low or higher mileage

richardofengland · 13 Mar 2006

I thought that paying a little more for a 996 coupe with low miles would be a more sound purchase than one cheaper but with higher miles. A well known and good dealer said:

buy on condition always. Low miles maybe a sign of stop start use around town wheras more miles is likely to be motorway use. So why pay a premium for low miles. In 3 or 4 years time the R/S/T reg cars will be about the same price with the biggest factor overall condition.

Does this make sense or not. I expect over 18 months to put 20k miles on the clock. Of course things wear differently so should I pay less and get one with a few more miles and then will it be very difficult to sell or pay a premium for my low miler and then try and sell it with 60k. i can see many cars between 24 and 30 k with regn R to T which is a big range and would ideally like something around year 2000, low miles, silver and 30k GBP. Is it better to buy cheaper or will I suffer later.

Thanks

Richard

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Tiptronic · 13 Mar 2006

Hi Richard,

I have thought about this long and hard, and I can only speak from personal experience,

On the comment re stop start milage/ would agree with a Nissan Micra type car ie small supermini, stop start used daily, that is a real killer for any car/especially small engine car.

However a 911, with low mileage is more likley to have been cosseted and used occasionaly, and then especially if genuine low milage, the owner is likley to have warmed it up correctley before harsh use, so as a result the car will be significantly less worn than a high milage car.

On the other side of the coin, if you come accross a high miler, no matter how well looked after, it is by the sheer nature of its use have less life left in it.

You have to remember though, that a well looked after 911, can go for 200k miles and more. Best advice from me is to buy the best condition car you can find with the lowest milage/price compromise.

Not everyone is going to agree with what i say, however if you work on the balance of probablities and averages I think it makes sense overall.

Daz

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richardofengland · 13 Mar 2006

Thanks, I expect to lose a bit on depreciation but would also like a car that i can still sell at the end of it.

I think there is some point in the fact that a lot of older Porsches are well into high mileage and overall condition is king when purchasing. Even so, lower miles will always bring a premium.

Thanks for your help

Rich

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Porsche · 14 Mar 2006

richard

a topic that Mark Pearce knows a lot about !

but low mileage 996's or any 911 will have a premium but it all comes down to actual mechanical condition which is more important for these special cars.. but the nature of the car market is that there is always a market for low mileage cars

regards

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Robertb · 14 Mar 2006

It funny how dealers (Mark excepted of course!) often say "mileage doesn't matter, only condition" until the time you come to px your high mileage, but otherwise immaculate car...

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Philip1972 · 14 Mar 2006

On a personal level I would not like a very low miler which has spent month after month in a garage doing nothing. My brother has a car like that which he uses once a year (too drunk most of the time) and he is having new hoses etc and brakes and tyres all the time. If it was used his bills would be next to nothing. I feel that buying a car that has been sitting around will end up having quite a bit of work done. However, getting one that has recently been serviced etc is great. For me though I wanted my car (65K) as I knew it had been used everyday and any major issues would have surfaced already -I knew the guy though so trusted what he was telling me.

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richardofengland · 14 Mar 2006

thanks for your thoughts, no doubt a point raised many times.

I think as I am likely to put 25k miles on in 18months, then I will have to set my sights on lo4 40-45 k miles so as not to knock the value completely. I dont think that the high mile cars have got to the level where mileage does not matter yet, so even a car with say 60 k putting it upto 85 k will show a bloody great loss as well.

All I need to do is find my car now - nearly had one last weekend !!

cheers rich

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