Zipgun

Different brands wouldnt be much cheaper, Imo nearly all sport cars cost about that (or near) much for 30K+ service etc.. Sports cars in general are very high maint vehicles. Different car type maybe say sport/lux sedan etc..

GBG

Don't put her away for 4 months!! Put on winter tires and enjoy.

CHT

Thanks, that is what I thought. Just wanted to make sure I was looking at TTs which were all overpriced. I have found that many of the dealer CPO cars were leased and/or picked up at auction (based on Carfax).

It's hard to find the garage queen trade-in at the dealer which was CPO'd, although just because a car is leased doesn't mean much as far as whether the someone beat the car. Right now I'm looking at a 2002 TT CPO at a local dealer that was sold new from the dealer under lease, and the owner returned back to the dealer at lease end. Appears dealer purchased it, and CPO'd the vehicle. Asking $69K and has almost 14K miles. Very lightly optioned (not a bad thing in my opinion...personal preference). Sound high or in the ballpark?

motor mouth

sounds high

Chuck Jones

CHT: I go along with M/Mouth...it is high if you consider where the current market is sitting on sales for the 996TT. Your particular car is being priced that way strictly for the low mileage. Since it's lightly optioned, I'm confident that you can find something with a lot more options to suit your fancy as well as something in the 16-25K mile range for the low 60's and possibly even lower. I would strongly recommend you go for the X50 because of the extra power, larger intercoolers and GT2 turbos. For the money, the X50's are a steal....and usually come nicely optioned. You won't ever regret going for the X50.

CHT

Thanks! That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Definitely want something with more options (or at least options I want), and would love to pick up one optioned with X50 if it was priced right (even a bit more). CPO is nice, but there are other alternatives (doing your homework, aftermarket warranty, etc.). Low 60's is what I was thinking was the right number, and I would actually prefer something with a bit more mileage (want something that was driven a bit). I'm in no rush, so I'll keep on looking and will be patient. Most of the dealer inventory seems priced too high based on a pre-owned inventory search through the Porsche USA website.

Chuck Jones

I hate to use the "I" word...but I picked up a nicely optioned (all factory options) car with 19K miles, the X50 package, lots of carbon fibre, and a year of CPO still left...for $67K. That car right now would probably go for around $65....it's a buyer's market....you're on the right track. Do your homework and have the money ready.....with the market the way it is, you'll find the right color, options, and an X50.

FYI, I found mine on eBay....the second such car I've bought there. It's not as bad as some folks think. A lot of the dealerships and sellers use eBay strictly for the exposure...the cars never make the reserves, but the exposure is very extensive. It's the followup calls that result in the sales. If you stick with the CPO cars, you at least have a dealership that's gone thru it to the point where they have authorized the CPO...then you put a PPI on top of that (about $200) and you're good to go.

I wish you all the best in your quest for the perfect car. Decide what you want and stick to it....it will show up if you are patient. I was just lucky.

Chuck

whyb2nd

I agree with above, just do your home work and search search and search...that's the fun of it next to the negotiation......

CHT

Thanks again. My current car was actually "found" on e-bay, and purchased through a dealer. All things being equal between two vehicles, how much of a premium is reasonable for the X50 option?

GBG

Well, since the x50's extra power (an extra 35 hp) can be had with an aftermarket flash (plus with a flash you get an additional 40 or so to get a total of 75 extra horses) for under $2k, I'd say paying more than $2k for the X50 option is throwing money away. The only argument to do so that I can come up with is that (1) no possible warranty issues with x50 and (2) the x50 might fetch more on re-sale when you sell the car. As to (1), the flashes now have stock programs so warranty issue is largely moot (plus many dealers don't give a hoot if you flash your car), and as to (2), re-sale value of the X50 years from now is too difficult to measure given passage of time, market forces, new hp technology, etc. GBG

Actually, on second thought there is one additional argument to pay more for an x50 than you would for a flash. WIth the x50's bigger turbos, you will pay much less money in the long run if you ever decide to get your car up to the 600 hp neighborhood. But if you never plan to go higher than 500 hp, then what I said above holds. GBG