A triumphant return? Searching for a 996.

Hello all, I have been a Rennlist member off and on over many years. I have previously owned a 914, a 944 and a Boxster. When I owned those vehicle, I was pretty active on the forum. It is the right time again for me to rejoin my fellow Porschephiles, as I am searching for a cheap 996. I am going to document my experience on a Facebook page I created in tribute of the Porsche dealership my family used to own in Tallahassee, FL. Please stop by and check out my FB page and I will also be in here from time to time to ask question and update you all on my quest. I am so pumped! Scott www.facebook.com/kinnebrewmotors

What kind of Porsche 996 (other than "cheap") will you be looking for? Coupe, Cabriolet, Turbo, C4S, C4, C2, etc.??? Are you still in the Florida area Scott?

I am looking for a base 996. I am torn between a cab and a coupe. I see the merits of both. I think I am leaning towards a cab. I am still in Florida, but not Tallahassee. I live in the Pensacola area now. I still have family in Tallahassee though.

Hey Scott, That's cool... my nephew just got married to pretty lady from Tallahassee. I was down visiting friends in the Panama City/Destin area. Such a beautiful part of Florida... and love the clear water. It was warm enough at Thanksgiving, the girls even got in the water. But not this ol' man... the water has to be at least 80 F for me to jump in. ha! Anyway, I'm up here in Athens GA. What price range are you looking to snag a 996 for? Realistically speaking. hahaha And yea, the Cabriolets were made for Florida. Nothing like it.

I am looking in the $14k - 16k range. Found a bunch... just trying to find the right one.

Guess you're looking at the Mk1 with higher miles? Because from what I've seen, the Mk2 (i.e. 2002 - 2005) are usually at $20,000 and above. Do you have some links? I would love to see them. Thanks!

That's the right attitude...they made a ***t ton of 996's, so take your time and bag the right one.

Nearly everything I have looked at is a 1999 or 2000. I'll get around to posting some of them. I'm not looking for perfect - or even very nice. I am looking for a good driver that I can use everyday and not feel bad about putting miles on.

The '99's are the cars to have - at least according to those of us who have 99's.

I have an '03 C2 - I love it. Not that much difference in $$ for the newer vintage/somewhat upgraded powerplant. Just sayin'

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I might be biased but the 03 C2 is the best porsche ever built

A 'good every day' driver 996 for 15K is going to be tough.

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Really? I'm not saying it'll be a cakewalk, but I'm confident. Maybe we're talking about two different things here. I've found a few. I did find one total disaster story. I'm going to write about that one this weekend.

Here's are a few. I emailed the guy on the first one- we'll see what I hear back... https://daytona.craigslist.org/cto/5889329403.html https://jacksonville.craigslist.org/cto/5909833491.html -- I don't really like the color combo on this, so I'm not interested- but it's out there. https://jacksonville.craigslist.org/cto/5909833491.html -- This one just popped up, I might have to think about this. Not a huge fan of the black on black though, especially in Florida. https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/ctd/5899214843.html https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/cto/5899219245.html -- This one is CHEAP. Could be interesting. https://treasure.craigslist.org/cto/5906317744.html -- This one is intriguing because it's a rebuilt title and it has a 997 conversion front end. If the conversion is decent, it could be kind of cool. I've also found a 2001 Cab in Lapis Blue over Tan in Mobile, AL for $15k. Going to see it next Monday. I also found a 2003 Coupe with 145k miles on it, but more than the mileage, some clues in the photos scared me away.

I've got a 99 C2 with 82,000 that I've been looking at selling, but for $20k.

https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/cto/5907560897.html

Wonder what is under those seat covers in front?

Hi Scott, Good luck on your search. Interesting that you want a 1999-2000, since I'm in the same camp. It's not that the later cars aren't good - they are aruguably better - but the value of the 99s and 00s means that they are a tad more affordable. I used to have an '88 Targa and then a '00 Boxster S, but am also looking for a 99 996 manual Cab. I think your plan to get something to "just drive" is the best reason for getting one of these cars.

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You gotta wonder why someone would buy a salvage 996 and put thousands of dollars (usually $10,000+) into converting into something its not but can't even afford decent floor mats. hahaha!

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Yea, if you notice, the owner says it won't shift into 2nd gear and the AC doesn't work. You'll have at least couple of grand in it just to get running smoothly.

I know you said you don't prefer black on black, but this is a great deal on a Mk2 coupe. As long as it doesn't have any engine issues, you might be able to snag a deal. https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/ctd/5910765096.html

This one is nice MK2 for $18,000 https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/cto/5848492907.html

b3freak, I agree with pretty much everyone of those comments. The 997 conversion definitely intrigues me and scares me all at the same time. If it was local- I would probably go look at it, but I don't think I am going to spend any real effort on it. As with the one in Jacksonville, the 2nd gear issue is alarming, but you probably could use those issue to hammer the price down even further. But again, it's definitely not for me because of the colors.

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Yeah, you can just go ahead and assume they are total garbage. If you expect that, then anything short of a dead body being under there won't be a show stopper. I actually had a co-worker with the seat covers from CoverKing and they are pretty darn nice for seat covers. Or you can replace them. If you're willing to look and wait, you could probably find a deal on some decent seats. Hey BTW- how do you like your Sumitomo tires? I've been thinking about those or the Continentals off of TireRack.

This post was originally written for my Kinnebrew Motors FB page and directed at a less knowledgeable crowd, but I figured someone might learn a little from the experience. PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTIONS ARE INDISPENSABLE! So, I wanted to sure a quick story and lesson from my search for a cheap 911. I found a 1999 911 with 75k miles that was listed in all the major places (AutoTrader, Cars.com and Craigslist) down in the Ft. Lauderdale area. I’m wasn’t really sure whether I wanted a coupe or a cabriolet (convertible) but this one was a coupe. It was silver and the paint looked great and it had the famous Porsche script along the sides at the bottom. I loved the way it looked. From the pictures, it looked like it was in decent shape. The dealer had it listed for $14,998 (just in case you were looking to save $1 over cars that were $14,999). The CarFax did, indeed, indicate that the car had been in a couple of accidents- but the body work looked like a pretty decent job had been done it was still straight and clean. My first concern is that it was at a high-volume, multi-brand lot. Not that there is anything wrong with these kinds of lots, but they generally don’t know crap about Porsches and what to look for in terms of a solid vehicle. My next concern is that it was in South Florida. If you want to get mad about stereotypes here, go ahead; but I will stick to my guns that you should take an extra measure of caution in such large, highly-competitive markets. At any rate, I certainly thought the car LOOKED good and I was interested. I would assume that most people would never get interested in a car they couldn’t look at personally beforehand. Understandable, but I think with the right measure of caution and commitment, it’s not too daunting. It helped that I had a family member in the area that was willing to go take a look at the car and snap some pictures for me. However, I also scheduled a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) with A Foreign Affair, which just happened to be a few miles from the dealership. Bob was the guy that helped me and he was exceptionally accommodating and very professional. You could tell he knew what he was doing in our short conversation. Lesson #1 – not all PPIs are created equal. Bob said they did a 300 point inspection and it took 2-3 hours. Wow. It was also $225. Not cheap, but it was worth every penny as you shall soon see. The results? There were a host of issues with the car, but that was to be expected. Many of them I could get over. Some were a little more concerning. And several were absolute show-stoppers. The most concerning issue was that the car had been on a frame machine. Bob specifically mentioned it looked as though someone had attempted to hide that fact, but nonetheless- they are tell-tale signs if you know what to look for. The second most concerning issue is that the Check Engine Light was covered up with a black, vinyl sticker. I’m not going to do business with anyone who engages in such ridiculousness. What was sad about that is the fact that the only problem was the O2 sensors were bad and needed to be replaced. That should be an easy fix for a dealer and well within their profit margin on the car. It is true, that I have no idea whether the listing dealer was the party responsible for these issues. It is very possible, even likely, that they bought the car from auction with little time to inspect it. But the mattered little to me. There was no question that this deal was not happening. I will add that the dealer still has the car listed at the same price. Lesson #2- Pre-purchase inspections are invaluable.

I was REALLY stoked about finding this one and when I called the guy he said he already had a guy looking at it. After some intermittent communication, he told me he sold it to his neighbor. This was a week ago. I'm not sure what to think... the ad is still up on AutoTrader. Anyway- I was ready to hop all over this one. I love the body kit and the wheels. What a great car. http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...modelCode1=911

This one has the aero kit and I LOVE the color- but it's so far away and what the hell is that button on the left side of the center console? http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...modelCode1=911

I am going to look at this one tomorrow or Tuesday. http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...modelCode1=911

This one might be worth travelling for... a Cabrio with a hardtop, but high miles and a dealer the likely has no clue what they are doing... http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...modelCode1=911

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Oh man, that interior is terrible. The light-colored faux wood trim clashes horribly with the tan interior. Maybe I'm a snob, but I get turned off pretty quick by sellers with multiple spelling errors in such a short ad.

English is not every ones first or primary language. Perspective.

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Yes, but it's close and I want to see it in person before I pass judgement on the interior. I don't have high hopes. But keep in mind what I am looking for...

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True. And if you get it cheap enough, there is always plastidip! Of course, my red interior is fairly pink now, so maybe I don't have any room to talk...