va122

I sold mine to an out of state buyer. He went through his dealer friend b/c I think he had a trade in. Went smoothly. I would look all over the country. Shipping is easy, we even shipped 2 spare sets of wheels with the car.

Carrera GT

The GT3 in SY looks like a lot of fun. You don't see too many of them outside the usual white/silver/etc.

That GT3 has an RMS leak. They all do. Maybe it's already had the seal replaced once or more. You could negotiate getting the updated seal done.

50K miles might make a 996 cabrio look a little scruffy. If the car is -- or can be made to be -- very tidy, then their wholesale offer on your car is a low ball. If you want to hold both cars and try to sell the cab in spring, you'll maybe make another $5K or you'll maybe have no luck in a tight market and be wasting your weekends.

The GT3 at 25K miles is $70K private sale, assuming the paint is 9/10 or better. I'd pay $2K for CPO, $2K for color, $2K profit to the dealer and $2K for "right car for me" factor. So I'd pay $75-$78K if the brake rotors are perfect (they look a little blued) the brake pads are >50%, the tires are brand new (CPO on a GT3 is possible only with brand new tires ... drive it around the block and they'll not have enough tread on Sport Cups) and the engine has no over-rev issues, the service records show no recurring problems and an independent inspection shows no panel repairs (CPO allows for a lot of paint and panel work, so CPO is no assurance of a good car history.)

The GT3 is a car I'd prefer to buy direct from the first owner and measure the car by measuring the owner. Once it's at a dealer, well, dealers invariably, conveniently have no knowledge of the history of any car they sell ... even though they will dig into every car they buy down to spare change in the seat cushions.

Personally, I'd stick my head under the back of the car and look for what's called "witness marks" on the hardware (especially suspension components and exhaust ... popular mods for GT3's that get tracked.) If I saw any part number tags or evidence of removed part number stickers, I'd want to see full disclosure _before_ I find the evidence for myself that things have been replaced underneath.

I find that looking at a car multiple times starts to reveal things that I miss on the first or second pass. For example, there's an odd, arcing mark on the headliner. Is that just a wipe across the alcantara or is it a scrape that has damaged the headliner? I'd pull the plastic covers off the seat belt anchors and check for a roll bar installation or other evidence of tracking. Does it have clear film on the paint? There's nothing wrong with a tracked GT3, it's just a matter of knowing the facts and deciding whether you're paying a premium for a local, one-owner car in very good condition or if you're paying too much for a track ***** that's had three owners, been on the auction block a couple of times and a monkey in the cabin pulling out seats, stripping threads in the B pillars trying to jam a roll bar in there, etc. At 25K miles in a dead (dead!) car market where dealers can't sell a 911 to save their lives, this car should be $10K lower on the asking price. Speed Yellow is a factor, but you'd really have to want the color to be paying such a premium -- it's more than the factory charge for paint to sample! : )

There's so many '07 and '08 GT3's on the market and you're within spitting distance of RS money. I'd go find an honest one-owner RS and test the waters with your cab on ebay and craigslist and cars.com and autotrader and see what it fetches -- get $25K for it and then you're a cash on the barrel buyer for an RS. But that's just me. And Larry Cable is absolutely right -- drive this car down the block to another Porsche dealer and their wholesale on this car would be $65K and they wouldn't want to buy it in winter, they're probably looking at more than 60 days to sell a GT3 like this and that's painful for a dealer to hold anything for that long without just wholesaling it and trying their luck with a different roll of the dice from the auctions.

Anyway, that's my experience and I'm on my fourth GT3 in four years, so I'm a idiot sucker for these cars! Just don't let all my cautionary comments diminish your enjoyment of whatever GT3 you buy -- you're in for a great ride whether this one turns out to be "the one" or if you continue the search and find an RS.

911Jetta

Awesome post ^^^^^^
I'm not in the market yet, but that was very informative!

911SLOW

and don't forget to add pics, they make reading more enjoyable.. : )

MarkG123

Carrara GT Good post, but I need to make a few corrections. A COP car can be sold without brand new tires. And some 07 GT3's have still not developed an RMS leak, you mentioned they all leak. I have been told by a dealer that a limit of 2 panels can be painted otherwise no CPO. (Not sure about the accuracy of that one.)

mikemdd

I would seriously consider this advice. Trading in and buying has the "convenience" factor, but rarely gets you best deal....you lose on your trade in and lose on your ability to negotiate the price on the car you are buying. Just as important is the sales tax implications of buying from a dealer. Not sure where you are, but in Illinois, buying from a dealer costs you over 7% in taxes, which is around $5600 on this car. When you buy from a private party, the maxium tax, regardless of value, is $1500. The value of your trade in reduces the net amount, but not enough to make it a good deal. This was a deciding factor in my recent decision to buy privately rather than from a dealer. I'm guessing if you are patient and market your car well, you can get a better price. Just another thought.

FFaust

+1,000

The gospel... ALWAYS!

firefisher

Carrara,

Nice post. Explained very well.

wogamax

Go national, is the only emphasis I'd add. I don't know what the current market looks like, but doubt we're talking about more than half a dozen yellow ones.

StephenB

I don't know the rules of CPO, but do know that a CPO car I was checking out a couple of years ago had paint work on more than 2 panels. The salesman did not like the fact that I had a paint thickness meter with me. I would not let it bother me too much if priced accordingly and my intended use would likely result in less than perfect paint.

911dev

I was told the same two panel thing when I was shopping for a .1 gt3 before I settled on my .2 3. This may sound crazy, but I seem to recall the dealer also telling me that the front and/or rear facias do not count as a panel!

Anyway, like Carrera GT said, don't rely on CPO status as far as paint goes.

johnboise3

Although the price is a little high, all other factors considered, I think the CPO and the dealer's proximity to you justifies a premium, particlarly if yellow is "your color". I paid a premium formy CPO used '08 because of the same factors (CPO, dealer a half mile away), but mine has a lot less miles. With yours having that many miles, the CPO becomes even more valuable. In the end, you will love the car, and when someday you sell, the extra premium you may pay now will not make any difference.
Happy Driving!

kyrocks

If you have a deposit down already, you're pretty much committed, aren't you? I would have negotiated prior to putting down the deposit. I think the price is high for that car, honestly. If you walk, do you lose your deposit?

I think they know you want the car badly and that's okay if you don't care about paying a little too much. You're going to enjoy the car no matter what you pay for it, but market price should be a little lower and you can pay for mods with the extra cash. Let us know what happens.

911SLOW

FYI: The "rule" of max. 2 panels painted doesn't exist..
They can CPO a car that was crashed and fixed to Porsche standards..

FFaust

Once again, at the end of the day, it's NOT about getting the best possible deal, it's about getting the car YOU want.