grneyddvl

Been eyeing 911s for years but finally have the chance to grab a new 911.

Test drove a new 2009 c4s that is priced at 20% off MSRP and, before I pull the trigger, have few questions for the forum.

At the beginning of the test drive, I was trying to back the car out and it wouldn't budge. The salesman said to give it a little more go - I did and the car moved finally, but there was a loud "snap" of something breaking loose. Apparently the parking brake was stuck closed. According to the salesmen it was because of the recent rainy weather. Is this at all normal? Is it any cause for concern?

The car has the basic options I regularly see on 911's, aside from navigation. I personally don't need nav, but am worried if it will significantly impact resale value down the road. Should I be?

And finally, is 20% off MSRP a good deal on a new 2009 these days? The car is black on black with the standard wheels. Nothing "wrong" with the car that I can see, aside from not having nav.

alexb76

The snap is normal if car was sitting for a while... it's happened to me before.

Nav definitely won't hurt, and may make it more desirable for someone over a non-Nav unit. I certainly like my nav (older version), and it sure helps on road trips without hanging something off your windshield. However, I think down the road, you probably won't get $3K more for a Nav used car vs. non-Nav, it may just take longer to sell.

20% off is about right, although some may come here and claim much better deals, but most of those were when economy tanked completely early in 2009 and although you can still find deals, if you can get 20% off, and the car has all of what you need I wouldn't think too much.

Good luck

LagunaDallas

I'm with Alex. Mine doesn't have Nav and I couldn't care less since I wouldn't use it anyways and didn't want to pay for it. I'm leasing so the resale issue isn't a concern in my case, but I agree that a non-nav car could take a little longer to sell. I also agree about the 20% --- if it's the car you want, pull the trigger before it's gone and take advantage of the deal before the 2009s in the colors you like are all sold. I got 20% off a few months ago and still couldn't be happier with the deal.

grneyddvl

Thanks for the replies.

Any idea what a decent price is on a 2010 these days?

Bob Rouleau

The snap you heard is the brake pads sticking to the rotors. If the car is washed and or driven in the wet without drying the brakes the pads stick to the rotors. Happens to all of us, especially on my C4S which is driven even in the snow.

Nav is an option which will not bring its cost at trade in.

As to price, it has been reported here that PCNA put ten grand on the hood of the 2009 cars in stock and dealers are selling at cost which bring the price to about 20 percent off MSRP so you are in the right range price wise.

Check to see if the car was punched (sales guy will know what this means). If it was the warranty started some time ago. That is an important issue if it means your warranty began last summer some time! Normally dealers will provide an extended warranty at cost - figure $1,200 or so which should be dealer cost on an extended warranty.

Best,

rijowysock

good price, good car, get it! love the *** end of the 4's with that reflector in middle.

mstams

Think about it this way... I bought my car just over a year ago, and at 20% off you'd be getting yours for about what I owe on mine today. I say go for it.

jkramer

I have the identical car and got about the same deal back in September when I bought it - 20% off is a good deal and you will love the car. The snapping sound like others stated is normal. Sometimes my car can barely back out of the garage after I wash it and pull it in, it's almost as if the pads have seized tight onto the rotors - normal.

mdrobc1213

Concur! Just paid >20% (actually it was 22.59%) off on an 09 Coupe S w/pdk less than 2 weeks ago. A local dealer also had an 09 Carrera 4S coupe with pdk and <75 miles, loaded which I seriously considered for $89k which is 20% off as well. Howeever it could probably have gone for a little less if pushed or cash so I'd go for it if I were you. We won't see these deals continued in 2010 as I heard they're cutting production and distribution to Porsche NA due to our lovely economy in 2010 and beyond.

cmb13

Bob,
Why would the dealer punch the car? I ran across a car that was punched also; they said it was an error - they were selling another car that had a similar VIN months ago and punched the wrong car. Sounds strange to me. But you and others have warned against checking to see if a car is punched - why would any dealer do that?
Thanks

gota911

That ^ "...and punched the wrong car" sounds fishy to me.

They "punch" cars to get them "officially" out of their new car inventory. I believe it helps them to get more allocations from the manufacturer in the future. As others have stated, a "punched" car is still officially a new car until it has been titled, after that, it is a used car.

cmb13

Like I said, it sounded strange to me too. However, it's good that it's still new, but it does certainly affect the warranty.

stevepow

The NAV will be outdated anyway by the time you sell it. NAV is nice but how important it is to you, you have to decide on.

I don't think factory NAV can be added to an existing car. XM cannot, and not sure about BlueTooth either.

If you can be happy with the options and the car, then sounds like a good deal.

Tom N

+1

I would not be concerned with resale on the NAV. If you can do without, then you have a great deal on a great car.

mdrobc1213

Nav can be added. New Porsche service bulletin that my dealer informed me. It is costly around $2k-4k and parts are not available yet in the states but they can direct order them from Germany and get them and have your VIN updated in the database and the computer flashed to recognize the car since it didn't come from factory w/Nav.

Its up to you...its okay without it but like yesterday I wasn't driving the car and going to drop off a cable reciever and luckily took my BMW w/NAV cause without it I'd been sooo lost and vever found the drop service desk. So NAV can be helpful especially when out of your area/realm. But then a Tom Tom or Nuvi on a window mount does the trick too! Its your choice!