Clearbook (www.clearbook.com) seems to have the most accurate numbers, absent a Manheim subscription...

e.g: 2002 C4S, 144K miles, good condition. They put it at a suggested private party list price of $24,300 with a projected sale price of $21,400.

e.g. 2:, 2005 997 C2, 60K miles, excellent condition. Projected sale $31,400.

 

Cool. So a '05 with 80K miles seems reasonably priced at 29.5K, or maybe a little lower. Same vein, my 4S with the high miles is definitely over-priced versus clearbook and 22.6K is probably overpaying.

 

I consider 29.5k to be more than just a "few" thousand over the $22k example you were looking at. I've seen quite a few higher mileage 997's in that range. It's not uncommon. But once again, what are you looking for? Are you married to a WB?

 

It's funny I'm really not sure what I'm looking for. I drive a nice economical bmw 3 series that I bought 3 years ago, put 25K miles on and have spent a grand total of like $500 on repairs (out of warranty).

I moved from SF to the suburbs, now have a garage and enjoy tinkering around with my car. I found a nice convertible 964 that appears to be in decent mechanical condition, but the interior is pretty much shot. I thought it would be a good cheap project. I did some quick math and turns out I'd be all in for around the low 20K's with a 23 year old car and a $5K bill looming down the road with a reseal. [seriously, just changing the tail lights is a $1,200 parts only project]

I did some looking and since people hate the 996 it's really a crazy bargain compared to the 993 and the 964. I think people would look at a 964 with 140K miles all day long, but a 2002 996 4S with the same miles and the guy can't sell it for weeks (or if ever, considering he wants 22.6K).

I'm not a fanatic, I'm under 30, and married so I don't have the luxury of spending a ton of time doing serious repairs, so I'll definitely be eating the big ticket items in terms of repairs. My rationale is newer car, same miles, same price - it's hard not to want a 996 or early 997...

 

Personally, I would say a clean '05 with 80k miles is an absolute steal.

 

If you're not married to a WB, there are several "crazy bargain" 996 NB cars out there which also would allow you to set aside a contingency fund in case something happened down the road.

I wouldn't really call most 997's out there a crazy bargain for what you're actually getting(round lights, different interior).

 

Would you mind posting a link for the 2005 C2 for sale?

 

That's encouraging to read! Maybe it's worth more than I think!

 

The air-cooled cars almost never made it to 200k without some engine work. Many don't make it to 100k without at least a valve job or head stud replacement, the two of which are about the price of a rebuilt M96. They do, however, usually go 200k+ without splitting the case. They are fantastic cars, but not as "bulletproof" as some would lead you to believe.

The 996TT seems to be different, as there are quite a few reports of them going 100k+ without any major work. I assume the GT3 would be similar, but they don't seem to accumulate nearly as many miles.

I have seen multiple 997s for under $30k. They are typically 2005s with 80k-ish miles listed in the upper $20k range. The 991 is going to help make the 997 a much cheaper car.

 

There are multiple confirmed sightings of 996 TTs with over 200K without any major engine work. That engine seems to actually live up to its reputation. In fact, most of the problems people have with that engine are probably due to owners not understanding that you have to let a turbo warm up before driving it hard and cool down a bit before shutting the engine off. If you just get in the car and stomp on it without letting the oil warm up, you will slowly wear out your turbos from oil starvation. Same thing if you don't give them a minute to cool off and spin down before you shut off the car. Take care of the Turbos and do the proper maintenance and the 996 TT engine really does seem about bomb proof.

And yeah, the air cooled people like to pretend the 996 N/A is the first 911 ever that had some catastrophic engine failures. Ah no, they pretty much all have had something squirrelly about them.

 

Even TTs are not without fault... Price out pinning the coolant pipes. Not too big of a job, except for the pulling the engine part. Figure about double the cost of replacing an IMSB/RMS.

I love 911's, and would readily recommend whatever generation trips your trigger to any enthusiast capable of spinning his (or her) own wrenches. But to paint the 996 as significantly more costly or prone to engine issues than any other version of 911 is like watching the evening news talking heads speculate that somehow a 777 escaped detection and is sitting on a runway on the island of LOST... Sensationalistic nonsense.

 

Well let him know I probably am not going to play ball on his car. He wrote back and made a couple compelling points, but fundamentally, I don't feel the need to stretch for this one. If it had 100K miles, maybe, but lets be honest, it's a 13 year old car with almost 150K miles on it, which is a helluva lot for a high performance machine.

Your guys' points about how the aircooled engines need major engine work prior to hitting 200K also worries me as I don't want to pay market price for a car and then have to sink another 10K into it just to keep it running.

I might go for the 964 (or another 996) and roll the dice thinking I don't have much $$ into it or go with an '05 and call it a day...

 

What high performance stressed engines are you aware of that don't need a rebuild before 200K miles?

 

I believe this is called.........Porsche ownership. Make no mistake, they are very well built reliable cars. But they are also high strung sports cars that can be expensive to fix. ALL of them have this potential. Don't want the risk of potentially expensive repairs? Buy a Camry.

 

I have too, just not in the mid 20's for a 997 which I thought the OP was saying since he indicated a "few thousand" more over $20k.

But I still stand by the fact that a 997 isn't a "crazy bargain". Something with the same drivetrain and chassis essentially(minus headlights/interior) for very low $20's for a 996 is a "crazy bargain" though.

Speaking of, NHTSA just closed their investigation finally on cooling issues that were filed earlier.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/pr...intVersion=YES