993 Targa, Manual, How Much?

[glenn911C4S]

How much do I need to pay for a decent manual 993 Targa privately with under 50,000 miles?

[A993LAD]

My mate sold his 993 targa last month for £29k. It was silver, with blue leather, 45k miles.

He advertised it on PH, had loads of calls, and sold it in less than a week to the first guy who saw it. So it looks like they are pretty sought after.

I'm not sure why they are so popular though. The coupe looks better, and doesn't have the complicated electric roof gubbins, which is notorious for developing faults.

Supply and demand I guess. There aren't that many targas around.

[Lurking Lawyer]

£26-27K and upwards, I'd say.

I bought a Silver/Black 993 Targa with 77K miles last October for £25K. After looking around for an age, I noticed that manuals seemed to command a bit of a premium since so many Targas had originally been specced as Tiptronic and so there weren't many manuals coming up for sale.

(That said, since I bought mine, I've seen a few manuals come and go in the PH classifieds, so maybe I was just unlucky in my timing when I was looking....)

[Lurking Lawyer]

A993LAD said:

I'm not sure why they are so popular though. The coupe looks better, and doesn't have the complicated electric roof gubbins, which is notorious for developing faults.

For me, it was a compromise. My last three cars had all been soft tops and I wanted to retain at least a vestige of the wind-in-your-hair experience. The 993 cab looks awful IMO - like someone has taken a tin-opener to the coupe and plonked on a canvas roof as an afterthought - so the Targa was something of a halfway house.

I don't deny though that the coupe has cleaner lines and is aesthetically the more pleasing of the two.

Edited by Lurking Lawyer on Friday 7th September 16:40

[kent993]

I suspect that, virtually by definition, someone who buys a Targa is expecting to use it more as a tourer than an out and out sports car, despite the fact that its performance is barely distinguishable from that of a standard C2. As a result, they are probably more likely to specify a Tiptronic box.

I have an immaculate Polar silver 993 Targa Tiptronic S with 42K miles on the clock and would hope to get the better part of £30K for it if I put it up for sale. I'm not sure that I'd agree with LL about their looks - there's very little difference in the shape and, although it uses the same basic chassis as the cabriolet version, the shape of the top brings it back to almost exactly the same shape as the C2. The dark glass roof adds a nice touch to the car IMHO - it's really quite a looker!

[Lurking Lawyer]

kent993 said:

I'm not sure that I'd agree with LL about their looks - there's very little difference in the shape and, although it uses the same basic chassis as the cabriolet version, the shape of the top brings it back to almost exactly the same shape as the C2.

Don't get me wrong - I DO like the looks. I wouldn't have bought one if I hadn't.

The only part that looks cleaner on the Coupe is the lack of seam above the "hips", where the side beams of the Targa roof panels meet the bootline. And I can happily live with that as the only very slight negative to counterbalance the big positives of it being much lighter and airier inside than the Coupe, and the sliding glass roof.

[nine6four]

What's the handling and ride like compared to the coupe? Always thought they looked great and would be a great everyday car but understand that they are based on the cab and the thing that would worry me is that they might be a bit crashy over poor roads and less sharp in the bends? Hope my assumptions are wrong!

[tobster]

I bought a dark blue manual with balck interior with 42k on the clock for 28k just over a year ago.

I spent over a year looking for a manual with black leather , liek one of the guys said manuals are alot rarer than tiptronics.

[hoges11]

Or try a 996,great looking and performing car but there are also not many manuals about.I would think you need to pay £32ish to be sure, or be prepared to wait, maybe a couple of grand less if pvt. I sold mine to an indie a short while ago (bought a TT) and they are asking £33k (and they are a very reasonably priced outfit indeed)

Its on here if you are interested.

http://www.northway.co.uk/car_sales/images/VA02%20...

Edited by hoges11 on Friday 7th September 17:45

Edited by hoges11 on Friday 7th September 17:59

[kent993]

The original question was about 993s, not the 996 Targa, though it's interesting to see some figures for that version.

As for ride and handling, I think you'd have to be tearing the proverbial out of the car before you saw any detectable difference in either the ride or the handling. The weak point is probably the glass roof, in that it's been known to acquire the odd rattle or squeak. I haven't found a problem with it, and as LL says, the benefits of having a roof that opens so wide and that, open or shut, makes the car so light inside add enormously to the quality of the experience.

If I wanted to spend a lot of time tracking a car, I'd probably buy something different, but since I don't want to do that, the Targa works perfectly for me. It would be a great daily driver, too, though I don't have a need for one. It has always started first time, behaves impeccably on the road, is comfortable and even manages to be fairly thrifty (25 mpg) provided I'm not caning it.

The only Porsche I'd be tempted to replace it with is a 993TT, but I don't think my driving licence would survive it!

[ian_uk]

BTW the UK RHD Targa split was 336 Manual and 201 Tiptronic. Probably not what you would expect and would seem too prove the manual ones are the one people hold onto so less on the market. Also of the Varioram 993s the Targa was the most numerous model sold, again probably not what most would expect.