Help needed with deciding between two 996 C2

Hello, This forum has been super helpful so far so I thought I'd ask for some more help as this would be my first Porsche purchase. I'm currently trying to decide between two 2004 996 models. They're both California cars (I'm also in California) and it will not be my daily driver. I plan on mostly using it for weekend drives. Car 1: - 2004 Seal grey - 41k miles - Clean black interior - Sport exhaust - Sport seats - Engine replaced according to Carfax in first year of ownership - $36k from a dealer Car 2: - 2004 Arctic silver - 23k miles - Clean black interior - Sport exhaust - Sport seats - Exhaust replaced at 16k miles - $41k from a dealer I plan on getting a PPI done on whichever car I decide to move forward with. However Car 1 dealership only gives you 3 hours to go get it done locally and the guy I want to use is very thorough and takes the whole day. Car 1 dealership said I can buy it and if it fails PPI, I have 2 days to return it and they keep $500. Car 1 dealership claims that the last owner told them IMS bearing was replaced but they don't have records of it. Car 2 makes no claims of IMS bearing replacement. What I can assume is that neither car has had it replaced so they are equal in that regard. I think Car 2 is better (lower mileage), but I'm wondering if it's worth spending $5k more on it or if Car 1 is better purchase to get into owning a 911. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you all in advance!

Don't get caught up in the mileage. Condition and maintenance history are much more important. I would get a PPI (including bore scope) from an independent Porsche specialist before buying. Sport exhaust and sport seats are really nice options to have (mine also came with both).

IMHO, I'd forget the dealer that wants you to do a Post Purchase Inspection. That prevents negotiation.

OP - Does either car have any service records? What level of inspection, ie, bore scope, do you plan for a PPI? Have you started and driven the cars? 6sp or Tip?

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They both only have the Carfax. Car 1 has had 5 owners (but several of them were title companies/dealers). Car 2 has had 2 owners but doesn't come with maintenance records either. I plan on getting a PPI from an independent mechanic who is notorious for being very thorough. I did a PPI on a C4S that failed because he found lots of oxidation on the exhaust and some on the suspension and was able to find that most of the panels were repainted. He does not include a bore scope (you can pay extra for that), but from my understanding, he is not like taking it to a dealer that might just do a quick visual inspection.

OP - Hard for us to determine without lot's of pics or actually seeing the cars. There's a LOT to be determined by looking at the condition of other things on the cars, not just what you posted. What are the date codes on the tires? Look in the door hinge area, clean/dirty? Good indication on whether they took care of it. Do the windows work correctly? (open door, does it go down an inch?) Does all the do-dads everywhere in the car work? How does it drive? Before you test drive it, make sure the tire pressures are correct. I've driven many a car at a dealer where the tires were so far off it really affected how the car rode/drove. Test drive, any clunking? Car start and idle smooth? Look in the coolant, any signs of oil? Look at the dipstick, any signs of coolant? That's just a start...

I edited my post above, but didn't want you to miss it...then wanted to add more of my opinion... The "you can do a PPI after you buy it and bring it back and get your money back less $500" is BS! This prevents you from negotiating in case you find something minor. You also bear ALL of the risk, albeit just $500. Tell them you'll do it, but they pay you an extra $500 if you bring it back and see if they think that is fair! Forget that dealer! Lots of other great opinions above too.

If you can negotiate the time to get a full PPI....I think option 1 sounds best just to have a color other than silver (but that's me) all other things being equal.

If all else equal seal gray is my pick...

Not sure why Car 2 is $5k more than Car 1. Honestly I'm going with golfmanlk and saying seal gray is the nicer color for a 996.2. Would do a PPI on both with this limited amount of information. If you aren't getting the borescope done, then watching enough good YouTube vids should get you to where you need to be to pull the trigger. They'll put it on a lift for you if you ask.

Thanks everyone. The Car 1 dealership was being super shady and was trying to get me to sign paperwork to essentially buy the car without a PPI with a "promise" that I could return it if it failed PPI. They wouldn't put any of it in writing, so I passed on it. Still looking into Car 2, but part of me feels strange paying $41k for a 996.2 Carrera, even if it low miles. I'm unsure if this is a blip in the market or if this is just what the market is for these cars now?

For that money, look at a 997.1 below 50k miles and a good history for less than $45,000.

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The market is better for the 996 at the moment, but NOT $41,000! That's definitely 997 territory.... even some 997.2 can be snagged for that amount especially if you can handle a little more miles (i.e. above 50K)

+1

Just tell the dealer that $41k is more than you want to spend. Throw out a number that keeps you in the game. Then, after the PPI, see if you still want the car.

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Rajat, Love to have you as a fellow 996 owner! The 996 is an awesome car. It's a sellers market right now and the lack of information from auction sites as well as used car dealerships needs to be thoroughly scrutinized. Bottom line is that you need to know everything about the service history of the car, as well as get a PPI performed or just say NO, and move on to the next opportunity... Because there will be other 996's. If you get the complete service history, and the right service was performed, and you can confirm that it's a great car with a PPI, then a higher price is warranted, assuming it's in great mechanical and cosmetic shape. But if you can't confirm, then it's not worth paying a premium for a car with a bunch of unknowables. Don't worry, you will find the perfect 996 for you. My suggestion is to get involved in the local PCA region and start going to every event you can. Let is be known that you are looking for a 996. The leads will start rolling. Also find who the local Porsche Indy shops are and go out and meet them. Make sure it's a monoline Porsche shop that only specializes in Porsches, tell them you are looking for a 996 that has been well serviced. They will probably have some suggestions for you. Good luck with your search!

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Good idea. Problem is that he was originally asking $44k. I got him down to $41k. I feel like if everything checks out, that car should be $37-$38k so once I do the IMS I�m around $40-$41k. But I don�t know if that�s unrealistic in the sellers market these days.

$36k and $41k is awfully high for a stock 996... Glad to see it in a way, but also highly skeptical. At this rate, my �99 with FSI Stage II 3.8L must be worth $50-$60k 🤣

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Next week it will be worth $75k!

You didn�t mention (unless I missed it) but are these both coupe�s and manual transmissions? because that has a big bearing on the price IMO

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Ah yes, sorry. They are both manual transmission and coupes. I�m not interested in automatic or cabriolets.

Car #2 was my choice assuming equal condition. Just a baby with those miles. I know people here say miles don't matter but in the real word but they do especially with resale. Very low mileage 996's near me are 35-40k retail so not surprised by the price. A '04 23,000 C4S just sold on BAT for 53k. Another choice is to keep looking, watch for a private party sale, and you can easily find a decent mileage 996 for $30k or less.

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Don't get caught up in the mileage. Condition and maintenance history are much more important. This is so important, but for some reason doesn't ring to logic on BAT Since there is so much talk on on Rennlist about two issues: 1) The M96 is going to fail....., blah, blah, blah and the 200 reasons for failure 2) The increased value, based on real facts, like recent selling prices are going up at a rapid pace. Then there are the comments that make you scratch head, "Buy a low mileage 996 for resale value" My guess is a person who thinks this is a good idea, has only read/researched about issue #2 and not issue #1. A 20+ year old sports car with very low miles vs. a well maintained (documented) car with lets say even 4000 miles a year. Is Blackjack at a Casinos safer? As an investment in which you think the dollar value (vs inflation & dollar US currency stability) will go up, it might work, If you don't drive it !! What if you purchase and then drive a garage queen and that low miles M96 does it part and falls into issue #1. Before anyone buys there first Porsche 996, and has never owned a Porsche before, do your home work !! The probability of failure, bushings, suspension, seals and the M96 is there, lower the risk and go with one that has been proven. Just my $.02

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Yeah, I like the lower mileage one too. I just have a hard time spending $41k on a 996 that has not had the IMS done. Since it's such low mileage, I'd immediately get the IMS done, which is another $3k. So now I'm at $44k. That sounds ridiculous for a 996, even with low miles. Am I just crazy? Is that just what the market is now? Should I suck it up and get it before it goes up even higher? I mean they made so many of these cars, unlike a C4S, this isn't even special. Just seems like a lot of money that starts to creep into 997.1 territory.

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We do also need to consider dealers always mark up higher than a private sale. Hell I thought I was overpaying at $27k from a dealer in 2017. OP, $41k definitely sounds steep, but I have a feeling anything you find via dealer will follow suit (maybe low mid 30's depending on spec). You'll have better luck watching PCA or Rennlist marketplace if you want to potentially spend less, but this is likely to drag our your search longer as 996's are selling just as quick as any other used vehicle right now. Is it a blip? Nobody knows, but I have a feeling prices aren't going down any time soon. Others are mentioning 997.1 which isn't a bad option, but those are stretching legs in the 50's now as well. Plus, 997.1's you trade IMSB scare for bore scoring. I say look for a 3.4L with a dual row.

No matter how good the PPI comes back you should also add about $5k to the price that you will need to spend on things you discover. My cars previous owner treated it as a garage queen. I still had to do IMS, RMS, clutch and flywheel, AOS replacement and my front shocks are starting to go so suspension is next. Buying your first P car can be exciting and sometimes a bit of a risk. Make sure you have a decent maintenance fund and even thought it's currently a sellers market, the most powerful thing you can do is walk away. More cars will always enter the market.