andrewinla

I am targeting buying a 997 C2 S coupe manual this year.
$60 is my limit but may stretch to $65 for the perfect car.

I found a 1 owner 08 at Carmax with about 30k that is in my price range.
Car is not near me so I have to gamble $700 to bring it to me.
It has a accident on the Autocheck but was assured its just a front bumper fender bender (maybe they all say that) but I prefer to know about it rather than a event that never shows up.
Miles may seem high but I think less likely fake miles.

Carmax is not great at listing options. Pictures show PSE but they don't know. I wonder if anyone can tell me anything about the car from the VIN (WP0AB29918S730365).
I can't tell what Porsche options are on the car other than red seatbelts.

andrewinla

One other question.

I love the full leather option but hard to find cars with full leather and PSE in my color preference (white, red, & maybe yellow / no tan interiors).

Would most of you think PSE is more desirable than full leather?
Which would you choose?

If anyone knows of car similar to what I'm looking for I'd greatly appreciate the tip.

mattyf

I hope the car at Carmax is significantly less than 60k! For that kind of money you can get a nice non-accident history CPO from the dealer. Unless it's a real steal (<45k) why bother. Plus you're going to have to explain that accident to the next guy you sell it to.

Autoatlanta has the vin decoder. Search here or the other forum. You need a link that has a vin in it already to work, or be a customer.

Edit: http://www.autoatlanta.com/life/vin/...AB29997S732797
click the url, then edit it and put in your vin... but it doesn't seem to be correct. Vin should have a 997 in it.

As for PSE, I have both full leather and PSE. PSE is nice, but you can gundo hack and get same results minus the on/off switch. So if you can't have both go for leather.

sandwedge

Regroup. With your budget and your tolerance for some miles on the car you can get a base -09 .2 version. Maybe even a higher mile -09 S. Definitely no need to settle for an -08 with collision damage with $60K to $65K in your pocket. IMO...

mgordon18

I think autoatlanta fixed their "bug" that let non-customers get info, so a few months ago I bought a $1 washer and had it delivered for $3. Now I'm a customer. If you're actively searching for a P-car you should do the same. It saves a lot of time and headache. You often end up knowing more about the car than the dealer or owner.

Here's what's interesting from the car in question:Good luck!
- Mike

PS - I agree with Sandwedge. You can find a better car for $60-$65K.

stefang

How'd you get $3 shipping? I'm getting $13 shipping for that $1 washer. Potentially still worth it I suppose.

-Stef

mgordon18

That's funny, actually. I thought the shipping was going to be $13, and like you, I thought, "Well it's still worth it." When I actually got my invoice and was charged, the shipping was only $3. Their purchase flow is TERRIBLE.

Hella-Buggin'

Personally, I would choose Full Leather over PSE. You can always add PSE later, although maybe not cost effective. Not to mention all of the great aftermarket exhaust options including a Gundo Hack for a temp solution for a few hudred $s.

andrewinla

Thanks! For the great comments.
I found a 07 at Millenia Motors in AW that has PSE and Adaptive seats for near same price, has Carrera classics wheels(love them).
I'll see how flexible they are.
But I'd have to do aftermarket Federal warranty route.
Also hard to do DME scan on car in FL from CA.

The Carmax car is about $54 I think and I can return in 5 days.
But all good points.
Just can't find a .2 car for $60 that is an S.

So is a .1 S better than a .2 non S?

eflight

I test drove a 2009 non S a couple of weeks ago, it was a fantastic car, why anyone would need to upgrade to an S just for driving on the streets is beyond me

Alan C.

I'd tend to agree with eflight if you only intend to use the car around town/weekend drives and are not interested in tracking the car. In fact I think the 997.2 non S with a PDK would be better than a 997.1 S. If you are a hard core manual transmission person then this would not work.

RazrPorsche

Is this the red car in OKC? If so, I just looked at that car today. I was there for something else and just happened upon it. Didn't drive it or open it up. I can go look at it again if you'd like, and I know someone that works there for any details that you might want.

It does have a clear bra on it and the obligatory white lines of wax at the edges. It could use a good detailing. There are some scrapes of the lower front air dam edge that I noticed too.

I have a 997.1S and am happy with it, but I think at this point if I were in your shoes, I'd look for a nice 997.2....even a base car. I drove one when looking for my car and couldn't tell much difference between a .1S and .2 base.

gota911

Of course, I am sure that both of you know that all of the 997.1 option codes are in the 997.1 version of the PET Catalog, starting at about page 500.

BTW, the catalogs are in PDF format and can be downloaded for free.

997 USA KATALOG.pdf

Link to all Porsche PET Catalogs

mgordon18

That's great, but the idea here is to figure out how the car is optioned using only the VIN (i.e. without knowing the option codes for that particular vehicle). When shopping online, you don't get to see much more than that. The PET catalog is only useful when you already know the option codes for the car.

But either way, that PET catalog is super cool!

andrewinla

Thanks for the great insight.

RazrPorsche: That is exactly the car. Would appreciate a little insight on the condition exterior paint/interior. I was told by someone there it was front damage with bumper and hood respray. Would love some insight from your friend. I have lots of miles and may fly out to look but Carmax wont let me take it to dealer for PPI. If I come out dinner on me!
You gave some good pointers.

Carmax alerted me about this car being available with a price of $53K.
But now the site has it for I believe $57 or 58K.
I think I can get them to honor the price that is in my email.

I have not seen any $60-65K 997.2's out there with under 40k miles.

I dont want PDK and I have track my cars (Miata/ 2 WRX's/BMW M Roadster/BMW M Coupe) as I will with 911.

I prefer a .1 S over the .2 base since I hear the brakes of the .1 S are better than the base .2

The only car sold by a dealer in the US near $60K in a color I'd like is a 2006 car with low miles and CPO (Hoffman 06 911 S for $63.5k). But I'm more suspicious of an 06 than a 08 with a honest carfax with real 33K miles.

Carmax has extended warranty for pretty cheap and I hear they are decent.

Not trying to sound like I've made up my mind. I have my daily driver and can wait it out. Worried as better weather returns prices stay higher.

Is the 06 CPO car better? something I am running through my brain.
Most dealers I've called are not eager to move much on price on used cars for some reason.

Thanks for all the help!!!