Recent new buyers and past sellers.. I need pricing input...

Ok guys I have been hunting now for a while and have not been successful and getting my price point correct. For example, found an 02 coupe lapis blue nice optioned and seller had recent work done on it (clutch, rms, ims, aos and other maintenance stuff done. Asking $27500 and I went and looked at it test drove it... Really nice car and interior was in great conditions and i liked some of the recent mods he did. Made an offer of $23k pending ppi and I was turned down. I thought I was on price point but I guess that I was off. Do you all think hat his asking price is too high? Reasonable? For all you new owners out there ( you lucky dogs ) if you don mind me asking and dont mind sharing. What did you all pay? Just want to know what type of range is out there for these cars. I even found a 99 with more miles (65k) some suspension mods but no clutch work and that seller was asking $23k.. And then yesterday I see on eBay a 03 with 80k miles and no records go for $24k.. Are the prices going up? Is it the season to buy a new toy? Help! I want one now that the Boxster has left the building...

What sometimes happens is a seller puts some money into the car and then turns around and offers the car for sale -- sometimes he had this in mind which prompted him putting the money into the car -- and expects to get a price over and above market. The thinking on his part is what he put into the car raises its value. Wrong. What he put into the car simply brings the car's value up to market, say raising the car's value from poor -- as a car that needed a clutch, RMS, IMS, AOS done would be classified as -- to something closer to good. A used car sale doesn't start out well if the seller says the car's in great shape, all it needs is an RMS, IMS, AOS and a new clutch... Generally what putting money into a car does is it makes the car easier to sell, for its market value. I do not know the market for these cars but I do know that in most cases a car is worth somewhere between its trade in value on the low end and the high end is up to the buyer. The car's condition of course plays in favor of the seller. Sincerely, Macster.

What is the mileage on the lapis blue 02? IMO, your offer of $23k is a low ball offer.

Spring does bring higher prices; however, I seriously doubt many of these higher priced cars are selling. Keep looking....the right one for you is out there!

According to a Porsche expert that I know, the steep depreciation in the 996 market slowed in 2010 and is now holding steady. Not that the cars are not still depreciating, but the collapse is over. You probably missed your chance to get a killer deal on a 2002-04 car with nice options. As for value, he makes two points... First, that Excellence Magazines valuations, while not perfect, are fairly in the ballpark. Also, due to the low transaction numbers guides like Kelley and Edmunds are fairly worthless. By Excellence values, the 2002 you describe was worth in the $24-25k range. Second, Porsches are usually not primary vehicles. Sellers are far more willing to wait to get their price, rather than accept a lower price to move on. In my experience, a Porsche is worth what two people agree it is worth. It is that simple. Don't give up. Your car is out there. The question you need to ask yourself is this: Is $1,000 one way or another enough to kill the deal for a car you really like?

I've got an offer pending PPI on a '99 with 78k miles for 18,300. PPI gets done tomorrow, eagerly awaiting results. The last one I looked at was a '99 with 42k miles, seller wanted 23k, but had either RMS/IMS issue (leaking at crankshaft), as well as a few other issues, totaling about $3500 worth of work needed. Seller came down $1500k, but I felt for that price I didn't want to be buying car with known issues, and still having to pay some of the repair, so I walked. It was a pretty stock 996. Not sure if any of that is useful in your situation, but you asked for it

$28.5 including a 36 mth-36k warranty. In my market was easily $3k less than most I looked at. Good PPI but not much service history. Looked for 8 months and test drove lots of cars. When you know... You know.

Car i was looking at had 58k miles.. Had the rms, ims, clutch, aos done as well as stuff for 60k service...

Had an oil leak in AOS but only found a prob in lower hose. 47k miles when I got the car. Would have liked it for $23k but it's not going to happen out here. Still a great car for the price. Don't get so caught up in saving a few bucks. I bought a super car for under $30k and have never looked back.

Bought mine a month ago. 2002 C4S with 67K (40K on the engine. IMS failure on first engine). Sport Exhaust, Tech(?) package, and a few other options. Impeccable service records. I mean every little thing ever done to the car was there (52 pages) The car was EXACTLY what I wanted, right down to black gauges. Asking was $35K, we settled on $32500. I was happy, he was happy. These threads are always the same. You'll be told wait it out, it's too much, it's fair, it's this, it's that..... You/ve done some research, I assume. You have a budget. You know what you're looking for. Go find it and buy the car and don't worry what anyone tells you. The reality is you can never totally protect yourself, and there will always be a "better" deal at some point down the road. I suggest after you buy to stop looking

I bought mine yesterday (separate post, soon), and I paid $24k. I probably paid slightly higher than I could have found, eventually. I bought a 99 cabriolet. It was exactly the color I wanted, and the options I wanted. I can do service to the car, but I cannot add factory options. It has hard top, full leather, factory nav, all history/receipts, clean PPI with no over-revs. I'm happy, I think the seller is happy. I've got the entire work history on the car, and a super-clean PPI. There were a couple of others I looked at with more miles, some dipping below $20k. I paid a premium to get what I wanted, locally, in a clean car. Good luck!

Thanks guys for all your input. Ok I must have under valued the prices a bit. I was hoping to try and steal one, I mean get a good deal.

My advice is don't take every forum post about value too seriously ('hell that's turbo territory' sound familiar?) No matter what there will be someone saying you paid too much. When I was hunting several months ago every single decent example I came across was just at or over the high end of those Excellence Magazine ranges.

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A year ago I bought a 99 C2 Cab with about $8000 of factory options on it ie:- 18 wheels, alloy stick, 3 spoke steering wheel etc and god knows what else plus a 45000 mile and 3 year extended warranty. The car had 45000 on it then all for the same price $28,500.. Maybe a little high for a 99 job but God did I cop for a great little car. If you like what you see, have done your homework, and it's what you want then get it.

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Well said, Although there are levels of work put into the car also that affects its desirability.

I just got (two months back) my 2001 C4 with 32K. Paid $26K after a perfect PPI. I waited to discuss offering price until after the PPI was completed. It had all the options that I required and a robust service history. I am going to echo what Gonzo911 said. When you know, you know.

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You clearly lowballed him. You can't just lowball people so drastically... 2 thousand ya, why not, try him... but not that much especially if the car is in tip top shape. You negotiate a bit when it's in pristine shape, and you negotiate a lot if the car is not...