I'm caught between a 2001 Carrera tiptronic with 56K miles(dealer) and 1999 Carrera manual with 53K miles(private party).The 2001 is priced $1.5K below KBB value, while the 1999 is priced at it KBB value. I visually inspected and test drive both and everytime looks fine. I'll get a PPI after I choose with one to buy.

Which one do you guys think is worth buying?


Please help!!!

 

Generally, I prefer buying from a dealer. Both are good cars. It mostly boils down to whether you like the Tiptronic or manual shift, really.

 

Thanks for your reply Lee. For me I prefer to buy the car to the dealer myself, but this dealer is not the big dealership that sells high end cars.
It's one of those small dealer on the side of the street. They offer warranty but only for 1000 miles or a month and they pay only half the price of the repair expenses. They don't have the service records of the car too. Both are due for the 60K miles service, but the 1999 Carrera
is cheaper by $2.5k, so I can use that for the 60K miles service and if the clutch is bad I can replace it too.

I don't mind if it's tiptronic or manual, my only concern is their reliability. Is the tiptronic much expensive to repair since there's electronic involved? How many miles( on a normal use) does the tiptronic last?

Thanks

 

To be frank, if you even care about the $2.5K difference -- if that amount of money is any real concern to you, then I really recommend that you can't afford to comfortably own either of them. A 996 can eat $2500 in service and repair costs in the blink of an eye. A major unexpected repair could cost two or three times that, easily.

 

Just to let you know, after the advised of a Porsche mechanic, I decided not to buy any of the said cars. Now I'm looking for a Carrera that is 2002 or newer.

And trying to get good deals as much as you can doesn't mean you are short of budget or can't afford to buy one

 

Yep, always helps to get the best deal possible, but there is always someone on this forum headed for trouble: buying an old Porsche and not realizing they are pretty demanding on their maintenance. Then when things go wrong, they moan about the high repair costs.

The fundamental rule is: "Don't buy a car used that you could not comfortably afford new."

 

What does this mean? If I could afford a new one then that's what I would buy??

 

"If I could afford a new one then that's what I would buy," basically means you would spend everything you have, and can, on a car.

The fact that that a person can afford $90K for a new Carrera does not mean that they necessarily will spend that much on one. Many people who can still decide that spending only $40K on a used one instead is more senseable, and those people generally can afford the upkeep on what is basically a $90K car, and thus they don't stay up nights worriying about the cost of unexpected repair bills that always come along, eventually, with an older Porsche.

But persons who can afford only a $40K car and buy an older Carrera, particularly those who finance the car, are skating on thin ice, and many times on this forum I've seen postings from them complaining about the quality of the car, or the "rip-off prices" of repairs, etc.

I follow this myself. I bought a new Aston Martin Vantage, around $140 drive out, a couple of years ago, and I could afford that. For the same money, I could have picked up a beautiful three-year old Bentley Continental GT (552 HP quad 12 cylinder, 200 mph, 2 months of warranty left, and about $232K drive out when new): it was right there at the dealer the day I went shopping. It is by any standard a "better" car than my AM. But I could not really have comforatable afforded that car new, and when I asked about some maintenance costs ($65K engine replacement, $24K transmission/differential replacement) I realized it was out of my league. Buying the Aston was the right thing to do.

Buying more used car that you can afford to maintain, or not be able to walk away from cold if you have to, is a good way to add unneeded stress to your life. Many people, particularly when young, do it anyway.

 

I see what your saying. I guess I just don't think that way. I bought a 1996 911 Turbo, which I love and have always wanted. A new one would cost me $140k. I sure hope that I'm not looking at $80k in maintenance costs on the 1996! You must also look at the 30% the new car will depreciate once you drive it off the lot. That's another item that makes it more difficult monetarily to buy the new car. I have a couple of airplanes, and like you are describing, the purchase price of an airplane is just the right to own it. It is the maintenance that costs money. Even though they hold their value and generally sell for what you paid or more, the cost of ownership is much more than the purchase price over time. I hope that is not the case with the 911...the 944 Turbo has been reasonable to own..maintenance is less than the payment on a Honda Civic

 

I once heard someone say, "You do not own an airplane or a boat. They own you." I expect you will have some real expenses on the 996 turbo - you have to remove the rear valence to change the lugs, etc./I have a friend that spend $11K to have a rear engine seal replaced or something, but it sounds like you can afford it. It also sounds like you aren't depending on this for your daily transportation so if it is laid up waiting for parts for a week, it won't ruin your life. That is the only way to really "afford" a car like that -- they are fun to enjoy if you can enjoy but do not have to depend on them, and if you don't worry about the cost. No car is worth all that.