best porsche for 15k

[Smokey Boyer]

Hoofy said:

Wow! Seems a shame to have to sell it after doing all that work.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105273...

I thought it would sell pretty quickly given the work I have completed, but wonder if that level of work is only appreciated by current or previous owners rather than potential new buyers to the Porsche brand. I took the approach when I got the car to make it the best mechanically that I could and expected that it would be difficult to sell a 996 without the IMS bearing sorted and other expected jobs unless I dropped the price to a stupidly low level. It would have been nice if the work I completed had added some value to the car but that does not appear to be how the Porsche used car pricing works.

As a new buyer to the brand, I was horrified to find how meaningless a full dealer service history is. The list of work to be done on a car with almost a full dealer service history and clean bill of health and full service from a specialist was shocking, but I had made the decision to get it all sorted as the car felt like a keeper at the time.

I am wondering if that was the right decision now and whether I would have been better off spending nothing on it for a few years and just running it into the ground and taking the WBAC price to sell it when I was ready to move on.

I really hope the next buyer appreciates the work completed and carries on looking after it well or my efforts will have been wasted.

Anyway, I have now put a deposit down on my next car so it is a case of needing to sell it for a really nice reason as I need the space.

Edited by Smokey Boyer on Friday 4th June 01:13

[Hoofy]

Smokey Boyer said:

Hoofy said:

Wow! Seems a shame to have to sell it after doing all that work.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105273...

I thought it would sell pretty quickly given the work I have completed, but wonder if that level of work is only appreciated by current or previous owners rather than potential new buyers to the Porsche brand. I took the approach when I got the car to make it the best mechanically that I could and expected that it would be difficult to sell a 996 without the IMS bearing sorted and other expected jobs unless I dropped the price to a stupidly low level. It would have been nice if the work I completed had added some value to the car but that does not appear to be how the Porsche used car pricing works.

As a new buyer to the brand, I was horrified to find how meaningless a full dealer service history is. The list of work to be done on a car with almost a full dealer service history and clean bill of health and full service from a specialist was shocking, but I had made the decision to get it all sorted as the car felt like a keeper at the time.

I am wondering if that was the right decision now and whether I would have been better off spending nothing on it for a few years and just running it into the ground and taking the WBAC price to sell it when I was ready to move on.

Anyway, I have now put a deposit down on my next car so it is a case of needing to sell it for a really nice reason.

I guess it depends on how much of a risk you're willing to take. The IMS issue is real but it's not that common. 1 in 10 for your model, I believe? But that's like placing a £10,000 bet that your car is fine (£10k for a rebuild) and if you meant to keep it, then it's quite a risk vs paying £2k to get the IMS sorted. Imagine putting £10k on the table and rolling a 10 sided dice (they exist!) - if you get a 1, you lose £10k, if you roll any other number, you keep your £10k.

I guess that's part of the game. I spent £4k on a gearbox rebuild on an old Skyline and then sold it a month later as I didn't want something else to break. I wasn't bothered at the time and just sucked it up as the cost of experiencing a highly tuned Skyline.

Good luck with the sale - it sounds like the next owner is going to be lucky.

[Tommie38]

Can’t you squeeze into a 987.2 for that budget?

Perhaps something with a few more miles? I’d go for a facelift car for the more reliable engine.

[Andyoz]

Tommie38 said:

Can’t you squeeze into a 987.2 for that budget?

Perhaps something with a few more miles? I’d go for a facelift car for the more reliable engine.

In current market that only gets you a higher mile base gen 2.

[IMI A]

So I trundled off yo have a look at 996 C2 prices. A nice 996 C2 like the one at Friends Green Porsche is £35,000

[Hoofy]

IMI A said:

So I trundled off yo have a look at 996 C2 prices. A nice 996 C2 like the one at Friends Green Porsche is £35,000

Is it low mileage, pristine condition inside and out, and with all IMS, RMS, suspension etc dealt with, and a cast iron warranty? It might be worth it if it's in amazing condition. If there's still a chance it could st itself without warning then £35k is taking the piss.

[F6C]

Smokey Boyer said:

Good cars do exist for less than £20k, but there do not appear to be any buyers out there.

Tip' box will be limiting the potential market pretty substantially. Merits of the box are obvs subjective. Not commenting on that, just the fact that a substantial proportion of buyers in the market for a 996 C2 will be buying manual cars only. Whatever the rights and wrongs, it's that kind of car.

[MrVert]

Hoofy said:

Is it low mileage, pristine condition inside and out, and with all IMS, RMS, suspension etc dealt with, and a cast iron warranty? It might be worth it if it's in amazing condition. If there's still a chance it could st itself without warning then £35k is taking the piss.

If it's the Seal Grey one you're referring to, it does look bloody nice....

The 996 C2's are actually starting to look like real classics in my eyes, where they used to look a bit bloated next to the previous generations, they not look positively svelte compared to the latest models

I do struggle a bit with the interior though, I remember viewing one back in 2003 when I had a Mk 1 V6 TT....and thought the interior quality was way behind the TT's...

My 2p's worth re the original question, for £15k, it would have to be a 987.2 Boxster..

Slight budget creep, or a small loan would get you into one with decent mileage, if you don't mind PDK..

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/11709564

[Hoofy]

F6C said:

Smokey Boyer said:

Good cars do exist for less than £20k, but there do not appear to be any buyers out there.

Tip' box will be limiting the potential market pretty substantially. Merits of the box are obvs subjective. Not commenting on that, just the fact that a substantial proportion of buyers in the market for a 996 C2 will be buying manual cars only. Whatever the rights and wrongs, it's that kind of car.

What about the advertised car as a C4 Tip?

[Hoofy]

MrVert said:

Hoofy said:

Is it low mileage, pristine condition inside and out, and with all IMS, RMS, suspension etc dealt with, and a cast iron warranty? It might be worth it if it's in amazing condition. If there's still a chance it could st itself without warning then £35k is taking the piss.

If it's the Seal Grey one you're referring to, it does look bloody nice....

The 996 C2's are actually starting to look like real classics in my eyes, where they used to look a bit bloated next to the previous generations, they not look positively svelte compared to the latest models

I do struggle a bit with the interior though, I remember viewing one back in 2003 when I had a Mk 1 V6 TT....and thought the interior quality was way behind the TT's...

The swoopy 996 interior isn't too bad!

I was looking at someone's 993 and started to think that it looked a bit dated! The interior is dull, too!

[stewieyan]

For up £13k I'd go with up to 60k miles 2006-2008 manual Boxster 987 - if you can find one, a well looked after.

[jonny996]

Are those Boxsters the age that they are £500+ for road tax?

[supersport]

jonny996 said:

Are those Boxsters the age that they are £500+ for road tax?

Not sure about all models, but our 2008 3.4 was £600 this year.

But being brown negated this cost

I imagine the cost might put some off, it’s a crazy cost.

[Hoofy]

Smokey Boyer said:

Hoofy said:

Wow! Seems a shame to have to sell it after doing all that work.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105273...

I thought it would sell pretty quickly given the work I have completed, but wonder if that level of work is only appreciated by current or previous owners rather than potential new buyers to the Porsche brand. I took the approach when I got the car to make it the best mechanically that I could and expected that it would be difficult to sell a 996 without the IMS bearing sorted and other expected jobs unless I dropped the price to a stupidly low level. It would have been nice if the work I completed had added some value to the car but that does not appear to be how the Porsche used car pricing works.

As a new buyer to the brand, I was horrified to find how meaningless a full dealer service history is. The list of work to be done on a car with almost a full dealer service history and clean bill of health and full service from a specialist was shocking, but I had made the decision to get it all sorted as the car felt like a keeper at the time.

I am wondering if that was the right decision now and whether I would have been better off spending nothing on it for a few years and just running it into the ground and taking the WBAC price to sell it when I was ready to move on.

I really hope the next buyer appreciates the work completed and carries on looking after it well or my efforts will have been wasted.

Anyway, I have now put a deposit down on my next car so it is a case of needing to sell it for a really nice reason as I need the space.

Edited by Smokey Boyer on Friday 4th June 01:13

You sold it! Congrats!

[stewieyan]

jonny996 said:

Are those Boxsters the age that they are £500+ for road tax?

2005-2006 987's (NOT 987 S) are £28 or so a month to tax. At least my 2006 was about that.
But of course as with any used car, make sure it was looked after well and things like cross over pipes, radiators, suspension etc has been replaced not that long ago. On my experience any work on these cars is almost as expensive as on much newer Porsches.

[ajap1979]

jonny996 said:

Are those Boxsters the age that they are £500+ for road tax?

Parker’s have a handy table –

https://www.parkers.co.uk/porsche/boxster/roadster...

I had a similar budget to the OP and plumped for a 2005 2.7 Boxster for 11k, which I pick up at the weekend. Car has a great spec (full leather inc. crests, PCM, heated seats, sports exhaust, Bose, Xenons, and parking sensors). Figured the saving would be handy to have put aside for any future work that needs doing, but on the face of it the car looks in fantastic condition.

[Tommie38]

Andyoz said:

Tommie38 said:

Can’t you squeeze into a 987.2 for that budget?

Perhaps something with a few more miles? I’d go for a facelift car for the more reliable engine.

In current market that only gets you a higher mile base gen 2.

Probably what I would go for. Or find a rebuilt Hartech car, which I appreciate is not going to be easy.

[ajap1979]

Tommie38 said:

Andyoz said:

Tommie38 said:

Can’t you squeeze into a 987.2 for that budget?

Perhaps something with a few more miles? I’d go for a facelift car for the more reliable engine.

In current market that only gets you a higher mile base gen 2.

Probably what I would go for. Or find a rebuilt Hartech car, which I appreciate is not going to be easy.

The base gen 2 cars seem to start at £17k at present.

[1602Mark]

Any thoughts on this?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334039177592?ssPageName...

[anonymous-user]

I like that. Spoiler, interior, colour, wheels all good (interior showing it's age in the high-touch areas). Engine history would need a careful check (was it a rebuild or replacement? Mileage on replaement etc).

If you could get that for £12k I think you'd be a very happy person.