How Cheaply Will This 1999 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet Sell For?

When Porsche unveiled the new 911 for the 1997 model year, something extraordinary happened. Purists looked past the Carrera’s 296bhp and considerable refinement over previous models, and harped on the fact that it was no longer air-cooled as all previous 911s had been. Criticism waned when the turbo model returned in 2001, but in many ways the damage was already done. And that’s unfortunate, because the 996 is a great car, barring one notable issue with a bearing that can lead to random, catastrophic engine failure.

These factors are why the 996 Carrera is currently the single best supercar/sports car deal in the world, hands down. In America they can be bought all day long for less than $20,000, and mind you, that’s a Carrera in excellent condition with the six-speed manual, documented maintenance history, and not a lot of rounds on the odometer. As for that bearing issue, if it hasn’t already been addressed on a 911 you’re considering, set aside $1000 to have an upgraded bearing installed and enjoy the hell out of driving an awesome German performance legend that’s as reliable as it is inexpensive.

How inexpensive you ask? As I’m bashing away at the keyboard, this 1999 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet in Southern California is currently on eBay with a bid price of $8900. More importantly, it’s a no reserve auction, which means someone is going to own this car-even if the bidding stops at $8900. There are still quite a few days left in the auction so I suspect it will go higher, but given this 911 has done 132,000 miles, there’s a good chance it could end up selling stupid cheap despite being a 911 convertible.

The car is being sold by an auction company which, per the description, says it comes from a “private collection of desirable collector muscle cars.” Nine out of 10 enthusiasts don’t consider a rear-engined, six-cylinder Porsche 911 to be a muscle car (the 10th person abstains because Skylines are the only car worth caring about), so there’s already one strike against the selling team. Strike two comes with absolutely no mention of any maintenance history, yet they’ve seen fit to list every single factoid about the 996-series 911, right down to gear ratios.

The car looks to be in great shape per the 60 or so photos of it. I hate to say it, but perhaps it’s a little too great? It would be wonderful if the car was just maintained that well, but that would mean the seats have been redone and a paint job isn’t out of the question, which is supported by the curiously de-badged rear. These are some basic questions that any potential buyer would have, and they could be addressed with even the smallest bit of maintenance history. I see this over and over; why don’t sellers of such cars understand that buyers want to know this stuff? It really makes me suspicious.

But that’s the pessimist in me talking. This could be a well-kept, well-maintained 911 Cabriolet that the owner just loved enough to drive everywhere. For serious buyers, a phone call should alleviate maintenance concerns and then it just comes down to shrewd bidding. I’m going to guess this goes for $14,000 provided it’s tip-top, and since we’re talking about a freakin’ 911 convertible that can go from 0-60mph in about 5.0 seconds, that could be the performance deal of the year.