Hopeful future owner with a couple questions, C2 Coupe US

[gietl]

Hi, I am shopping for my first 911 and I think I am pretty sold on getting a 996. I've spent the last few weeks trying to educate myself as much as I can and have finally started checking out and test driving cars. I do apologize for making this such a long post, just trying to be as detailed as possible and learn as much as I can.

These few questions I have revolve around a specific car I drove recently, a 99 C2 Coupe US. The first question I have relates to the "ghost window" issue I have read about. This car in particular when I was testing the windows, I was making the driver window go up, then it decided to head back down. I let go and tried again and it went all the way up. The operation when opening and closing the doors was fine, though I'm not sure if those issues are specific to the cabs or all models. If this is in fact tell tale of the ghosting, what would be the expected cost to get the regulator replaced? I saw the links to some DIY, which I don't mind doing, but I would prefer to not be right into a project if I can avoid it.

Second question, which is probably the most important to my consideration of this vehicle. While going over the car I noticed a decent sized star (about a half dollar) in the clear coat on the right rear bumper, near the corner. Pretty indicative of a collision of some sort, whether it was a pole, car, or leprechaun. The owner was not sure how it happened and the overall condition of the body of the car is very good, no dings or anything like that. I also noticed the tail light had some scuff marks, but that may be unrelated. The one thing that really had me concerned was with the engine compartment open I noticed some damage. To set up the visual on this, below is an image of the left side circled in red, you notice there is a small hole beneath the area where the lid latches. There is one of these on the right side as well, however, on the right side it is damages at that small hole, where the straight red line is in the picture. I didn't think to take a picture of the damage when I was looking at the car.

The damage appears to be a little old as where it is broken apart the paint chipped slightly and there is some surface rust (not sure how fast these cars rust), car is garaged and covered and has only seen about 15K miles in 5 years. No real rust issues in this state. So I guess my question here is, how hard of a collision would it take to cause this, are there any other causes? This was one thing I wasn't real sure how to search for info on it. Kind of curious if this is a common place for damage to appear with a trivial impact.

The car drove straight and there was no pulling or feeling of alignment issues. The owner claims no accidents and a carfax says the same. Current owner is the second owner. For what it's worth, I have some pictures of the car from the owner that do not show the star in the clear coat on the rear bumper, the pictures appear to be within the last 6 months based on the plate expiration sticker. I guess my point is, I am not sure of the damage to the paint and the damage I see in the engine compartment are related. Along with that, I am also unsure of how sturdy these cars are in minor collisions whether it is an owner backing into something or another vehicle bumping the car.

Thanks in advance for any information. If and when I decide on a car, I will surely get a PPI.

[johnj.moran]

Hi,

I just took a look at my car to see if anything came to mind. I have a 1999 Carrera 4 Cab.

My opinion is it would take quite a hit to cause a tear in the metal at that point. The fact that the owner is not coming clean about things is worrisome. I'd avoid the car.

John

[gietl]

Hi,

I just took a look at my car to see if anything came to mind. I have a 1999 Carrera 4 Cab.

My opinion is it would take quite a hit to cause a tear in the metal at that point. The fact that the owner is not coming clean about things is worrisome. I'd avoid the car.

John

Hi John -

Thanks for the response, that's what I figured. However, I felt it was worth asking on the odd chance that was some known little weak spot. It is pretty disheartening as this car is just beautiful.

Thanks again!

[perryinva]

WAY, WAY too many mint cars out there to even bother considering a car that may have damage. BTW, I'd definitely opt for a 2002 car if you can swing it. They are going for $30k and under with low miles these days. Bigger engine, less issues, many, many updates. Easily worth the $8 or 9k premium over a '99.

Hi,

I just took a look at my car to see if anything came to mind. I have a 1999 Carrera 4 Cab.

My opinion is it would take quite a hit to cause a tear in the metal at that point. The fact that the owner is not coming clean about things is worrisome. I'd avoid the car.

John

Hi John -

Thanks for the response, that's what I figured. However, I felt it was worth asking on the odd chance that was some known little weak spot. It is pretty disheartening as this car is just beautiful.

Thanks again!

[phillipj]

Agreed,

Go for the newer car. Cash talks now and you should be able to get a screaming deal on an 02. I can't believe how much Porsche's(as well as other luxury brands) have fallen in the last 6 months. Take you time and find a perfect one!!!

Good luck!!

[rexbd]

just went through the same decision process. Kept looking and found a 2002 C4 Cabriolet for 30 grand. Car is in excellent shape and cheap enough so I added a 3 year warrenty. Found a 2002 c2 Cabriolet certified by Porsche for 32K, so good deals popping up all the time.

[gietl]

Thanks for the input everyone. I am in no rush. Though had that car NOT had that dmaage I could amost guarantee I would have bought it. That clean, with a well documented history. Oh well. ;)

I'd love to get a 2002+, but here they are still going for too uch in my opinion. Well over 30. I am looking nationwide, but I need to spend more time looking at some local options gathering the data on what I really want.

I am pretty sold on finding one with a factory aero package, but I am not a fan of the wing.

Ultimately price, miles and maintenance history are going to be the balance. I drive a car with 181K miles right now, but I would not even question driving it across country with precious cargo.

I'd love to find a C4, a C4S even, but probably beyond my budget.

Anyway, I appreciate the input. Hopefully sometime in the next few months I will be able to find one and pull the trigger. The US Treasury just made that a little more reasonable for me yesterday. ;)

[jhbrennan]

Thanks for the input everyone. I am in no rush. Though had that car NOT had that dmaage I could amost guarantee I would have bought it. That clean, with a well documented history. Oh well. ;)

I'd love to get a 2002+, but here they are still going for too uch in my opinion. Well over 30. I am looking nationwide, but I need to spend more time looking at some local options gathering the data on what I really want.

I am pretty sold on finding one with a factory aero package, but I am not a fan of the wing.

Ultimately price, miles and maintenance history are going to be the balance. I drive a car with 181K miles right now, but I would not even question driving it across country with precious cargo.

I'd love to find a C4, a C4S even, but probably beyond my budget.

Anyway, I appreciate the input. Hopefully sometime in the next few months I will be able to find one and pull the trigger. The US Treasury just made that a little more reasonable for me yesterday. ;)

A little more than you want to spend but it has most of what you're looking for and he appears to be a motivated seller:

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...d.php?t=464901

Edited February 26, 2009 by jhbrennan

[JeTexas]

This is just my opinion, but I think that the lower the mileage car, the less likely that the updates for all the little bugs have been made, i.e. that ghost window problem or the seatbelt sensors that were always triggering the airbag light. I also think the low mileage, rarely driven cars are more likely to have the RMS leaks occur because the seal dries out. Make sure you budget for updates and surprises.