars. Had a 94 for 10 years -- started life as a pampered street car, moved to turbo'd terror, finally relegated to track duty. Outstanding cars. Haven't driven an ND, but looks like they're just about 40hp shy of the perfect formula.

R_Rated

9K miles for me... but that's just me. This depends on budget. Bigger budget allows for more wants.

Are you going to keep long term? If yes then depending on your usage this could vary. I'm up in the air but can see trading for a GTS4 Cab at some point when I ind the unicorn I am looking for.

Daily driver or weekend car or track car? If track then who cares. Daily then don't worry as much. Weekend trophy? Depends on your personal view of the miles.

These cars are not like almost all other high end cars where you have to worry about the miles. Nobody wants a 10k mile ferrari... much less a 50K mile one. On our cars its no problem.

LnC993

+1

And get LWB if possible. Current Boxster Spyder with the n/a flat 6 is going to be the last of its kind.