Karl B

I have been lurking for a while and after a 3 month investigation between 996, cayman S, or Carrera S, I have decided to narrow my choice to a 2005-2007 Carrera S. My delima is that prices are all over the place for cars that effectively have the same options and mileage. Where can I get a true idea on price? I have been searching the internet and the south sems to have lower priced cars. There are 2 cars in my local areas, both from different Porsche dealers.
1. 2005 S with 35,000, GT silver, Power heated seats, crono, Bose, CD, homelink, sport exhaust, ultra mint one owner sold and serviced by that dealer, $48,000 but havent even started bargining yet, and I realy dont like the color.

2. 2006 S with 26,000, Basalt black, power heated seats, crono, Bose, CD, sport exhaust, Nav, also one owner mint sold and serviced by the dealer. $67,000 but droped rather quickly during some casual bargining to $60,000.

Just from my research it seems that the 2006 should be about $55, there is one in Florida with the same options and with sport seats with painted backs and a painted interior to match for less than that on Ebay from a dealer. I would rather buy from a local but I also dont want to over pay either.

Any help would be appreciated, I would like to do this before the spring, I feel that Feburary might be a good month to bargin, with snow, christmas bills, poor economy ect.

PVP997

Dealers can ask for any price for their cars. The right price is the one that both parties agree to. I went through a similar situation last June before I purchased my 2005 997 Cab S. I suggests you do some home work from the following sources:

Manheim Auction - this is a dealer only site. There are folks on this board who can provide you the latest prices for 997 lease returns - this is probably the bare bottom pricing. You can expect to pay a little more than whatever these cars are selling at auction.
Edmunds and KBB site can provide some pricing for dealer as well as private parties. My experience is that the Edmunds and KBB price for the same car will vary - don't get wrapped up with the differences. This will give you a ball park price for the car you are looking for
CarMax sometimes has a 997 available. You can look at this information as well. Since CarMax uses haggle free pricing, you have some good price point to compare.
AutoTrader is a good source to look at price differences between dealers and private sellers

Finally, when you're all done doing your homework. Your ready to go down to the dealer and negotiate with the dealer. As a reference, I purchased my 2005 Cab S (well equipped) with 13k miles, major service recently completed, and 2 year CPO for $53k.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your Porsche, you will not regret it.

Edgy01

Advice. First of all, lurking for 3 months will not best prepare you for this search. You need to know for example what is standard on a 997 and what is not. (E.g., Homelink--in all the cars). Don't get mislead by the crap the sellers are spouting.

The age old rule always applies. Buy the newest Porsche that you can reasonably afford.

The second rule: Don't be tempted to buy the first year's production (2005) unless you know it won't affect you.

Prices are all over the place because these are highly unique cars. No two are ever alike any longer. Options can and do drive the price when used. I don't subscribe to the crap that you lose a ton of money on options. If it's a critical option it can make or break a subsequent sale. For example, many buyers today figure that a $100,00 car should have navigation. Many elected to not order it and save $2500 bucks. Well, I wouldn't want one without it.

Condition of the car is the other big factor. Loaded or not, if the thing has a new clutch in it at 35,000 miles and already new front rotors, would you really be attracted to it?

Your statement "I don't want to over pay either" sort of doesn't need to be said.

Actually, I understand that the price of used cars is heading back up because they are drying up. The new cars are selling abut 15-20% off MSRP.

uvgaal

Where you live prices are a little bit higher then say california. offer 55k for the 2006. tell him thats the max you'll pay and he will call get back to you after 2 days.
Buy it and never look back at the pricing. People here will tell you that giving the current economy you should be paying low 50 max and some people will tell you they got a much better equipped car with less miles for 50k.
Dont listen to them. As long as your happy thats all that counts. If you start chasing the best deal int he country you will never buy one and you'll regret it forever.

good luck

CHV

Great advice above and from Edgy01. I was literally in this same spot in November. All over the place on which Porsche to get. I finally got one 7 weeks ago and haven't looked back. I would make sure it's everything you want cuz to spend $50k and not be happy w/ the car just because its a good deal but wrong color etc is IMHO a waste of $50k.

Good luck and post pics when you get it!

Chuck

CamsPorsche

If you don't like the color you'll always regret it so that rules out the 05 S. The black 06 for $55k would be a great deal in this market but as others have said the values are slowly creeping up as supply isn't as good as 6 months ago.

To help you out I paid $41k for my 06 Carrera 6-speed and feel I got a great deal (29k miles, CPO, one owner trade in, recent service, etc).

Find the color and options you want, compare it to others, then pounce. Don't be afraid to buy site unseen as you can always request hi-res pictures from the seller and have it shipped to you.

dahcopilot

also be aware that almost no car was sold at base price originally. almost all 911's are unique and had a different original msrp based on options. find a car like you would have ordered if you were starting from scratch and negotiate accordingly. remember...no purchase is a bad deal if you are happy with what you bought

tpenta

Hey there,

I recently purchased by first 911 and found the whole process interesting. It's not as much about the money as it is about going after a dream.

My other car cost just as much and I never once went to the garage at night to admire it!

One thing that surprised me is how glad I am I got colors that I really like. For some time, I was chasing a red car because it had low miles and a great price. But I don't really like red cars! Then I spent so much time deciding on S versus standard. I test-drove both and wasn't really sure.

At the end of the day I went with an "S" and after having driven it for 1 month I've decided that I would have been equally happy with a standard as well. I am not a race car driver and don't have enough skills to truly appreciate an "S".

On the other hand, while I didn't think I cared for this, I absolutely love the tan leather stiched dash and the soft leather headliner. I also really like the sports steering wheel and the short shifter.

My point is that you should try many different cars and focus on determining the options that really matter versus the ones that are nice-to-have. Once you know that, don't compromise on the must-haves for a couple of thousand dollars extra. It's not worth living with such compromises...

Enjoy,

-T

Karl B

Thanks for all the replies, my problem is that I set a limit on what I would spend, and I don't want to compromise the car or options.

I agree that $55 would be a good deal and I would go for it but they really want $60. I am going to revisit them this weekend, after the predicted snow storm, and ask them if anyone is looking for sports cars with a foot of snow on the ground.

ozcav

Only one data point for you but I got $40k in trade on a low option 06 C2S about 2 months ago. Car was pristine (detailed regularly by me) and had just over 20k miles on it and had a new clutch (warranty issue) but the tires were completely done. It felt like a fair deal to me. I figure the max dealer value on that particular car is around $50k but it will probably sell for less. So, the delta above that is what you should be paying for options.

dahcopilot

funny, i tried to buy a 911 for 2 months. contacted several dealers, on several cars. the only 2 dealers who even acted like they wanted to sell a car were joseph porsche of kings auto mall in cincinnati, ohio and brumos porsche in jacksonville, fla. david at brumos was very accomodating, i just could not justify the price of a gt3 they had, although it was my first choice and that is what i really wanted. brian at josephs was equally as accomodating and had the car i could fit into my budget. cant wait to drive it to work, cant wait to drive it home, cant wait to go to the store.....should have bought one long ago

brendo

if you're interested in a tip, shoot me a mail. 2007, very well optioned carrera S http://porsche4sale.web.officelive.com/default.aspx

CamsPorsche

That is one slick website for selling your car! I especially like the part where you can instantly view the service records.

DLJ

I certainly agree. Well done - hope you sell it soon.

SamG

The '06 S would wholesale for around $49K for a base car (no nav, partial leather seats) in better than average condition and 25-30K miles. Adding dealer markup, conditioning (replace tires, brake pads, etc) and the added Nav option I would think the car would retail for around $58 - 60K at a Porsche dealer. If they will CPO the car - it will be off warranty soon - and sell it to you for under $60 I think it would be a resonable deal. I would think you could buy the same car, less CPO, from an independant dealer for $55K