Which would you choose (997)?

[RiccardoG]

Hi there,

I am looking at early 997s (2004 C2 3.6) and have found two nearly identical cars in colour, spec and asking price.

Car 1: On sale at good independent dealer, 47k miles, comes with dealer's own warranty and backup, had engine rebuild (crankase and cylinders 4 and 6) done under warranty at OPC last year.

Car 2: On sale at OPC, 70k miles, comes with OPC 2 year warranty.

I have seen and driven Car 1, came away very impressed with both the car and the dealer. Have not seen Car 2 as its quite a drive from my home.

This is for a weekend car which I hope to keep for quite some time (5 years?), doing roughly 5k miles per year.

Assuming that the spec is nearly identical (Car 2 has a couple more bits which I like, such as full leather, PASM and 19" wheels, but none are deal breakers for me), which one would you go for?

Of course, the third option would be "neither, spend a few more grand and wait for a good C2S".

[g7jhp]

Is the engine on car 1 covered by the OPC who did the work?

[Diesel130]

Presumably both these are under £24K or it doesn't sound a good deal for either?

Edited by Diesel130 on Monday 12th December 15:04

[STiG911]

Right then,
Car 1 - Assuming you trust the independant and their warranty scheme, this could be a good buy - however - any work done on the engine should be covered by the OPC network for two years unless the dealer has purchased the car, voiding the warranty on the engine. He may have it on sale-or-return to keep the warranty intact.

Car 2 - This would be the better buy from a spec and OPC warranty point of view, assuming you're comfortable with the higher mileage. A lot of people get twitchy about any type of high-mileage car, but its still way below 'average' mileage (like there's actually such a thing anymore) and as you'd not be putting many miles on whichever car you buy, you shouldn't expect to lose too much value overall.

I'm biased here, and I'd say go for the higher mileage OPC car for complete peace of mind, but you have driven Car 1 so may feel better about the 'in the metal' experience?
Do you have any links so 'we' can have a proper nose?

[Diesel130]

Diesel130 said:

Presumably both these are under £24K or it doesn't sound a good deal for either?

Correction.. think I found the OPC one...

Porsche Centre Bolton said:

Porsche 911 Carrera Coupé, £ 25,843
With 2 years of Porsche Approved Warranty

Car data
Displacement: 3,600 cc
Power Output: 320 bhp
Drivetrain: 2-WD
Transmission: Manual
Fuel: Petrol
Colour: Seal Grey Metallic
Location of the car: Porsche Centre Bolton
Vehicle Ident Number: WP0ZZZ99Z5S702024
Colour (interior): Leather interior in Black
Mileage: 70,183 m
Registration Year: 11/04
Price: £ 25,843

Equipment
19 inch Carrera S wheel
Automatically dimming interior and exterior mirrors with integrated rain sensor
Bi-Xenon lighting system
CDC-4 six disc CD autochanger
Heated seats
Manual gearbox
Navigation module for PCM
ParkAssist (parking aid rear)

Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM)
Rear wiper
Sport Chrono Package Plus
Telephone module
Three-spoke multi-function steering wheel in smooth leather (only with PCM)
Wheel centre set
Windscreen with grey top tint

In which case, the spec is rather good for a C2, (with PASM, NAV & SC) so with the benefit of the warranty (which is worth £2K), I'd go for that one. With your mileage, you can renew the warranty again in 2013 for another year, and then sell it in 5 years' time for around £10-£12K. With any luck, the engine will have issues under warranty and you'll get a new engine

Edited by Diesel130 on Monday 12th December 15:14

[RiccardoG]

Thanks for the replies.

I don't think Car 1 would come with warranty on the engine work as its been sold by the dealer (not SoR). This is the car:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3438813.htm

Yes, Car 2 is the one highlighted above. As you say, spec is great (therefore I assume it was a demonstrator at first), but miles do put me off. Look at high mileage (100k+) 996s, worth sub £10k now and difficult to shift even then.

[Diesel130]

RiccardoG said:

Thanks for the replies.
...

Yes, Car 2 is the one highlighted above. As you say, spec is great (therefore I assume it was a demonstrator at first), but miles do put me off. Look at high mileage (100k+) 996s, worth sub £10k now and difficult to shift even then.

Definately the OPC one with warranty if I were in your position - as you have insurance against the greatest expense of engine problems. My 2000 model 996-C2 was similar price 5 years ago and now worth around £10-12K. Whether you buy a 47K mile car or a 70K mile car, in 5 year's time, it'll be a 72K or 95K car that's 12 year's old - I don't think the mileage would make a huge difference to the resale price... maybe £2K tops in 2016...

[RiccardoG]

Actually, just called the OPC and they have sold the car now, so topic may as well be closed.

Apparently it didn't have much interest at £27k but since they put the price down (I can confirm I have seen the reduction going on) they had quite a few calls.

[RiccardoG]

Diesel130 said:

Definately the OPC one with warranty if I were in your position - as you have insurance against the greatest expense of engine problems. My 2000 model 996-C2 was similar price 5 years ago and now worth around £10-12K. Whether you buy a 47K mile car or a 70K mile car, in 5 year's time, it'll be a 72K or 95K car that's 12 year's old - I don't think the mileage would make a huge difference to the resale price... maybe £2K tops in 2016...

Good points on the resale and also thanks for giving a 'real life example'.

[T2R31]

There are some other options out there at the moment that could be worth a look too.

Have a look at Christopher Neil's stock....to start with!

C2S models can also be had from OPCs for <£30k now too.....you don't have to push too hard to get 5 - 10% discounts.

I've been looking too for a few weeks now, looks like I've been sucked into my overdraft care of a Spyder though!

[RiccardoG]

T2R31 said:

There are some other options out there at the moment that could be worth a look too.

Have a look at Christopher Neil's stock....to start with!

C2S models can also be had from OPCs for <£30k now too.....you don't have to push too hard to get 5 - 10% discounts.

I've been looking too for a few weeks now, looks like I've been sucked into my overdraft care of a Spyder though!

I have seen the Christopher Neil cars but had been ignoring them as thought they were just a general dealer / broker. If you (or anyone else for that matter) have good feedback on the cars and their preparation as well as their backing then it would be good news as I can add another source of cars. At the moment its limited to OPCs, Dove House, JZ Mach and 911V...

Nice one on the Spyder

[Actus Reus]

Have you looked at RSJ's stock? They're generally well thought of on here I'd say (with the odd dissenting voice).

[RiccardoG]

Actus Reus said:

Have you looked at RSJ's stock? They're generally well thought of on here I'd say (with the odd dissenting voice).

Yes, but they start at £32k (for a nice C2S in a colour I like) which is a bit more than I am willing to spend at the moment. At that price range I would likely want to stick to OPC.

The good thing is that I am in no rush to buy a car, the bad thing is that the search is killing me (so much time).

[scarebus]

RiccardoG said:

Hi there,

I am looking at early 997s (2004 C2 3.6) and have found two nearly identical cars in colour, spec and asking price.

Car 1: On sale at good independent dealer, 47k miles, comes with dealer's own warranty and backup, had engine rebuild (crankase and cylinders 4 and 6) done under warranty at OPC last year.

C

Can I just confirm that OPC did an engine rebuild and did not replace the whole engine?

[Nano2nd]

do u need finance your budget just about gets u into a private C2S with OPC warranty

[RiccardoG]

I can confirm that the OPC did a rebuild. Apparently this is what they are doing in many cases, could be specific to the older cars.

Unfortunately yes, will be probably financing this one as I have some additional expenses nex year which means I will need to keep some cash to hand. First time I ever finance a car and still not 100% sure I want to go this route.

[davey68]

Mark Pearce at stirlings specialist cars (porsche) has some lovely cars but he tends to only stock low miles examples. His cars are always very well prepped and are 111 inspected at OPC with any issues sorted before sale. He is a top bloke and might be worth having a chat with.