Newbie seeks advice on 996 purchase

This is my first post here. I was a Porsche owner back in the late 80's (944 Turbo) and it's time to jump back in. I've looked at both the 993 and the 996. I love the looks and character of the 993, but have decided the comfort of the 996 will work better for me as a daily driver. A local dealer has very clean certified pre-owned 2001 coupe (base model 6 speed with partial leather, 18" wheels, CD player, and stability management as options) with 24,000 miles on it. It comes with a 2 year extended warranty from Porsche, and the asking price is $46,900. What is a reasonable sale price range for this car? Also, other than the horspower increase and headlight/bumper change, is there any significant reason to spend the extra $$ for a 2002 model? I'm looking to minimize my depreciation hit, so am looking at older models. Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

go for a 2002+ model if at all possible; always try to buy the newest model you can afford. The '02+ had major changes: bigger engines, more power, upgrades to exterior and interior. In '03, all went to MOST (fiber optic network), so if you intend to put in an aftermarket audio system, your choices will be limited. IMHO, find one with the Bose upgrade and you'll find that it's plenty good...most of the time i don't listen to the sound system anyway since the engine is the best soundtrack (when you have PSE). going newer gives you a better chance of finding one with warranty left. Mine is an '03 bought privately with 15 months of original warranty left; more than enough time IMHO to shake out any problems. Dealers will sell you cars with the 2 year additional CPO warranty, but you will usually pay a hefty premium over a private car. i looked for 7 months and saw lots of cars, believe me when I say that used cars at a dealer aren't always better than the private ones owned by true enthusiasts. I found mine through this forum and both previous owners were meticulous about keeping records on this car as well as being rennlisters and PCA members. BTW: i saved about $25k buying private vs a dealer...but here in Canada there are so few Pcar dealers, that they pretty much charge whatever they want. When you find the perfect car, you'll know what the right price is; too good of a deal is usually too good to be true too. Good luck

I Just posted the same type of question a few days ago. Look at the responses I received and happy hunting! That price for a 2001 seems a bit high in my somewhat limited experience. Good luck, Constantine

I purchased a CPO 2001 996 coupe w/26000miles August 2005 from Ray Catena Prosche in NJ for $46K (heavily optioned) Still running flawlessly and putting a smile on my face each time I'm behind the wheel. IMHO, 40K - 43K seems to be the current market value

I just got a 2003 996 with 6k miles and the CPO warranty until 09/2009 or 100k miles (sep '03 original delivery date). It is my understanding that a dealer can only offer the CPO warranty on a vehicle that still has any factory warranty remaining. If you buy a 2001 it's original factory warranty would have expired in 2005 sometime. Therefore the car you are looking at wouldn't fit the parameters for the dealer to add the car to the CPO registry and add a 2yr extention on to the balance of the original warranty. The fact that the car you are looking at has "low" miles is negated by it's being outside the time limit so no CPO warranty can be added. They may be doing some other warranty or I could be confused. Check it out. The CPO warranty is the reason I shopped for a late model year 2002 or a 2003. If you want a 2001 for the price comfort, I'd go private sale and add a warranty myself if it was still in the budget.

Interesting info on the CPO warranty. I'll have to look into this further. Is it possible that the previous owner extended the warranty? The salesman told me that the warranty on the car was for either 2 more years or 100K miles, and that it was transferrable if I sold the car during that time. I was also told that the car was originally sold/serviced through the same dealer, and that they received it back on a trade for a 997.

Just found the answer on the Porsche website. CPO warranty on a car still under factory warrant is 6 years of 100K miles. CPO warranty on a car no longer under factor warranty is 2 years from the date of sale of 100K miles. Cars must be under 100K miles and less than 8 years from the in-service date to qualify for CPO.