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The 996 bargain hiding in plain sight
This week: A heavily underpriced 996, rapid-fire picks, and oddities
Sometimes in life, you search for what feels like an eternity and nothing shows up.
A new job, a better apartment, the right car… You check every site, set up alerts, refresh obsessively. Still nothing.
You can't force it. You just have to wait.
This week's pick feels like that reward for waiting. A 996 opportunity you couldn't manufacture if you tried.
Now don't wait.
Onwards!
—RF
Complaining about 996 prices? Call this guy.
PROS
| CONS
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I keep hearing complaints that 996s are too expensive.
Then why is this great example still sitting?
A gorgeous Seal Grey Metallic Carrera 4 with a never-ending list of options and upgrades, well-documented service history, priced many thousands under market. Clean title, Comfort Seat package, exclusive Sonderwunsch options, LN Engineering IMS upgrade, PSM, BBS 2-piece Sport Classic II 18" wheels that fit it like a glove.
The seller has solid reviews and all his listings show the same location. No stock photos, no obvious red flags.
A 996 like this for $19,900 has no business sitting for 4 weeks.
Is it the 132K miles?
Not an issue if the car's been loved.
Or is it post-holiday slowdown?
Either way, someone's about to act and feel very smart when they gloat on the forums.
Market Report
The sweet spot for a well-sorted manual 996.1 sits between $27K and $31K. These are cars with miles but major mechanical and aesthetic issues properly addressed.
This other C4 we featured last year sold within days at similar pricing in the low $20Ks.
This Carrera 4 is aggressively priced to sell. Don't sleep on it if it checks your boxes.
What You (and Your Mechanic) Should Know
With pricing this exceptional, extra caution is advised. Ask the seller how he acquired the car and what he knows of previous ownership. More than ever, get a thorough pre-purchase inspection from a specialist in the area.
Regarding the C4's AWD system: it uses a viscous coupling that can fail over time, leaving you with RWD only. Some prefer it that way, but confirm the current condition during your inspection.
Best of the Rest
These cars also passed the Pepita filter this week:
🔗 This excellent 996 Turbo, Tiptronic, for just $40,000. "Garage kept, not driven in winter and very well maintained its whole life." The stack of service record pictures alone is worth checking the ad.
🔗 This PCA-member-owned Cobalt Blue 987.1 Boxster, manual, with stacks of service records and other goodies, for $18,500.
🔗 This gorgeous 987.1 Cayman in Midnight Blue Metallic, tan interior, and Tiptronic transmission for only $17,999.
🔗 This Guards Red 987.1 Cayman S with a manual transmission, 2 owners, garage kept, low miles, and overall excellent first impression for $25,000.
🔗 Or this Meteor Grey Cayman S, also manual, also babied, also leaving an excellent first impression, for $25,500.
Out There
“Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist, brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.”
Robb from Port Orchard, WA, had a vision: turn a 2006 Cayman S into a rally-ready Safari build.
Eight years later, Dr. Frankenstein's monster sits in the rain. A rusted rear, stitched-together front end, and a pile of dismembered parts scattered across the yard.
The dream died. The parts remain.
Adopted Puppies
While the Cayman and Boxster markets feel sluggish, 996 sales are moving. The Targa from December sold in a couple of weeks. Two 996s from last week's "Best of the Rest" section sold even faster: The $31,000 2002 Carrera on PCA Mart is already gone, and the C4S for $30,500 (amazing price for a C4S) is also gone. |  |
Porsche Problems
See you next week with more affordable picks!
Take care,
—RF