Paying a premium for low mileage 996

This is an interesting article -- https://rennlist.com/articles/why-th...oked-996-ever/ . I actually saw this car at the dealer (I think it was listed for about $49k), and personally would be scared to overpay for an ultra low mileage 996. I would want to change the IMS and water pump right away, along with who knows what other old bits and pieces that have been sitting unused. Another very reputable local indy dealer also recently had a 40th with very low miles listed for $49k. And I've seen a few very nice low mileage 996's recently listed for high $30's, low $40's by a certain dealer in Long Island, NY. Thoughts and debate?

That’s 996 Turbo money.

Definitely think the low mileage premium on these cars is more than likely a lose lose for the buyer. Don�t get me wrong, I was after one of these low mileage cars when I first started looking too. However, I slowly learned a higher mileage car with a long maintenance history and big ticket preventative maintenance completed by the previous owners was the most bang for the buck so to speak. More than likely, a low mileage car will have terrible maintenance history, sometimes only one or two oil changes in the last decade for starters. These low mileage garage queens also tend to have no preventive maintenance completed either. So you will be on the hook for every big ticket item right off the bat if you want to drive car and sleep at night, IMS, RMS, AOS, etc.

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I agree with this. I use to only buy new or low mileage vehicles but gradually found that a high mileage vehicle in "good shape" is nothing to be scared about and, if they look good and are still running well on high mileage that's an indication (at least to me) that the car has been well cared for and mechanically sound. Doesn't mean that the car won't need some work due to age but any mechanical faults would have been revealed long ago and either addressed or not. On the other hand, really low mileage vehicles in earlier model cars (10-20 yrs old), unless it was owned by a meticulous /ownercollector, could be an indication that it was neglected and just allowed to sit around for years, which not good for a car. FWIW, the last 4 vehicles I purchased were a: 1) 2002 Ford F250 Diesel (200k+ miles), 2) 2008 BMW 335i (80k+ miles, now 100k+), 3) 2012 Mercedes ML350 (90k+ miles, now 100k+) and 4) 2000 C4 Cab (90k+ miles). I still own all of these vehicles and they are all running fine. Spent a lot of $ on the BMW & 996 sorting them out and for upgrades; more on the 996 than the BMW. And spent a lot of $ on upgrades on the Ford but next to nothing on the MB except maintenance.

I just bought a 35k mile 1 owner Aero kit car for what a high mileage 996 goes for(I got lucky). Had a PPI done, revealed some common 996 issues and they suggested a major service(oil change, spark plugs, filters, etc) which I think is fine. The huge upside with a low mileage car is after I got it is: Suspension is perfect and almost new, there's no rattles or squeaks, interior is in amazing shape, paint is in great shape, etc. I think there's pro's and con's but not sure 40k+ is worth it for a low mileage example. If you want mine with 35k miles make me a Bring a TraIler offer and it's yours

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This is right on the money There were multiple threads some 5-7 years ago on RL & 6SPEED, about the issues with garage queens. The sweet spot for mileage/good maintenance is a moving target as our 996s age. As the saying goes, these cars were meant to be driven. My guess, and I am no expert, would be about 4000-6000 miles per year, with at least one oil service per year. Our cars are recommended to have brakes flushed every two years, regardless of miles. The issues/problems that were common were with engine and suspension. 15-20 year old car sitting enough to only accumulate 10,000 miles. I would think the probability of the IMSB/RMS being addressed is pretty low. Add that to cyclinder sleeves not having movement/lubrication consistently, talk about the potential for bore scoring to happen once it is driven a lot

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It's completely anecdotal based on the information we receive here. I purchased mine with 23k miles, had all the maintenance receipts from previous ownership and was well taken care of. Drove it from TN to OH same day, then from OH to MI numerous weekends and never had a worry (this was before I had the "IMS" service done). Oil changes every 3-4 months even though it is only driven maybe 1,000 miles within that time (at least once a week / every other week). IMS, RMS, AOS, and some other components were budgeted for and addressed not long after purchasing. The next owner (should that happen), will be on the hook for nothing other than a great driving experience, with low miles. People around here worry about low miles and automatically assume the worst, which I don't understand. There's been issues, small and large, reported by 996's of every mileage.

My 2002 C4S had almost 72k miles when I got it. Not low miles, but interior and exterior in very good condition. I’m amazed at how some lower mileage cars have nearly worn out interiors.

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Glad it worked out for you. But... What you�ve said supports my statements.

Low mileage 996s have great potential to appreciate in value. If you intend to drive one, be prepared to perform a ton of service to it simply due to time in service. We see low mileage cars needing the following items right away: -Coolant tank -Crank position sensor -water pump -Thermostat -fuel pump(sitting static with old fuel kills them) -Fuel pressure regulator (-2001 models) -AOS -IMS -MAF sensor -idle air controller ('99 C2 only) -all corrugated PCV tubing -fuel cap I do these things to every low mileage car, because if we don't, they will end up needing them later, and we end up hearing about that. Nothing like a crank sensor putting someone on the side of the road with a car with less than 20K miles on the clock. Been there, done that and got to fix it laying in a ditch with 4" of water all around me. The good news is, it made it easier to use a stick to tunnel my way under the damn car. Low mileage isn't everything with these cars. To me you pay a premium for a car that wasn't driven enough to be proven during the warranty period. We recently saw our first slipped sleeve in almost 5 years that came from a 996 with 12,000 original miles. Had that car been driven more it would have failed under warranty, and would have gotten a replacement engine without the sleeve issue. If you want a car to look at, and brag about, then buy low mileage. If you intend to drive the car, something with moderate mileage is going to end up being a better all around purchase that will likely need less done to it.

[QUOTE= If you want a car to look at, and brag about, then buy low mileage. If you intend to drive the car, something with moderate mileage is going to end up being a better all around purchase that will likely need less done to it.[/QUOTE] I concur.

This is a productive discussion and a good point made about original owners taking their once-new 996's through the warranty period in the early 2000's. Most second and third 996 owners can follow the warranty and other service and repairs records while these vehicles were still young. My 996 had the RMS replaced under warranty, probably a result of an early oil leak. /X3

I stopped reading here: "I mean the IMS will probably fail on the test drive right?" I realize this is sarcasm, but the author should be far more worried about the IMSB than just the shaft itself. #petppeeve

Low mileage cars always garner a premium whether it's warranted or not. That's just the way people think. The cars that were the most expensive when I was looking had 20-30K miles on them. Of course, explaining why low mileage 996s aren't all they're cracked up to be to a seller was like explaining algebra to a dog. 45-80K was my sweet spot when I was looking. I ended up with one shy of 37K. What I did to make sure I was OK with it was to look at the miles on the CarFax and made sure it had been driven more in the last few years. The fact that mine had spent its life in southern California and had the IMSB replaced made me feel a lot more comfortable.

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Great info!!! Mike

Hi all! I am the buyer of the car/author of the article. Good to see it stirred up some thoughts and opinions from a group of knowledgeable folks. I appreciate and respect all the feedback. I can't argue against anything that has been said above regarding low mileage cars being prone to issues. I agree and while I certainly hope I am not met with catastrophic problems, I entered into the purchase with my eyes wide open. That being said, the reason I chose this particular car this. The car itself is one of the lowest mileage 40AE cars in the world. The price I paid, ($48.5K) is top of the market for one of these cars, but not outrageously so. A 12K mile car sold on BaT about 2 years ago for $55K and just a couple weeks ago another with 47K miles with no luggage sold for about $42K when you add in the auction fees. So I may not have stole the car, but it was a fair transaction given the condition and mileage.The car came with the luggage set and fairly extensive service records. The car was only serviced at two local Porsche dealerships (both local to me and I know the service staff at each fairly well) and the service book has all the stamps to reflect this. It was also given a decent service before I took delivery - New plugs and coils, engine drive belt, pollen filter, etc. I will have the IMS addressed in the winter. I already have a quote from my local indy shop. I have my Cayman as my drive it hard, and push it to the limit Porsche. I love it for that, and it is perfect in that role. The 911, I want to drive maybe 1K miles a year, take on the back roads a couple times a month, and take to some local PCA events. I think this is perfect for that role. In addition to the Cayman I have a Ford Raptor as a daily, so this car was never going to see a ton of miles anyway, so for me a low mile car made sense. If I have it for 5 years, and put say $8K in it for maintenance etc., I could still likely sell if for $55K in 2025 and roughly break even. I already had an offer on the car in fact, so I am sure I could move it easily if I needed/wanted to. It is truly one of the best examples of the 40AE in existence. Could the engine explode? Sure. Could other big ticket items hit me? Of course. Does super low miles increase the chance of this, yes. But I will do the preventative stuff I can, and fix what breaks. If I was overly concerned about running costs, I would not have gotten a 16 year old Porsche in the first place :-) Buying a car is a very personal choice, and we all have our reasons for choosing what we choose. For me, this car was the perfect fit and I plan to enjoy it while I have it. I hope that I have good luck with it but hey life is a gamble. I drive my Cayman on track as hard as I possibly can. I could ball the thing up in a wall and write the whole damn thing off, so I am used to taking some calculated risk to enjoy myself. Life is short and getting shorter all the time. Now wish me luck, because if my engine explodes tomorrow, I am blaming all of you Joe K.