996 with 145,000 miles

Very open ended question here, but here goes. I took a look at a 99 C2 with 145,000 miles today. Will need suspension and clutch. With 145,000 on the engine assume $4000 for a DYI engine refresh. Clean carfax and looks pretty clean inside and out. The question!! What would you think would be a fair price for a 99 996 with 145,000? Or perhaps I should say what is the most you would pay for said car given what it needs and the mileage. Thanks in advance,

I have 161k on my 2002 and it certainly doesn't seem to need any "refreshing". Doesn't use any oil or smoke/make noises etc. I'll see what people say here as I'll probably be selling mine pretty soon, though of course as they say, it's worth what somebody's willing to pay... Have you driven other examples, the condition of the car's more important than say a 30k mile difference vs. another example. I would suggest you drive a few examples including some later model cars before making up your mind, there's quite a few upgrades over the earlier ones. I've owned a couple of each.

Not sure how much "refreshes" on the M96 motor. They seem to run fine or explode. This one is running fine. Maybe an IMS upgrade kit for $1,000+labor? Depending on overall condition (paint, interior, options that you want etc) would influence price, but to me, its a $11-14K car. I am sure "wholesale" / trade in should be pretty low on this car to begin with. May as well start by checking KBB/NADA for estimated prices.

10-12

Thanks Ahmet, agreed; I've owned a bunch my last was a 99 C2 with significantly less miles. The motor pulls well, sound and feels smooth. Interior and exterior look nice, but what one would expect for the milage. The suspension and clutch need immediate attention.

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What should one expect? Everything. I mean the car's got 145K miles on it so if there are some things that need attention that shouldn't come as a surprise. But don't leap to conclusions. A thorough test ride/drive should have you pretty well informed about the car's general running condition and if you like the car after this then a thorough used car check out will (should or better) have you pretty knowledgeable about the car. If the suspension/steering, drivetrain (including clutch/transmission) or the engine or any other engine related systems or any other car systems need attention you should know it. Ok, maybe the clutch needs doing. 145K miles is a bit of miles (though clutches can last longer -- my 02 Boxster's clutch has ahem 245K miles on it...)) on a clutch but don't fixate on the clutch. You want to look beyond the clutch. Maybe the radiators are shot. Or the A/C doesn't work right. Or the car's bent 6ways to Sunday. And so on. The car will if you listen it close enough, look at it close enough, will tell you what it needs. And you might be pleasantly surprised to find the car might need nothing, at least right now. That the car has 145K miles and is still running and if your check out of the car finds it running well, well, this suggests the car's been reasonably well taken care of and is in pretty good shape. But suspect everything. By the time you're ready to buy (if you get to that point) you should know what the car needs. Sincerely, Macster.

Sounds like a good candidate for a DE/Track car, especially if you are planning on doing the suspension as soon as you buy it. If you're going to replace the clutch, PLEASE do the IMS bearing upgrade while you are in there. The labor is more expensive than the parts, but the labor really just equates to a clutch job. I would look for a lower mileage car if you were going to stay stock just for the wear on the interior items like the radio and seats, etc. Like Ahmet said though, there are plenty of high mileage cars in great condition.

Thanks Macster, I know what she needs and have factored that into the cost of ownership. After sleeping on it I guess the question is should I buy a car with 145,000 miles on it. If the engine lasts for another 100,000 miles it was a good call. If not it's better to spend an extra $10K and get a car with 50,000 miles, I get all that stuff. The original question is, what is a 99 996 with 145,000 miles worth? I was hoping for a bunch of "I purchased mine with 150,000 for $X and it now has 220,000 with no worries" posts

Even buying a 50k mile car you'll probably want to refresh the suspension - especially if you want to track it. Using that logic it doesn't matter if it has 50 or 150k miles on it you still have to do the same amount of work and spend the same amount of money to upgrade to PSSR's or whatever. Either car is over 10-years old...... If it was priced really right, like $12k, then I'd go for it.

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According to KBB about $11k in MA.

I would pay $10k for a car like that and do the following (if they had not been done already: Ims bearing Clutch kit Rms Chain tensioners Chain guides Chain pads Water pump with a ln lower temp stat and complete coolant flush. Spark plugs, plug tubes,check the coils. New filters air/oil/cabin

I don't think you can find a running 996 of any year for $12k without major issues. For comparison sake, a search across the country today, I don't even see one for $14k across eBay, cars.com and autotrader.com at any mileage or condition. Here's my 161k car's interior, I've certainly seen much worse at 90k miles... The clear coat on the brake calipers isn't even faded on my car. In comparison, it's not rare to see cars with far fewer miles needing window regulators, oil leaks, slow starters etc.

10k trade in would be ALL of the money on that regardless of how clean it may be.

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How much did you pay for that car, Ahmet (if you don't mind my asking).

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you forgot AOS

It was advertised at $19,750 and was the cheapest MK2 car I'd come across in the country back when it had somewhere around 150k miles. I've done a few minor things to it (non-smokers package, full crest center caps, ipod integration, GT3 front splitter/shifter, delete non-factory rear spoiler, brake flush etc) but it was a superbly maintained car. Even though I prefer the later model cars and wouldn't mind switching out of a 996 Carrera, I'd buy even a 1999 model at 14k if it was in comparable shape, but I don't think they exist. Here's a couple more shots: I haven't advertised it yet, though I suspect it's worth around $19k. The clutch, alternator/starter/belts/water pump, brakes etc. have been done, along with window regulators and the other common 996 stuff.

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I hope you don't take this personally but that's just crazy. Why would anyone spend $10K on a car that needed all of the work/servicing you listed unless perhaps it was discounted to $10K with all the cost of that work taken into account? There are plenty of these cars out there that do not need that kind of work and quite honestly if I thought a prospective used car needed that kind of work to bring it up to some level of acceptability I wouldn't take the car as a gift. Sincerely, Macster.

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Sorry I can't help you with prices directly. My advice is to use several of the online sites that will calculate or somehow produce a value for these cars and feed the sites the car's details and see what numbers come up. I like to start with the assumption the car is worth no more than its wholesale value though it is unlikely (read impossible almost) one can buy the car for that money. But that would be my starting point. You can use the car's high mileage against it to perhaps drive a better deal but you can't push it too much or the seller might start to wonder if you're so put off with the high miles why don't you just go buy a car with fewer miles? Sincerely, Macster.

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I certainly don't take in personally. All of that work is somewhat "standard fare" in my opinion for a car of that age and mileage. I paid well more than $10K for my 03 C2 that had 35k on the clock when I purchased it (July 09) and I have done the following to it: RMS, New IMS bolts, new engine case bolts (no cost to me under CPO) Clutch kit (bought at sunset and had dealer put this in when they did the RMS = no labor $$) Oil pressure sensor (under CPO) Water pump with a LN lower temp stat and complete coolant flush (did this myself and I am glad I did because the WP bearing was a little noisy). Spark plugs (done myself) check the coils (I have 3 in my toolbox waiting for one of them to fail) New filters air/oil/cabin (regular maintenence) In addition, I've done: Engine lid strut 2 drivers side door microswitches Drivers side door lock mechanism So as you can see, my cost of ownership has been decent but could have been more dramatic without the CPO. It just seems like these cars require that type of attention.

I had the opportunity to see Ahmet's car in person. I could not believe the number of miles compared to how the car looks. I have seen cars with half that mileage that show a lot more wear. BTW, thanks for taking care of my clutch Ahmet.

This message regards the work performed by Soverystout.... It is hard to believe that a car with only 35K on it needed so much work. I use to have Porsche of all kind for more then 22 years now and i never had to replaced a clutch or a water pump or did so much work on a Porsche and by the way i never bought a Porsche with less then 60K on it...too expensive... For example my friend bought 6 years ago a Porsche 911 2000 like mine with more then 110K on it and now the car has exactly 180K and he never changed anything on his car except for the water pump as preventive care. Since then it is hard to say don't buy a car with too many miles on it because each time i read article this site each and every Porsche that have problem has less then 50K on them...unless the millage is not the real one...those Porsche are supposed to be one of the more reliable built by Porsche. Anyway as i can see if we buy a Porsche with 35K on it or we buy a Porsche with 135K on it you will have to do the same work on it so....buy it at a good price fix everything that need to be fix and have fun. I bought mine last year with 60K on it and except for the AOS flex tube i have had no problem at all. Good luck Robert

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Let me clarify. The car didn't need a new clutch at 35k. The pressure plate made the pedal very heavy (don't know if a fork was going bad) and I had the opportunity to get a new clutch in there (not knowing how it was driven before) for no labor charge. Most likely, I could have driven the car on the original clutch for another 60K. Just chose not to. A full clutch kit from Sunset is just north of $500. A small price to pay (IMO) to have a car that was new to me with a brand new clutch. Forget mileage for a moment. Even my car was manufactured in late 2002. That means the orginal water pump (subject to the original coolant) would be 9years old if I had not replaced it 2 months ago. So maybe higher mileage 996s are the way to go given they seem to be less prone to premature wear.

My Boxster is lapis blue. Nice color! Sincerely, Macster.

At 145K I think you'd have to question how much life there is left in the car - before the cost of rebuild, suspension etc. is more than the car is worth. If I already owned the car - I'd keep running it until it broke. You can get an '02 with under 100K for <<$30K - - and yes, it might also need a $20K rebuild at some point - and at that point it may not be worth doing, but chances are you can still run a well maintained model for a few years - at a fraction of the depreciation of a new one. If I have a car with 50Km on it now and run it for the next 4 years at 10k/yr - I can probably still sell it and recover a significant % of my purchase price - or the longer I keep it - the less I pay in average annual depreciation. If you do the math assuming what you can buy it and sell it for - I think the $$ work out better for a lower mileage example.

My car is a 2002 with 151K miles and doesn't need anything. That's a lot of refreshing for 140K miles. I was selling mine for $23,999 but took it out of the market. I guess I will keep her for another year!

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Well, we are talking 996's but my 02 Boxster has almost 245K miles on it (original engine and original clutch) so I'd say at 145K miles for the car we are talking about the car could be barely broken in... There can be plenty of life in a car with some relatively big miles. The car if one checks it out properly will give one a pretty good idea of what it may need now and based on its condition and service history and so on what it might or might not need going forward. What I mean is a car that is in good shape, condition, and so on might not that much going forward but another car might not even be worth the bother/risk. Sincerely, Macster.

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You're welcome man, it's a pretty straight forward job. I'm glad we could take care of it and save you a few bucks. Also thanks for the compliments on the car. I shop on condition and if miles are high it seems easier to get a good deal but miles alone don't seem to indicate condition at all. Anyway I had several people take pictures of it on the highway last weekend for some reason. I don't think I got that much attention in a Porsche before, not even in my super clean Carrera 4S... though one of my girlfriends that saw your car at the shop said it was sweet, heh.

I am not sure what will be the exact price as I have not been in the market for one. I have seen a few mid 100k miles on the market in the mid / high teens. Not sure what the actual sales price is but all depends how much you will pay and how much money you need to put into it. Low $10ks seem a good number but not sure anyone here or outside this forum have bought at that price? I am sure there is a posibility.

This is a rough estimate of what I have seen in the market: MKII C2 Coupe - 60k miles - 25k MKI C2 Coupe - 60k miles - 20k For every 10k miles, subtract 1k ~12.5k for that car.

Good list!

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I am selling mine for $11,500 with 150,000 miles. Engine is still strong as hell just needs a clutch and brakes. If it doesn't sell at that price, I will be putting a full GT3 suspension and brakes on it. I have been trying to sell it for months and all I get is tire kickers. Will be posting it on ebay at some point and watch it go for $14k. lol Haven't done that yet because I think I really want to turn it into a track car now. Wife will kill me though because I have a spec miata already sitting in the garage.

Thats a great deal there! 11.5 wow And agree, I have feeling you will get more on Ebay

Coleco, if nothing else is wrong w/the car, I'd buy it from you just to flip it. I do have cash and sent you a PM. Do you have a link to your ad? Thanks.