991 for Cuda911 - My new (to me) 991
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 7:25 pm
Well, at the beginning of the year I said that I wouldn't buy any more cars this year. I did pretty good, and only bought four.
As many (all?) of you know, my latest addition is a 2012 991 S. I've randomly posted in some other threads, so yes, there will be some overlap in pix and info, but consolidating it all in one place.
As many (all?) of you know, my 996 was rear-ended by a texting kid in August, and totaled.
After many appraisals, insurance negotiations, etc., I cashed out at about $35K. So, what to get for a replacement? Obviously, 35K covers a replacement 996, with change left over for dinner and a movie.
I use my car for a daily driver, and ever since we got our 2014 Cayman, I have really been enjoying some of the more modern aspects of the car. I strongly considered a 997.2 (to eliminate the dreaded IMSB issue). Then I started looking at newer Cayman S's, which are very reasonably priced with only a few thousand miles on them.
But, I have always wanted a 911. My screen name, Cuda911, was made way back when Al Gore invented the internet, thus creating the need for the masses to generate aliases to hide behind whilst posting. It was made for my America Online account. Jeez, I miss all those free AOL sign-up CDs I used to get in the mail every day! Made me feel special.
During my searching, I found that 991's are now in what I consider a "sweet spot" of depreciation. About 40% off of the original price for a relatively low mileage car in the earlier years of 991 production. So, with the insurance settlement covering 35K of the purchase price, I felt that this was the "golden opportunity."
Upon further research, I found that as awesome as the 991 version is, the 991 S offers vastly more for a relatively small price increase. And, add in PDK, Sport Chrono, Sport Exhaust, Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control, and a few other goodies, and you have probably the best sports car ever made.
Here were my initial search criteria that I posted in a search thread that I created on RL:
- 991 (base or S).
- About 2014 or so.
- Under 45K miles. Of course, the lower the better.
- Exterior color blue. (Ideally Sapphire Blue, but Lapis Blue or similar is fine. No Miami Blue though. Too "Smurf" looking for me.)
- Interior color I am less concerned about, but I prefer grey, tan, brown or some color other than black. Nothing crazy though.
- Clean car with no accidents, no “stories.”
- Coupe only, no cabs.
- PDK only, no manual.
- About $60k +/- price.
- The closer to San Diego the better. For an ideal car I'd be willing to pay to have it shipped here but I'd want some eyes on it first by an RL member or other trusted party.
With those criteria, the number of available cars was very small. I searched the entire country. At least an hour or two every single day. Same as when I was looking for a 914. It's the only way to be the first guy when the "right" car pops up.
The past four months has been an emotional "up and down" journey. I found the "perfect" (for me) car about 5 times, but each time there was a glitch of some sort and the deal didn't work out. One turned out to be a total scam, a guy using the web site of a dealer that had gone out of business, listing cars he doesn't have.
Eventually one of my leads led me to a car located in PA. Amazingly, it was only a few miles from DT Miller's house, and he was able to check out the car for me! At Faulkner Maserati. So, DT checked the car out and took the sales guy for a ride that made him crap his pants. Thanks DT!!! (he's also the guy that found the replacement motor for my 996, so I figure I owe him a beer. Gnat can take care of the pearl necklace).
The dealership has been fantastic to work with. They decontaminated the seat, I negotiated a 7K price reduction, they fixed a few minor items that I requested, and the deal was done.
I put down the insurance money as a deposit and financed the rest. A few weeks of negotiation got my interest rate reduced from 6.9% to 3.4%, a rate that I can live with and chops $3,500 off of the total finance fees. I'll pay it off much faster, to further reduce cost.
I wanted a CPO car if possible, but that didn't work out. Dealer wanted 9K (!!!!) for a two-year 20,000 mile policy. No thanks. But, as luck would have it, a good friend of mine was college roommate with a guy that brokers aftermarket policies. He gave me an insider deal wholesale rate of $3,100 for an excellent 5-year 40K mile policy.
Now, had to get the car here to San Diego. Faulkner Maserati referred me to their shipping guy, and I also got some quotes from some other connections I have. Negotiated a rate of $1,250 for the transport, down from the original quote of about $1,800.
I was told that it would take about 6 or 7 days to get here from PA. The car was picked up in PA on the evening of Friday, December 21. On Sunday the 23rd I called the driver to touch base. He told me that he was already in Los Angeles with the car!! I have still not figured out how he got there so fast, but my guess is a coffee and a No-DOZ IV drip. He said he would deliver the car on the 25th, Christmas day. He said he would call me at 7 am on the 25th to confirm. Well, 8:00 am and no call. I call him. In his EXTREMELY limited English, he tells me that he has been in an accident. The truck is disabled. He can't even get the cars off. He claims that no cars were injured. Of course, I can't get a hold of the shipping company, the dispatcher, or anyone on X-mas day. Driver says I can't come to the damaged truck and get my car. Mild panic sets in.
After many calls and texts, the driver eventually tells me that he can bring the car to my house. I live on a narrow dead-end street. Get a call that he is parked a block away. Walk over in the rain (yeah, pretty freaky for San Diego to have rain), and he has just finished unloading the car.
Talked to him a bit. Very hard to understand with his limited English, but he showed me pix of the accident. He was parked at a truck stop and a car blasted into his trailer. All of the cars on it were fine except a Lotus that took impact to the rear corner.
Here's my very first view of my new car:
After inspection (a bit dirty from the trip, but otherwise fine), I hopped in and took it for a short drive. The wet roads gave a fantastic opportunity to push it and see the limits.
Continued....
As many (all?) of you know, my latest addition is a 2012 991 S. I've randomly posted in some other threads, so yes, there will be some overlap in pix and info, but consolidating it all in one place.
As many (all?) of you know, my 996 was rear-ended by a texting kid in August, and totaled.
After many appraisals, insurance negotiations, etc., I cashed out at about $35K. So, what to get for a replacement? Obviously, 35K covers a replacement 996, with change left over for dinner and a movie.
I use my car for a daily driver, and ever since we got our 2014 Cayman, I have really been enjoying some of the more modern aspects of the car. I strongly considered a 997.2 (to eliminate the dreaded IMSB issue). Then I started looking at newer Cayman S's, which are very reasonably priced with only a few thousand miles on them.
But, I have always wanted a 911. My screen name, Cuda911, was made way back when Al Gore invented the internet, thus creating the need for the masses to generate aliases to hide behind whilst posting. It was made for my America Online account. Jeez, I miss all those free AOL sign-up CDs I used to get in the mail every day! Made me feel special.
During my searching, I found that 991's are now in what I consider a "sweet spot" of depreciation. About 40% off of the original price for a relatively low mileage car in the earlier years of 991 production. So, with the insurance settlement covering 35K of the purchase price, I felt that this was the "golden opportunity."
Upon further research, I found that as awesome as the 991 version is, the 991 S offers vastly more for a relatively small price increase. And, add in PDK, Sport Chrono, Sport Exhaust, Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control, and a few other goodies, and you have probably the best sports car ever made.
Here were my initial search criteria that I posted in a search thread that I created on RL:
- 991 (base or S).
- About 2014 or so.
- Under 45K miles. Of course, the lower the better.
- Exterior color blue. (Ideally Sapphire Blue, but Lapis Blue or similar is fine. No Miami Blue though. Too "Smurf" looking for me.)
- Interior color I am less concerned about, but I prefer grey, tan, brown or some color other than black. Nothing crazy though.
- Clean car with no accidents, no “stories.”
- Coupe only, no cabs.
- PDK only, no manual.
- About $60k +/- price.
- The closer to San Diego the better. For an ideal car I'd be willing to pay to have it shipped here but I'd want some eyes on it first by an RL member or other trusted party.
With those criteria, the number of available cars was very small. I searched the entire country. At least an hour or two every single day. Same as when I was looking for a 914. It's the only way to be the first guy when the "right" car pops up.
The past four months has been an emotional "up and down" journey. I found the "perfect" (for me) car about 5 times, but each time there was a glitch of some sort and the deal didn't work out. One turned out to be a total scam, a guy using the web site of a dealer that had gone out of business, listing cars he doesn't have.
Eventually one of my leads led me to a car located in PA. Amazingly, it was only a few miles from DT Miller's house, and he was able to check out the car for me! At Faulkner Maserati. So, DT checked the car out and took the sales guy for a ride that made him crap his pants. Thanks DT!!! (he's also the guy that found the replacement motor for my 996, so I figure I owe him a beer. Gnat can take care of the pearl necklace).
The dealership has been fantastic to work with. They decontaminated the seat, I negotiated a 7K price reduction, they fixed a few minor items that I requested, and the deal was done.
I put down the insurance money as a deposit and financed the rest. A few weeks of negotiation got my interest rate reduced from 6.9% to 3.4%, a rate that I can live with and chops $3,500 off of the total finance fees. I'll pay it off much faster, to further reduce cost.
I wanted a CPO car if possible, but that didn't work out. Dealer wanted 9K (!!!!) for a two-year 20,000 mile policy. No thanks. But, as luck would have it, a good friend of mine was college roommate with a guy that brokers aftermarket policies. He gave me an insider deal wholesale rate of $3,100 for an excellent 5-year 40K mile policy.
Now, had to get the car here to San Diego. Faulkner Maserati referred me to their shipping guy, and I also got some quotes from some other connections I have. Negotiated a rate of $1,250 for the transport, down from the original quote of about $1,800.
I was told that it would take about 6 or 7 days to get here from PA. The car was picked up in PA on the evening of Friday, December 21. On Sunday the 23rd I called the driver to touch base. He told me that he was already in Los Angeles with the car!! I have still not figured out how he got there so fast, but my guess is a coffee and a No-DOZ IV drip. He said he would deliver the car on the 25th, Christmas day. He said he would call me at 7 am on the 25th to confirm. Well, 8:00 am and no call. I call him. In his EXTREMELY limited English, he tells me that he has been in an accident. The truck is disabled. He can't even get the cars off. He claims that no cars were injured. Of course, I can't get a hold of the shipping company, the dispatcher, or anyone on X-mas day. Driver says I can't come to the damaged truck and get my car. Mild panic sets in.
After many calls and texts, the driver eventually tells me that he can bring the car to my house. I live on a narrow dead-end street. Get a call that he is parked a block away. Walk over in the rain (yeah, pretty freaky for San Diego to have rain), and he has just finished unloading the car.
Continued....
Ugh!