How important is low mileage to you when purchasing a pre-owned car?

Cross posting from 996 Turbo Forum: I've run into a road block and would love you guys to weigh in on where my wallet should take me. Comparing these two cars - both are 6 speed manuals. Car #1: Local. Three owner. 2003 Black on Black. 20k miles. I had a PPI done on it. Mechanically sound. I've seen the car in person and driven it. Car was purchased and lived in Georgia for the majority of it's life. Second owner was in PA who sold it to the selling dealer in Houston where the current owner purchased from. Car has not had spark plugs changed (from what I gather). Recent tires placed in 2017. Current owner has had minor fluid change done. These are the old pictures from when the current owner purchased it. https://inventory.driversource.com/v...sche-911-turbo Car #2: Located in New York. Two owner. Lived in New Jersey for 6 years, then in Maryland for the remainder of it's life. 2002 Silver on Black. 10k miles. Optioned with the Aerokit. Went through the records - last major service including tires, spark plugs, cabin air filter, etc was done in 2016 at the Porsche dealership ($4k service yikes). Being sold by Ryan Friedman Motorcars. Have not had a PPI done yet - but he's agreeable to it. Based on pictures, car appears to be cosmetically great. Mechanically - we'll see. This car is roughly $10k more than the black one. I'll have to pay give or take $1800 to have it shipped to me in Dallas, TX. https://www.ryanfriedmanmotorcars.co...urbo-c-637.htm Essentially asking - if this were your money, would you pay $10k more for 10k less miles on a car?

Which car SINGs to you/checks MOST of the boxes? Buy that. P.S. FWIW, my MUST-haves when I was shopping were: 02-up, cab, tip, full aero, leather interior, clean CARFAX, under 75K miles. Found one via my local Craigslist/Autotrader and bought it.......probably overpaid for it but it checked all the boxes

I mean, both are super low miles (extremely low). Upon reading the headline I expected something like 35k vs 75k. So really, the question is: you like silver or black better?

10k miles vs 20k miles. Both are very low. if it was 10k vs 50k i would think that is more of a difference. For 10k dollars more... i would not worry about the miles. both look clean. Also, being able to drive and closely inspect is worth all the money to me. you can never really tell from pics. and you dont have to wait to ship it.

Those are pretty comparable. Go with whatever your gut tells you that you’ll enjoy more. If it was higher mileage I’d say whatever has more available service history.

It seems like you need as much attention as possible to cross post this to the N/a forum. When making an emotional purchase like a jewelry or a car (any luxury item) buy what you actually want. Do not go for the better deal. You always lose when buying the better deal. You will be much happier in the end. Off topic, but that Friedman guy has always sold his stuff for TOP TOP dollar. wow, I would be looking around a bit before buying something from him. Nothing wrong with him, its just you are paying absolute top of the market from him without a doubt.

I could sure use $12K right now!

Car #2 is overpriced. What�s the asking price on car #1? At $70k you�re in solid 997TT territory. Why does a super low mileage car matter to you? Doesn�t make it a better car. Arguably it could be worse being that it has sat and rotted.

Buyer be wary of low milage garage queens when it comes to 996s. Just do your due diligence. Seems like multiple threads covering purchase consideration. When the time comes for me to sell my car, I will insist on a PPI from prospective buyer. Just seems right

It�s an old car, both of them. The mileage between the two means very little, other than value. The lower the mileage, the more rare it is, the more it�s worth. If you put on miles, you will decrease the value. If you compare a 40,000 vs. 50,000 miles 996tt, the prices will be nearly the same for the same car.

Go for the one that�s had the most TLC. Service completed on time notwithstanding low mileage and performed by someone who knows what they�re doing. Result of PPI should carry weight and help with decision making so long as it�s been done by a Porsche specialist. Good luck!!

If this was a non-Mezger 996, then I'd not drink the "low miles cars are the best" Kool Aid, but it looks like it's splitting hairs on these two cars.

For those two cars, changing anything other than the tires (aged out), the oil and maybe the coolant is a total waste of money and adds no value to the car what so ever. At 20K the spark plugs are still perfectly fine, they don't go bad from sitting. I would buy the 1st car and use the saved money to take care of the bonded coolant pipes issues that these engines are notorious for.

It�s worth asking what you plan from the car. If you aren�t going to drive it much, get the lower mileage car. if you�re going to drive it a bit, get the car that speaks to you. if you want to drive and not worry about the car, get neither and buy one that hasn�t been neglected in a garage in terms of mileage. Porsches, but really most cars, need to be driven. The plastics and other components atrophy if you don�t. 135k miles in my 89, no issues, original bushings original shocks no rebuilds... plenty of lower mileage Porsches with huge headaches cuz they sit and get angry about it.

This answer may be simpler than you're hoping for, but, I'd get the car I like best. So, yes, if the car I like best were $10,000 more, I would get that one. I keep cars for a really long time, though. I hate the thought of not loving my garage.

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No way. Imagine these cars had 90,000mi and 80,000mi respectively to see my point. Unless your main intent is to own a show car or investment vehicle, I�d suggest there�s no material difference between these two cars mileage-wise, and that both are too LOW mileage to be usable unless all the receipts are there to demonstrate the scheduled maintenance is up do date. Just my non-expert opinion. I bought a 996 with 110,000mi on it because it was the best sorted car I saw, miles notwithstanding. I paid US$13.5k. No regrets!

A few years ago I bought a '98 Dodge Viper GTS (a car I've always wanted to own) which had 4,900 miles on it. To this day I dread buying a car like that with such few miles. The car was mint aside from the rubberized components that broke down rather than worn out. I replaced all the rubber components since they didn't get much maintenance since the car just sat its whole life but still felt horrible driving the car since it was so low to begin with. Two years later, I sold it with 9,900 miles. Vowed to never buy a low mileage car again since I enjoy driving my cars. Picked up a 996TT now with 72k miles. Will not have any issues driving it in the rain or to the grocery store, etc... I know that's not what you asked, but just my 1.5 cents on low mileage cars.

A great point about mileage...ultimately, it�s not the mileage that speaks to powertrain wear. Rather, it�s the engine hours. You may find a low mileage car in Los Angeles with twice the amount of hours than similar mileage car found in Lincoln, NE (climate aside) Here�s an idea: Buy both and store the silver one. In 20 years you�ll probably have driven the black one for free!

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Totally agree.

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Ha, as a guy that has a 99 viper with 13k miles I've added 600 and a 05 TTS coupe in speed yellow that I've added 596 to I completely agree. I also have a 02 C2 and I drive the crap out of that car.....life's to short to watch cars rot in your garage because they are low mile or "collectible". I'll be selling the first two this spring I think.