Thinking about buying a 996

Hello, I am wanting to buy either a 2002 Carrera with 148,000 miles or a 2003 Carrera 4s with 140,000 miles. I don�t know much about porsches for this will be my first one if i do end up buying one of these. Is it a wise idea to buy one of these? This car will be my daily driver car and both have service records (one is a private party and the other is from a dealership). Please let me know your thoughts and if it�s a bad idea to buy a 996 porsche with this high of a mileage. Thank You

What are they priced at? Service records? Ownership history? Need more details

I just hit 141k on my early 99. I have a binder of service records. That's the biggest thing with these cars Have a PPI done on both if you can't decide. Specifically ask for a bore-o-scope inspection of the cylinders and of course if the IMS has been replaced with proof.

They are both $18,000 but Im pretty sure that I can talk them down more. The 2003 has one owner and im buying from him (he's the private party) and he has all the service records. The 2002 is from a dealership and they have the car fax but that's all I know ( this car also has not has the IMS changed). I dont know if the 2003 has the IMS changed but I did message him today about it. I do want them to both get bore-o-scoped because I heard that is a huge problem with 996s

All things equal I'd go for the C4S

Especially a one owner C4S. Are they Tiptronic or 6 speed manuals ? What color combos ?

The C4s is grey with just a grey interior. Nothing that special and its all stock. Personally the 2002 has new rims, touch screen, quad exhaust, and its a convertible which I've never owned a convertible let alone a Porsche.

It is also Tiptronic

A Tiptronic cabriolet with 150k miles is not an 18,000$ car imo.`

How much should I buy it for then? Or should I say for either one how much should I ask for?

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Buying any car with that much high mileage as a daily driver is a horrible idea. For a daily driver you should be looking at a different car with much less mileage and a full warranty. Skip the Porsche for now and save up money to buy a lower mileage example with no issues.

If you're set on a P car and the choice is between the two you posted I'd go with the C4S, especially if it is a manual. The cabriolet tops can be problematic and I wouldn't trust it with that mileage To me, that cab is like 12k. But opinions may vary on the matter, all 996s are seeing a price hike but I'm not sure if that has hit high mileage tip cabriolets yet. The one owner is a huge plus on the C4S, color combo may be just grey on grey but it's still a better deal IMO.

Okay got it, thank you for you responding and everything I really appreciate it. I am still looking and trying to find the best deal possible. My budget is $25,000 so just seeing what's out there and trying to get a good deal.

I'd budget 3-5k after purchase to do "catch up" maintenance. That seems to be the going purse after buying one of these cars to get it sorted

Oaky sounds good, thank you

I agree with Michaelo's comments above, a 140K mile Porsche 996 as a daily driver is a bad idea. These engines have several failure modes, eg. IMS bearing, bore scoring, chain rails, yada yada, any one of which could be catastrophic. If this is your initial foray into the Porsche experience, it could go sideways on you in a real hurry. I would in particular stay away from the 140K mile car without the IMS bearing changed at the dealer, that strikes me as a recipe for disaster. Patience is your best strategy, as Michaelo stated, keep saving until you can find a lower mileage example if you are determined to have it as a daily driver. Also, buying from an enthusiast like a PCA/RennList member means the car was loved, just make sure it wasn't tracked. Just sayin.

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Head on over to Bring a Trailer and RESEARCH! You don't have to buy there necessarily (I did and am very happy), but track the 996's and read the comments. You will learn a lot. Be patient! There are a ton of these around and many with far less mileage. If this is DD for you, you cannot afford the lengthy downtime and costs that a high mileage car might bring. Good luck. These cars are amazing.

I would budget between $1,000-$3,000 per year for maintenance and repairs, on average. I have spent $18,000 in 4.5 years on my ($17,600 purchase) 996, and that doesn�t even include a clutch, IMSB, RMS, AOS, etc. My car has now 66k miles (from 48k). I love 911s, but the repair bills are no joke. Doing the labor yourself cuts the costs in half.

Id buy from the original owner than the dealer.

I'd keep looking, there's surely better options if you're looking to spend $25k. Budget say $3k of that assuming something you find doesn't have IMSB, especially single row models. They'll likely be lower mileage which would make a for a better daily driver.

I would also not recommend buying a high mileage, older Porsche as a daily driver. As a weekend toy I would say go for it, but not if you need to use it every day and rely on it for transportation. Over the long term, it will cost a ton and be in the shop for weeks in any given year, leaving you with nothing to drive and an empty bank account. Something like an MK7 GTI would be in the same price range and much better as a daily driver. It�s a fantastic car to drive, will be way more reliable, more comfortable and much cheaper to run. I�m speaking from experience here. Years ago I had a 1985 944 as a daily driver and after that I had a 2000 Boxster. I replaced the boxster with a 2017 GTI and it was infinitely superior as a daily driver. Now I have a 2001 996 as a weekend toy and I think that is a better use for these types cars. Just my two cents. Best of luck with whatever you decide!

IMO Buying a 18-19 year old Porsche with over 140K miles to use as a daily driver is a really bad idea. But good luck with whatever you decide 👍

After PPI and Bore score testing, you will see initially what mechanical shape it's in. If the car doesn't have service records, IMHO you may want to negotiate a lower price and be prepared for surprise. At least service records will tell you if the RMS, IMS and seals, clutch, flywheel, water pump, spark plugs, ignition coils, fuel injectors, aos have been replaced and when. Not to mention how many oil changes, and what has been worked on, etc. You show me a car that had only a few oil changes, and none of the above done, and I will show you a ticking timebomb. Give the benefit of doubt to the owner that has the service records and has done all the right things plus a good PPI and no borescoreing versus the opposite. Regarding using the car as a daily driver, go for it. The prices you are quoting are very low in relation to BAT auctions, affording you the luxury of putting money into it to re-condition it properly for more dependable daily driving. But what this means is that you will ultimately need an an engine rebuilt someday in the future, just like all 20+ year old engines, and to replace all worn non-engine, suspension, electrical parts, etc. No different than any other collectible sports car. The 996 is an awesome car. Have had mine for 19 years and do projects every year to it. Plan on keeping it until I can't drive it anymore. It will cost you annually to keep it in top shape. But that shouldn't be a problem if you plan on keeping it and prepare for it. Certaily helps that prices are going up knowing that unlike most cars, depreciation has turned to appreciation. Hope it helps.

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From a resale value standpoint, unless you really need a tiptronic cab, go with a manual coupe. They are more desirable in the market. Nothing wrong with a tiptronic cab, they are just not as sought after, therefore weaker pricing. Certainly could change if we have sunshine around the world and no-one can drive a stick anymore, but I'll play the probabilities and say that I doubt it.

You all have been so helpful and being here for the first time is amazing. Thank you all for responding and giving me you best options, I will take this all into consideration and whatever I end up doing I will let you all know. I will keep looking for better deals and lower mileage. Thank you all again

Another thing to keep in mind, there are a lot of electronics on these cars and heat cycles make them go bad. Window switches, micros switches, memory modules, wiring loom etc...can all fail after a certain amount of use. No PPI Pre purchase inspection can let you know when they will fail or their condition. Basically, they will just fail at anytime with no warning usually. Electronics are expensive to repair, difficult to diagnose and hard to get at sometimes. This is just another reason to get a vehicle with lower mileage, because it has a lot less heat cycles on the electronics parts.

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Saturday someone sold and bought a 2002 cabrio 6 speed 110,000 miles on tred for $13,000. Two weeks ago here in Houston 105,000 mile 5 speed for under $15. So yes 18k for a convertible and that mileage is way overpriced. If the 4S is a coupe not cabrio and 6 speed that would be the car. Let me know about the 4S if you don�t buy it. Hope you buy your pcar they provide a hell of a drive,

Pre-COVID when I was daily driving my 2002 996.2 about 1000miles per month, I spent around $400 per year in repairs and around $1400 on maintenance per year. Expect around $2K every year. The 996 is a good daily driver, but it's certainly not the cheapest. Mine currently has just 82K miles on it, so your costs may be higher. Also make sure you can quickly purchase an additional vehicle in case of extended downtime.