scayden

I'm new to the 911 world. I currently own a 2008 Cayman and thinking of moving into a 911. So far, the only info I have on the car is:
No known accidents
No maint. records. Current owner states it only needed oil changes.
Currently on it's 5th owner.
30K miles
price $38K

Think this is worth pursuing?

Thanks.

jhbrennan

The 40th AE is a great car but it is 14 years old and it is a 996 (with potential problems lurking) so I'd want as much historical info about the car as possible plus a very very thorough PPI if you get to that point. Price is on the high side.

993James993

What is your motivation? What do you want?

$38K for a 996 (even a 40th AE) without services records seems way too high. For that money you are in range of a 996 turbo.

Having said that, if the car speaks to you, why not?

TonyTwoBags

ppppffffff, no records? 14yo car @ premium price? Buy a 997 for that budget imo. Or get more info on it. AEs are sweet, but the mix of no records, 5 owners & minimal miles is not a mix to support a high price. Maybe after a thorough PPI & driving it to make sure there's nothing obvious.

knfeparty

A 997S is a similar experience to the 40th AE but feels a little more modern (lighter controls). So if you want the more mechanical, connected feel, the 40th is the way to go. My dad has an 05 997S, which is the "early" one that only has 355hp, and I prefer driving the 40th to it.

A low mileage 40th would be a great car, but since it's a garage queen you'd absolutely need to budget an IMS bearing or IMS Solution install.

I've had my 40th for 8 years and about 50k miles now and have loved it. I drove a 997TT and even though the power of the turbo is great, the AWD makes the car less fun to drive in my opinion. Not worth the huge price difference!

scayden

Thanks for all the helpful replies. Don't have a good feeling about this one...

Chicago6MT

It's not that far off the market. These have taken a ride in the marketplace:

http://www.40jahre911.com/40-jahre-911-listed-for-sale

clubracer6

I think it's worth going after if you can knock off some money. That's pretty low mileage and there are not many out there for sale. How are the tires brakes, etc? If he doesn't have the IMS done you can deduct a little for that. Luggage, window sticker or other fun stuff? What options? Clean carfax?

Regarding this being 997 money, I agree it is, but to me the 40th is a better choice.

I'm on my 2nd one and when I sold my 996 turbo in March I drove the 997.1s and 997.2 thinking I would do one or the other and neither car felt special to me. Plus you can't service the IMS (there have been some failures of the upgraded ones but not many). there seems to be more issues with cylinder scoring on the 997 as well.

The 997.2 non s did nothing for me, I was disappointed really, as I liked the seemingly bullet proof 9A1.

So I'm back in a 40th with no regrets and at 47 years old and having had 55 or 56 cars, that says a lot. I usually have a pretty bad gotta move on itch by now and I don't.

Keep searching more will come up. Need to test drive one? Pm me as I think you are in Chicago too.

scayden

Similar 997.1S test drive for me. Other than the power increase, I thought the car was less engaging, quieter, and overall less fun to drive than my Cayman. Maybe it's worth checking out after all. Also, thanks for the test drive invitation, but I'm located in New England.

scayden

Hmm... Interesting. Thanks for the info!

clubracer6

There are two on autotrader. One has just under 50k miles and seems priced very well.

Fracture

clubracer6 makes some valid points, he sold my 26k car three years ago

of the 5 owners, how many were dealers ?
this is clearly a garage queen, as was mine and most likely a 2nd second car
for most of the previous owners

take a second look at the car, consider that 911user in Minnesota has over 330,000
on his 40th
there's a little bit more value here, full leather, X51, the GT paint..it's a unique C2
I had the retrofit done at 27k and have been upgrading ever since, these are wonderful cars

Chicago6MT

If this is true, it's worth a premium of some sort. I originally scoffed at the 40th but in doing more research, it may tops among the 996 NA cars. Can anyone verify or give any informed opinions on these 40th Anniversary upgrades?

"Significantly, it is not just power output upgrades, having both additional cooling (centre radiator) and lubrication upgrades (high-G sump baffles, additional pump and oil lines). Those two options are almost worth the entry ticket alone: as the 996 cylinder failures almost always involve the overheating and under lubrication of cylinder number 6, these modifications go someway to mitigating the seizures."

Fracture

a lot on the X51, pretty good read

http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=60293

jhbrennan

The 40th AE does not have a third radiator as OE but it does have the larger radiators from the turbo.