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I was originally a Corvette owner I purchased my 2006 C6 at the age of 24 brand new off the lot. I babied it never drove it and obsessed over it being pristine at all times. I never really enjoyed the car to be honest. I saw it as work because each time I drove it I would have to detail it. I put 22k on it in the 9 years I owned it.
Since then my family has grown and I have a very large dog. My sons daycare is about 5 minutes from my office and my dog comes to work with me every day. Having the Corvette meant the dog would have to stay home if I took my son to daycare in the car. So I originally wanted to trade my vette for a CTS-V and was very close to doing so. The dealer had even lined up a CTS-V for me to do a direct swap. The guy never came in with his car so the deal never happened.
Then I got talking to an old friend of mine earlier this spring / summer whom I rode around with back in my Eagle Talon days. I had a 12 second TSi back in the day I loved which was an AWD car. He currently has a 996tt which when comparing prices I thought hey maybe I can get into a Porsche as well. So I got looking for a sporty 4 seater. I knew nothing about the Porsche product line until about 2 weeks before I purchased my car. I didn't know what a carrera was or a 4 or a 4s etc... it just so happens that I ended up with a 4s.
I searched kijiji here locally and sent just about everyone in the GTA with a 911 for sale for around 35k an email first asking if they were interested in a straight trade for my vette. No one bit shocking haha. So I hashed a deal with our local GM dealer to trade my car to them (they wanted it badly as they knew it was a quick flip and a few bucks for them) on the condition when I found a car I wanted privately they would purchase it for me and sell it to me for the purchase price to save me the taxes.
I looked at 3 911's all together a 2002 C4S in Silver with Bose etc... clean car in mint shape but crummy service records. Price was 36,500. Then I looked at a blue cab with brown interior it was a tip car and the colors just didn't do it for me one bit it was 36,000. Then I found the car I eventually purchased at first I read the carfax it was in an accident and turned my nose up at it. But the seller did have every single invoice that was spent on the car from brand new. So I took the hour drive to go see it. The paint was in so so shape but the body was mint the repairs were done correctly all body gaps are perfect etc you cannot tell it was hit. So I used a couple items on the car to negotiate the price down considerably. The sellers wife hated the car and wanted it gone. It was listed at 33k. I pointed out the paint swirls etc to him and a few minor marks I knew I could polish out. It also had a small coolant leaf from the expansion tank.
I made an offer of 27k for the car pending a clean ppi in which the seller accepted. The car went in for the PPI and they would not sign it out without the coolant tank being fixed. The seller agreed to also have that replaced brand new. So for 27k I got a clean PPI, with safety and etest for ontario to register the car.
Uh, how do you guys get the women to encourage Porsche purchases? At best, my wife tolerates it (but not silently). Is there an aftermarket replacement part? Can you chip them, some sort of DME flash?
I spent zero time!
Story time. Sold my truck and rode the train to New Jersey to pick up another truck I had found. That deal fell through so on our way back to Virginia my son contacted me and said the 911 he had found in Northern VA was still on Craigslist. I looked it up and the price had come down to $9700, perfect car to flip I figured. I contacted the seller knowing it had to be a scam, it wasn't and I was renting a car within a half hour of speaking to the seller and driving like a madman to buy it, ended up getting the car for $9500. Hindsight- the car was worth maybe 8500 - 9000. I have done all of the work on the car my self and would be hard pressed to sell it, its a fun car to drive, not as quirky as my 914 and has heat AND a/c!
Initially, I searched car sites that listed Porsches for a few weeks. Found my 996 on Autotrader and one of my sons drove with me to see and drive the car, which was about a 2 hour drive each way. A PPI had been done at a Porsche dealer, but honestly the PPI was not very in depth, but did point out some minor deficiencies. It was the first 996 I had driven, had all the service paperwork and original sticker, and drove great. That was 9 years ago this coming September. Most reliable Porsche I have owned. No regrets.
OBTW, spent 18 months looking for my '99 C4 Aero that I sold in March (had 3 near misses on other cars during that time). I am 4 months into the 996TT search. I'm guessing I'll find something in October-November-December time frame, so that puts me at about 7 to 10 months on that one (although I've had 2 near misses already).
Having a contrarian wife probably is a part of that extended search process. I know if I f*** up and don't get a nice and reliable car at a good price, the grief I'll get will be never ending. So far, of the 2 Porsches I've sold, my net loss after a substantial period of daily driving has been $150 each. Both the 964 and the 996 were some of the most reliable cars I've ever had. And I think deep down she really likes going out on date night in a 911.
That being said, if I were to buy one and have to spend $10,000 rebuilding the top end shortly afterward (on the 996TT, that's apparently relatively common), or had I experienced an engine failure on the 996 C4, yikes!
My search for a 911 took quite a while; more than six months. I was driving a Cayenne S at the time as my daily driver and I decided that I wanted a sports car. Initially I thought I would get a new Boxster, probably a base model. I went up to the local dealership and drove one, and I really liked it. They also had some used 911s on the lot, and I took a look. There was nothing in my price range, but my search for a 911 began.
As I researched the cars, I decided that I wanted a C4S. I also wanted a car that was not silver, black or grey. I wanted a manual transmission. I ended up finding my C4S on "The Mart" classified ads on the PCA website. It was in California. I contacted the seller and we agreed to a price on the phone. I had a PPI done and then had the issues addressed. I flew out to California, drove the car and then finalized the transaction at the seller's bank. This was followed by a nice, long drive home and a great opportunity to get to know the car.
The hunt is really one of the fun parts of buying a 911.
I had no intention of buying a 996. I saw a photo of my 996 on the Interweb during a late-night browsing session. I drove to the dealership at lunch the next day to verify that it looked as beautiful in person as it did online and told the salesperson not to sell it to anyone else - I'd be back that evening to do the paperwork.
My other car purchases have been far less random, but in the case of sports cars, if I fall in love with a car and it checks out, I buy it. I'm not really a "Hmm, I believe I'd like a (model year range) (car type) in (color) with (options)" - I see something that makes me go "wow!" and then I see if it makes sense practically and financially.
The 996 is the ONLY car I've ever bought due to love at first sight.
It was 2 am Central time....the air was dry...there was a tick on my glass window...then another tick...after a few ticks I finally awoke in suspense..Who could this be? I slowly made my way toward the window in stealth, avoiding an encounter with the few chew toys of my furry chihuahua. I opened the window and there she was...naked under the streetlights...laying in perfect stillness...waiting for me. My one purpose for existence, my soulmate...my very own porsche 911 silver arrow...packaged with a cupholder delete.
On a serious note it didnt take much effort, I waited for almost 2 years to make the decision to buy one, looked at a few different ones and after having difficulty with sellers getting PPIs done I settled for one that had no hesitation in working with me even though it wasnt my desired choice in color options etc. I mostly only care for the mechanics of the car the rest is just a bonus
I happen to be a salesman at a high-line foreign car dealership. About 2 years ago, I was getting tired of my '02 330ci but I didn't know what I wanted to replace it with. Then we traded in an '02 911 Targa with 27K miles, stick, Guards red, Tan full-leather. All of a sudden, I found my replacement car! The only problem was: They wouldn't sell it to me. The manager told me, "We want to make some money on this one. If it's still here in 30 days, you can have it for what we have in it (22500 after reconditioning)." We both knew it wouldn't last the thirty days. After about a week, I offered 25k and got turned down. So now I'm starting to get pissed; especially when they sold it the following week for 25 to a retail customer. Meanwhile, I had all the wholesalers looking for a car for me plus I was looking myself. Found a 2001 Black/Black Cab, stick for 18900 at a Lincoln dealership, but the oil looked like a tan milkshake. Then I noticed that the Jag dealer (where my friend works) had an '02 Coupe, stick, Silver/Black, 39k miles advertised for 29900. After a couple of weeks, the price dropped to 27900, so I thought that was pretty close to my 25k target. Checked the car out and it looked and drove like new. Ended up getting it for the 25 and now my boss can kiss my butt!!
Yep, another of those crappy PA winters, and I'll be emailing her beach pix to move out here. Same last name, so no need to even change driver's license or embroidered hankies.
Good to hear that a bunch of you were lazy SOBs too, when it came to car shopping. After all those long "hunt" stories, started to make me wonder.
After selling my Guards Red 1991 928 S4, I shopped casually for about 14 months until I saw my 996 on Craigslist. Although, it wasn't beautiful at the time, to me it was like a blank canvass giving me the option to make my own creation
I'm not very patient, so waiting 2-12 months for the right one to pop up is a life time to me. When I start looking with the intent to buy, I look night and day, everywhere. I also read and read during that time and usually learn a lot about the car I intend to buy. When I bought my 996, it was the 3rd or 4th one I had test driven. I knew about 2 modes of failure. I knew about the infamous IXX.
For a new car, I do a lot more literature research, then I go test drive. If I show up at the dealership, I usually know more about the car I intend to test drive than the sales guy (aka tour guide).
Dreamed and looked for a long time, researched, saved up the cash, seriously started looking all over the U.S. I went and test drove a few and then mine popped up on a local brokers site. Drove over there, test drove for so long the broker called me to make sure I hadn't stolen it.. Signed an intention to buy and picked it up the next day.
So a lifetime of wanting/looking and about 2 weeks of serious shopping.
07-21-2015, 10:01 AM
