At $19,500, Is This 1999 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet A Bargain Beauty?

The seller of today’s Nice Price or No Dice 911 thinks they are the car’s 4th owner, making it a bit of a hot potato, though it’s only done a mere 87K under all those owners. Let’s see if the price tag makes it a hot commodity, too.

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Speaking of hot, the custom flame job on yesterday’s 2009 Nissan Cube certainly proved polarizing. That, and a six-speed manual transmission, set our car apart from its more common Cube-mates. For those who don’t like the idea of going up the road in flames, the Cube’s $5,500 offered some consolation. Ultimately, that earned the car a 74 percent Nice Price win.

So, I think we can almost all agree that the time for people to look down upon the 996 edition of the 911 and its other-brother-from-a-mid-engined-mother, the 986 Boxster is long over. Fear-mongering over IMS bearings and the traditionalist’s bent toward hating anything not air-cooled have simply fallen out of fashion. That’s good for the cars, which never deserved such derision, but it’s bad for people wanting to get into the Porsche experience since the cars are now getting more expensive.

There are still some cars to be found out there that haven’t yet boarded the crazy train, and we’re here today to see if this 1999 Porsche 911 Carrera cabriolet is one of them. This is an early model of an almost clean-sheet redesign for the 911, the model’s first ever. Only some suspension componentry and the gearbox were brought along from the previous 993 models, with everything else being brand new and a great deal of that shared with the contemporary 986 Boxster. As such, there were teething issues aplenty with these cars.

Per the description in the ad, most of those have been addressed in this 996. Most notably, the IMS bearing — that bugaboo that’s been blown way out of proportion — has been replaced. The car also enjoys a new clutch ahead of its 3.4-liter flat six and a set of HRE alloys wearing tires with a good amount of tread. According to the present owner, the car “has been well cared for” and presents mechanically as “very sound.” Some of the receipts for work done on the car over the years will come with the sale, but apparently, those records are a bit spotty. The seller isn’t even sure how many previous owners the car had.

As far as looks go, this Carrera seems to have its act together. There are only 87,000 miles on the clock, and based on the pictures, those don’t seem to have been hard-won miles. The silver paint pops appreciably, and the convertible top is intact, with clear plastic in its rear window. All the windows (another 996 issue) seem to work without complaint.

The only glaring issues on the outside are a set of aftermarket projector headlamps that look unflatteringly aftermarket and those HRE wheels, which, while decent enough looking, stand in for Porsche’s arguably more desirable factory alloys. Also, the Carrera badge on the engine lid needs replacement, having lost the last “a,” likely to an overly aggressive car wash.

The cabin looks to have all its original pieces save for the Becker stereo, which has been replaced by an aftermarket unit. A quartet of cassette drawers sits below that, unneeded. Both the steering wheel and shift knob are free from wear, and none of the buttons looks sticky or broken. However, the same sense of survival can’t be said for the seats. The driver’s side displays the most wear and could use a good cleaning and perhaps a re-dye. Factory floor mats tickle tootsies down below and seem to be in fine shape.

According to the ad, the seller’s cup runneth over with cars, meaning this one has got to go. A clean title means the new owner shouldn’t have much trouble with registration, valuation, or insurance. The asking price is $19,500, meaning we now need to circle back to our original question of whether or not this 911 is a good deal.

What do you say? Is this Carrera convertible priced still priced like people don’t like the 996? Or is it already too late?

You decide!

Denver, Colorado, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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