Hello all. This forum has been an invaluable teaching tool as I've gotten up to speed and ready to buy my first 996--a long time coming. But I have two cars targeted and no Porsche experts in my direct circle, so would appreciate any and all wisdom of the group.

I have two options in front of me now:

1. 2004 C2 Seal Grey/Black 40k miles, 6 speed, mostly stock/lightly optioned. 3 owners. IMS bearing upgraded in 2014 (20k miles)--no info on which of the LN IMS were installed at that time. Car has been through auction and all paperwork/provenance lost to history. Appears in great shape. $32k asking price at a dealer.

2. 2003 C2 Cabriolet Black/Black, 27k miles, 6 speed, mostly stock/lightly optioned, fixed rear wing installed by first owner (a downside to me, but seems like easy fix for $300 - $500 based on what I've learned here). 2 owners. Original IMS. $20k asking--friend who needs to sell is offering direct to me.

What I (think) I know.
Option 1 is over-priced, someone riding the upward wave/excitement for the moment 996 are having. And despite IMS, will need to service again soon.
Option 2 is a good price, especially with IMS and other maintenance probably due. Although not exceptional/highly desired combo, the low miles, service record and known provenance create additional upside.

The plan was always to buy a coupe, but the cab seems like a screaming deal and a good opportunity for a "first" 996--who knows what comes later. Although I'm not really a convertible guy, I think it could be fun to drive for a couple years. Any Cab owners out there agree/disagree strongly one way or the other?

Putting myself at the mercy of the crowd here, but welcome any other thoughts or advice looking back at your first (or most recent) purchase.

 

Getting a Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI) on both cars could make your decision a lot easier. Sometimes it's hard to "walk away" from money like that, but due diligence when buying a classic Porsche goes a long way. Especially when you see the repair bills.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet since you will likely get a lot of excellent feedback from people who have done this more recently than I have. I'll say the thing I say to everyone is don't let your emotions that stem from the excitement of buying a new Porsche get in the way of your rational side. If you're not a Cab guy you're not a Cab guy so if you could see yourself buying this Cabriolet and keeping the top up - wait for the right coupe. Nothing sucks more than having the excitement wane and slowly realizing that you've bought the wrong car. I'm 5+ years in and I still go out to my garage to take a look at my car and pinch myself. This is a car you can absolutely fall in love with and keep forever if you wait for the right one for you.

Only you truly know yourself so if you can really, truly rationalize buying a less-than-ideal car and find a way to love it - more power to you. I'm not that guy, I need "the one."

 

The cab is a lot of fun in my opinion and they still drive great. All things being equal the second option is a much better deal. Even on Bring a Trailer nice cabs go for under 25k so I would say they are way off base unless I am missing something. I would get a PPI on that one and go from there. If it doesn't check out I would personally pass on both those cars and wait until something else pops up.

 

Where do you live? I had a convertible in CT and have one again, now, in CA. Enjoyed both but “Cab Season” varied wildly between the two locals. May be something to consider.

 

Buy a cabriolet that comes with the factory removable hardtop. Problem solved.

 

I bought a convertible too even though I really wanted a coupe. The PPI came back too good on the cabrio to pass up at the price I paid. Get whichever one has the better PPI. I actually enjoy the vert now that I have it and my five year old loves it. Thinks it a transformer. It weighs a tad more but I’m not a track guy so who cares.

 

Invasive PPI first, then decide. Be sure to have the cylinders looked at for evidence of scoring.

All things being equal, the second one is probably the best buy and I'd argue its still slightly overpriced. As you've mentioned, the IMS is not done and for some reason cabs are cheaper. If you've never had a cab before, think about how much you'll use it as a convertible. I was tempted by a few, but I'm in the NE and cab weather is a couple of months.

These cars can make you paranoid, but I don't know that mileage that low on the second one is a good thing. These cars like to be driven.

 

+1

 

If you really want a coupe, keep looking for the right one. There’s a ton of 996s out there. Don’t settle.

 

My cab is so much fun to drive that the top is down most of the time I'm in PA, then I trailer it to FL during snowbird season. We wouldn't track a cab, and don't run the summer performance tires in freezing weather anyway, so maybe November, December and April my 996 is in the garage just like the coupes. /X3

 

As others have pointed out, don't settle. IMHO convertible adds some complexity and depending on where you are in the country, leaking or faulty top is the last thing you want. Some hard tops I've seen do look pretty cool. With all that in mind, don't look for the perfect car but one that has been driven and is mechanically sound. PPI is a no brainer. I've just went through this recently and here are some takeaways you may find helpful:
- get a PPI and check for bore scoring. Don't look for perfection but if you see scoring walk away - it's not worth it. Some light scuffs are ok and can and will show up in most motors but it will be quite clear if things are bad or on the way there.
- my car had an engine replacement because of a failed IMS at around 20k miles. There is a higher risk of this with low mileage cars. If not done then that's something you can use in negotiating the price
- if the cars are local then definitely check them out and look at everything. I mean everything. Sometimes there is a lack of records but you may be surprised what you may find in the car manual records section that the owner may have no clue about. Ask me how I know. If there is a Carfax and some service records there then call those shops. Some shops will be helpful if you're polite and I'm sure it's wouldn't be their first request like that.
- if there is no records you can really negotiate if the dealer wants to sell. You're essentially buying an unknown. Be polite but be firm with your requests. Also, research the dealer - that can tell you a lot on what you can expect.
- The most powerful thing you can do is walk away. There is always a level of risk involved here and you're taking a bit of a leap of faith but do the legwork, research and you'll do ok. With that in mind, try not to get overly paranoid with stuff you'll read here. There are a lot of brilliant folks here but it's easy to get caught up in some things. Proof is in the pudding.

 

I didn't think I was a convertible guy when I bought mine, but I love it. Both cars will need an IMSB replacement, so factor that in.

 

Me neither. The 911 is just one of the few cars that IMO does so well as both a coupe and a cab. The cab doesn't seem like an after thought like a lot of cars.

 

I can tell you that a Porsche cab doesn’t have the same weight penalty as some other brands, but it still puts an early 996 above 3,000 lbs. My 99 claims to be 3,074lbs versus 2,900 for the same coupe.

For sure, the cab add more complexity and stuff to break. OEM tops are almost extinct; for $5,800, you can still get one. Replacement tops are $1,000 and still cost about $900 to have installed. And these tops are often not easy to repair. The hydraulic rams will eventually leak and need to be replaced (not hard to do), the rear window regulators are rare and expensive ($800) - but an Arizona company rebuilds for 1/2 the cost.

The coupe arguably looks better than a cab.

As others have noted, buy the car that’s in better shape, particularly the one that has cylinders that are not scored.

 

The opinions, information and facts here are all incredible. It's clear that there's no objective truth or "best" direction but there's also a lot of great factors here. The opinions on enjoying the cab vs. its tradeoffs are particularly good--I'm located in the Pacific Northwest so although the winter season isn't as harsh as some noted (you can get great days year round) there is a part of the year that's just not "cab season."

Funny thing is it feels like many of the BaT results/conversation and even much here seem to really obsess/prize low mileage examples, but most people owning (and driving) for the long haul have a lot of good things to say about cars that have been driven and have some miles on the clock. It's great perspective, and super helpful to evaluate what feels like a really low price, but may not be once you factor in all the work needed essentially "from the jump."

A question on the bore scoring. I spoke to a respected local shop and a couple other sources, and they suggest that the bore scoring isn't as much of an issue in the 996.2. They say that a combination of advanced oil analytics and the cam deviation numbers will tell you what you need to know on bore scoring--in short they said they're happy to scope it but that the other tests tend to tell you much of what you need to know. But it seems general consensus here is to 100% take the look inside the cylinders to confirm?

Thanks to all who took the time for perspective. Driving one today and will report back.