38k for a dented C4s, is this a good deal or is the car worthless?

What do u guys think of this offer. There is a dent at the back side of the car but there must be other things wrong with it. 37k seems a little odd. http://dealers.idealer1.com/base/det...116l1155532690

I would stay away.

That's a lot of miles! Love the exterior colour, but I don't think it matches well with the tan/black interior.

hood doesn't look like it fits quite right

it says in the ad: the car wraps itself around you........yes and it also was wrapped around something else!!

I had that interior color for a while. One day you will wake up and want to buy some grey Rustoleum paint and after masking the inside of the windows, go to town. The dent and exterior colors are fine. At that price you could slowly morph the car into what you want. Make sure the leakdown is good and have some fun with it. That car could be a great DE track beast! That price is insane! Steve

Forget the dent, that thing has more miles than any 2002 in the history of P-cars!! What, did they drive it to Africa and back?

Good point, the mileage is crazy for a 02. But dont these engines last for much longer. Does it matter if the miles are racked up so quickly?

Hey, I believe in buying a car with lower miles. If this car was 15 years old with this many miles, in cherry cond and all service records, it would be a diff. story. WAY too many miles on such a young car, IMO.

that car is overpriced.

he hopefully had popped the trunk for the hood to look the way it does...if thats the case i'd buy it. the rear dent is no big deal IMO. see if you can talk it down to 35000 total.

I don't know how many posts I have read on this form where guys say " These cars weren't made to be garage queens. Drive them !" or " Drive it like you stole it !" or even " I wouldn't buy a car with really low miles because it has not been driven enough ." As a group, we really have gotten spoiled by the multitude of low mineage Porsches available on the market. The 69,118 miles MAY not be as bad as they sound. If the car was put into service exactly 4 years ago, the guy averaged 17,280 miles per year. If it was put into service 4.5 years ago he averaged 15,380 miles per year. It could be that the car was put into service in September or October of 2001, which makes it almost 5 years old. In that case, the average is 13,823 miles per year. How many miles per year are too many? How many miles are to few per year? I am not saying that Multispin should or should not buy this car. It depends upon what he wants to do with the car. I just find it hilarious that some times we (yes, I am including myself here) talk out of both sides of our mouths, depending on the situation.

I'd say have it thoroughly inspected, and if it checks out good, BUY IT! That mileage is nothing for a top quality European car. Nobody here expects their Pcar to turn junk at that mileage, do they?? It's all about maintenance and tender care by previous owners. A late model car with very low mileage CAN be a piece of junk too, if not well maintained or abused. Check the history, like how many owners, if one owner, see if he was in a profession where he travels a lot, probably highway miles. And see if there are dealer maintenance records, which tell a lot of the car's history. Good Luck!

Great post! I agree. That is whole lot of car for the money. If that was my budget I would get that car over an average 02' C2 with average miles (30K range) in a heart beat! The 996 C4S is one of the sexiest 911's in the history if not THE... If your budget is low-mid 50's and you need the peice of mind then buy a lower mile example. However if your someone in this sub 40 price range and would dream of a C4S every time you drove a C2 this might be just the perfect car for you. Sometimes you have to sacrafice in an area to get what you really want. My 03 X50 for example had 52K miles on it when I bought it. It was 1 owner lease return. The guy that had it was an executive in the N.Cal. It clearly had racked up HWY miles. If you ask anyone who has sat in the car the interior looks brand new and smells new too. The car was VERY clean you would mistake it for a car with miles in the teens. I paid significantly less, personally I feel I stole it. The car was well optioned and stickered for $142K I paid a little less then half of the sticker. There are good deals out there. You just have to be careful and keep your eyes open.

I have to agree. The miles do not scare me at ALL. If it checks out clean and is what you are looking for I would buy it in a heartbeat. My car has 45K miles on it and is as fun to drive today as when I bought it.

I agree that the mileage is not a problem - it means that somebody else has paid for the expensive 60k service, for a start! My '02 went through 60,000 miles last night, and it was also a high-mileage lease return when I got it in May: I've added 9,000 miles of my own since then! The colour: I'm biased, but I love it. My car also has the natural brown interior, and to me it always feels like settling into a favourite old leather jacket. I don't have the pics on this laptop, so please forgive the link to a thread with pics There should be plenty of room for negotiation on that price, so get a PPI and go for it!

With a little knowledge, all of which you can get here and Loren's site, and some time, you can do the vast majority of the 60,000 mile service yourself. Change the oil regularily, don't flog the snots out of the car, and I bet you can get several hundred thousand miles out of one. I intend to, and I am a third of the way there already.

I wouldn't be worried about 60k miles at all. My C4S just hit 50k and looks and drives brand new. I drove a lot of low mileage 996's before buying and mine was in the best condition by far. I would be concerned about the dent. If that dent was easy to fix, I'm sure it would have been done already. I would get a ppi done and check for more accident damage. I would be wary of buying it if it was in an accident. Get an estiamte on what it would cost to repair the dent. I don't like that interior at all. It made be a tough car to sell with that brown interior. If you plan on keeping the car a long time, it probably doesn't make a difference. If you like the car, and the ppi checks out, it could be a steal

I think the miles might indeed be in indication that it is a great car. Think about it. To wrack up that kind of mileage a substantial portion would have to be highway miles. Additionally you know it is a daily driver, and again to wrack up that kind of mileage it would have to be in service pretty much all the time. That means it is not in the shop all the time. I'd offer then 35k, and fix the dent and take that thing every day of the week. Assuming it passes the PPI.

OK, IM gonna concead a bit here. IF you're budget is under 40k AND you want a C4S, this is the only way to go. HAVE IT PPI'd twice. Once by a PDealer, then buy a private PPI company. This car MUST have EVERY record EVER. ALL MAINTENANCE. Make sure, of course, it has a clean title/Carfax. Anything anyone else can think of? I say DO IT! Get 'em down to 35k and STEAL IT!!! [edit] oh and BTW, I LOVE the interior!!!

I agree the mileage is a secondary concern. That many miles means the car was on the road and not in the shop, plus most likely well serviced. If natural brown interior is your thing, then that price is a steal. The dent on the passenger hind-quarter doesn't bother me at all, and there's nothing wrong or ill-fitting with the bonnet -- it's popped open. If the service records are in tact and the PPI checks out, then that has be one of the best C4S bargains around.

If you decide to get a PPI done on the car, you could ask the shop if they have a "Dent Wizard" or "Dent Doc" (a.k.a. paintless dent removal specialist) in the area. Myabe the PPi shop could have one of those sevices check out the dent and give you an estimate.

Exactly, forget about this one!

1) Like the color combo. The black on the "bottom" will hide dirt better with age than a full tan interior 2) Not sure if the trunk is fully shut or not. If it is "shut" then the panel gap is waayy off. If pulled loose in anticipation of taking a pic of the inside of the trunk, then it should be ok 3) In the rear 3/4 view showing the dented fender, it appears the panel gap for the back of the bottom of the passenger door is off a bit. 35K for a C4S is a better deal, IMHO, than for a C2 or Boxster S. If the PPI is good, enjoy!

That hood is in the 'open' position.... The mileage is no biggie at all. The price on the other hand is VERY LOW.

Get a PPI.......Obtain all service records........Offer 35K and if everthing checks out, enjoy this car knowing you got a great deal. IMHO the C4S is THE best looking 996. The mileage is a non-issue if you have the service records. I'd be more concerned with an extremely low mileage car that just sits in the garage.

Next to the turbo, of course.

As long as the carfax is clean and you can find the service history, I would not be too concerned. Most likely the prior owner used it for a long commute like I do. I rack up 20,000 plus a year. I think they run better when you can rack up lots of good miles. I doubt anyone was doing a long stop and go commute in a Porsche. The biggest issue is that when you fix the dent, if they repaint you kill the trade value. But then the mileage has already done that, so why worry about it. Unless there is something major picked up in the PPI, this could be a great buy.

If all checks out and you llike, buy but check it out (PPI) to make sure it's not the porsche from hell! if it were me, and i know it's not, I'd start with a carfax then a compression and leak down test. Then i would on the test drive hit 4k rpm and drop that clutch and oh yeah Don't sweat the small stuff.

I think the Turbo is the best looking 996. However, some people think the lines of the C4S (minus the air intakes) and the red rear reflector make the C4S the best looking 996. I could be persuaded.

MMM, those intakes are SO sexxy! But don't all C4S's have the glass reinforced red reflector?

I'm not a big fan of the reflector... it's so 1980's

,,|,_

Can you work with a local dealer and have them buy it first and certify it? For $1600 and a few scheckles for the dealer you would ahve a warranty till 100k miles

This is a funny post since I just sent this exact car on another: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/296635-your-thoughts-on-2002-pricing.html Has anyone checked this car out? For those from Boston, these guys are in Southie. I'm calling tomorrow to check it out.

I think you will find the lid is popped for the photo session. I am sure it will lock down properly, however that is a minor issue when just looking at the photos. The price is "low" because that dent at the rear is not going to be cheap to fix properly. There are two kinds of repairs. 1/. Fix and sell where the dent would be filled, sanded over and the area painted. Often these kinds of cars are then displayed in lighting which makes picking up the paint shade differences very difficult. 2/. Fix forever which means the dented area is cut out and replaced with a new section. Partial area repairs are approved by Porsche. I believe the price is still too high. If it could be picked up for say 25 to 30 grand and 10 grand is spent repairing it (just based on what we can see in the pictures) professionally, the new owner may have a keeper. The interior is basic, the colour combination a little too much black and not enough tan and the option level low which I suspect apart from the dent, reflects in the price. Colour does matter comes to my mind. In conclusion you cannot get away from the fact that his C4S will always be damaged goods no matter what is done to it and its resale value will always be low. Any money spent on repairs will have to be considered lost and not an investment. Again I would advise anyone looking at this C4S to take a crash repair expert with them. Maybe the person who they would get to repair the damage. Get them to look it over and give an approximate estimate for the repair. Use their expertise to detect other crash damage problems. If you are still interested get a full PPI done, but I would not go over 30 grand and would make an offer of 25 to start with. If the seller will not budge just walk away. Ciao, Adrian. PS: The hardest part of repairing this dent is getting back the shape of the rear panle so it's symetrical and identical from the other side, and getting the paint matched. Body filler often used for such repairs will last about 12 months due to the heat. If the dent is cut to aid pounding it back out before it is filled, shaped and painted will result in rust within 12 to 18 months. This is why what looks like a fairly simple dent will cost so much to repair properly. by the way I already have this T-shirt. A seven year old hit my 964 with a hammer.

Car looks wrecked, hood doesnt line up

Whew, I dunno. The price is low, but the car looks thrashed. If it were me, I'd probably spend the same money on a nicely optioned, lower mile '00 or '01. Has anyone noticed how many C4S's are on the board now? I'm going to have to get a GT3 just to stand out a bit...

Ya, but I may have seen 3 or 4 996 C4S's on the road ever. WEIRD!

Hey if the car checks out legit...i would think as long as the engine is good.. cosmetically u can fix anything...do it up. I live near Boston i might go buy it for a track car at that price.

A few years ago I purchased a super low milage Merceds SL. Over the next year just about every seal and rubber item either leaked, deteriorated or broke. My last P car had 140K on the clock when I sold it. I know the new owner and he just clicked over 200K, no major issues. As stated above, care and service are the things to consider, not miles.