997 Prices

[TNW]

What's the view on 997 prices now the 991 has been released? Cayman prices seem to have tanked since the new model arrived (wise investment by me there!), but the 997s still seem pretty solid. I'd like to move from the Cayman to a C2S at some point, but not if the used values are going to drop soon after. The gap between Cayman and 997 prices is also a bit odd here, there's lots over overlap in the U.K, but there not really any 997s (non sheds) near to newer Cayman prices (for the previous model) here. Would buying a 997 now be a bit dim?

[VanquishDubai]

I owned one a year or so ago, and I believe that prices at the moment are more than a little hopeful. If you make some silly offers I am sure you will get a good deal, there are still loads of people out there who are financed up and need cash buyers, or just to sell. People are always moving on here you know.

I believe the best deals are if you want a manual, because many can't sell them here for love nor money. Back in 2009, I bought a 997 Carrera S with just 28,000kms on it (2008 model) and it was fully loaded, clubs port kit, sport chronopack, etc. Anyway, chap wanted 260k....after a few. Months he dropped it to 240k and on short.... I got it for 180k. I had it for just over 2 years and sold it for what I bought it for to a dealer.

Dubizzle prices are, on average, very hopeful. At the end of the day, you only have to look at the numbers of cars for sale for specific models to know where you can haggle. BMW, porsch, range rover, mMercedes.... There are loads. So... As long as you aren't really choosy and check the car there is loads of room for negotiation. Just got to find the rightcar and someone who desperately needs to sell.

[TNW]

Cheers Luke, sounds like it's a case of waiting it out for the right car. I'm in no rush, Turbo prices seems to be dropping faster than Carreras so maybe letting the market settle will open up the options.

[Eppendorfer]

I concur with Luke on this one - prices on Dubizzle for 997s are nowhere near reality right now. A couple of friends have been looking for some time, and I also keep an eye on the 997TT prices - cars are not moving at all. Many of them, even clean / nice ones have been sitting there for months at the current price. 20-30% off the asking price is my guess if owners are looking to actually sell rather than exhibit their cars.

MK 1 Turbo (year 2006-2008) prices are a good example - nice / clean ones without accidents and glaring errors are usually advertised in the 230k to 260k range. I have however yet to hear about one actual sale that happened north of 200k Dhs...

[TNW]

Cheers guys, quite tempted to wait it out for someone desperate to part with their Turbo. I'm guessing you can't put a OPC warranty on a Porsche over here without full PSH as in the U.k? Not that I'd really want one without complete history given how likely is it to have mileage amnesia.

[Eppendorfer]

I understand that it is possible to get the Porsche Approved Warranty as long as the car passes the Porsche condition report check and is all original / no modifications. I would always take a 997 to a pre-purchase inspection either at Naboodah or ARM prior to buying. As part of it, they can also read the "operating hours" from the both engine control module and airbag control module, along with any over-revs - everything is stored. Based on the operating hours of the car (i.e. starts counting once ignition is switched on), you can see if the mileage makes sense - assuming an average speed of around 50km/h over the car's lifetime.

Example: Odometer reads 50,000km and operating hours read 1,000h = average of 50km/h sounds genuine
Example: Odometer reads 30,000km and operating hours read 2,000h = average of 15km/h is very very unlikely to be genuine...it is easy to tamper with the odometer but adjusting the control modules (especially both engine and airbag) is too complex for the average crook who "details" the car prior to a sale.

Same with over-revs - definitely get it checked prior to buying (especially if manual transmission), the car stores both the number of engine ignitions beyond defined rev limits as well as which level was exceeded (on a 6-point scale with 1 being lowest and 6 highest). If a car has over-revs > level 4 Porsche will not allow warranty extension and I would personally not buy this car.

Good luck finding the right 997! The 997 Turbo is great value even at current prices in my opinion.

[Mattt]

Do the engine hours work like that?

I always thought they weren't true hours but a measure of how hard the engine has worked (linked to RPM) - so you can see a trackday only car has few KMs but high hours, and a motorway car has high KMs but low hours.

[Eppendorfer]

Mattt - the engine hours merely count the time of operation and are not a measure of how hard the engine has worked. They are slightly higher than the actual number of hours an engine has been running since the clock starts ticking once the ignition is turned on (even without starting the engine) and it stops upon removal of the key.