53 replies to this topic

[opua]

Prospective owner here. I am a Miata 96M owner, but have been looking at the Porsche 968 lately. I have a sedan for daily use. When I was looking for my Miata, I searched everywhere...Craiglist, Autotrader, car.com, miata.net, and but found one at ebay. Where did you find your 968? Where are good places to look?

[rhudeboye]

Many on the boards are in better condidtion then the average ebay, auto trader site. You may also have the oppurtunity to read past posts from the seller on that very board, to give further insight on the cars history. However in the end nothing beats a PPI.

Theres a nice white one at the link below.

http://www.rennlist.com/ads/

[RPM]

Hey! I had a 96 M-Edition. Great car.

There are numerous places to find 968s, though they are a bit rare. There are several nice cars listed for sale on this board right now. Porsche Club of America has good listings on their site - 13 968s listed there today. You do need to be a member, but if you are going to buy a Porsche you can join as an prospective member and search the online "Mart."

It will help if you start to narrow your search by things such as coupe or cabriolet, manual or tiptronic, and color. The one other thing to consider is distance. Sometimes the 968 of your dreams is many miles away. Forum members can check out the car for you - they may even already know the car.

Good Luck!

[ether_joe]

I checked autotrader, craigslist, cars.com. . . almost bought a car an hour away from craigslist, flew to Colorado to see another one from autotrader that I didn't buy, then bought one off ebay sight unseen and have been in blissful love since

be patient and wait for the right car. . .

oh and welcome to the forums! great car! great community! woohoo!

[Mark]

We need Anchorman to answer this question. .net veterans will remember the insanely long thread detailing his search

[bob blackwell]

I found mine on the PCA website and bought it from a PCA owner in Boulder, CO. (Right next door to New Mexico). Welcome to the 968 Community and good luck with your search. Bob Blackwell.

By the way, Tom in Austin, TX has a nicely optioned '94 Coupe for sale on this site today! bob blackwell.

[opua]

Thanks. I'll check out PCA site and the R.L..

ether joe, my experience in buying the Miata almost mirrors yours. I searched everywhere. Then ebay come along, except the car was in northern New Jersey. (I am in south Jersey) I drove up to see it before making a payment.

RPM, glad to see a former Miata owner here. What would you say the main difference between the 96 M-edition and the 968 in terms of driving/handling?

[94SilverCab]

Cars.com

She had 16k and was living near the twin cities...

[JWahlsten]

I found mine here. The previous owner decided it was to nice to make into a racecar after he had just driven home 2200 miles. I drove it 2500 miles home when I got it...Sometimes you just get lucky.

I checked autotrader, PCA, craigslist, and R.L., but bought this car when it came back up for sale.

[sguy]

I too own and '92 miata and found my 968 a year ago. It took a while to find the right car because I was looking for some specific options and I wanted a car that had been very will cared for (I think we all do). Be patient, there are a limited number for sale at any one time. A PPI is valuable, but I also found talking to a mechanic that knew the car (inside and out) was the most helpful. I bought the car unseen and drove it home 2300 miles, and I've been thrilled since.

Miata and 968 are different on the road and track. the Miata is pure fun, the 968 is pure enjoyment.

Cheers, Stephen

[ether_joe]

RPM, glad to see a former Miata owner here. What would you say the main difference between the 96 M-edition and the 968 in terms of driving/handling?

I've driven a fellow 968er's late-90's miata, and I can say that the Miata feels much lighter, but the Porsche has a helluva lot more grunt. Also the Porsche brakes are kickass, world class clampers.

Miata is a real hoot to drive though, as you know. . . just gotta be a bit more patient.

The 968 engine has a satisfying little shove after 4K rpm, kinda like a small turbo boost.

[flash]

i didn't find mine - my other half did

after 4 months of endless searching, phone calls and emails, i gave up - then, on april 1 2003, ayn called me and said she "had found it" - it was on ebay, and living in cleveland

i said "oh sure - ha ha - april fool - i get it" - she assured me it was for real - i checked it out - i then tracked down a shop that had worked on it - they said "it's the cleanest one we've ever seen - if he's selling it, buy it" - they pointed me to another shop (this one in florida) that worked on it - same story - they then called the owner, who then called me

30 or so phone calls, a slew of emails, and tons of pics of things that few would think of, and i asked "how much to take it off ebay right now?"

he said "28.5k" - i wired him the money sight unseen - he then sent me the paperwork on the car, the stereo faceplate, a set of keys, and a bunch of articles and such for me to play with while we waited for the trucking company to pick it up and bring it to me

2 weeks of 2 different companies dropping the ball, and the previous owner leaving on vacation for 3 weeks, and i was back on the computer booking a flight - flew out that night, and got in a cab (at least i think it was a cab - hadn't been washed since nixon was in office) - had the driver nearly kill me twice as he was inclined to drive on the wrong side of hte road against traffic - finally got to the guy's house, and spent 2 hours getting a tour and checking out all the concours trophies and such

finally hopped in the car after the very long tour of the car and its workings, and then, a half mile from his house, it died - DME relay - decided to try to keep it going, and continued on for the next 30 odd hours to los angeles - it konked out every few hours, but it was a wild fun ride via route 66 - blew through st louis at sundown to see the setting sun bouncing off the arches, then shining like polished silver - blasted through texas at nearly 150, top down, no plates (vanity plates kept by the owner) - got pulled over by a trooper - told him the whole story - turns out he was a cr guy and he wrote me a warning and said "when you get pulled over in new mexico", nodding at me with assurance "and you will get pulled over in new mexico - show them this and they will let you go"

ya know, i wasn't in new mexico 15 minutes before i looked back and saw the pretty red and blue lights - and sure enough, they let me go

hit a crazy rain storm crossing into california - first time the car had ever seen rain - it didn't know what to do, so it decided to do spins on the freeway at 60 - pretty unnerving since i had been up for 2 days, and except for a 3 hour nap in amarillo, was doing this non-stop

made it safe and sound, but definitely an adventure i will remember for the rest of my life

[mustanghusker]

As everyone has said, just be patient. Mine is my father's old car but he found it after a lengthy search all over the place. Finally found a well cared for one through autotrader I believe.

I had a 1993 Miata that I sold when I got the 968. I love them both. The 968 is a noticably heavier car, but obviously has a lot more umph. Where the 968 feels very stable to me and really sits in the corner (in a good way), the Miata felt more like a go kart...which I loved. Hopefully I will be in a position at some point to pick up another Miata for weekend/track fun. Overall, the Porsche just feels more solid.

Good luck with your search, and once you find it, I am sure you will enjoy it. I think everyone here certainly does!

[RPM]

I found mine in the PCA Mart. It was in NJ and Damian kindly took an afternoon to inspect and drive it. Then he spent a hour on the phone describing it in detail. PO had just spent over $5k fixing everything that needed fixing at PowerTech, a very good NJ shop. I spoke with them and that sealed the deal. Rented a car and drove up from NC that weekend. Was having so much fun on the drive out of Jersey that I accidently went through the EZ Pass lane twice on the turnpike. PO was kind enough to pay the tickets.

As for the Miata. I loved that M-Edition. More hp (though a bit more weight) than standard - 125 as I recall. I doubt I will ever drive a car that has more direct steering feel or better gearshift action. But it was no Porsche. The 968 is substantial, has much greater power, and is an overall more serious car. The Miata was fun from 35-70 mph. At 70 the 968 is just getting started. Around 80-90 the car hunkers down as the aerodynamics and downforce starts to take over and the car comes alive. Getting into the Variocam over 4500 rpm reveals a completely different car. Going fast, the 968 is much more fun to drive.

Mine also has a roof.

[ether_joe]

Bob that's a really fun story.

what does 'turns out he was a cr guy' mean?

[H2Ojazz]

.net

Alas, those were the days.

[Anchorman]

I won't take up the invitation to go through the gory details of my hunt - which created an 18-page thread on .net and took quite a few months. After having cars looked at by fellow owners in California and Florida, and driving to see cars in NJ, PA, NY, MD, and VA, the one I eventually purchased was found on eBay in NC. The owner met me at a Porsche dealer in southern VA for a PPI, we negotiated the deal, and several weeks later I flew to NC to pick up the car. Since then, I've spent more on the car than I paid for it (don't tell my wife, although she certainly suspects) and I've not regretted a moment of it. It's my daily driver, I've put nearly 100k miles on it in the four years, and I still smile just about every time I drive it.

[opua]

flash, you got quite a story there.

rpm and the rest of the previous miata owners, thanks for sharing your comparison on the two.

i am off to florida for two week trip now. maybe i'll find one down there. lol.

[happysails2you]

Found mine on eBay. Former boyfriend had one and I loved it; after breakup he sent me the eBay listing, said it would match my eyes (blue). It was in FL, I was in MD. Was very lucky, I was able to talk with their mechanic and had him do a leak down test. PO and I talked/emailed and negotiated a deal (he had some work done) and I did the buy it now price to get it off the auction block. Totally spontaneous. I never saw the car before it arrived on the truck....had friends in FL drive it and check it out and used eBay's "inspection service" -- they knew nothing about Porsches or 968's so they merely looked it over for standard things. I would never do that again for such a specialized car....would definitely have one of the guys on the board check it out or have the local Porsche specialist do a PPI. Had horrible problems with the trucking company ($3700 in damage en route, ouch)....in future would really research the trucking company more, pay more for a more trustworthy company, or would have picked it up in person. Their insurance company will duck any claims.....saying the car carrier failed to perform their end of the agreement and reject the claim, so don't assume you're covered well en route. Upon arrival, after a few miles, the car died--fuel line rupture (damaged en route, hence the big repair bill) and the DME relay going bad were the primary issues. But the car is SO worth every bad moment......it really is in great shape and a great car to drive. Considering I bought it on the spur of the moment, I really did luck out. But I highly recommend a 968 as the most fun car to drive, and one that will always provide high conversation value. HUGE smile factor. Good luck, hope you find one!

[SILVY968]

I found mine on Ebay. It was listed Thu night. I saw it Thu night and called the seller. Went to see it on sat. It was in a "shrine" garage, complete with black and white checkered floor.
New paint, new top, new windshield. When I asked if the new top leaked he said that he did not know since it had never been out in the rain. i live in Seattle! I asked about leaks when he washed it, he said that it has been painted only months before and had not been dirty enough to wash. The polar silver paint and the body lines had me when I walked into the garage.
I left a deposit, he pulled it from Ebay and I was there the next sat with a check. He threw in a new car cover and I was off!

Best birthday present I ever bought myself.
Brian