Concerns about ultra low mileage 99?

Looking at a 99 with a reported < 10,000 miles. While this sounds really good, are the actually more/less concerns with a car with this little mileage, less than 1,000 miles/year? I'm still checking on service history to see what has been done. Obviously the service don't apply based on mileage but time. What would be a premium to pay over a more normal 5-7k/year car? Thanks.

A 996 is not an investment so I would pay no premium over a car with say 50,000 miles. I would worry about the seals and other things on a car with that few of miles. Have it inspected by Porsche and have them pull the history and make sure it was not driven 10000 miles in the first two years and has been sitting in a garage ever since. If it checks out and is the right price you do have a good find. Best of Luck!

Aside from the mechanical issues (possible seals, etc), I love my low miles 996! It's like buying a new car, both inside and out!

I bought my 99 in 2005 with 13k miles. Since then I have put another 15k miles on it with no problems at all. I would still go with a Pre Purchase inspection (some of us could put a lot of fun stress on a car in 10k miles). The overall condition is more important than the total miles. Either way, I would not go any higher than KBB or NADA retail.

PPI is a great idea! Remember that rubber, hoses and seals age, even when the car is not driven. I'd really be worried about maintenance having not been performed, but that's easy to put to rest if you can get access to the records.

I bought mine with 18K on it on 2/06 and now have 34K...going great, love the car...but listen to the guys who know.....PPI is a must. Hopefully, it will have some good options. Good luck.

I'd be real careful buying a low mileage 99 (Boxster or 911). Wonderful car, but this was an era when Porsche was sleeving "defective" blocks to keep up with the high demand for both models. Unfortunately, some of these sleeves tend to slip in the bore and destroy the engine. More often than not, if the car was to have this problem it would occur at a relatively low mileage. With a high mileage car the problem probably has either manifested itself or wont be a problem. With a low mileage car, there is less certainty that the problem wont crop up.

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If I'm not mistaken, this was a Boxster issue, no? The sleeves were used in the lower displacement motors?

Both 996 and Boxster.

Well... personally I would figure my premium (probably around $4000) I would then discount by half since the mileage is too low. Cars need to be driven. The car should be immaculate as well, with service records, etc. If they did the annual service as required, then I wouldn't worry nearly as much. Remember that the '99 is the very first 996 and therefore has the least desirability. if you keep it forever, it doesn't matter, but I know you Keith and you used to trade cars fairly often (though not nearly as often as I do!). Michael

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I bought mine with 20k miles last Jan....Have the dealer check it out and make sure all Porsche recall was done on it....what do they want for it?

Car with aero is priced in low 40k's.... seems bit high even with the super low mileage...

low $40's is high. you can prob find an 02 in that price range... under 30K miles shouldnt be an issue with these cars...

FYI. I pick up a 2000 aero with 66K for $34.8K in May from another Rennlist member. I have seen threads for a 966 aero in the low $30s. Personally, I feel the price will go down even further given the 02's price is continuing to fall. Be patient and the right car at the right price will come along.

Patience! Oh that is so hard when you have the urge!!!! My criteria is probably like a lot of others shopping. I'm looking for: - Prefer 02, 01, 00, 99 in that order - Under $40k - Under 50k Miles - OEM aero - Desire Silver, Blue, Black, Yellow in that order - No tips - Desirable options: PSM, litronics, - Even better options: suspension upgrade, exhaust upgrade - No stories! Records - Clean paint and interior with minimal wear and abuse You can always find some of the above, but not all on one car... I've been looking in ernest for about two months. I know I need to resist the urge to settle for the wrong car since I want to keep this one for 3-4 years. The search continues... Keith

The search continues... Keith, I may have what you're looking for, plus an important extra...extended warranty. I'm just getting ready to market it and will have it in the classifieds soon. Send me a pm and I can send you details and photos. Tom

I paid up for my 2000 with all the options and colors I wanted. It had 17k when I bought it, and was in Concours winning shape. So I paid $39k, instead of waiting and maybe saving $4k. It was also relatively near me, so no traveling back and fourth. It's all relative. If you can wait, and have patience, you will find the car you want eventually. If you want a car sooner than later, you will have to either get lucky, or, settle on some of your "must haves".

I'm not liking the tone of this thread....

I think this idea that seals go bad if not used is mostly a myth. It is true that some things age even if they are not used. My wife does not put many miles on her cars. She had a RX7 for 15 years with only 40k miles! When it was sold it needed a new muffler and struts. The person that bought it was a friend and drove the heck out of it for the next 4 years then sold it. Her present 2000 CLK Cab has 18K miles and there is a waiting list to buy it but it is not for sale.

There's more to it than seals. There is a host of problems that CAN affect a car that sits too much, from ozone deteriorating hoses and seals to electrical components that collect humidity, on and on. Behind that, there is always a question of whether a low mileage car was broken in properly. Owners, for example, who drive little and do their first oil change by mileage rather than time (sometimes sanctioned by manufacturers!) can wind up with oil gelling problems later in the car's life. Or, if the car was stored seasonally, was it stored properly? Low mileage isn't a death sentence for a car. It can work out just fine. But it remains true that cars that aren't driven have a lot more trouble than cars that are. If I was shopping, I would certainly have a threshold below which low mileage would scare me.

Your right Bruce. In my case I service my wife's low mileage car myself and change oil twice a year (Mobile 1 0-40w) because she does very short drives which are very hard on oil additives. Especially in the cold weather here in MN. Also I break in the car and drive the heck out of it from time to time.

You guys are funny. This "low mileage" thread pops up every few months and NO ONE ever posts any specific examples of actual problems. In fact, almost all of the posts are people that own low mileage cars and say they have had ZERO problems. We just sold our 2000 996 in June and it had 15,700 on the odometer. We bought it in Sept of 2004 with 8,200 miles. Other than replacing the tires, the wiper blades and the battery, the car has had ZERO problems! My guess is that this "fear" was developed with the older air cooled cars prior to the development of synthetic oil. Anyway, these cars are a great buy right now and assuming a solid PPI, low mileage is only a positive.....

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Red - yeah, I think about these comments every time I read one of these threads. My favorite comments are "that mileage is too low" and in another thread some of the same guys will state "don't buy that car, the mileage is too high." No one has ever stated what the "right" number of miles per year to put on a Porsche, and they never will! Actually, the "right" number of miles per year is for the current owner of the car to determine. OK, I'm off my soap box now!

Just to be clear about my own position on this, I'd say the same about all cars, not just Porsches. Having owned 24 cars so far and been around them all my life, I've had a chance to see some patterns, and one of them is that low mileage cars CAN be a nightmare.