Is KBB and Edmunds price accurate???

Hi all, I am looking to purchase a 2001 996 Cab from my friend's brother. The car has 19K mi, tip, 18" wheel and minimum option. I checked prices on Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds, but found the prices higher than market price (based on online ads). I want to offering him a reasonable price but not sure if KBB/Edmunds' prices are a good reference. What do you think it's a good deal? P.S. This will be my first Porsche...and I am not a DRIVER.

KBB/Edmunds are definitely higher than the market price, as much as 15% depending on the region. Take a look at www.nada.com as well. Have youre friend get a buy bid from a local dealer and you pay 10% premium. I think that is a fair price unless your friend tries to make a good profit from the deal. I just bought 1999 996 Aero 12K miles from my buddy for way less than what KBB/Edmunds suggests. My buddy was going to trade his in for 911TT but decided to just sell it to me for the trade-in price. (we are doing the passthru transaction so that he can get the full tax credit)

I just bought a 996. There are a disproportionate number of cabriolets for sale relative to coupes. There are a disproportionate number of tiptronics for sale relative to manuals. Do a thorough autotrader search for equivalent cars. Print the page for each car. Present those offerings as price examples to your seller. This is a much better representation of market prices. Don't be afraid to drive 300 miles to get the right car.

And no matter the price, make sure you do a PDI at a local dealer

I guess I should only use KBB or Edmunds for rough guideline. Your suggestions of printing out actual vehicle sale is great idea. I don't think he is trying to make profit, but according to my friend, his brother paid almost $100k (during the dot-com boom) for the car. I guess he does not want to lose too much. BTW, what is PDI? Is it Porsche Dealer Inspection? Is there anything about 2001 996 cab that I should watch out for? What is a pass-thru transaction? Sorry for all these newbie questions...

Yes, a dealer inpection. It will run you a few hundred $$ but is well worth it. They can even tell you how many times the rev limiter was hit. They do a really thorough inspection.

Okay Guys, I need your input on this one... My friend finally gave me a price - $55k. '01 996 Cab Dark Blue - HT - 3 spoke wheel - Tip - 18" wheel - 1 disc cd - 19K mi price is $55k Is this a good deal?

sounds high - i've seen '02's with less miles go around that price.

really? I have difficulties finding anything below 60K and has less than 30k mi. got any good reference?

take a look on autotrader and cars.com, they both have good inventory to look through.

That sounds like a GREAT price to me...

KBB "Private Party" pricing is used by finance companies to determine how much they can finance on a vehicle. It is NOT supposed to be the "street" price of the car. For a more accurate street price, go to KBB "Trade-In" and select "excellent" under the condition. FYI: Dealers NEVER, EVER use the "excellent" guideline for trade in value unless it is a VERY high demand car (ie. SL55) - they usually pay you "fair" price for an "excellent" car. If your car is less than good or excellent - you get reamed! Using this reasoning - the "street" price of this cab should be around $56K, and the dealer trade in would be around $48K.

Trojan Man, Paul, spars10, Thanks for the input. the trade in prices for kbb and edumunds came in at 52k and 53k with rating of 'good'. I figure if I get it at trade-in price I will be safe. I am going up SF this weekend to look at the car. my target price will be $52.5k.. Hopefully I will be driving down in my new (used) 996.

good luck epoints! owning a porsche is one of the great pleasures in life. hope it all works out! post a pic if you end up getting the car.

Best of luck! Just do yourself a favor and don't get into the emotional state of mind that you "have to" have this exact car. If this deal falls through, there are plenty of other Porsches out there!

Hey there!! Just an fyi,,,for my day gig, I work for Trader publishing Co(owns auto trader, autotrader.com,automart, etc). NEVER go by KBB,it is not in line with reality. Remember, you are investigating a price of a unique, depreciating asset. Every month these vehicles fluctuate in value. It is always advisable to check the ASKING price of similiar vehicles for sale using every available resource. Porsche dealers will be the highest, next other(BMW,Mercedes,etc) dealers will be next, then private individuals. Dealers are in business for profit, but they can throw in or sell warranties.Individuals usually are only trying to get out,but cannot help you in any other way. Ask your dealer to see the Black Book values. This is a book used at auctions to show different levels of wholesale values.They come out EACH WEEK. Then simply ask him how much profit he needs. I asked a dealer that i got to know well to shop at the off lease auctions for what i was looking for. I gave him a price range.The cars are listed and described in advance.last year we found a 1999 cab with low miles with a year of factory warranty left.I paid him a small profit,he had no investment, I got the car I wanted for barely over wholesale price. Hope this helped..good luck!!!

TrojanMan, Spar10, Thanks. It's hard not to get emotional about Porsche.....but you are right. there are plenty of Porsche out there. I will let everyone know what happen.

Got another question for you all... I heard the tires wear out very fast on 996, even before 25k mi... So if the car already has 20k mi, am I looking at forking out more money for the tires soon? How much are we talking about?? got any recommendation? Or is this something I can get done at Costco??? thanks...

It may already have newer tires on it by 19K miles. If not, plan on buying a set soon. You are looking at $800-$1,000+ for a set, depending on what tires you get.

Thanks, JIm. I will calculate the cost into my offer.... any recommendation for sunny southern california driving condition....

do a search here... there are plenty of existing threads that talk about tire preferences.