Hi, looking to buy a 996 soon-ish

Hi Guys, I've been wanting a 911 since I was a kid, and for one reason or another (mostly comitments etc and finances) I've never managed to get one. I'm currently looking for another used car, and I have a budget of around £15k although could stretch to 20k for the right car if I made some sacrifices. I didn't think I would be able to pick up a good 911 for this price and that they would be far too expensive to maintain, so have been looking at other cars (such as the 350z). I was suprised to look on autotrader by chance though and to see a lot of 996's within this budget, although a lot tend to be private or from non porsche dealers. I've been reading up a lot about maintenance costs, IMS, RMS etc. and I have read some conflicting information, I'm mot too bothered about regular maintenance in that my current car costs around 250-500 per service, and I've heard a minor 996 is normally 200-300 and a major 500+ from an indipendant specialist. But some of the parts seem to be failry high, although again my current car just for a new radiator fan I was quoted £500 for the part alone! Maintenance costs on my current car given that it is a V6 isn't bad. I commute around 70 miles per day, and I average around 25-30mpg at the moment (mostly steady cruise at 70-80 but some opening it up in between). I'm just wondeing though if it would be feasible for me to purchase a good 996 with warantee for the budget I have? If not then I guess i might look at a porsche again in a few years time, but realistically, I'm looking for my next car to last me at least 3 years, so if I get another car the 911 will be a way off again. I suppose I could always look at a cheaper car for now, or just continue as I am with my current car and save the money. A little confused really, especially given that to get any more than 15k I would need to sell my motorbike and my 15k budget already includes selling my current car. Anyone opinions and advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Steve

Hello Steve, You're obviously doing your homework on the car but I just wanted to point something out to you reference Warranties. With your budget you are probably looking at a 10 year old car or one with high milage or perhaps even both. Porsche don't sell an extended warranty to cars when they reach 10 years old or 100k on the clock (if I have that wrong someone will tell me I'm sure). You can purchase a third party warranty but theres no one out there who will warranty the engine. Maximum we could find when I and others on this forum looked after Porsche announced changes to their warranty policies was maximum of £5k of cover. Just thought I would give you the heads up on that. Good luck with the search and if you find the right car - enjoy!! RB

Thanks for that. I've seen a fair few 996's around for the 15k mark, with around 70k mileage on (looking at a late 90's you are correct). That's a shame about the warantee but understandable I would say - I'm not sure if I trust third party warantees though? Should I be overly concerned looking at this price range or is this the 'bottom of the barrell' so to speak? I don't want to buy cheap and pay dear in the long run. Cheers,

Steve go for it! I like you and many others waited most of my life to sit in my dream car. I purchased mine a y2000 C2 18 months ago. I paid £22500 and don't regret it for a second. All cars can have problems and most can be expensive that's why you need to take your time and pick the right one. Mine had 5 months warranty to go and i renewed it with Porsche. To be honest i didn't get anywere near my monies worth and every time i thought something was wrong i just worried if it was covered and if it wasn't, how much Porsche was going to relieve me of just to tell me what was wrong, if you get my drift. I reckon mine is now worth about £18k not that I would sell. It's just crept over the 70k miles and in mint condition. Try and buy a known car from on here, I bought mine from Jamie Fuller from the forum who went on to buy a 993. Don't put it off, but take your time and ask for help. Cheers and good luck.

Thanks I'm really tempted to go for it, I just don't want to end up with a bad one that rubishes the experience. The price I pay for the car will be the maximum I can afford, so if anything goes wrong it will take a few months to get the cash to fix it if it is an expensive repair. As I said I've wanted a 911 since before I could drive. My wife knowing it was my dream car gave me a present for my 30th driving a few porsches around thruxton a week ago. The climax was the 997 Turbo which was an awesome car. I've recently been looking for a new car over the past month and I never thought I could own a decent reliable 911 for 15k so didn't even consider it until the other day when I was looking on autotrader for 350's and found myself wandering to look at 911's.. I'm quite modest in that I don't expect to own an 80k porsche, I just love the 996 shape, especially with the aero kit on, and for a quater or less of that price that would suit me down to the ground! My wife is a bit paranoid about costs too, as she has heard a few scare stories from friends (one aparantly has said that a friend paid 20k in maintenance one year on their 996! Not sure if I can believe that?.) I suppose if I had a comfortable margin spare it would not be such a risk, I usually allow enough to buy a car and hold back some for any nasty surprises, so I'm being very cautious with this, but from what I can see it's not really going to cost any more to maintain than my current car? Thanks,

Oh yes and it would possibly mean selling my Daytona, which I love to bits. But I'm only a summer rider, so in reality with our weather, I only go out on it a couple of times a month! Still it's another sacrifice going from a nice equiped family sized car and a bike as my toy, to a sports car instead of them both Edit heres a few I've found at the lower end of the price bracket: Nice and simple: http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/PORSCHE+911/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-62-89-240-4294966995-4294967131/advert.action?R=200838319131712&distance=71&postcode=sn3+4pd&channel=CARS&make=PORSCHE&model=911&min_pr=10000&max_pr=&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=1998&vehicleRegLetter=S My ideal looking one although not sure on the colour: http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/PORSCHE+911/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-62-89-240-4294966995-4294967131/advert.action?R=200924335857587&distance=52&postcode=sn3+4pd&channel=CARS&make=PORSCHE&model=911&min_pr=10000&max_pr=&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=1998&vehicleRegLetter=R This one is perfect but the mileage is a little too high I think? http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/PORSCHE+911/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-62-89-240-4294966995-4294967131/advert.action?R=200929337989435&distance=73&postcode=sn3+4pd&channel=CARS&make=PORSCHE&model=911&min_pr=10000&max_pr=&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=&vehicleRegLetter=

Hi Steve, I took the plunge today and bought a 2001 996 carrera, cost me 25k. I like you have wanted one of these cars for years, i just got tired of being sensible [ ] Take the plunge, just take your time to check out the history of each car. Have a read of the 911 virgins website. There is some good advice on there. Good luck!

Steve half the fun is finding the right car, that's what i was told anyway. It's not true but it is important to take your time! I've had mine 18 months and i still can't believe it! I turn to my business partner most days and say "it's mine that you know" in a Geffrey Boycott accent! i'm from Leeds. Look on here and 911uk and try and buy from a member. With your budget i would only buy private you will get a better car. Mine's not for sale but i'd get about £18k in todays prices and it's a stonker. A must: Full history, loads of bills,Full history, loads of bills,Full history, loads of bills,Full history, loads of bills,Full history, loads of bills, I'll ask the people in the no up north, see if anyone is thinking of selling. Good luck fella

Hi Steve I was going to buy a 996 recently (unfortunately spent the money on a boat instead!!!!) I drove a really nice 996 at Tech 9 in Liverpool. Ask for Phil (tell him Lee sent you) http://www.tech9.ms/index2.html It is a 996 C2 99 on an S Plate. 72,000 miles, Lapis blue with Metrople blue hard backed sports seats. Has 18" OEM hollow spoke turbo alloys. Cruise control, I think it may have had leather to dash top too. They had just painted the front PU to get rid of stone chips, rest of paint immaculate. They had also replaced aircon rads and regas, new lamba sensor, coil packs, MAF and FULL service. Everyhting that needed doing was done. It drove Really nicely and is well worth a look. I get my 944 Turbo serviced here and the guys are really meticulous. A lovely car that I may wish I had bought one day. Now I have bought a boat we are going to have a rubbish summer[ ] Cheers Lee Oh I think it is up for around £15 ish

Have a look on www.pistonheads.co.uk

In reply to Harrison, can i ask what you got for 25k please as i am thinking of selling my 2001 996 and have not been offered anywhere near that in part ex even though the car is in really good condition with a host of extras and low mileage for the year, I'd really just like to get an idea of what 25k bought if possible to make my expectations realistic thanks JULIE