Berkley

That price seems almost "to low" at 36k....it is well optioned, good color combo and miles are okay. The '97 and '98 C2S versions are very desirable in the market, even thought the C2S option was a no cost option in 1997.

I would have the PPI include a compression and leakdown.....also a close look for oil leaks from valve and cam covers....if it has original rotors and clutch, I'd want a close look.....Basically, it is a eleven year old Porsche and they have wear issues

Do they or the owner have all the service records for your review...to get a feel what has been done...The dealer should be able to pull up all service records and share them with you....

Maybe you have rooted up a truffle, but the asking price is below market IMHO

palladio

My typo in a previous post. As far as I know it's not an "S", just a standard C2. The S would be a widebody right?

TRINITONY

big butt! ..yes

Wilder

Crests on headrests and RSD (storage bins) are rare options. 18" technologies and HIFI are a nice pluses too. The car has a nice history and great color combo. If you pick it up for $33k, you got yourself a very good deal. I'd say that the asking is very good as it is.

Good luck with it. 993s are special, relatively low-production cars and they hold their value incredibly well due to their following. As you probably know from being in the market, you could probably pick up a 996 with the same miles for less. 993s are very engaging to drive and very different from 996s in many regards. Regardless of what you buy, you may want to spend some time on the board as it is a great resource.

trojanman

I don't know where you'll be registering the car, but in CA it doens't matter where (or from whom) you bought it... you'll be paying sales tax (~8% of purchase price) at the time of registration.

Is this true of most states or are we just getting bent over (again) out here?

Dr. No

That's a very good deal, with some very nice options, assuming no major mechanical issues pop up in the PPI. With that mileage you'll want to get an idea of how much life is left on the brakes and clutch too. The rear seat delete can be a resale negative (cuts out buyers with kids who still fit back there).

Wilder

Maybe but if that were the case, many here would jump, heck, leap at the opportunity to do a swap.

Berkley

He mentioned VA....our sales tax is 3% due when titled in VA for tags, but then bere is the annual PPTax , which can vary by County.....

By the way have you sold your Porsche yet? It looks great...sorry you are selling after all the trials and tribulations you went through after the initial purchase from the CA dealer....you became an instant expert on Porsche mechanicals

Ciao

air eater

If you purchase a car from an individual in or from out of Arizona, there is no sales tax paid, but if you buy from a dealer anywhere you get clipped for the sales tax unless you paid the tax in the state you bought the car from.

palladio

The car is in Georgia. No sales tax on private party sales, and I'll be registering the car here. Dealer cars get 7% sales tax.

Slow Guy

Here in TN it's the same as was mentioned about Calif., we pay the sales tax when you register/title the car the first time so it doesn't matter who you purchased the vehicle from, you still pay the state.

IIRC GA has an annual "Personal Property Tax"? where you pay a modest tax on your cars every year? Again, IIRC, the annual tax on this car would be about $400 ? I used to live in Roswell, GA.

palladio

OK, so I got the car thoroughly inspected today.

The good news:

Mechanically the car checks out well, and the mechanic (an independent Porsche specialist with 30 years experience) said it was one of the cleanest motors he's seen. No oil leaks anywhere (and yes there is oil in it!) and no other apparent issues. Brakes have about 30% life left on the pads, clutch is good. No air injection issues. All the accessories work and the AC blows iced cold.

The bad news:

Took the car to my body shop guy, who is another Porsche specialist that does a lot of custom work and race cars. The left front fender has been replaced and it looks like the right fender is original but was probably removed at some point (there was a bolt missing). The hood looked original to him, but he couldn't tell for sure. The bumper and the fenders have been resprayed, and probably the drivers side door. He didn't see any structural issues and the sides and back end of the car looked correct. He thought the car was sound, but clearly had work on the front end.

So now I'm trying to decide what to do. I called the dealer (a major Porsche dealer here) sales rep and told him what I'd found. He said the car was on consignment from someone who was a friend of the owner of the dealership, otherwise they wouldn't have a car for sale with known body damage (whatever!). He said that he thought he had gotten the owner down as far as he would go. The car could go out the door for around $31K plus tax, so $33K. They also offered to take my 2000 Range Rover on trade for $8K, which is a pretty full value for that car (Carmax offered me $4K and KBB retail is around 10), This would make the transaction simpler as I wouldn't have to deal with selling it. So I could get the car for $25K cash all in.

The car is my favorite color combo, runs well, and appears to be in excellent shape mechanically. Cosmetically the interior is super clean and the exterior looks fine. I'm looking for a daily driver, so I don't need/want a museum piece. It's just a matter of how much value has been lost in the car due to the bodywork, and how bad a hit I would take if I had to sell it down the road. Clearly if the car is sound there is a value to it, but how much?

Any thoughts or advice from the peanut gallery would be greatly appreciated as always. I'm bringing the car back to the dealer tomorrow, and will have to decide if I want to do a deal or not.

mborkow

if this is going to be a daily driver, how many miles a day are you going to be driving? i put about 100 a day (4-5 days a week) and i got really tired of the maintenance costs (something came up just about every season). make sure you budget for unseen repairs and the dreaded clogged SAI ports (at 61k miles you are right in the range that ppl often get that).

palladio

It's a daily driver, maybe 60 miles a day, but only for the two weeks a month I'm in Atlanta. I've got the budget for regular repairs (hell I've owned Land Rovers as daily drivers for the past 15 years), just don't want a lemon or to have to buy a new engine.

rome

If you feel comfortable that the car doesn't have any structural damage, I wouldn't let the fact that certain panels were resprayed sour you on an otherwise good deal for a car in good mechanical condition. (I'd be a little concerned about a fender being replaced, because that suggests it was in an accident, rather than just a ding or deep scratch which called for respraying).

You should know that it is common for more than one panel to be resprayed to blend the metalic paint properly.

The previous owner of my car disclosed to me that the front quarter-panel and door of my car had been keyed, so those panels had to be resprayed. The also resprayed the rear fender to blend the paint properly. And, at the same time, they decided to respay the front bumper to get rid of rock chips and pitting, so to blend it properly, they did the other front quarter panel too.

Would I prefer that the car had all original factory paint, sure. But, the mechanic and body guy (who are the best around) assured me the car was never hit. The paint work looks good (I get compliments all the time on it), and the car is in great mechanical condition (28K miles) and the interior is almost like new. (Plus it's Ocean Blue/Cashmere...so I couldn't pass it up).

I think the number of these cars-- now 10 years old plus-- that have ALL original factory paint are fewer and fewer. Understanably, many have had bumpers resprayed (along with adjoing panels to blend the paint properly), which looks a heck of a lot betterIMO than bumpers which are pitted and dinged after 10's of thousands of miles have been put on the car in 10 years + of driving.