Thoughts on targa

Well I have found this targa at my local dealership and I'm going to head down this afternoon to see what kind of deal I can negotiate. I just wanted to see what people thought of the car. If anything sticks out, and what you think of the price and how much room there is or should be in there. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Mike

I've heard it's easier to get access to the area behind the rear seats to clean; the bad part is the Targa roof adds about 150 pounds, all of it up high where it does nothing good for the car's roll center. If you like the greenhouse view and aren't trying for max handling performance, by all means.................

What happened with the white cab you were looking at? I thought you wanted white, no?

I have an absolute blast with my Targa. I've heard/read the discussion about the added weight in the roof, but to this point I am still no where near finding the limits of the car (I don't track it, nor do I intend to at least at this point) and to me the car's handling/cornering ability is so far beyond anything I have ever driven it's a mute point for me. I certainly don't notice it - my $.02. Porsche published 0-60 times are 5.2 for the 996 Targa vs. 5.0 for the coupe ... although Road & Track measured the Targa time at 5.0 as well. Top speed is the same for both at 177 mph, although I personally won't be confirming that for you. The upsides of the model are obviously the very large s.roof and the rear hatch. With the s.roof open and the windows down it's the closest thing to a full open air experience you can have w/o actually having a cab. Wind buffeting in the cabin is minimal, but the sweet sound of the engine/exhaust still comes through loud and clear. When you get to your destination just power the roof closed and lock it up, or if it starts to rain on the freeway just close it like a normal sunroof. The rear hatch ... takes two full sets of golf clubs with room to spare (my wife and I are at the club about twice a week so that's important, at least to us), you can still open the s.roof fully....and go out to dinner afterwards with the clubs locked in the car.

I am about to close on the purchase of a 30K mile '02 Targa for $44.5 from an independent dealer. The one you're looking at has the flared rocker and the five spoke wheels, mine has std. 17s an no rockers. On the inside from the looks of it mine has a bunch more nice stuff. If the car is CPO then I think a price in the mid 50s is reasonable given the low mileage. If not CPO you should look at low 50s IMO. There are targas out there. Benefit for you is its close. I looked for 5 mos but found one less than 200 miles away. Good luck!