Naptown21401

Hey all,

First time poster and prospective 993 purchaser here (which would also be my first Porsche!). Little background about myself, married with a 4 month old, and looking to add a new air-cooled member to the growing family. I currently live in a large apartment building with secure underground parking. I am fortunate that I walk to work, so the 993 would be strictly for fun weekend excursions, PCA outings, etc. Given my current situation (apartment garage, 4 month old), I am not going to have the space/time for performing any substantial work on the car, so I am looking for something that isn't going to need a lot of work, but that also is meant for driving (i.e. go car, not show car).

I went and inspected and test drove the following 64,000 mile 1995 993 C2 (http://www.rockville-porsche.com/use...a00b6eba9e.htm) at Porsche Rockville yesterday and was generally impressed. The car has been sitting on their lot for 60+ days, they have performed about $8,000 worth of work on the car, and they seem motivated to move the unit. However, the car did have several minor imperfections and I am out of my depth in evaluating the quality/price of the car, so I am turning to you all for guidance.

While inspecting the car, I snapped the below additional photos of the car and some of its imperfections:








































Additionally, the dealer provided the below service records (from the work done at Porsche Rockville) and CarFax (seems like several pages may be missing):



















There are no service records other than the above, and the car was acquired directly from Porsche NA, so they have no background on the former owners (which makes me a little uneasy). Additionally, when I asked them about taking the car to a third party for a PPI, they pushed back and said that I could get the car inspected after purchase and they would stand by any "major" issues, but that they could not let the car leave the lot for any substantial amount of time. They did say that if I wanted to move forward, that they would provide a leakdown and compression test onsite at their expense.

Given all of the above, I would appreciate any help in generally deciphering the quality/concerns of the car, the wisdom of moving forward with the purchase and with respect to the following specific questions:

(1) How realistic is it that I will be able to tote both my wife and kid around for weekend drives? I am 5'9", wife is 5'7" and baby is 16.5 lbs! Any experience with fitting rear-facing car seats in 993s?

(2) Is the pushback re: PPI standard from dealers versus private parties?

(3) Any recommended shops for a PPI that are close to Rockville, MD (in the event I decide to push this point)?

(4) How do the logistics of the PPI work? Do I drive the car to the PPI inspector? Does the dealer?

(5) How worrisome is the minor bumper damage and associated undercarriage scraping? Does this look like it could be rust?

(6) There didn't seem to be any paint bubbling around either windscreen's weather stripping, but the stripping itself did have some bubble/bulge in some areas. Is this worrisome or a simple fix (given that no paint damage to date)?

(7) Clutch seemed to stick a little when de-clutching, but only sometimes. Honestly, this perception may have been a function of my unfamiliarity with the offset pedals. If there was a "sticky" clutch, how serious of an issue would this be?

(8) Does $45,000 seem like a fair ask? More? Less? Is the asking price reasonable? I am inclined to think that asking price is pretty good, but that $45,000 seems more inline with the quality.

(9) Do the service records seem inline with a car of this age and mileage? Does it seem like they may have shortchanged the work needed to resolve any leakage issues, or does this work seem expected/adequate?

(10) While the decision to purchase this car would not be financially "irresponsible" on my part, one of the factors driving my decision to purchase now is the fear that prices such as this will not be long for this world. Given the state of the 993 market, should I buy now, or is it safe to say that deals such as this will be around 1 or 2 years from now (understanding that no one has a crystal ball)?

(11) Has anyone else seen this car? If so, any general thoughts?

(12) Recommendations re: financing?

(13) Recommendations re: insurance?

I understand that the above litany is quite extensive, but I would appreciate any input! I have dreamed about owning one of these cars for 15+ years and I want to make this a smart and informed decision, rather than get burned and be disappointed in the whole process. Given that, if someone else picks the car up based on my posting, good for them, it wasn't meant to be for me.

Thanks in advance for the help!

soundbehindyou

Car does not appear through photos to be a "babied' 64,000 miles and with all the dings my suspicion is it was not garaged all it's life. Asking price is fair considering mileage, however this one looks like there are some lurking issues. ppi is a must. The market for 993's has cooled of late for cars in this condition.
This time of year the cars seem to sit longer on the market back East and "up North'.
Hard to find 993's in low 40's lately, so some discovery may be in order.

user 723923490

Compression and leak down test would be crucial on this car. Looks like it has been "rode hard & put away wet". You might even want to have the oil analyzed since it may or may not have had proper maintenance. It looks like it might be standard US height. If that is the case, the damage at the front end is surprising. Looks like at least one of the motor mounts is starting to leak. Price seems high to me considering condition IMO.

ilko

First off, I don't think you can enjoyably drive the car with a rear-facing seat. So taking the kid for a drive won't happen much until they're 2 or older... And even then, they might not like it. Generally, the sooner you introduce a baby to being in the car the more comfortable they will be in it. So you need to consider that very seriously. It may just be your car for a couple of years. Which isn't a bad thing, believe me But would your wife be OK with that?

From a mechanical perspective there are pros and cons to this car. It's low mileage and looks like some of the major work has been taken care of - clutch and oil leaks. Wonder if the spark plugs and wires are done, they're a 60K mile item. Also I'd find out what oil they've put in it. If 0W-40 or similar, darin immediately and go with a 20W-50 weight. Other than that I'd look for torn CV boots, bushings, other leaks and rattles. You probably will need to replace the front suspension bushings pronto. Shocks might be on their way out as well. Beyond that the car should be pretty good. Cosmetically, it leaves a lot to be desired but most of the issues you show in the pictures are common. But the fact that the dealer won't allow a PPI would bother me personally...

Prices have stabilized over the past year, some say they've even come down a bit. Will they go down or up is anyone's guess. If you're looking at financing check out Xcel FCU, PenFed FCU, JJ Best, etc. Boutique loan institutions that might be more familiar with this type of car. And don't let them use NADA to assign a value on the car.

Andy Hodapp

I would be worried that the bubbling around the windshield is rust, that's a very common problem on 993's. The Boxster twists are pretty undesirable and I don't think they are original to the car. Motor mounts are leaking. I'm sure the struts are blown given that the factory ones don't last very long and it looks like the car has been bottomed out several times. There seems to be quite a lot of cosmetic damage. It looks like the clear coat is chipping but I think 95 guards red cars are single stage so it might have been repainted. My 96 C2 cab has 63k miles and doesn't look at all like this car. I would say this is more of a $36K car or less, definitely not a $49K.

cgfen

You asked too many questions for me to answer, but generally,
if you are not able / willing to work on the car yourself, don't buy any air cooled p car without first finding a trusted independent mechanic.
then take the car to them for a thorough inspection.
proceed from there.

993/907

Looks a little rough to me for a 64k mile car.....price may be a bit high?
Evidence of some repaint....was the entire car resprayed? If so, good to find out why.
I do see a good thing with this car though....basket handle rear brake light usually indicates it is an early build and would not have the troublesome/expensive immobilizer/drive-block system....worth verifying for sure.
Reliable baby sitter would give you and wife well-deserved breaks from the wee one.....

Onami

Looks like 164,000 miles!

squidge

I fit a 6' tall wife and 6 year old kid on the passenger side in mine, with a front-facing infant behind me. A rear facing seat isn't going to work anywhere but the front seat with special adapter to disable the airbag.

IMO, the car looks rough around the edges, although the recent clutch and engine service adds value. It has Boxster wheels.

In general, I'd say to pass on this car given your general needs for something low-effort given the infant. Come back to the 993 in a couple years or just buy a new GTI or something. Or pony up more cash for a more well taken care of 993.

Re: financing, my local credit union financed like 80% of the value of the car for 2.5%. At that rate, it made more sense to finance than to tie up money that could be used for other investments. The boutique places offered nearly double that rate.

Disraeli

Agreed, you should immediately double whatever number you're carrying in your head to get this car right.

Then you should double it again.

JDHertz11

I've owned close to 10 993's in the last 10 years and I wouldn't recommend one to anyone with limited time, space, wallet, etc. They're awesome cars but I'm not sure it's the correct car for you. Maybe a 997.2 would better suit you. Cold AC, warm heat, near conventional sized interior and safety. A friend of mine just went from a 997 to a 993 and although he loves the car I'm not sure it was a truly good decision. He's done lots of catch up maintenance and he's pretty handy and it's still probably putting a dent in his wallet.

u7t2p7

1. Do more research and decide if a 993 is the right car for you...right now. Take a test drive in this car and as many others as you can find. Possibly someone here who is local to you will let you ride in their car or maybe even drive it. There is a huge difference between a properly sorted 993 and an example like this. They basically drive like different cars.
2. Once/if you've made the decision to purchase a 993, start by posting a WTB (wanted to buy) thread in the 993 forum as well as the classified section (you'll need to become a member at $17/yr. to do this as per the forum's rules). State style, budget, color choices, etc. I bet you'll receive several replies that are MUCH better than that piece of sh*t example from the dealer. If you don't know it already, "buy the best example you can afford" and drive it like you stole it.

pp000830

Update, I take it back as the car clearly has miles well in excess of those presented. The badly worn through door threshold and the shifter would suggest to me that the car is in excess of 80 to 90K miles. This sounds like the seller is putting lipstick on a pig, I would pass on this car as is.

Previous post: Most all the faults you illuminate are just minor stuff. The exception being the cracked front grill. That is as least several hundred dollars to replace and paint. I guess for a dealer the price minus the cost of the repair would be my sweet spot on price. Be aware these are 20-year-old cars and it will need additional items. I would have a Rennlist friend test drive it for you as a driver who knows these cars will give you engine/driveline/suspension feel feedback. Attached is my ever growing service list that you may find useful:

mike cap

i agree with this post. Given the description of your situation this is NOT the car for you. Take the money and buy a loved 996 or early 997 with low mileage that won't require 24/7 maintenance. Something much more modern that you can drive and park. This 993 will eat $$ like crazy and make you nuts.

x50type

Agree, particularly with mike cap and J D Hertz11, this is not the one for you, nor is a 993 at this stage.
A 996 or 997 makes much more sense.
Carry on hunting.