Finally taken the plunge

Hi All, After almost 3 years looking I'm finally about to buy a 911 Targa ! After getting a search wrong on AutoTrader I ended up finding a car that just ticked too many boxes. Has now had an inspection at Porsche Cambridge and after some rectification work including the inevitable RMS it now has the Porsche warranty. Hopefully should pick it up at the end of next week. Cheers Dave

Hi Dave - welcome to 911uk and congrats on buying the most practical 911 of them all 8) ! What's the spec on your car and please post up some pics when you pick her up. Cheers. Maxie

Thanks Maxie, It is: July 2004, 2 owners Midnight Blue/Cream Leather/Black carpet Switchable PSE PCM2 with phone PSM Xenons Small ally pack White dials Auto dipping rear view mirror Rain sensor Rear Wiper Memory seats, embossed with logo BOSE CD Changer 10 spoke 18" wheels Only thing that was missing for me was the Carerra 18" wheels. Something for later I guess. I've attached a very poor photograph !

Wow, that is a very high spec car and 2 year service interval. Looks very nice. Only think I'd check is when was it last serviced and how much brake life is left. Very difficult to source decent Carrera alloys, so budget around £1k to £1.5k (with new tyres). They sometimes appear on eBay (they've come up twice in the last six months) and typically go for about £800. Cheers.

Thanks GD, your opening line was exactly why I ended up going for it. I was particularly after PSE/PCM2/Litronic and I had recently switch my prference from Lapis to Mignight so it seemd like fate. Not so sure about the cream leather, but it certainly lightens up the interior. Its had the 48k mile service at Porsche Cambridge this week as part of the deal I've struck with the seller They are also paying for new rear tyres, rims refurbished (not kerbed, just water under the lacquer), and a small scratch repair. OPC Cambridge seemed like good people from what I learned. Disks are worn but passed the inspection. Will factor in changing these in the next couple of years. We only expect to do about 5k in that period. Cambridge got down to about £1100 inclusive for all disks (initially 1500), but they said not to bother as they just need cleaning out. I'm hoping to part-ex the current wheels with a guy who deals in them. He had a brand new set in, but they were off a 997 (rounded spoke) so I'll keep waiting. Maybe I'll grow to like them !

Wow - that is a spec to die for! With it being registered in Jul 04, I think you may well have the last registered 996 Targa in the country (I've not heard of any other 2004 models of this car). I quite like the cream leather; as you say, it does lift the interior somewhat. Looking forward to seeing it one day. ~ Maxie

congrats, thats a really nice specified car. If you dont mind me asking what is the going rate on the autotrader for an 04 plate 996 Targa? The 996 prices can vary so much

A good looking example and one that you'll cherish no-doubt. Welcome to the wonderful world of 911s. :thumb:

> If you dont mind me asking what is the going rate on the autotrader for an 04 plate 996 Targa? I would say £35k for private sale, £38-40k from an Indy, £40k+ from an OPC. Obviously you need to factor in mileage and history. > Cambridge got down to about £1100 inclusive for all disks (initially 1500), but they said not to bother as they just need cleaning out. I'd be amazed if you needed all discs doing. You'll probably need the front replacing in a years time, but the rears should be ok for a while yet. I got my front disc and pads replaced for £550 at a good Indy, so £1100 seems a reasonably price.

> I'm hoping to part-ex the current wheels with a guy who deals in them. He had a brand new set in, but they were off a 997 (rounded spoke) so I'll keep waiting. Maybe I'll grow to like them ! Your SportDesigns are very nice looking wheels, the only complaints I hear about them is a) they are tricky to get refurbed and b) very difficult to keep clean!!! Certainly SportDesigns do come up for a sale quite frequently and you're right to avoid the 997 5-spoke as the off-set is different. I've tried Jasmine-Porsche for some 5 spokes, but they never have any stock!!

I'd go along with GD on the pricing. This car is slightly up on miles but it has good honest, history and good spec to compensate. I'll be doing very few miles so it will hopefully even out. The guy I took along with me to see the car made the comment "if it was him he'd have a punt". Prices seem to have dropped a lot since I gave up last May (and bought an S2000 - now for sale). A lot of early targas (+ facelisft c2/c4/cabs) are now sub 30k which must make them great value. When I was looking before there was an 04 targa with only 9k miles at just under 40k, but too much for me. The two targas I did go and see in late 2006 (a Seal Grey import, and Dave's Meridian Silver one) were both up for £36k. One I missed at a local specialist was £39k. As always I started with a small minimum'spec' (initially just a facelift 996 - so targa makes this easy), but as you read up about the cars there is 'spec creep'. So for me this meant adding PCM, then PCM2, Litronic, PSE, OPC warranty and finally 2004 model (for 2 year servicing). So I was surprised to find an example that fitted all the above and was (just) within budget. I did considered a GT3, as this will lose less money in the end. Also Turbos appeared below 40k which was also tempting and perhaps where we'll end up in 3/4 years time.