*New Member* - Help shopping 997.1
 

I got the Porsche bug after a couple track days where my manager let me drive his Cayman S and Cayman R (NASA track car). It was a blast! I'm now shopping for a used 997.1 or 997.1S in the NJ/PA/DE area. I have two kids so wife is enforcing the "backseat available" rule. So, the cayman is out. Budget is 40k-45k (max)

Need some advice on a couple questions:

- Should I put a higher priority on low miles, year or services performed? I just recently test drove a 36k mile 997 that had original tires/pads/rotors. That looked close to toast.

- How much should I pay to get the car evaluated at a porsche mechanic? Indy vs. Dealer? The indy shop i called said they charge $125/hr and can go as in-depth as I want for the $.

- is the S worth it? (value/fun/upgrades?) would you buy a high mileage to get the S badge?

- worried about clutch wear. Seen a couple used 911s with clutches replaced at <40k miles. How much is this to repair $? And how can I test?

- IMS/RMS biggest fear. Looks to be < 2% if purchased after 2005. Is this something to be fearful of and can I get PPI to check?

- Should I wait till Fall to purchase? Seems like prices are on the rise with Spring/Summer on the way.

Thanks in advance!

- Should I put a higher priority on low miles, year or services performed? I just recently test drove a 36k mile 997 that had original tires/pads/rotors. That looked close to toast.
When I bought mine I put priority on low miles and service records. No difference between the 2006 and 2008 so I didn't care much about that but I avoided the 2005 (see below)

- How much should I pay to get the car evaluated at a porsche mechanic? Indy vs. Dealer? The indy shop i called said they charge $125/hr and can go as in-depth as I want for the $.
I paid $200 flat fee at indy shop. Didn't use the dealer but some do. Make sure they check for overrevs, any leaks especially the water pump, compression test on each valve, consider paint measurement if you think the car might have been in an accident. Buy both carfax AND autocheck because there can be discrepencies

- is the S worth it? (value/fun/upgrades?) would you buy a high mileage to get the S badge?
To me more HP was worth it. Depends how fast you like to drive. Having PASM was important to me

- worried about clutch wear. Seen a couple used 911s with clutches replaced at <40k miles. How much is this to repair $? And how can I test?
Don't know much about that part

- IMS/RMS biggest fear. Looks to be < 2% if purchased after 2005. Is this something to be fearful of and can I get PPI to check? I just avoided the 2005. I'm not too concerned about it. PPI will check for obvious leaks

- Should I wait till Fall to purchase? Seems like prices are on the rise with Spring/Summer on the way.
I shopped around for 18 months only to tell myself "why did I wait this long" after I got mine. More choices spring/summer and I don't think the prices are gonna change all that much. There's always room for negotiation

I believe most people are paying $1500-2000 for a clutch job.

I would be more concerned about maintenance history and condition than miles. An 8yr old car with 10k miles isn't always a good thing.

As buddhamonk said, stay with a 2006+ for the least risk of having IMS problems.

I looked through winter and into spring and did not see much price difference.

OP, go with a '06 or newer. Full service history AND low miles if possible but go with service history over low miles. To me, the 'S' wasn't worth it...is basic trim it's plenty fast but only you can answer that. Stock pony cars will be faster in a straight line, even with a 'S.'

Clutch wear should be fine on lower mileage cars but excessive wear on a low mileage car would be a red flag. Plan of doing a PPI regardless of the car.

Is it true the S has an upgraded clutch from the base? Thought I read that it's build to handle wear and tear better

Bullet point thoughts:

• I think you need to search as far as practical.
  
• I spent 45g's and drove 3.5 hours due south to get my 2008 997.1S. w/49k miles on her.
  
• I started out looking at GT3's, so I say find the the best combo of upgrades/power you can find. I was mentally fine with an S... but not lower.
  
• I was willing to go as far as an 8-10 hour ride to get the vehicle.
  
• I don't know what the word 'wait' means. The only 'delay' I had was breaking down the searches, weeding out dozens through lots of calls and questions and narrowing down the best values meeting my criteria.
  
• Be willing to travel. There are advantages to leaving this salty rust belt and getting a more southern vehicle.

Awesome points. Going to definitely expand my search outside of 100 miles. What sites should I use? (Cars.com only)

Practicality wise, I just bought my wife a MDX and we only use that for kid transport. I have only had to use my car 1x in the last 3.5 years with the kids. Just need to have the option.

Agree, you should expand your search.

- Should I put a higher priority on low miles, year or services performed? I just recently test drove a 36k mile 997 that had original tires/pads/rotors. That looked close to toast. 06-08 are the same, prioritize on mileage/condition

- How much should I pay to get the car evaluated at a porsche mechanic? Indy vs. Dealer? The indy shop i called said they charge $125/hr and can go as in-depth as I want for the $. I think $200 gets it done. If you're going to do it you should have them pull the oil filter and check for metal and that may cost a little extra.

- is the S worth it? (value/fun/upgrades?) would you buy a high mileage to get the S badge? S is absolutely worth it, for the extra HP if you ask me...and you have :) LOVE that sport button. Throttle response, exhaust and suspension changes...beautiful. I have full FabSpeed performance upgrade, which gives me an extra 30HP on top of extra S. Plus the S will be more desirable when you sell it.

- IMS/RMS biggest fear. Looks to be < 2% if purchased after 2005. Is this something to be fearful of and can I get PPI to check? this was a driver for me to get an 06 or newer

- Should I wait till Fall to purchase? Seems like prices are on the rise with Spring/Summer on the way. Hell no, buy and enjoy.

Thanks in advance![/QUOTE]

Portterror, are you kids still in car seats? If so, there are very few seats that work in the back of the 997's. I broke down and bought a Porsche seat and it's still not ideal but my kid will be in a booster next year.

1) Factor tires, brakes, rotors (should not be in need of replacement at 36k) in to cost. Old tires are no bueno regardless of tread left. Brakes pads are no biggy to swap. On 36k pads should be fine, unless driven hard. For me low miles and out of warranty scares me. I'd prefer 30k miles with records to 10k and premium price. 30k mile cars have been "shaken out." Porsche recommends brake fluid flush every 2 years, chances are the 10k mile car hasn't had the fluid changed once and is on the original tires and first oil change.

2) $200-300 for ppi. Have them check DME for overrevs, look for leaks: RMS, valve covers, etc. I'd also do a paint check for accidents since carmax is BS.

3) With S you get bi-xenon headlights, PASM, bigger wheels, bigger engine. Yes it's worth it, unless you are making a dedicated track car... then it's just a badge.

4) No PPI can find a failing IMS. There was talk about checking cam timing variation through the DME, but never seen a confirmed case of that predicting IMS failure. Oil analysis records can be helpful if private party, but most people won't do that. Odds are you're never going to have an IMS issue. If you can't self insure (eg taking a $5-15k hit at any time) then you can't afford the car. There are plenty of other things that can go wrong with any car that just cost more because it a Porsche. Take tires for example... you need $2k for good tires every 10k for rears, and 20k for fronts, plus 4 wheel alignment.

5) I do not believe there is a test for clutch wear. On the S models the clutch is self adjusting, not sure on base. Extreme wear will be obvious if you floor it in a high gear and the engine revs but car doesn't go. But most likely you won't see this. Just have $1-2k in the bank for a clutch. This goes back to having cash to fix the normal **** that goes wrong with all cars. It's just a little more expensive with Porsche.

40-45k should get you a great car. Don't settle, take your time. Took me almost a year to find my baby. You will not regret getting a 997! Best of luck in your search.

Link to the Porsche seat for children? I've seen a couple pics of 911 owners with kids in the back.

I found a 2006 Porsche 997 black/black base (34k miles) for 37k (2-owner, clean carfax). This a good price? Should I have them pay for PPI?

Price seems reasonable for a Base 997. Go test drive a base and an S and see what you like. I test drove both and ended up with the S model. The power and the PASM were worth it.

In my mind mileage does not really matter. As the owner of many many used cars I try to find used vehicles that average 5-7k worth of mileage per year they are old. Say you find a 2007, I would hope it has 35-50k on it. This rule of thumb for me tells me that the car was used enough to keep all the fluids fresh and circulating. Typically means the car did not sit to long. Also has enough miles on it for the majority of the bugs to be worked out.

As many have said above.....priority goes to service records over mileage. I would much rather buy a 50k mile car with full service history than a 15k mile car with barely any.

my .02$

Agreed on service hx. Make sure to do PPI. I also did over rev report at the dealer when I bought my 06 C4S. Price seems fair.
I also suggest a "s" and sport chrono.

Autotrader.com is now used by premium dealers

Carmax.com has a large P inventory, and they will ship cars to your location. They generally don't buy crap. People will say you pay a little premium price-wise, but their biz model is solid and they just stick to the better cars. I purchased several high-end vehicles thru them and would have done so again, but they stick to more modest vehicles... so they are least likely (by their business model) to have Aero Kit cars, but decent base and S models.

Porsche has a used car search tool, but beware that their search tool craps out when you choose '500 mile radius'. It always returns zero results. Use '300'. I entered area codes in other states to work around the bug.

Hemmings and some other high end sites are relevant if your budget is about 65 g's or more.



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