Buying a 996 C2 from private owner vs. dealer

Hi everybody! This is my first post on this forum. Hopefully I will soon be a lucky owner of a 1999-2001 996 C2! I have a question about buying a used 996 C2 from a private owner vs. buying from a dealer. I tested 4 cars so far. Two of them were nice, but two sounded and drove like junkers. One nice car was out of my price range, and the other did not have the PSM that I want, else I would be driving one already. But the junkers both had engines that vibrated and had a bad idle. The junkers, of course, were sold by used car non-Porsche dealers. I spent $500 to fly out to see the second one, it looked so good on paper before I heard it run in person. Well, I have a dilemma. Most of these 1999-2001 996 C2 Porsches are sold by by used car non-Porsche dealers. Porsche dealers seem not want to touch them because then they would have to sell them as CPO, which may be too much for them to handle if a car is 8 years old. So I would really prefer to buy from a private owner. That somewhat narrows my selection. Please let me know if my line of thinking is correct and I should stick with it. Also, what are the critical maintenance procedures that I need to perform on a 996 C2, with their intervals and approximate costs? Is there some sort of a rebuild/replacement that needs to be done every 30K, 45K or 60K miles? If you know of any good ones for under $35K let me know. Silver, gray or red hardtop 6-speed please. Black interior and PSM. Thank you! __________________ Rennlist paid memba

my car is for sale. I am doing a private sale, but I can assure you that it is no lemon. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/353326-fs-guards-red-1999-996-c2-29-000-obo.html I can always bring it in for a PPI at a location of your choice if you are interested. Jarrod

Good luck with your shopping. Looks like Jarrod has a nice one. I always prefer to buy from a private owner. That way I am able to size the person up a bit and tell how well they took care of the car. I can tell based on their enthusiasm if they car was well maintained. I my book used car salesmen are professional liars. They often don't know the history of a car and don't care. They just want you to fork over the money. Take your time to find the right car. One will come along. I looked for 3-4 months. Get a PPI done on any car you are considering on buying. You are probably in good shape if you buy a car from someonte that is a rennlist member or PCA member. One more thing about your CPO comment. It's not that Porsche dealers do not want to CPO a car, it is often because they can not CPO a car because it doesn't pass inspection. Something to be warry of. Cheers!

I would NOT buy a 99 996 WITHOUT a CPO warranty.....unless you dont mind forking over $20k in upkeep the first year of ownership. Thats how much upkep my PRISTINE 1999 C4 Cab needed in warranty work. It was a CPO so it didnt cost me a cent, but I would have HATED to have bought such a nice car, that PASSED inspections and then in a years time, had $20k in repair bills....Not saying that all 1999-2001's are gonna need this kinda of work but I will say that AT LEAST 5% will....unless they already have had engines replaced. You can get a CPO car from a Porsche dealer at a good price if ou look, and you will have the peace of mind that you will not get hit with huge repair bills. Good luck.

I bought my 99 and have never had to do a repair other than the ones I KNEW i had to do when i purchased it(ie RMS) -Keith

I bought my car in 04 as a CPO and the only repair that I have made was to get a new MAF sensor (which was under warranty). Just my 2 cents.

For what it's worth, I just traded my 01 C2 with 71,000 miles. It was a very reliable car. Never had to replace the brake pads or the battery, no oil leaks. No problems at all. Just did the routine services and changed oil every 7500 miles. I was the original owner. Take your time and find the right car. It CAN be a great experience.

Thanks for all the comments guys. jcalhoun, I like your car a lot but I am looking for a black interior. newport996, I forgot to say that I am a car geek and like to do all the car work myself, especially on cars like these. For what CPO costs, probably $5-10K, I could do all the normal and expected repairs myself. For $20K I could replace the engine, transmission and have some cash left for a new paint job. Or add a little money and buy another car. CPO is a good thing, but it costs some money and 2 years is too short. I am planning to keep this car longer than this.

I am sure there are many like that....but being NEW to the Pcar world, we should be honest about POSSIBLE issues....i have 20k+ of service receipts in 1 year on a CPO'd 99 C4 Cab....A car that was VERY clean and had less than 10k a year on it. Like I said, there are probably about 5% out there that will have motor issues. Also you can get a CPO for about the price of a private party car, AND a CPO must have a minimum 50% tread, or new tires are put on, 50% brakes, or new pads and rotors are installed, 50% clutch or a new clutch is installed, all services brought to current and if the car is within 5k miles of its next service then the NEXT service must be done...I dont know ANY private party that will do that BEFORE they sell a car....that stuff alone may cost someone $5K....So for a new Pcar owner....my suggestion is get a CPO car and enjoy your Pcar ownership WITHOUT having to fork out a cent for any issue....

First off, I got my car BELOW market value WITH a CPO....it was not a PENNY more for that car...its usually $2k more, not 5-10k.... 2nd...yes my engine WAS replaced. If I bought my car without it, I would have been on the hook for the 20k in repairs...since it was CPO, I didnt pay a cent. Good luck in your search.

I'm trading mine in a couple of weeks.

DJ, I may be interested. Although I see your car was "raced", LOL! If it is for sale then please email/PM me the details. Thank you. Newport, how would I go about finding a CPO car? The Porsche website search is not working. Autotrader does not list any CPO cars. Can a dealer locate a 1999-2001 CPO 996 car for me? I went to two dealers and they did not volunteer to sell me anything that was not on their lot already.

I am not sure if you can get them to "tranfer" cars from other dealers..I am lucky....I am in SoCal and there are at least 10 dealers within 150 miles....so I just went to them one by one....I found my car at the 3rd one....although I called at least 6-7, and the car I found wasnt ever mentioned by the dealer...so you may just need to call around....I did use the dealer locator on the Porsche website....it worked for me.

Big difference between DE and racing my friend. My car is a DD w/39k , dry and tight. All the good mods third radiator, RoW 030, OEM ssk, ... Unfortunately, my dealer has already offered me a good number, if that changes when the turbo arrives I will pm you.

Mine is for sale w/ remaining warranty on new engine. Sent you an email on the details.

Thank you, the resident Cop, and thank you, DJ. I know it would be odd to find a Porsche that has never been to the track. This is what they are made for. I am still looking for one and want it more than ever before! To summarize: Under $35K Silver, gray or red hardtop 6-speed Black interior PSM. Hopefully I will find one soon. Can't wait anymore!

Supercar, If you don't consider the red 996 offered on this board you are missing the point. I just sold my 1999 Arctic Silver coupe for the giveaway price of $29,500 here in Oregon. You should buy a Porsche from a Porsche enthusiast. Nobody takes care of these cars like us car geeks that reside on these boards. I am a very active PCA member to so I would add that criteria to your list. When I bught my 1999 I did not want an Arctic Silver car. But after looking at and driving 26 different 1999 and 2000 cars in 2004 I bought the one in the best condition. That is way more important than having exactly the perfect color combo on a used Porsche. My car had 34,000 on it when I bought it and 52,000 on it when I sold it. In that time I did the normal 3 replacement procedures for 1999 model year cars. 1. Coolant reservoir replacement. 2. Brake booster/mastercylinder replacement due to water collection. 3. Seat belt receptacle replacement due to faulty contacts. No RMS issues. If you want the best car at the cheapest (after repairs) price then buy one from a car geek. I think the red 1999 offered above should not be summarily dismissed because it is not your first choice for interior color. Just my experience. BTW I love my new 997 C4S Cobalt Blue Cabriolet. But my 1999 car was 90% as fast for only 27% of the cost.

Thank you, lexpilot. I did consider the red/savannah car, but I live in Michigan. There is only one nearly perfect early 996 that I found locally. It is absolutely beautiful but it has no PSM, which I must have. I saw three other cars too, so by now I pretty much know what I like and what's important for me. To see other cars I have to fly to another state, which last time cost me $500 a trip. I cannot afford to see 26 of them. I should better be very sure that I am flying to see the car that I really want to buy. Yes, I would like to buy my car from a Porsche enthusiast, of course.

If you want the best car at the cheapest (after repairs) price then buy one from a car geek. I think the red 1999 offered above should not be summarily dismissed because it is not your first choice for interior color. Just my experience. I couldn't agree more. Unless the interior or exterior colors are obnoxious to you, the condition of the car should be far more important than the fact that the interior color isn't your first choice. Of course the best of all worlds is to buy a CPO car, but if you can't afford that, then follow the advice above.

Here's my two cents (a bargain at twice the price). There are honest salesmen out there. What happens is that they don't know anything about these cars, most are bought at auction, so they either have no information to give you, or they are less than honest and make something up. Or they "forget" which car you are talking about, and really "meant" to tell you about the accident history. I concur with some of the earlier replies - it's best to buy from the individual. You can get a feel for the person, see how they live, get an idea of how they maintained it, etc. You're also more likely to get the service records and all the keys. Buy the nicest car that you can afford, that's my motto. Michael

I guess I bought my 2 pcars from the ONLY honest salesman in America.....I also got ALL the service records because the cars where originally bought at that dealership and traded in...In SoCal thats big...they use one dealer and buy the car, have it serviced at that dealer and trade it in when they get the itch for a new one....so both my cars were bought and traded in at that dealer, that dealer did all the service and gave me copies of all the service records of teh car since new...and I got all the keys, manuals, and even original window sticker. Its easy to check out a car and find the story on it....and its easier to catch a saleman in a lie....I have found Pcar salesman to be actually better than most, at least the ones I dealt with....There are some jerks, but its EASY to spot them....

i second lexpilots suggestion of buying from an enthusiest and/or PCA member. In 1994 I was looking for my 1st 911. I had a PPI done at the same shop where the car was serviced and had the lower valve covers removed as part of the PPI. Two head studs fell out upon removal. PCA member felt bad about the results (since a valve adjust was done just 2k miles earlier) and offered to pay for the full cost of the PPI. I passed on the car since the owner was going to want more $ after a new top end was done. I learned 3 things from 4 or 5 PPI's: 1. Stacks of records/receipts does not mean Murphy is not lurking around the corner. 2. The owner may not know there are problems with the car. 3. Having a reputable shop perform a PPI, even though they regularly service a car is not necessarily a bad thing. Be patient. After several failed PPI's and a year of searching, I ended up buying a used car from the Porsche dealer with a warranty.

My car has everything you want except the interior color and even has a Porsche warranty. I looked for 6 months before buying it.

I can vouche for DJ 996's car, it's tight with all the good stuff.

Just got a word from one owner that PSM was not an option on the C2 until 2000. He also said that it was first offered on the '99 C4. So have I been looking for a car that does not exist (a '99 C2 with PSM)??? 996 Cop, does your '99 have PSM or just TC? Is there a "PSM" button to the left of the radio, or "TC"? I have also been looking for a list of stock features and factory options that were available for the 996 cars, year by year. Is there such a list, and is there a place online where I could see it? Dealers appear to be clueless about older cars, they only know some about the new ones. Thank you.

For '99, it was "Traction Control" not PSM. Part of the reason is the '99s didn't have drive by wire throttle, so no ability for the computer to reduce throttle. The '99s with TC all came with Limited Slip or so I'm told - not a bad thing....

Has anyone experienced how this '99 TC works? AFAIK, traction control has a limited functionality. It only reduces the negative effect of my heavy right foot. It will do nothing if I hit a patch of ice on the road, or yank the steering wheel to one side and then to the other while trying to get around a car that decided to park in the left lane. I know the '00 996 PSM would engage the brakes on one or both of the front wheels and help me not to spin out backwards, I tested it already.

Hey Supercar one question. Why in particular do you state that you want a 1999-2002 996 with black interior? The reason I ask (but its not for sale) is I have one which I got 3 months back. Its a 1999 996 C2 Cabrio with soft and hard top. .. Artic Silver with black interior. Upgraded larger wheels, 3 spoke steering wheel and stick shift with 45000 on the clock. A Preferred warranty was bought during purchase which accompanied a 3 year up to 90000 miles which ever comes first which came with the car.. My friend said he could hear a whirring sound coming from underneath the car. I took it to a Porsche Dealer and they confirmed that I needed a new transmission which Preferred Warranty replaced for me at no cost to me. This being my first 911 I would not have checked the tranny as I thought all Porsche cars sounded this way. I couldn't hear any whirring sound but he could. By the way my wife bought the car for me as a surprise for my 70th birthday. Best birthday present I ever had in my life and it was from a dealer. It is one awesome car in every way.

I agree to buy from a private Porsche owner. Definitely not some non-Porsche dealer who may have bought from auction with the chance of many possible owners (neglect). The years you are looking at cannot be CPOd because of their age. 8 years old is the max Porsche will CPO a car. Only some 2004 996s can be CPOd now. I would almost always buy from a private enthusiast vs. a dealer unless it was a CPO car. For my 1st and current Porsche it was important for me to have the CPO, hence the Porsche dealer decision. Buy one from someone here or on PCA. You can join PCA as a short term member to have access to their classifieds.

The "CPO" designation has taken on industry-wide criteria in recent years. The manufacturers establish standards for eligibility (like, no more than 5 years old and less than 60K miles) and then apply in-depth inspections for condition and typical replacements (tires, brake pads, filters, etc.). The dealer decides which eligible cars to CPO, and this decsion tends to be market/region based. The dealer then must pay a "fee" to the manufacturer upon sale, call it a pre-paid warranty fee, if you like. (Guess who is really funding this expense, folks.) On older or high mileage cars (non-CPO eligible), the dealer will try to steer the buyer toward buying a 3rd. party maintenance plan. Some of these now offer "CPO-like" coverage, but can be very pricey. Bottom Line: I have my doubts that any Porsche dealer would or could CPO a 1999-2001 996 Carrera or any other "older" Porsche. relinuca

Holy back from the dead, Batman!!! Just so you know, the original post is over 4 years old. It appears that "Supercar" has not posted on Rennlist since August of 2007.

Someone has been to the crypt again. Wonder if the OP ever found his car? In 2007 he might have located a CPO 1999.

Maybe he is still looking....

Hi guys! I am the OP. I did buy my 2000 C2 in the summer of 2007 from Seattle. It is dark blue with black interior. Love it!!! Already put 80K miles on it since then, it is my daily driver. I was thinking about modding it and making it part of my tuner business, but is almost too perfect. It is hard to improve on a good thing. Cheers!

Always good to hear a happy ending to a story about a 996... Also good to see somebody use the search function...

Good stuff, any pics?

Quotes source post: 8885734

Wow, great to hear and thanks for coming back and updating the thread. How many total miles are on it? Any costly repairs?

Back to your original question - major service is at 60Km .. should budget about $1200 for that. A new set of tires will be $800-$1200+ and you can expect the rears to last as little as 10K. A new clutch will be $2K+/- . Other common maintenance items on a car this age could be water pump, AOS. There are known weak-points with some electrical items - like ignition switch (cheap fix), radios (at this age), multifunction indicator stalk ($600 unless you DIY) - but overall costs are not too bad for an exotic - just don't expect Honda like maintenance costs. So when you are getting a used one - I would agree do not go with the typical used car lot. It is probably hard to find one this age at most Porsche dealers - but there are some indie dealers that specialize in Porsche that you might not want to rule out. Carfax will sometimes pull up a lot of the service history. Having said that, no reason not to go with private seller - especially if it is one or two owner car with maintenance records. Pull the carfax, have a PPI done by indie Porsche specialist - and yes things can go wrong - but this is best practice and should minimize your risk ....

^ OP has put 80K miles on the pcar he bought already.

Oh yes - I guess I didn't read to end of thread before I posted ! My bad .. Still, hopefully info comes in useful for someone else that is looking at same thing ...