At last one in red!

I posted a while ago about not seeing many red porkers and how I was holding out for one: http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=47868&highlight= I've been to see the first one today and I thinks its the one! I've listed the good and bad below - almost to convince myself its the right one. The good Present owner has had it seven years (and garaged it) OPC full history Leather trim still seems fresh. Repairs have been carried out when required, e.g. radiators, gearbox, front suspension rebuild Low mileage for a 00(W) - 53k (38k done in first 2.5yrs) Its the only one I've seen in my budget in 6 months Oil filler cap seemed clean. Very light milky stain, but no residue - I understand this is normal. The bad Most of the repair work wasn't done by OPC -but ninemeister Warrington(a good thing possibly?) Looking at the receipts - the gearbox was nightmare, jumping out of 2nd a lot. A few attempts required to resolve and a lot of cash - long standing problem? Car has the GT bodykit - Marmite? I'm still not completely convinced... The side-skirt don't look a perfect fit. Also paint has chipped off them on both sides, mostly near the door. I've asked the owner for the codes to check if fitted at factory. Paintwork could have been treated better (uses valeters rather than the 10-bucket method!). Should be undone with a good detailing session Its the first one I've seen! A few parking dents on each side A scuff on the bumper. It needs a minor service in Jan. ... but it is 9.5 years old! The owner is asking 17k, but will come down so I don't think he's too far away with the price.[/url]

Welcome to the world of Guards Red! I wasn't actually looking for a red porker but when I saw the condition this influenced my decision. Whilst I was looking for a 996 initially I was drawn to the 993 - but that's a personal thing. Remember buy on condition - Ninemeister are very well regarded and I would be confident in their service/repair work and perhaps if you contact them they can give you information about the car. OPC does not instill me with confidence as their work is akin to a production line. Price is proportional to condition and the spread between a good and a bad vehicle can be huge >£10k so do your homework RMS and 3.4 engine issues etc. Paint seems minor and can be sorted - again a top specialist dealer will sort it but then you will easily pay £20k+

17k seems a bit expensive. Also as its red this may effect its resale in the future. :?:

Sounds good to me, we have to remember is a near on 10 year old car. Gt3 kit, I think with a red car would look good. Sounds good money too.... PPI and away you go.

Guards red is the holy grail of porsche colours, forget the dull and boring blues, they are everywhere. Silver seems a good idea but gets lost in the car park, black is black and only looks nice for 5 minutes after washing it. A gleaming guards red porsche in any incarnation stands out in the crowd. Rare and desirable IMHO! Stick to your guns and hold out for guards red. Just as hard to find in a 993. When I was looking for a 996 i couldnt find one in red and finished up with silver :roll: The only one i found was at Ron Hodgkinson specialist cars, a low mileage car 34,000 not messed with and priced at 19,995. Just a bit out of budget. 17,000 seems a lot for the car, 996's are bidding very low in open auctions, I recently bid on a facelift 2002 coupe with under 50K (Cobalt blue)and FMDSH with all the extras and it only bid to 17K. If I was looking again it would be 100% a facelift 3.6 car, even with slightly higher miles, just better quality, better finished cars,and if you do go for a 3.4 really get it checked out for RMS. Look into it and you find most 996's have been for sale a while. Guards red/Black leather facelift model without bodykits and tampering!

Guards Red........996........GT3.......RS - what a combo! Graham

Ok, so the GT3 kit isn't mentioned in the options list :sad: This might explain why the paint has chipped off on the skirts in the door shut areas and why it isn't a perfect fit (I was expecting to see an 004 option in the list - is this correct?). Can the kit be easily removed? I was also suprised at the panel gaps - definitely not tiny Anyway, I appreciate comments so far. I have agreed a price of 16k for the car, subject to inspection - which I thought sounded right. The 1k off is going towards the inspection and the service due in Jan. Here are the options from the service book: C16 UK car 424 cd compartment 425 rear window wiper 476 psm 567 WINDSHIELD TINTED, UPPER PART DARKER COLOURED 659 computer 695 CD-RADIO "PORSCHE CDR 22 936 SEAT COVERS REAR, LEATHER 981 LEATHER EQUIPMENT WITHOUT SEAT COVERS 983 SEAT COVERS FRONT, LEATHER Thanks PS I saw the Ron H. advert and due to price/distance didn't pursue. Interested to know if someone off the forum has it now.

Mileage seems to make it a good buy at 16K. Does it definitely have the proper history? Ie. evidence of only 15,000 miles covered in the last 7 years, such as mot's? And the big servicing done at 48k or before. Body kit has to go surely?

Seems to have dealer stamps at same OPC in the past 7 years - I'm going to give them a call to back it up. All major repair work carried out by an indy. TBH the body kit thing is putting me off. Why add it? Is it hiding other repairs? I'd be happier if it didn't have it. :?

Hi Maybe just get the Skirts refitted and repainted. As its a solid red the match shouldn't be difficult for a decent bodyshop. Also, get the rest of the car paint corrected and detailed. I for one think a Guards Red GT3 kitted 996 will look way better than a standard pre-facelift. Although I may be biased as I think GR is the best colour for a mk1 GT3! Either way, good luck with the purchase. Regards G :thumb:

FYI, I'm sure the red GT3 RS in the above picture belongs to Mark at Ninemeister - a very nice car indeed. For what it's worth I have a guards red 996 with black leather and GT3 kit and I have yet to see a better combination on a 996. Coupled with the LM style alloys, it gets a lot of admiring glances and comments. I had a black one before but it got lost in the crowd a bit. In my opinion a guards red 996 with GT3 kit must surely be worth at least what it was worth brand new - ~£70k surely? anyone? :grin:

I've spoken with an OPC who advises me that the body kit might have been fitted by the suppling dealer, hence no record in the options list. (tried calling porsche customer care to confirm but no joy - data protection etc.) I was interested to learn that the OPC offers a 111 point check for £198. He also mentioned that yearly services aren't recommended for cars covering <9k miles (this one has rarely covered more than 2k miles in a year, yet still got serviced).

Hi Torker Im sure ive read on here somewhere that 111 point OPC checks free through PCGB? Anyway come on have you bought it!

Sadly no. I'm meant to be going back to see it on Thursday, but I'm starting to get cold feet.

Why ??