jwt73

Hello all,
I am sorry I don't have any pics, but I don't have my porsche any more. I have sold my 90 C2 and my 87 Targa, and (I don't know what I was thinking) bought a 09 covertible vette. Thankfully I sold it last week, and now I am back in the market for another pcar. I am new to this forum, but have been a member of pelican for a while. I am invoking any and all help from any that are willing to give it. I would like to purchase a 997s, likely a 2006, but I have been having difficulty finding one that is reasonably priced, but also taken care of the way I would. I know that some members are ranked in p dealerships, and I would welcome any solicitations/advice from anyone. I have seen prices all over the board, and I just need to get back in a great car. First of all, I will be driving it everyday, and my line of work doesn't require much travel, as I am a cardiologist. Options on the vehicle are not that crucial as I know that an S has most of the options that I would want. I am really in love with the cocoa interior. I definitely want a manual and besides that I don't know what else I want/need.
I am writing this long drawn out post, as I hoping that some of the real knowledgeable people will help me find my dream car, and I am hoping that any of you guys will help steer me away from any issues that I may not know of. I have done the best I can surfing your forum, and I am happy to finally be a part of it. I understand that I don't have much to add from a technical standpoint, but I will share anything that I have as I want to be a good member.
Please help me in my search for a good 997s, and please advise what prices should be paid in this day and age.
Thanks for reading this and please help,
Jonathan

JW911

Check autotrader.com a couple of times per week. Look up the NADA value of your target year and model and try your best to find a car offered at or slightly above the wholesale NADA value. Don't pay retail or even close to it. I would also recommend buying from a Porsche dealer and getting the CPO warranty. You will work harder to find a great deal, and pay slightly more for the CPO warranty. But if the dealer values it properly on the trade-in he took, you can still get a great deal.

zedcat

Can't help on prices as I haven't kept up on the market. Others will comment on that I'm sure. Hard to go wrong with a CPO car. If you're willing to travel to buy suggest check dealer websites for CPOs. Not always up to date so you may need to call them too. I would think Dallas or Houston would have a good selection. Cocoa int would be full leather and that's a nice option. I haven't seen very many though.

Good luck

gota911

Jonathan,

First off WELCOME to Rennlist. There are a lot of guys here willing to share info, so you have come to the right place.

Lets start with the "known" info here.

The known info that you want:

• 2006 +/-
• S model
• 6-speed manual

The unknown:

• Coupe or Cab?
• RWD (C2) or AWD (C4)?
• Preferred exterior color(s)? - or colors you do NOT want.
• Preferred interior color(s)? - or colors you do NOT want.
• Full or partial leather?
• Is a CPO warranty important to you?
• Price range - $50K, $60K, $70K?
  

After you have narrowed the above criteria, then you can start identifying the MUST HAVE options, versus the WANT TO HAVE options. Keep in mind that you will probably not find a car that has all of your MUST and WANT items, but if there is something that can be added later, then you can make that initial compromise. For example, lets say that a) Full Leather, b) Sport Chrono (SC), and c) PSE are all MUST haves on your list. You can not easily add Full Leather or SC later but you can add PSE relatively easily after you get the car.

If you are not that familiar with all of the options available, I would suggest you go the the Porsche web site and use the configurator to "build" a car. It will give you most of the options that are available on a 2009 model, as well as a description of the option. Some of he current options (like heated steering wheel, PDK, and vented seats) were not available on '05 - '08 models, but for the most part, the options have stayed pretty consistent on the 997 series.

Lastly, I would recommend that when you find a car or two that you are seriously considering, you might want to post them here and ask for feed back. You will get very honest and candid feed back. Most everyone will tell you to have a PPI (pre purchase inspection) completed before you buy a car. It could save you a lot of headaches down the road.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

RonCT

Welcome Jonathan,

There's a trick to finding that right car... Even though I've had some minor issues with a CPO car not arriving in the condition promised (that's a dealer issue, not a Porsche or CPO one), I'm still a big fan of buying CPO. At least with CPO, you know the car has been gone over and that Porsche will stand by it for an additional 2 years / 50k miles.

Places I'd look... PorscheUSA website for search of 2006 C2S cars nationwide. I found when looking for my boxster that the asking price listed there was very often different from what the dealer might have it for on their own site, or at places like autotrader, cars.com, or even ebay. For example, a Boxster S I was interested in was $34,900 on PCNA, $33,900 elsewhere, and sold for $31,500. That's a car that other dealers had priced for $39,900 or more. It always pays to contact the dealer that has a car you are interested even if you think the price is out of whack. I had some dealers come down almost $10k from their initial price.

Don't rule out ebay because some dealers put product up there that they really want to move. A great tool is the "completed auctions" section where you can see what has sold in the past month or so. You might see bids in the $50k range on a buy-it-now of $65k, which will tell you where the actual market is - what people are willing to pay for that car today. That gives you a chance to go back to the dealer and say "I see eBay capped out at $50k for your CPO XYZ, I'm willing to pay more than that..." Many dealers are on the ropes and I understand just last week product from a failed Porsche dealer was at the auto auctions, including a new GT2. So there are some dealers that won't budge from their prices (no clue that the market has dropped), some that are willing to move a little, and then some that are desperate to move some product off the lot to generate cash flow.

When you find a few prospects, make sure they fax you the CPO report and a print-out of the DME that shows engine revolution ranges. Out of the 6 finalists for my Boxster purchase, 3 of them had terrible DME recordings. One was so bad it had something like 19,000 Range 1 all the way up to range 6 - meaning that poor engine went over 10,000 RPM numerous times (missed shifts). The one I ended up buying was clean.

Feel free to contact me via PM / Email and I'll point you in the right direction...

PogueMoHone

If I were you I would expand my search in 2 ways (if possible):

1) Consider the new 997.2,it is a very much improved car over the 997

2) Consider the PDK transmission (and I'm a die hard stick guy!). It works really well and is better that any other pedal shifter out there. You'll hear all sorts of carping about the buttons versus pedals; and while overblown it can be side stepped by using the lever... way more fun too!

It is always easy to spend someone else's money, but at least test drive a new 997.2 before you make a final decision, and then come back and tell us what you think.

The deals out there are fantastic as well.

For color, you are on your own.

RonCT

Forgot to mention something - if you aren't familiar with how autotrader and ebay work, you can "save" a search pattern and every day the systems will notify you if something new has entered the market. For example, you can search for 2006 Carrera S, under X miles, manual transmission, etc. Then whenever something like that comes on, it will send you an email. Same with colors...

JasonKM

I would also look/search using the porsche website. I found useful when I was buying my p-car last year. Most have an accurate listing of options and some are already CPO, but dealer can CPO if for you as well (assuming it passes)

jwt73

First of all I really appreciate all of your input. You guys are wonderful, and obviously really into your pcars.
I should have been more clear of what I want.
I am looking for a Coupe C2 or C4 S(color not really that important, except that I really don't want yellow, but all other colors are ok.) Interior color not that I don't want is that terracotta, but other than that I am open.
Options: I really want heated seats (i know sissy thing, but my wife won't ride in it w/o it), like the bose audio package, partial leather doesn't bother me, but full leather is better I guess. Obviously price is key, but I don't want to spend more than like 55K or so. I will likely have to finance at least part of it, because I am just starting my private practice, and I haven't become the typical cardiologist yet. I will likely be putting 30k down and financing the rest. The reason I indicate this is because I am on the fence about CPO, as I generally never believe in warranties, as I have never had one. Besides my last 2 porsches (87 and 90) both were are reliable as could be, and obviously they did not have any warranties. Having to come up with a couple of grand for a fix, is not a big deal, but I don't want to have a new motor put in for like 20k, but I would hope that shouldn't happen. I also don't abuse my stuff, and I do a lot of work myself, or at least I have in the past.
For example of one car that I really like is:
http://www.porscheaudiofdanvers.com/...3-6638288.html

I have been looking all over to find a good car at a good price. (cars.com, dupontregistry.com, autotrader.com, pelican, rennlist, ebay...etc)
This car is going to be my daily driver, and based on my history, I won't keep it more than a two years no matter what. I just get tired of cars and I always like to change, so therefore I have to make sure that I buy the car right, as I don't want to lose too much money.

I have also PM'd LikeMyStoppie as I hear that he is helpful, and I would like to hear what input he has.
All in all, I just want to get a good daily driver, that will keep me smiling everytime I drive it.
Thanks again,
Jonathan

RonCT

Chris is a great guy, so I'm glad to hear you PM'd him. There are loads of cars at the Porsche USA website that meet your criteria and every one of them can be CPO. I saw one 2006 C2S with 38k miles with an asking of $51k due to the miles, but if you get CPO, then you have 100k warranty. That one's right in Atlanta

A few comments on your options from somebody that owned a 2007 C2S, a 2007 GT3, and has a 2009 C2S on order (along with a 2005 Boxster S in the garage). The heated seats are a must, especially on cold mornings. Bose is a waste of money, but you are unlikely to find a car without it. Point being if you find the perfect car at perfect price and it doesn't have Bose, don't sweat it. A few audiophiles here have even proclaimed that Bose is inferior to the stock radio. On all of my 997 cars, I've avoided Bose altogether and been very happy with that decision. I like Partial leather better than full - the synthetic holds up better, doesn't get wet, etc.

Here's the thing about CPO. For about $2k on the cost of the car (maybe nothing if you find the right motivated dealer that already certified the car), you'll be getting piece of mind that for 2 more years and 50k more miles, you won't have to worry about something like RMS (rear main seal leak), engine issues, transmission problems, suspension wearing out prematurely, etc. I don't ever expect that I'm going to have a problem, but especially on a used car I like knowing that I have 2/50 backing me up. $20k for a new engine, $10k for a new transmission - it can add up.

That Ira car looks very nice and you can probably get it for $50k with CPO (I'm just guessing - loading you up to negotiate hard).

Couple of nice one at Jim Ellis in Atlanta...

russo

I agree with Ron, get a car with the CPO and I guarantee you will sleep much better. Not many things go wrong with these cars, but if something does you will be very happy to have the CPO. For example, a RMS repair will set you back about $1800.00. If you have a catastrophic issue with the engine 15-20k. Thus, an extra 1-2k for a CPO car is really worth the expense.

BradS(IN)

Wow, good stuff, thanks. I recently sold my 06 SLK55 and I am looking for the same car as Jonathan, but minus the cocoa interior (nice but not necessary). Is going to the "S" worth the money? I know in a Boxster it is (power, brakes, exhaust).

BGA23

Not entirely true. In order to get a CPO the car must be purchased from a Porsche dealer and this involves sales tax. In many states buying from a private party doesn't require one to pay sales tax, so the CPO'd car could be more like $5K+ more than a non-CPO'd from a private party.

porch

Not entirely true either - if the car was already a CPO and you buy it from a private party, the CPO transfers with the car.

jwt73

Anyone with a good contact at a P dealership please let me know, as I would like to buy from someone that is reputable/honest, in the hopes of getting a good deal too.
If you would rather not post your contacts, then please PM me.
Thanks in advance,
Jonathan
PS if any of you guys out there have any p cars 2006 C2s or C4S Coupes, that are not listed in the usual sites, please PM me if you like.