Wolf34

99 Black/Tan/6 Speed/Always Garaged.
All Stock including Factory 6 disc changer.

51,000 miles. Car bought in L.A. and second owner bought it 2 years ago with 20k miles. Says he has maint. records and will send them to me. Interior is "like new". Leather conditioned monthly. No dents, dings, accidents nor smoked in.

He was up front and disclosed issues.

1. Said there was an "Oil Leak" that he had fixed at dealer for around $2k. Rear Main Seal? Thought that was around $900 repair. He will be sending me paperwork.

2. Said the passenger seat belt light will not go off and dealer said $450 for new belt receiver. This a normal problem?

3. He said the gas guage is working properly and gives correct miles left in tank etc. but light is on and dealer quoted $600 for bad "Gas Sensors"? Said the dealership told him he was not supposed to fill the tank to the rim because it could damage sensors which he did. He will send paperwork but he decided not to get it fixed. You guys ever heard this?

4. Scratch on front bumper (Mother in Law bumped in driveway) that he tried to wax out and some wear on the steering wheel. Other than that he said cosmetically the car is perfect and mechanically as well. Of course I would do PPI.

5. Cali Cars have less power due to restrictions? If so, easy to remove?

Haven't seen the car in person and he is sending me more detailed pics. Reason I am considering this is he is moving cross country at end of month and needs to sell so he wants what he owes the bank. Seems to be up front and not hiding things.

$24k Good Deal or Dangerous???

Chads996

Walk. There will be others.

C.

redridge

I would pass... sound like a troublesome car/owner...

dresler

No, never heard that. Sounds like BS.

PJorgen

Interesting - I live in CA and bought an '02 C4S out of NC back in 2006. At that time I found that California cars tended to have higher mileage and sell for more than out-of-state cars.

I'd keep looking. BTW; don't htink it's true anymore that CA cars have more smog equipment and therefore less power. My NC car met California emissions stds.

Wolf34

I have tried to read as much as possible on this forum and finally decided to post when I saw this car that seemed like it could be a good deal. This will be my first Porsche and I ALWAYS research a car to death before I buy one and I am not happy unless I get a car that was taken care of like I would take care of one. I was looking at some of the mid 80's 911's at first but then realized I could get a 996 for not much more than a quality older one....plus the performance and technology difference.

Thanks for the feedback. My gut had me leary. I'll keep searching.

The Porsche Parade here in Charlotte was what got me started on this quest! That was awesome! Several hundred cars lined up all over the streets of uptown Charlotte.

mundman

Pass-- The car has Gremlins!

htny

there are so many good cars going for a song these days, I would keep looking

Nicolaasdb

I agree on passing because of gas-whatever, but remember people the car is almost 10 years old....so a scratch left and right, a seatbelt thingy not working....this things shouldn't be reasons to walk away.

who cares what he owns the bank...if you want the car offer him what you think it is worth and have a inspections done.

450knotOffice

Not necessarily a bad deal. Price is good. If you like it, have a reputable shop that knows 996's inside and out do a PPI on it.

Wolf34

Why are these 99-01 996's losing their value so much? Are these prices going to continue to fall? The 993's and 80's 911's are as much or more than 996's with less miles. What gives?

medtech

+1 on the PASS!!! Something doesn't feel right about this car...walk.

perryinva

Do a little homework...search is your friend..it's been coverd ad nauseum in every Porsche forum. 99-01 cars blow up if you look at them sideways..everyone knows that. ;-)...The 993 is the last REAL Porsche..everyone since then is a just a watercooled poseur...Dealer is correct that you should NEVER fill past the normal shutoff of the gas filler, (ie never squeeze thas last 1/4 gallon in) You end up dumping raw gas into your gas tank VAPOR extraction system, and permanently kill the carbon canistor, and end up with an emissions light that will not go away. Has nothing to do with the tank level sensors

SC996

Yeah it was! I was a Co-Chair for the Paddock that parked all those cars. One of the coolest days I've had.

Keep looking, I bought a '99 back in November with 44k and no issues for the same price range. I found one from a dealer in Summerfield, right outside Greensboro.

Keep checking Auto Trader Daily. I drove close to Atlanta to look at a '99. You'll find one if you are persistent in looking and open to ride a few miles.

Meister Fahrer

So the car had an RMS leak which was fixed (that would be okay), but now it's leaking again?
If it's leaking again, I would pass on that.

If he had items 2 & 3 diagnosed for $1,000 to fix, tell him to have it done and plus you'll pay for PPI.
If car passes PPI, you'll pay half of the repair ($500) more.

He's confused about CA power rating difference, that was like 20 years ago....
Federal adopted CA standards a long time ago (so did most of Europe for that matter), no more difference.