Nugget

A whole lot less. Porsche covers 6.2 labor units to complete a RMS swap on a warranty repair (ask me how I know) -- 3.9 to R&R the transmission, 1.2 to replace the seal, .3 to clean trans, .6 to clean engine, and .2 to R&R release bearing. My dealership charges $125/hour for labor, so that comes to $775. Add in parts and you're right at about $800. It'd be even less if you took it to an independent shop.

richc

I've had 11 911's - my 996 was the worst of the bunch. I'd avoid these things at all cost. You lshould be able to find the car you want at the price you want, but it might take time. Keep looking and get both those dealers over your way working for you via their network. You're going to need a good relationship with them down the road for maintenance, so why not start it now by having them find the car you want? Stop in and spend some time talking to them, tell them what you want and see what they can come up with.

ben2e

Thanks, I intend to check out the local dealers although I've heard nothing good about Barrier which I think is the larger one. Everyone's stressed the CPO or warranty but it does make me wonder about owning the car when it expires. It at least sounds like there's not much protection for knowing your risk of an ISM (or perhaps a few other costly repairs) either with a used car you buy or a new car you've owned for several years. I've seen a few cars for sale with < 30K miles for under $40k (several others if you raise your limit to $44k).

The CPO terms seem to have up to 6 years coverage which would indeed be nice long term insurance if the car is still under new car warranty, which would seem to limit me to 06 models and probably mid-40's lowest. If I can find one with 6 years of coverage, I'll go well out of my way to get it. The CPO for older cars is 2 years which is still nice but far less than 6 years. Time to go check some out though.

Let me know if I've got the terms wrong.

Palmbeacher

Excellent warranties are available after that. I just purchased one for an '03 Mercedes, which covers everything not on a very short list of exclusions. I've had 4 warranties through them before and all of them paid me back well more than their cost, and there was never an attempt at denying a claim.

A little. CPO is 6 years from the original date of in-service if the car is still under the original warranty when you buy it. An '06 would typically have gone in-service in late '05 to sometime in '06, so the original warranty would've either already expired in late '09, or will expire sometime this year. Then the CPO would kick in for another 2 years. The most you'd get if you bought it now might be close to 3 years total, if the car wasn't sold until late '06.

ben2e

Is there a price at which a local non-CPO'd car is a better value ? Best I can tell, CPO'd listings are about $5k more than local cars from private sellers. I'm sure one will come along, but the CPO'd options appear to be mostly out-of-town. The local dealer at least lists the cars substantially higher than other cities and at least at the moment, has no inventory.

Also, anyplace I can find a list of options on 05/06 cars ? Other than comparing specific cars, I'm not sure what's stock and what's optional. Any options that are highly desirable ?

mungo69

I bought a 2006 C4 on eBay a few months ago. It already has cost $6K in repairs (front differential). I did not have it checked out by a mechanic because the vendor had a sterling record on eBay (600+, 0-). I'm not sure a mechanic would have discovered the problem anyway, because it would have required a 4-wheel dyno to diagnose it. I paid almost $43K for the car. With the $6K repair, I'm out almost $50K (more if you include the cost of state and local taxes ($3200)). As someone else said, Porsches are not cheap to buy or maintain.

Before I bought the 06, I looked at an 01 for $30K. Aside from cosmetics (I prefer the 997 front end over the 996), the 01 had some scratches and dings that the 06 does not. That's probably because the 01 was a Colorado car, while the 06 came from Phoenix. The advantage of the 996, though, is that it has a spare tire...the 997 does not. If you're going to drive a lot in no-man's-land, I would consider the 996. You gotta have a spare.

I bought the C4 in part because I live in snow country. But I haven't driven it since December because of the gunk they apply to the roads here. The C2, however, has a well earned reputation for being tail-happy, even on dry pavement. The C4 is supposed to eliminate that issue without sacrificing the RWD handling benefits (only 5% of torque is directed to the front wheels under "normal" driving). But the front differential of the C4 has reliability issues, as previously mentioned. Also, the C4 is almost 2 inches wider in the rear. Looks sexy, but the cost of rear rubber increases proportionally.

If you're concerned about price and reliability, you might consider the Boxster. While it might not be as hot as a 911, it does have two trunks.

madporsche

Mine is on sale. Check this out!
http://mall.rennlist.com/scripts/fea...uery=retrieval

fer2367

For whatever is worth, I enjoyed for almost 4 years and 23k miles an early 2005 S with no problems at all. I did go through tires and brakes, but that is track driving and enjoying the car the way it's supposed to be.

ssit

Yep, same here.. a low mileage CPO car two years ago. Have had no problem and lot more reliable compare to my 996. Did have the dealer to replace RMS after track day.

Steven

Edgy01

The more significant issue with these 997.1 engines are the IMS. See this for some education.

http://www.lnengineering.com/ims.html

alexb76

I think everyone has covered all the bases. All I can add is that Porsches are basically NOT cheap to own, even if you can find a used one at a discount price on eBay, etc...

You need to keep in mind all the possible maintenance costs, tires, and the unforeseen chance of that ONE failure that can cost $10K+. So, if you're at the max of your budget at $40K, you should find a Porsche around $30-35K, which makes 997 not viable. I'd either look at 996 or Cayman/Boxster as an entry into owning a Porsche.

RonCT

Late to the party, but here's my experience. I've never purchased a used car without having a rock-solid comprehensive warranty in place, preferably the OEM CPO one. That way something like a tranny issue that arises is covered. I also will never again buy sight-unseen. My standards appear to be above even that of Porsche and BMW dealers - the ones that have sterling reputations and swear the car is "As new". I picked up an 05 Boxster S just over a year ago and when it arrived it was not up to my standards and ended up in a dispute and fortunately got it resolved with the Porsche dealer. Not CPO related issues, other things that needed attention. Late November I purchased a 26k mile 2005 BMW 330i sworn to be "as new". It was not a BMW dealership, but was a 1 owner bought and maintained by the dealership just down the street. I insisted on having it run through the BMW CPO inspection to assure me everything was working properly. I also got the Ford ESP comprehensive warranty on it, but 1 level down from the top that didn't cover audio. I figured what are the chances the radio would go. Car arrives, a few things aren't perfect, I bring it to my local BMW dealer and the car needed $2000 in repair work: New HVAC fan unit ($1100) and new TCU / BlueTooth for $900. ESP covered the HVAC, but refused the BlueTooth saying it was "audio". Had to dispute it with the selling dealership who basically said "buyer beware" even though I had it in the contract, in emails, etc. that everything worked fine. I guess their position was these parts failed between the time of closing and when it arrived ato my house and so they didn't feel it was their responsibility. I won the dispute with the help of CitiBank (I put my deposit on my VISA and it was large - for just this possibility).

Point being, personally inspect (and take your time). Buy from a known entity (person or dealership) that you come to trust. CPO warranty is by far the best, hands down (ie: If I had run the BMW purchase through the BMW dealer, which was offered as an expensive option, the BlueTooth module wouldn't have become an issue). If you find a car hundreds of miles away, do all of your homework remotely, including PPI / CPO inspection process, but fly there one way, inspect and drive the car, and only when satisfied turn over the final payment and drive the car home.

sizquik

I just picked up mine from Carmax. I set an alert online and as soon as one popped up in my area I jumped all over it. It was very clean, low miles and competitively priced with no haggling. Plus for $1875, I have a full warranty for the next 5 years / 75,000 miles. I've been traveling and have not been able to take real pics but here's shot from the iphone.