stantman Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 A friend is looking at buying a second hand Porsche!! He is undecided on 997 carrera S2, 3.2 boxter, 3.2 caymen. Which one to go for? How much below the sticker price should he offer in teh current economic climate? He is a cash buyer. Possible alternative is a Elise SC? He isn't the most aggresive driver on the road (keeps spinning the Westfield we jointly own on the track )so suggested the Porsche may be the better daily drive. Any opinions he is dithering so needs a push. Cheers Jeff Quote
peterg Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 If he isn't too great at fast driving, the Porsche(s) will be much better for him than the Elise which can be a little 'flighty' In the present climate I'd be trying to get 10-20% off the advertised price of any of those models but as ever a full Porsche service history and preferably a full warranty (either original or extended depending on age etc) is probably more important - it all depends how the dealer is doing and how well specced the cars are - I'd wait until the end of the month so the salesman has an eye on making his target sales figure as they can be pressed a bit harder then IMHO (and I haven't driven all of them) I'd put them in the order of 997s2, Cayman then Boxster although in terms of price they'll be the other way round Quote
jeff oakley Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 I would go for the order that Pete has suggested. As for the price now really is the time to be bold. There are lots of dealers who have huge amounts tide up in stock with the banks breathing down their necks, so if he goes in with an offer which is too low then they will say so. Do research and see what the prices are around the country, you will not get huge bucks off if it already a cheap one. Quote
custardtart Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 Went through this last year, my fav was the C2S mainly because it had more grunt, both the others needed plenty of revs to really sing. The Boxster & Cayman were very similar but you have to say the Boxster is better value being convertible but I preferred the looks of the Cayman. They're all fantastic cars though and amazingly composed on a cross country blat. I went out with a Porsche instructor who really didn't hold back and encouraged me not too either. Some of the speeds we were approaching down undulating B roads would've seen my Golf bounced into the ditch! Having said that, his anticipation was in a different league to me and really showed how much better a driver I could be . For example, he anticipated a bus coming the other way because he pointed out people queing at a bus stop, this might sound obvious but with everything else going on I hadn't really noticed them. Quote
boblog Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 Forgive me if I am wrong but how can you compare either the Boxter or the Camen to a 997? If he is'nt the "quickest" driver then surely he wants to leave the 997 alone. He also wants to leave the dealers alone and buy private as he will get twice the deal being a cash buyer. Quote
custardtart Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 Forgive me if I am wrong but how can you compare either the Boxter or the Camen to a 997? You just drive em and see which one you prefer Quote
DanB Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 Forgive me if I am wrong but how can you compare either the Boxter or the Camen to a 997? You just drive em and see which one you prefer <!--emo& Wot he said. I was in this position recently, although I wasn't considering a Boxster - for me a car should either have a roof, or an aeroscreen. I couldn't decide whether the extra 5-10k extra on a Carrera S was worth it over a Cayman S, so for once I did something sensible and test drove both. I was expecting to find it difficult to decide whether the Carrera was sufficiently better than the Cayman to justify the extra cash - in fact, having driven both back to back I quickly decided that I prefered the Cayman S anyway. It hasn't quite got the outright straight line pace of the Carrera S, but it feels (IMHO) much better balanced and much more nimble. I preferred driving the Cayman, so I bought one a few months ago. (07 car, Basalt Black with black leather, PASM, Xenons, PCM2 and Sports Chrono). At the end of the day there's no way of deciding which you prefer until you drive one. I found my local OPC very helpful and keen to arrange a test drive... Quote
Mark B Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 If he's having trouble & spinning a westfield perhaps a boxster s would be a good choice rather than a 997 C2 alternatively what about a carrera 4S? Quote
DanB Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 TBH, I don't think spinning should be that much of a problem - the PSM stability system fitted to all modern Porkers is pretty good. In fact, one of the bonuses of having the Sports Chrono package is that it loosens up the PSM traction control/stability programming, and allows you to have a bit of fun. Otherwise, as soon as the tail starts to step out, Nurse PSM spanks the throttle hard and stops any japefulness... Quote
samcooke Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 QUOTE In the present climate I'd be trying to get 10-20% off the advertised price of any of those models Piffle, I'm afraid. It's not about how much you offer below the sticker price, it's how realistic [cheap] the sticker price is in the first place. 20% off a price that's 25% infalted don't make it cheap. Paying full price for one that's 25% less don't make it dear. QUOTE He also wants to leave the dealers alone and buy private as he will get twice the deal being a cash buyer. Nonsense too. These days, dealers are often a lot cheaper than private punters as they have a considered view of the market. Joe Public often can't face taking the massive hit, or has a loan to try to cover. Dealers know the market, need to sell, and price accordingly. As an example - have a look at early 996 prices - private punters still want £15k plus, but my local specialist dealer is buying them at £10k and outing them is there's any kind of profit in it. Quote
XTR2Turbo Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 I agree with SamCooke Porsche OPCs have become quite agressive with their showroom prices and aren't offering huge additional discounts. My brother bougth a 9 month old 997 GT3 in November and the most he could move the dealer by was £3.5k They will however also bid very low if you are part exchanging and that's part of the problem. At the time my brother was buying, the same dealer had an 18 month old 997 turbo up at £57k and it only had 15000 miles. I don't think you would have got another 10% off of that. Quote
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