Jon 'Bama

I was doing the same as you looking for a car in the low 30's

I ended up buying a 97 with 54k miles on it for 37400. I went a bit above my budget but it is a Porsche Certified Used car and I still got a great deal

that said there are great cars in your range. I missed out, due to timing on a beautiful AV Green 95 that went for 33. Turbo nose, 17" Targa wheels, nicely optioned, Very well maintained with 9.5/10 paint 9.5/10 interior perfect mechanically. And I believe just slightly over your mileage number (mid 50's if I recall correctly)

if you have the time you can find the car. Check Porsche.com dealer inventory, it shows both certified and non-certifed used. Don't worry about buying non-certifed as long as it has been in service for over 8 years* if under 8 years and non-certified i would stay away.

Good luck and good hunting, my search took about three months, it was fun and frustrating as hell at times

Jon

*to be certified it must be under 8 years in service so you won't find a certified 95, some late model 96's can be certifed. If you find a 97-98 that is not certified be wary. I had a dealer tell me "oh it will pass cert we just don't want to do it" yeah sure I'll buy that

Randy M

"What is this guy SMOKING - crack??"

That is exactly what I say to myself sometimes when perusing the classified.

Berkley

You are getting some good advice, and I think you would be wise to take Laurence's comment to heart......you will ultimately get what you pay for....

I bought a '98 993 CS for $6,000 plus below the asking price, which was low to start....But the seller was in a rural area and had hit a financial bump in the road....what carried the day was my ability to pay cash and in fact I escrowed the funds, while the PPI was done and about $1500 of minor stuff was done by dealer...so the seller got $7500 less than his starting price of $53,000....

It was close to a concours car and it now is...owned and shown by a fellow Rennlister...........

My point is it was luck to a large degree and the ability to move quickly at long distance...I never saw the Porsche until it was shipped to me


GOOD LUCK!

OldGuy

Berkely where you been??
Youngest of 2, the best advice I saw was make some offers
you are comfortable with- be ready to walk away.
I did that and people started calling me back.
coming down off their price. Just have your money ready.
Make those offers theyll come down.
Oh and be ready to go outta state and if you have
to, spend $400 on a plane ticket and go get it-
that'll save you some $$ but stay away from heavy
snow areas unless your search takes you into april.
My search took 5 months.

2ndof2

To all a big thank you for your input. I have definately held back on making some offers as I have been evaluating the market and didn't want to just jump at something that met my price parameters alone. Based upon the feedback from you guys I can now bid on cars confidently as I now have a better understanding of what constitutes a "good deal," a "fair deal," and a "crack-pipe deal." I'm going to have to study the differences in the earlier two years of 993 models so I know what to expect from a '95 or '96 C2 since those are likely to be the model years which I'll be bidding on. Thanks again and happy New Year!

David in LA

One of the problems with finding an excellent condition car in the low-mid 30s is that a lot of the better maintained cars are owned by enthusiasts who could probably afford to keep the car unless they were moving, lost their job, ran out garage space or something similar. If I had a great condition car in this price range I would be very, very reluctant to sell it...what am I going to do with 33K? buy a 350Z? Spend 2X to get into a 996? No thanks.

IMO, absent the situations above 35K is probably the floor for a MY96+ car in good/excellent condition unless the mileage is high...say 80-90K. Just my $0.20...good luck in your search

nman413

Email me at icerbofh@hotmail.com. I've got a friend with a 95 C2 for sale.

GTR 993

You should be able to find several cars with 50K or less for mid $30's especially coupes. Try Autotrader and as others have said haggle on the price a little and you will be amazed at how much some of the sellers will come down. My Coupe when I bought it had 36,000 miles from memory and they wanted $39,900 for it. It had ABD/LSD 6 speed Polar Silver and Black Interior with service records I bought it for $35,000 on the money. Keep Looking its out there , don't get discouraged on dealers or individuals asking way too much for their cars. If you watch some of these cars they will be for sale for a very long time. JMO

GTR 993

I did a quick search on autotrader and found this car. http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...r=&cardist=466


It is a 1997 with 39,000 miles for under $35K It would cost $600-$800 approx. to get it shipped to you. You could also probally find a rennlister to check it out for you.

Jon 'Bama

I know that car I tried to buy it for 35K when he was asking 37900 (it started and 39900) really is in very nice shape though there are no records with it at all


I have driven it twice, it is in very nice shape, though I never did do a PPI


Jon

Bob Dennis

You should be sure to check the current issue of Excellence which has a market update for the 89-98 911. I was surprised to see that a 95 coupe goes for 26K - 36K at the high end. I'd use this to help negotiate a price with any seller, and deduct any needed repairs (there are usually several, after you get the PPI) from the high end price.

Good luck.

lexpilot

email me at rmlbend@bendcable.com
I have a 95 coupe that I have considered selling, not selling, selling, not selling,. You know the drill.

DC from Cape Cod

I've yet to see those values (from Excellence) bear out in the New England market...I think they get them from dot-.comers just before they jump off the Golden Gate Bridge.

stedge

2ndof2:

You have inspired me....

Best of luck in your search.

Solitude

Check out market update in Excellence magazine current issue Feb,2004...