Agreed. All the hyped anxiety, plus the sentimental discount for it being a water cooled car, is already long baked into resale values. Objectively, it's a ridiculous bargain for what you get, now.

 

i'd have to agree - also i really never thought this would be a topic i would be discussing but i think age is a factor when it comes to the decision.

i've owned lots of 356's, lots of aircooled 911's and a 996 - i will never sell my 59 356 super sunroof coupe however long trips are somewhat challenging during the summer months because of overheating especially in the siskyous heading down to california from seattle. i've done the trip several times in my 356 and i've learned to drive at night thru the mountains. also when driving in hot calif during the day, staying in the shadow of tractor trailers helps keep the engine temp down

the aircooled 911's are the true porsche - if you've never smelled the oil leaks after a long hard drive you haven't lived. they have soul and something about the sound of the aircooled engine is just something you can't compare. they are driving cars - it is more like they drive you compared to the later water cooled 996 cars which feel more like you are driving them.

the 993 is probably the best aircooled design for both drivability and comfort - they have CEL issues which can be somewhat troublesome but they are a beautiful design however 2x the 996 money.

for me it has come down to creature comforts - now in my mid 50's i don't like to bend as much because of sports injuries creeping up and the 996 has a great comfortable ride - it is also surprisingly nimble and has a great clutch/tranny feel heating system and i just really like the wide *** look on them - not crazy about the headlight design but i don't have the money for an 06 model unless of course i plan to live in a trailer behind our house when my wife got done with me.

 

Ok, I keep seeing this 996 $10-15K post. Has anyone ever actually gotten one under 13K??! Did it run??

 

I am in the same boat as you are and I looked at all of the cars you have on here plus a couple of more. In the end, I put a deposit on this one and should be doing the deal today:

http://ucar.folrefs.com/cars/CO/Litt.../38354901.html

Did you happen to look at this car at all?

 

Mine was 16K 2 years ago.. I do think I stole it...

Ya know more on this topic.. the 996 is again a lot like the 928. Its the first gen 911 that porsche built from the ground up, a total re-design. Its the first true PORSCHE 911. The rest had VW DNA somewhere in there. ( the 928 was actually the fist ground up car Porsche designed although it was beat to the production line by the 924.)

 

i just passed on a 99 silver/grey w/88K miles - i grinded him down to $14K but it needed tires/pvc valve and spark plug tubes and had some paintwork at the nose.- since seal grey/black is my 1st choice i decided to wait it out for an 80K miles example.

i can get you the info on the car if you want to pursue it. i have the PPI that was performed yesterday at swiss motors - i'll only charge you $75 for it

 

Probably be changing those snow tires out pretty quickly. Make sure to twist sellers arm for summer tires. Cost anywhere from ~ $600 (Sumitomo) to $1500 (Michelin)

 

Are they sticking to that price, or are they going to come down some?

 

Yeah, the snow tires seemed a bit silly and a whole lot spendy! I don't need them, don't want them, and if this happens to be the car I want to buy, I'll work a deal to have something more appropriate installed.

 

Not sure how I overlooked that one. I haven't seen it in person but the pictures look good. Hope it works out well for you!

 

I traded in a couple of cars (I am reducing the fleet to two cars) and between the final price of the 911 and what they gave for the trades, I thought that it was fair all the way around. The car seems top notch although this is my first day of driving it so take that with a grain of salt.

 

looks like a nice car however price is a bit steep - you should be able to find an excellent well service3d 996 with under 50K miles for $23-$24K

 

I agree with groov but want to add to really find an excellent one for this price you are going to have to invest some time. You may get lucky and find one in a month but 6 months or a year of hard looking is not unusual. I looked for 1 1/2 years before finding mine which I paid $22.5K. The good news is I got to drive a many different cars and learned a lot about the 996 before buying mine. I really enjoy the search and look forward to doing it again in about a year or two. I do love this car and would highly recommend a well sorted 996. I dont care what anybody says these are great sports cars and big time head turners. Most non-knowers think my car is less than 4 years old. Good luck with yours and post some pictures soon.

 

Hope you are paying at least eight grand below the asking price. Just saying....I just bought one.

 

Ok...just ran across this one:

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...nal&listType=3

Kinda high mileage for my tastes (68k) but I'm new to Porsches. Any other opinions on this car? BTW: if there's a better thread/forum for this question, let me know. I don't want to ruffle any feathers by posting in the wrong place.