Looking at 2003 Porsche Targa and need input

I have been looking for a Cayman or Cayman S for a long time. I ran across a 2003 Targa with 62,000 miles on it a few hours from where I live. First question is an 11 year old Porsche a mistake if I plan on tracking and auto crossing the car? My current weekend / track car (limited) is a 2012 MINI JCW and I have grown very tired of MINIs and the FWD nature. I find my self driving my 2004 BMW more than the supposed fun weekend car... Second any advice on buying an 11 year old porsche that I can't readily go look at?

I don't think that buying a used 911 is a bad thing. However, you really need to get a solid PPI, understand the maintenance and history of the car, and drive the car. I wouldn't buy one without any of these things. On another note, the Targa isn't the best choice for track use. You'd be better off with a Carrera variant. The targa isn't as structurally rigid as the Carrera and it's heavier on top due to the huge glass roof.

Good point on the Targa and weight up top... A good track performer is part of the criteria but a greater percentage of the time will be spent just enjoying the car on the weekends on country roads.

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Hopefully, someone here is local to the car and can give it a quick once over. And as Dennis C suggested , have a good PPI done by a trusted shop (indy or dealer) to give you an "educated decision" to buy this car or not. Best of luck.

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Highly agree with this.. The weight up top raises the center of gravity = not best for tracking... That being said, if it's going to be a DD or a weekend car and only track from time to time and a solid PPI checks out, why not? After a clean PPI it all boils down to how you feel the car.. make a mistake or two concerning 911 variants! That's what fuels dreams for future purchases!! as everyone says, ask me how I know.. :thumb up: good luck and have fun! M

If track performance is a significant factor, the Cayman S would be tough to beat. What is the most enticing thing to you about the Targa?

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I like the style of the coupe but the open air of the targa. I have never liked the cabriolet. My dad has a 1999 cabriolet but I just have never been a fan of convertibles. Coupes look great.

Any advice on how to setup a PPI? Do we come to an agreement on price first and then make it contengent on good inspection? The car is near St Louis.

Yeah, that's a cool thing about the Targa. No offense to the cabriolet owners, but I feel the same way about the lines of the cabs. But, the sunroof on the coupes just isn't real well conceived - too much wind noise and an odd, irritating wind noise at that. Targa would be a good solution. Plus, they are pretty rare and unique. If ultimate track performance is only moderately or less important to you, get the Targa. Lack of depreciation will be a nice little bonus over the Cayman as I think the 996 depreciation curve has pretty much hit bottom. In other words, if you buy the Targa and later are lusting after the Cayman, you'll be able to get most if not all of the purchase price back on the Targa, assuming you don't overpay for it.

I don't do a PPI until I come to an agreement on price. Then ask here for a PPI recommendation - use an indy, not a dealer for the PPI. If the seller has been upfront about what's wrong with the car (and there is ALWAYS something wrong with a 10+ year old car), then the PPI should just be confirming the car is as described with no indications of an imminent major component failure (note that a PPI is still no guarantee). If so, no need to haggle price further (if the PPI does show the car to be not as advertised, then you can't trust the seller and you should walk before you wire the seller a bunch of money). Then, agree on delivery method (fly out - drive home is my favorite if I have time). If I'm buying a car for more than $10k, I just wire the money. The seller sends the title as soon as he gets the $$ (unless you're picking it up quickly). Then either you or your shipper arrive to get the car. Also, before sending the$$, I do some internet snooping on the seller and have at least 4 phone or e-mail conversations with him. If the little red flags are going off in the back of your mind telling you that something is wrong, don't send the $$.

To clarify, set the price first based upon seller's description of condition and what should be at least 20 photos e-mailed to you by the seller. The PPI is to confirm condition, not set price. You can't go to trouble and expense of a PPI unless you are confident that you can get the car at a price you are willing to pay. If the PPI shows the seller misrepresented the condition of the car, then you don't want to do business with that seller.

Yeah, the Targa is a few pounds heavier. Take out the spare and you're back even with a Carerra. But, don't pass on it for performance reasons. Are you planning to compete? Where fractions of a second per lap matter? No. The bigger question is, are you looking for an eleven year old car. If so, it's hard to beat a 996 Targa.

Don't get me wrong... I love the targa. I think that they are great vehicles and that they are fine for occasional DE events or autocross. However, for anything more than that, I'd probably get coupe. A sunroof delete coupe would be even better. As kcattorney said, a Cayman S would be fantastic on the track.

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Thats my main concern. From my experience they seem very reliable and I am not to concerned about age. However I am slightly concerned about pushing an 11 year old car to the limit and how safe it is. Being competive in my local region autocross competitions is important. I have been very successful in my MINI jcw and curious how I would fair moving up to porsche. I also want to do several HPDEs a great with it, but not timed events... My father says I should look at the 997 instead for maintaining value...

Have to disagree with your dad on depreciation. 996's are pretty much at the bottom of their depreciation curve - they may not appreciate in value for a long time, but they won't drop much in value. 997's are still taking a pretty big depreciation hit. This is not a comment on the overall worthiness of the car - it's just a factor of the age of the car.

As said above, try to find a Porsche indy shop near the car. What I did was negotiate a price, then told seller: "OK, I will buy it if the PPI checks out OK". I had the seller take the car to the indy shop, and had the indy send me his findings and I discussed the car on the phone with the indy guy before buying it. I like the 997's better than the 996's, but the changes are not huge between the two, and the 996 can't be beat for value (depending on how you define value).

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None taken Living in sunny Southern California...almost "sinful" not to have one....plus having the hardtop nearby gives me the option to drive a "coupe' in a jiffy

I never liked Targa's. That being said I own a 2002 Targa. Love it. The older generation Targa's with the removable panel I thought ruined the 911's lines. Ditto for the cabriolets. The Targa's however since the 993 have had the retracting glass panel that gives you the profile of a coupe but lets in a lot more light and air then you'd get with just a sunroof. As stated previously, get a PPI done first.

I happen to own a 11 year old Targa that I purchased 7 years ago. One of the best things about a Targa is that less than 3% of 996 production were Targas. I like driving to a Porsche gathering and having the only 996 Targa. My son and I were at the Spring RMR Autocross on May 18th in Colorado and he came in 13th out of 56 entries in my car! those faster were either mid engine Porsche or cars set up for competition. You can see results on RMR.PCA.Org website. John '03 Targa

I am going to make arrangements to meet the guy in person and take a look at the car. He is located 2 hours 45 minutes from me. Any tips on how to find an independent shop to look the car over for me?

What is the asking price? I just bought a '03 Targa with 63K miles?

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What did you pay for your 03? I bought my 2002 Targa 13 months ago with 62k miles and paid $27,500.

I also have 996 targa - drives just fine at autocross and track - if you are trying to set fastest lap times - get a GT3 ! (or Cayman). Agree on comments about ideal tradeoff between coupe and cab - that's why I got it. From a reliability point of view - at 60K miles - you are probably close to doing water pump (if not already done) - I also had RMS leak that got worse and did IMS at same time. Other than this minor stuff - like window regulator. From safety view point - tires and brakes are your first thing to look at (same as on any car) and change brake fluid to high boiling point version. Unless you have rust issue - suspension is pretty solid on these - you might eventually need to replace bushings - but not really a safety issue. Have PPI remove oil filter and check for debris. Also read out ECU for over revs (which will give you some idea of if car was abused)

This guys is asking 28k for his 2003 with 62,000 miles. But he says he is willing to negotiate. Its been for sale for a while.

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he should probably be around $26k if everything checks out, average amount of options. Don't know if they did PSE on Targas, but that would be my first choice of any option. Below $26k you are getting the deal... 2002 Turbo - Basalt Black Metallic / 2003 Carrera 4S - Speed Yellow / 1955 356 Continental 1500 - Rust Red

I paid 27K I had that Porsche dealership do the RMS and IMB for additional 2.4K

Yeah 25-26 sounds about right if good condition paint etc.