996 Pricing

I've been lurking here for a few months picking up as much information as I can about Porsches. I've never owned one before but now I'm in the market for one. I'm thinking about an 02 C4S or an 02/03 C2. The question I have is about pricing. I 've read several posts by guys asking if the price for a particular model is a good buy. In most cases the posters here say it's a little high, but the prices that are quoted are about the same I see dealers asking in my neck of the woods: MD/Va area. Is $66K a fair price for a moderately equipped C4S in good condition, because that's about the average asking price by the dealers in my area? Also, do you guys think it would be better for me to wait a month or so before purchasing a 996 since the 997 will be available by the end of the August. Maybe dealers' lots will start filling up with 996s because of trade-ins on 997s. By the way, I've learned a lot about Porsches by reading this Board and I'd like to thank all of the knowledgeable posters for their contributions.

You'll have better bargaining power once the 997 are in the lot. Be patient and the right Porsche will be there. Pick up some books and don't depend on this or any BBS for all of your information. Good luck in your search.

earlyapex: Thanks. I also have been getting some good info from excellence magazine which I bought at my local supermarket. They have a section in each month's edition where they list the actual prices paid by their readers and also provide price ranges.

Excellence is a good source of information. Their prices may not fully reflect regional highs or lows, however. That said, you can use them to leverage a better price as it is not too difficult to buy a car out of your area and have it shipped. The market has expanded. I also subscribe to the Porsche Market Letter . It's good to have more than one source. Have fun in your search. The 996 is a great car. I've put on 10,000 miles since I bought my car in January and I still look forward to starting the car each morning.

As I posted earlier, I've never owned one, and I think every enthusiast should own at least one Porsche in his life time. What really impresses me is how helpful most Porsche owners are. There are two guuys I work with who own Porches, and they never hesitate to offer me information about different models. Thanks for the tip on the newsletter. I'll look into it. As they say knowledge is power. Also, congratulations on owning the 996 40TH Anniversary Porsche. I saw one at my local Porsche dealership for $98K. It looked like one awsome car, but way beyond what I can spend.

If you can spend $66k for a C4S, can you spend $68-70k for a 40th Anniversary model? There are HUGE dealer discounts on these models and people have been getting around $20k off MSRP. This is the best deal going right now amongst new Porsches. And as Eric said, once the 997 arrives (in two weeks), pretty much all 996 values are going to fall.

Sean: Do you know of any dealers where I can get a 40TH Annivesary car for $68K? I live in the MD area, but I'd be willing to travel some to get a deal like that. I think the base MSRP for an Anniversary car is $92K. I had no idea that any dealer was offering $24K discounts.

try watching the prices in ebay. theres a lot of cars going thru there and you can get a idea of the going prices.

Frost, there was a thread here on the Rennlist 996 forum about the 40th Anniversary recently. Several folks here have bought them at great prices. Apparently PCNA is offering dealers a $10k kickback per car sold--so dealers have major incentive to wheel and deal. I agree with the eBay suggestion. Plus, if you go to Porsche.com there's a car locator or something like that. You could start looking for 40th Anniversary cars. Definitely THE best deal on a loaded new Porsche!

a 996 40th anniversary edition is not comparable to a c4s--especially in a wet state like maryland where awd is truly a helpful feature.

ignacio: That's an excellent point. For the last five years I've been driving Audis with quattro, and as you suggest AWD is excellent in wet conditions. okbarnett, sean: Thanks for the ebay heads-up. There's a dealer, Brandywine Porsche, that's around a 100 miles away from me that I'm going to visit. I went to their web site and they have a large inventory. What I like most about them is that almost all of their used cars are Porsche certified. If I'm going to pay $60K+ for a car, I want a car with a warranty. Again, thanks to all of you. Your suggestions have been most helpful.

Just went to mapquest. Brandywine is more like a 150 miles away from my house. Three hundred miles in one day is a hike. I live in Olney which is just outside of Washington, DC. Does anyone know of any good Porsche dealers in Va that have inventories comparable to Brandywine?

My search is over. I just got a call from my neighbor who is trading his '02 C4S on a MB. His children are growing and he needs a full size back seat. His Porsche only has 14K miles on the odometer and it's in excellent condition. It has full leather, stereo upgrade, and heated seats. Yesterday, I offered him $55K for the car and he wanted to think about it. Well this morning he came up with a counter offer of $57K and I accepted. I know that he hasn't had any mechanical problems with the car, so it's a great deal for me. And he's happy because he told me that the MB dealer would only offer him $48K for his car. He also told me that he will get the car inspected which will only be a formality since the car is in great shape. So on Monday morning I'll be the owner of an '02 C4S.

That's a killer deal, especially if its your top color choice.

Yes..that is a killer deal. I would love to come across a deal like that since I am in the market!

billh1963: I can tell you that you won't get anything like that price from a dealer. Dealers in my area, DC/MD/Va. are asking in the $65 - $68K for '02 C4s. So they buy them for less than $50K and sell them in the mid $60s. $15K profit per car is not a bad business to be in. The MB dealer was my best ally in this deal. The $48K offer they made to him, made my $55K offer seem generous. The final price of $57K is good for me and him. About the only additional expense I'll incur is the price for new tires which will be around $1K, and there are a couple of door dings I'm going to get removed. There's a Dent Doctor I use who charges about $60 to remove a dent, and then gives discounts on additional dents. So for a little over $58K, I'll have a car in near perfect condition.

You did get a "win-win". You both came out better than you would have as individuals. I'm talking to a guy about a fully loaded '01 C2 at the moment. It's a beautiful car in the color I am looking for. I have to admit, however, that I would love to get back into a C4S after having come out of a 993 C4S, but, the upper $50's really is out of my range

Well best of luck to you. As I posted earlier this is my first Porsche, and I'll post periodically to let you all know how I'm doing. My wife thinks I'm crazy for spending so much on a used car, but you only go round once.

Hey Jeff: Sorry I missed your comment earlier in the day. It's interesting that you made the comment about color. The color of the car is black and that wouldn't have been my first choice, because black and red as you know are tough to maintain. It seems that almost every black car I've seen has swirl marks. But now that I've been looking at the black color for a while, it gives the C4S a real menacing look that I like. By the way the car has no swirl marks that I can see. I'm sure I'll be able to change that in a few weeks.

Black is awesome. My close second. But, after 3 black cars in a row, it was time to go ***** out. I still think no color looks better on a Pcar than black with a fresh coat of P21S. Liquid sex.