dryadsdad

Ha. Edmund's has the car worth like $18k based on my wife's research. KBB has, I think, $26k.

What's interesting about the pricing I found is that there isnt much selling. The seller here got a high bid of $26,100 on eBay which is about KBB. The bid and ask for these cars seems far apart - at least $5k and up from there. The sellers seem content to hold on for their price and the buyers don't seem to come up from being bottom feeders hoping for a weak seller desperate due to economic conditions.

We're not concerned about the price itself. After all, what does $2k or $3k mean if we keep the car 5 years? We just share the same sense of not wanting to be 'the sucker' that everyone shares.

OK, boys, here she is. The second picture is when she cut her hair short and dyed it red. Today it's back to being long blond natural. BTW, she looks stunning in the car.

dryadsdad

Goll, DC from Cape Cod you really hit it. My wife has busted her *** to become a highly paid executive and this car is her gift to herself for achieving success in status and pay.

It's not $2,000 or $20,000 we care about. We just do not wish to be taken for a sucker. You are right - we could be dead tomorrow and gosh, given how poorly I've managed our portfolio lately, fearing some depreciation on a sports car is pretty darn silly.

dmcentee

Just a note - a good indie shop should go over the car with a paint thickness gauge. This can tell you if the paint is uniform or not - meaning some areas were resprayed. I don't know if these gauges can tell if the whole car was uniformly repainted, but you should consider it.

Bouzoukikid

If the car is as "showroom condition" as you say, you may regret not going for it.
White is a gorgeous colour on these cars imo and again not that many good ones available.

Ignore the book value on these cars, don't mean nothing.
Buyers who try to save a few quid because the buyer is selling out of a "desperate financial situation", run the risk of buying a car that hasn't had the maintenance it deserves. Act quickly if it's what you want.

In the Uk a miata is regarded as a cheap toy. (by me anyway).

ble2011

Considering all the great and informative replies, I really can’t add much more. But from a purely simplistic viewpoint, buying a 993 was the best thing I ever did. I wanted a Porsche. I bought a 993 because I thought it was the most reliable and best looking. I had no idea how much I would love it.

DC from Cape Cod

You are not a sucker if you find the exact car you want for a reasonable price right away...you are lucky. Do not use KBB or Edmunds or any of that crap for a 993 - they are simply not accurate. Remember, your time is worth something substantial and the longer you put off buying, the more you miss out on the experience. Buy the car....no one is going to think you are a sucker.

csertich

Collector value only means that this car will depreciate less than most other cars.

Price is OK if the car passes a PPI.

Sounds like your wife 'felt' the 993 experience when she drove the car.

Good luck. Hope to see pics soon.

chuck

dryadsdad

I've told the seller that we will do a PPI. He has agreed to take the car to the shop of our choosing which is, by rep, the German car (meaning Porsche and Benz) place locally. If the PPI comes in clean, I doubt we'll bother quibbling about price.


That was pretty much what we figured. Even if we found the equal car in, say, PA or FL for $5k less, we'd have to travel to do the inspection, find a local shop for the PPI, stay on site until the PPI was done and then arrange shipping for maybe $800. The trip and per diem would be at least another $800 and we'd have to make three trips (average) until we found a car which inspected as good as the ad read.

So we'd spend $2,400 on trips and then another $800 for transport for $3,200. Shopping afar when what we want is bicycle distance away is silly.


Well, I prefer darker colors but this is my wife's car and her choice. She was and remains thrilled that it's in white. To my eye, white loses subtlety of curves. I find a dark blue or green best, but since my wife's first choice is white and this is white, it's working out.

The car sure looked perfect to me. I can go over a new car by, say, GM, and point out 15 defects so my eye for stuff like chips, uneven seams and panels which are slightly out of alignment is pretty keen. I saw nothing here. There is a bit of wear at one corner of the boot cover, a slight shoe scuff on the driver seat and a curious factory defect. The windscreen, low and at the curve of the passenger side (starboard) has some wrinkling of the plastic which fits between the glass sheets. The back light is perfect which doesn't make sense in a 15 year old car. The owner says it's original to his knowing.

This started out as an idea for my wife to buy some sort of sports car. It only turned into a Porsche quest specific to the 993 when I saw a local one on eBay. When it didn't sell, I contacted the owner and asked to see the car. He agreed. I suggested to my wife that she check out a super car over the mundane ideas she had such as the Miata and the Corvette (a distressing choice, IMO). She agreed to look at it but the owner offered her a test ride and that stretched for 30 or maybe 45 minutes.

When she came back, she'd found her car.

Teuton993

Well, I don't know how much value I can add to this conversation - so much good advice has already been provided - but here's one observation that I haven't seen mentioned yet:

I can't imagine why you haven't already purchased this car. When your wife test drives the car and has a visceral experience akin to lust, I think you should get serious about it ASAP. I'm thinking that having her drive that 993 frequently might have fringe benefits for you!

If I were you, I'd make an offer on that car now, contingent on a good PPI (with leakdown test, if warranted).

Best of luck!
BB

parsonii

exactly ... or you'll give the seller that you're not so eager and someone will buy it with a phone call. the car is priced well and white is a desirable color in a 993.

johnsjmc

I,ve owned dozens of cars (perhaps hundreds) over the years. I,m 59 . The air cooled 911s (67,69,70,77 ,80,86,and now 95) are the only ones I,ve kept for years and regret selling almost every one of them when I do. These cars are keepers loved by most enthusiast owners. The price is fair if you like the car .

NC TRACKRAT

I'm late to the party here (just got back from a long week-end Porsche event in the NC mtns. If it passes the PPI, pull the trigger! It would seem to me that a white cab in NM would be an excellent choice. I'm going to make a prediction that, since your wife is enamoured with the cab, at some time in the future, you'll end up buying a 993 coupe for yourself!

JimPA

Although the Miata (aka MX-5) seems to have faded from consideration, I will share my $0.02 on that subject. I bought a new 2000 Miata in mahogany/burgundy. It was my trouble free daily driver and my wife really enjoyed it for local driving. It handled great, had a light clutch and a really smooth shift mechanism. It wasn't as comfortable for longer trips.

In 2002, I sold the Miata and another car to get a '98 C2S. It's been my daily driver ever since and passed 83K this weekend. I did spend $$$ last winter for a top end rebuild and some other "while you're in there" items. The top end and clogged SAI ports (addressed earlier on my car) are normally part of the ownership experience for these cars sooner or later.

dryadsdad

The seller has said he has no other prospects except a minor nibble from FL so it's not like we'll miss this for not negotiating the sale pending the PPI. I will today arrange for the PPI. The seller has agreed to take the car to the indie of my choosing. If the PPI comes up clean or the seller will make good on defects, we probably will have a deal. The PPI will 100% for sure have a leakdown test.

The only issue which may interfere with she owning this car is really the bug I put in her ear yesterday. She's never owned a fine car before. One she'd care about if it were to see some damage. She's never worried about parking uphill from where shopping carts may be released by careless shoppers. She's never worried about where to park in a lot to prevent door hits. She's never been concerned about following a gravel truck.

I have. Before we met, I owned several nice autos so I explained to her that she needs to consider how much the car will own her and be SURE that she is willing to accept being owned by what's ostensibly her property.

The seller said he has no other real prospects. He and I don't know each other but he 'knows of' me due to this not being a really big place. There is zero chance he'll at this point, sell the car out from under us w/o giving us a first right.

My only 911 experience was a 78 SC Targa. I did enjoy the car and the minor pop it gave my image. At the time, I was single, had two cars, a truck and two motorcycles so when someone made me a fair offer....well, maybe I influenced my wife just a little bit here

Please see my reply to Teuton993 above in this msg about being owned by what you own.

We have a limited space which is an issue now. My wife is talking about building another garage now if we get this car. We currently have four motorcycles, a truck and a car plus two bicycles. I think one GT sort of car will suffice. I do think it'd be cute to have matching 993's in coupe and cab though

dryadsdad

This car has always been a Sunday long distance tourer sort of car spending most of its life in a garage or on longer tours. I don't see it as a daily driver. We have a plethora of other cars / bikes for that.

I'm surprised that you needed a new top at 80k miles. My SC had about 140k when I sold. The only 'engine' thing was a new cam chain tensioner to replace the questionable but still functioning OEM one.

Is a new top at 80k common? What's an SAI port?