Paralysis by Analysis - A(nother?) Car 1 vs. Car 2 Thread

Hello, fellow Rennlisters. This is my first post here, as I am not yet, but hope to be soon, a 996 owner. I am looking at two Carreras, and Iwould like the input of those far more knowledgeable than I. Car 1: Price: $20,000 Miles: 90,xxx Owners: 1 IMS Status: unknown Car 2: Price: $23,500 Miles: 70,xxx Owners: 5 IMS Status: done (but it's not known when it was done and whether the clutch and RMS were done at the same time). Although both cars show clean CarFaxes, the CarFax for the higher-mileage, one-owner car shows a consistent maintenance history with Porsche dealers. The CarFax for the lower-mileage, 5-owner car shows a few maintenance trips here and there, but it is far from detailed or consistent. Car 1 has been in Ohio its entire life; Car 2 started in Florida, went to Illinois, and ended up in Ohio. My general understanding is that to get the IMS, RMS, and clutch done will be in the neighborhood of $2,500, which then makes Car 1 ~$1,000 less than Car 2. For that $1,000 savings I get a well-documented but higher-mileage car. So on the one hand I get a nice, single-owner car. But on the other I get a car where the IMS has already been done and I'm saving myself 20k miles, which isn't insignificant. And so back-and-forth I go.... So I ask the hive mind - would you go with Car 1 or Car 2? I know which way I'm leaning, but I'd love everyone's input. And yes - no matter which one I decide to go with a PPI will be done. Thanks!

Pictures or a link to the cars would help. Interior and exterior colors play a part in my decision making too. #1 would be my choice if the car was well cared for.

Based solely on the ownership and maintenance history, car #1 by a long shot...

Assuming all else is equal (color, condition, options), I'd also choose #1. However, rarely is all else equal. Drive them both, if you haven't already, and see if one "speaks" to you more than the other.

All other things being equal (which is probably not the case), Car #1.

I would take a one owner car with Porsche maintenance history over a 5 owner car with dubious maintenance history. The mileage at this point means nothing.

there's no shortage of 996s available, take your time, drive them all. look at prior results on bringatrailer.com etc. good luck

#1 for sure

Apple to apples...car 1

What year? If car 1 has dual row bearing and lived this long, buy it and don't replace it.

I agree, car 1 seems the safer/better maintained choice. No documentation on the IMS being done, is about the same as assuming the IMS was never done and budgeting for it.

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Both are 2002, so single row. I purposely left out colors, as I see that as purely a subjective choice. But one is seal grey with a stone/white interior; and one is blue with a grey interior. I'm hopefully going to look at them tomorrow. I agree that generally speaking all else is not equal, but for all intents and purposes I wanted to pose the question as if everything else is equal. Thanks, everyone, for confirming what I already felt - that Car 1 is the one to go with (based solely on the criteria I laid out; it may be different once I see them in person).

I've never seen a white interior on a 996 nor am I aware of it being offered originally. Can you post a picture?

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Unfortunately no pictures. The seller advised me that the car has the custom "leather interior to sample" option.

If car #1 is blue, I would greatly prefer it to 2. Any other notable options? Full leather, painted console, 3 or 4 spoke steering wheel? If car #1 is grey, I might still prefer it. Either way, I would not play games on a single row IMS bearing. Replace it.

On a semi-related note, and as I'm going to try to get Car 1, is there any concern as to the low mileage relatively speaking? It's a 17-year-old car with 90,000, so it's only been driven around 5,300 miles/year.

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For Car 1 , "1 owner" and "IMS status unknown" do not seem to correlate (one owner should know). I'm guessing that one-owner car is now being sold by a dealer (who seem to universally dump all service records when they sell cars). For Car 2 : "IMS done, but not sure when it was done" doesn't seem like useful information at all. Either there is a receipt (or at least the name of the shop) so you know (or can find out) the date/mileage when it was changed -- or else you don't really know anything. If the seller is saying it was done, but doesn't have any information to support that, then I would treat that the same as car #1 (the seller may not be lying, but he is passing along hearsay from a prior owner, so you have no way of knowing whether it was actually done or how recently). Dealer maintenance history is a big advantage of car #1. Not all shops report to CarFax, so maintenance history for car #2 may not necessarily be bad, but you don't know. Options-wise : Full leather and 3-spoke steering are important options in terms of interior quality. 2wd/4wd, Tip/6-speed, Coupe/Cab, 17"/18"/19" wheels are important for the decision as well.

So now I've talked myself out of everything, which probably means I'm just not ready for 911 ownership yet . . . at least not one with an M96 or M97 engine.

You're always better off walking away than dealing with buyers remorse...

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Glad we could help I think car #1 should be looked at closely as it could be a good one. One owner P cars are usually well taken cared of.

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Or maybe it sat neglected by that one owner in a field somewhere. Who knows? My two cents is to have a thorough PPI done on the one you want.