high mileage 996 pricing

After a year of thinking about it, I'm finally getting ready to pull the trigger on my first Porsche. I'm focusing on higher mileage 996s (1999 model year, 70k-80kish miles) that have had the big maintenance things taken care of (IMS,AOS, brakes, tires, clutch). Assuming I can find one in good cosmetic shape and the maintenance items have been taken care of, what price range am I looking at? Judging from the ads I've seen so far, it looks like 18-22k is where list prices are, with fair probably coming in right at 20k. This sound about right? Appreciate the help.

Not sure I'd call a 14 year old car with 70k miles "high mileage".

The hunt will likely take awhile, given your parameters, but you're probably in the right ball park, price-wise.

As a comparison I recently purchased a '03 C2 with 124K miles (thats HIGH miles ). No documentation though from a private party - he had the car less than a year. Clean history. PPI came back very clean. Original clutch, RMS, and a tired suspension. New PS2 tires. Thinking that car was a highway commuter. Car has minimal options but does have the carbon fiber interior that looks new. I paid $16K. Currently looking at a $2K tab for a suspension refresh that will be professionally installed. I figure the cluch has 1 year left so when that gets done I'll add the IMS bearing. Dropped pan which was clean and recent oil change looked really good.

16K is a steal for that car, good job, Java!

where are you located? and is it going to be all street; street and track; mostly track? I have some fresh newbie experience in the area you are looking for (70k+ 996) and would be happy to share offline. PM or email me. Once you get over the chicken little the sky is falling anxiety (little squeaks and rattles, whooshes and chatter while cold evoking thoughts of IMS bearings and Rear main seals and engines that go boom with no warning, etc) it actually is a great car (and it took me many decades to come around to the Porsche clan; previously only exotics) ThomasM178 at Yahoo dot com

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+1. 125K on the original clutch? I don't think you have to feel guilty about an 'early' clutch replacement w/ IMSB. :-)

70k ,80k, high mileage,i dont think so,not for a porsche,just do your research,take your time,service history will tell it all,and a good PPI.....good luck

My buddy picked up a '99 with 110K for $11.5K.

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Cab or coupe? Figure at least a few grand more for a cab. I wanted a cab, so I paid the extra $$. I bought my car from a trusted Indy shop; the purchase price included IMS, RMS, AOS, clutch, and flywheel ... basically, all the stuff I could think of on that side of the engine. Other items you might think about are coolant tank and water pump.

Thanks for the data points. Lot of volatility in pricing seems like. Car would be mostly street with some light track use.

My 2002 C4S has 129K on the odometer and I don't consider that to really be high mileage. When I hit 200K, I'll call it a high mileage car.

Paid $15.5k for a '99 cab with 70k miles in August. It needed clutch/rms/ims which was another $2.5k. I thought it was a great deal at the time but ended up spending another $2k fixing various other issues (engine mounts, radio etc.).

I was offered $20K as trade in for a 02 C4S with 114K and about 60K on porsche-replaced engine.

You guys drive entirely too much. Fish guy, you may have to adjust your expectations of finding a 99 model like that. Why a 99? There are many updates on the 02+.

Because the '99 are the cheapest?

Cheap Porsche is an oxymoron. Is the fish a mechanic, does he have a shop and tools? A replacement engine for a 99 is now $42,786.00, awesome huh?

KrazyK - "A replacement engine for a 99 is now $42,786.00, awesome huh? " That IS awesome, see how much PORSCHE values our cars? '99 vs '02 - I've owned both, though each have their advantages I find each are very compelling in their own way. And the '99 is generally less expensive in the marketplace, everything else being equal. Strangely (I didn't think I would) I actually feel the difference in weight quite a bit in track corners between the '99 and '02. If the '99 has had its preventative maintenance done (IMS, RMS) I'd consider it equally (ie, weight the pros and cons) to a same mileage, same "condition" '02, especially taking into consideration the likely price difference being asked by seller. '99 lighter, more "nimble" on the track '02 you can feel the more powerful engine, even though in spec it's only 5hp or so - different power delivery (super vario-cam?) and it has a glove compartment, though there is something charmingly quirky about the no glove compartment under dash manual tray of the '99... I do have to agree with KrazyK - Porsche and inexpensive are oxymorons, especially if you need to have someone else do the work (indi or stealership)

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Only $1500 if you put a used 3.2 in it. I come from the 928 world, you don't need to tell me what a cheap Porsche can cost.

From what I've seen (and I admittedly have only recently started paying close attention) 99's seem to be good value for what they offer which is what attracted me to the model in the first place. Hope to make a purchase soon, will update the post with what I end up getting.

If you listen to the old dudes^^^^^ you will have to buy the car and immediately flat bed it to your living room and just look at it as a trophy. One suggestion, 20k is not a lot these days specially for a Porsche, so I would buy the newest model around my budget.

Easy for you to say. Not all new owners are going to be able to do what you can and did; come up with economic solutions to what would otherwise be an enormous expense to a non-mechanic. A 99 is now 14 years old with many parts on their way to failure. So once again for the Fish, before you decide what to buy, are you mechanically inclined and able to do your own repairs?

I got a 99 cab with 130k on it for $11.5k this past march. PPI was clean. So far I've had to put a water pump in it. Brian

I got my 79k mile 99 about two years ago now for 20 k only item I needed to replace was the alternator, and a window regulator since then. Nothing out of the ordinary for a 14 year old car. I don't see a price difference for cabs any more in my neck of the woods. I see some coupes going for more. I always worry about guys getting into 99's just because they are a low cost entry into the 911 world. It can be, but it can also end badly. If you are eating Mac and cheese to get the car in the driveway it's not the car for you. You need to tuck away an couple grand for service , tires, or something else unless you can wrench yourself.. You also, need to be comfortable with KrazyK and the fact that there is a dark side with some cars. I also live in Toronto where there is a half dozen) fantastic porsche independent mechanics, so most service when needed is really reasonable.

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Yup. I've owned two 1999s, one 2001, one 2003, and currently own a 2000. The 996.2 is more refined inside and out, which may or may not be your cup of tea. I personally find the 996.1 to be a more raw sports car driving experience, while still being comfortable to drive daily. If you get the full leather and 3-spoke wheel the 996.1 interior is very close to the 996.2, though I personally prefer the basic non-leather interior that wears like iron. Fish, your price range sounds about right. It's really hard to find a good 996 for under $15k, despite some posts online to the contrary. Concern yourself more with condition than mileage, look for a car that's been well loved with service records, and enjoy.

IMHO, the two most important attributes to look for when shopping for a "normal" mileage 996 are: >thorough maintenance records >body/paint/interior condition Examples that qualify well against such requirements are well worth spending $3-5K for RMS/IMS/AOS and brake pads+discs. But body and interior work can be a bottomless pit. (Ask me how I know this.) relinuca

I'd open my search up to include cars with 100,000 miles. Your price point will drop about 25% and you will have many more cars to choose from. As others have said, maintenance is key. A 1999 model with 70,000 miles is just as likely to break as a 1999 model with 105,000 miles. Many of the things that break are as much related to age (plastic and rubber parts becoming old, cracked and brittle - no offense Hurdi) as they are mileage.

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So, what were the body and paint issues (and causes)?

I just got my first 911, a 99 C2 Cab Tip with 86K miles. Clean car fax but no service records. It came with a full Champion exhaust system headers back, Champion 3 pc wheels with new tires, new soft top, hardtop and Aerokit. Paint and leather almost perfect. I paid $19K for it and then invested another $4K for the 90K service, LN IMS bearing, new water pump and AOS. Mechanic gave it the thumbs up on everything else.

Prices must be dropping fast on 996's. KBB said mine was worth $27500 in July; now it shows the value as $22000.

Amazing, I just ran the KBB value on my car. Was around $30k when I bought it in May (way higher than market value) and now it's down to $23.5k. Guess KBB is finally catching up to the actual values.

Porsche and cheap shouldn't be allowed to be used in the same sentence. I bought my 01 C2 coupe for 18.3k in 2011. 116k miles. It was an impulse buy... (there is a reason they put that Porsche dealership right out side the base in Miramar) I thought I had nothing to do one Saturday and went for a test drive in a Cayman. From that moment I just had to have the newest one I could afford. Bought the car from a dealer up in Corona near LA. Drove it at the end of detachment back to New Orleans. So far: Front rotors and pads (Zimmerman and Akebono) - $200 cracked water reservoir - replaced $200 cracked air oil separator coolant line - replaced AOS and lines $200 cracked coil packes = misfire in rain - replaced ~$200 plus spark plugs & oil tubes recovered dash leather -cracking - self project ~50$ recovered dash pod - cracking - reupholstered by classic 9 ~$150 plus shipping snapped lower front control arm - replaced ~$80 eBay Engine rod bearing at 153kmi - I'm the guy that replaced it with an 00 Boxster S 3.2 motor hence the criticisms above. 3,000$ Compare my costs of 2.5 years of owning a high mileage 996, learning to do the work yourself.. and having the absolute worst case maintenance scenario (blown engine) to some of the people on here who have spent 5X as much for a car that spends 11 months on average in their garage. (or livingroom as some have stated) My vote is +1 to a high mileage Porsche of any sort. Get what you want and learn as much as you can. Its a great car to own and drive.

I have a customer with a 99 cab with 170K on it. He wants to sell it after I told him it had too many miles for us to safely retrofit.

Recently pickup up a 2001 C2 Coupe Tiptronic,with 77,000 miles for $15,300. Mechanically very clean. It had new tires however, the seats were in poor shape and I put about $1,500 into the interior; which now looks brand new. You can find one in your price range. Get a complete PPI and price estimates on needed repairs. My mechanic went over the car for almost three hours. Negotiate the repairs off the asking price and see if you and the seller can come to a happy medium. Take your time and look for the right one (which is easier said then done when you really want one). Good luck. Keep us posted.

People who own a 996 and make the reference to "my mechanic" just screams expensive. This pretty much proves the point. What other older fun sports car requires you to have "my mechanic". That takes the pleasure out of owning one IMHO. Read this 10 times before you consider a high mileage 14 year old semi-supercar. If I couldnt do my own work, I wouldnt dream of owning a 996.

Xx

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Could you please elaborate on that?...

Meaning that more than likely the engine would not pass our qualification process to be retrofitted. we must be very discerning with qualifying engines for retrofit, other issues that are present could either take out the new bearing. Coincidentally another failure could happen that was imminent before the retrofit and it could appear to be catalyzed by our processes. We won't just retrofit anything and the higher the mileage the more discerning we are. I treat this a lot like the pre-flight of an aircraft and I don't play when it comes to qualifications.

Let's be realistic here - just because Jake won't retrofit a car with 170,000 miles doesn't mean you shouldn't buy a higher mileage 996. Someone spending about $15,000 on a 996 has a completely different mindset than someone who just dropped $35k on one. Us guys on the low end of the investment spectrum probably won't pay to squeeze the last ounce of performance out of the car - I actually have all-season tires (gasp!) on my car, the front spoiler got cracked last month and I'm just going to live with it until spring (double gasp!!), and the paint has swirl marks in it from where I've taken it through automatic car washes (triple gasp!!!). It's just a car, and since I paid well under $20k for it, if the engine dies I'll sell the carcass and move on without a crisis. But, it has still been a blast to own it, so much so that I may very well hand it down next year and move up to a 996TT. I couldn't care less that it's not a candidate for one of Jake's retrofits because it's got 141k+ miles (no offense Jake).

Jake, understood, figured that was the reasoning. And ^+1,mileage is nothing to be scared of-with proper maintenance, many are better 'cars' than garage queens that follow mileage-based maintenance schedule...as example, even though all the maintenance was followed by the 'book', I have personally spent a few thousand $ on parts to get my GT2(nice copy with 50kms/30k miles) up to 100% since buying earlier this year, and I do ALL my own work... I might be searching for a real high-mileage(cheap) 996 beater for a daily driver/winter beater(/Hank Moody 'special' ) soon...

I couldn't agree more. If we experience a failure (no matter the cause or circumstance) its not just a part failure. It means that we have failed to qualify the vehicle for our procedures and of course, we invented the retrofit procedure, so that makes it all a really big deal. We simply cannot risk things and must look at most situations as worst case scenarios. We also know a little too much about the engines from a failure perspective, and that makes us a bit gun-shy more than others would be. Buy the car cheap enough and then look at an engine failure as a positive thing… an opportunity to build it the right way, and go big! Hell, there are times with my own cars when I can't wait till I finally have a problem so I can go big, or go crazy!

Rob, that is an absolutely gorgeous GT2.

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Thanks mate! I really love the car If you're ever in the area, let me know and we can meet up

I have quite a different maintenance philosophy. Being as one who is responsible for the safe flight of US Navy aircraft, we aren't afforded the luxury of giving up on the airframe. I was responsible for twelve strike fighter aircraft that were built in 1983-84. Boeing had vouched that they should not be flown past 6000 flight hours. As I was at the squadron many of the aircraft passed 8000 flight hours. It's not that we were flying unsafe aircraft, its that the amount of time and money it took to get them fixed to standard increases, sometimes greatly. At the end of the day we didn't get to give up and buy a new airframe, besides its Congress that gets to decide that. It doesn't matter if a 996 has 1,000,000 miles.. its just the amount of maintenance it takes to keep it in safe and reliable driving condition will go up dramatically. Look at the guy with the Volvo with 3 million miles. I do agree that when the cost of maintenance exceeds the worth or desire to keep the car, its easy in the 996 world to cut your losses and buy something else. Jake has a reputation to keep and obviously cares about it. The more risk he takes at repairing high mileage cars can come back on his reputation if something fails. He has done the research to know when and what can and probably will fail.

Naval Aviation is also in my past. Keeping up an entire Squadron of CH46E Helicopters helped me treat everything like it has wings, even if it has wheels.