Buying A Used Porsche – Books To Check Out
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I picked up a couple of Porsche books as a refresher on buying a used Porsche. Both are longtime staples in the book world on the topic of Porsche and worth reading. Even if you've purchased a used Porsche in the past, consider grabbing one or both of these to remind you of things you may have forgotten in the buying process.
Although I've never purchased a Porsche specifically in the past, I've been with several buddies who have and I've also looked at a heck of a lot of used Porsches. Picking up a couple of books like this will give you a better shot at finding a solid car that you can enjoy fully instead of a car that more sucks your time and money than provide a fun driving experience.
Porsche 911 Buyer's Guide
This series was formerly the Illustrated Porsche Buyer's Guide by Dean Batchelor. Randy Leffingwell, a long time Porsche enthusiast, took over the series as it changed to a Color Buyer's Guide approach. Randy states the goal of the book right up front:
"…to make the car shopping, examining, and purchasing stresses manageably low, so the driving and pleasure quotients remain very high."
One of the reasons I picked up this book is because of it's continuation of Batchelor's work in the Illustrated Porsche Buyer's Guide. That series was one of the best for all around good information and buying process help for both novice and experienced Porsche buyers. This book is a bit old and only covers through the 2001 model year. More than sufficient for my needs since I'm looking for a 911 that's pre-2000.
Porsche 911 Performance Handbook
This is the second edition of this book I've owned. It's an excellent book and regarded as one of the best all around books on the 911. Bruce Anderson writes the monthly Porsche Market Update found in Excellence magazine and is one of the premiere experts on Porsche cars. I've followed him for a long time and he definitely knows his stuff.
Although the title may make you think it's a book for tuners, it also has great information on 911s that can be applied to the purchasing process. There's even a chapter dedicated to Buying a Used 911. Definitely pick up this book if you're looking to buy a used Porsche or already own one and want some project or technical information about the 911.
As soon as I'm done with the books, I'll post up a more formal review. I'm also working on a summary of the buying process from a non-mechanical buyer's perspective with a couple of resources to help in the buying process.
39 Comments on this post
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dedes said:
I always use this information when someone asks about buying a used Porsche, especially a Porsche Boxster.
Mike Focke's
Porsche BoxsterWeb Pages Index
http://mike.focke.googlepages.com/mikesporscheboxsterwebpagesJanuary 29th, 2009 at 8:10 am -
Jeff W said:
This is a great idea. I will have to pick those up. I am in the market to start looking for a 911. Will start looking at the pre-2000 years because of affordability.
March 28th, 2009 at 9:30 am -
Christina G. said:
I didn't even know they had buyer's guides for Porsches. Thanks for the info!
April 15th, 2009 at 7:59 am -
Casey W, said:
Do they have any of these books for a 944? I already have it, but it would have been nice to have a guide book. Iv got alot of work ahead of me
April 16th, 2009 at 10:48 am -
BobinCT said:
Thanks for the info on the books. I've always purchased new and now looking for a used 911Cab 4
April 24th, 2009 at 12:29 am -
BobinCT said:
I'm looking for a used 911 Cab 4. Can anyone tell me the best place(s) to look or purchase for the absolute best price. Retail/wholesale and which auctions are best?
April 24th, 2009 at 6:21 am -
BobinCT said:
Can anyone tell me the best used model years from 2000 up and which model years to stay away from?
April 24th, 2009 at 6:22 am -
BobinCT said:
I'm in Connecticut but will travel for a spectacular deal on a 911 cab 4 automatic. . .any suggestions?
April 24th, 2009 at 6:24 am -
Ryan said:
@BobinCT – I'd start by snagging the last copy of Excellence Magazine that had Bruce Anderson's review of the 996 and 997s. He does a great job giving a nice summary of cars with highlights of stuff to avoid. In my opinion, every car has it's quirks and no year is a perfect one. Figure out what style you want and buy the nicest car you can find for the money you have to spend. The 996s, for example, have gotten a bad rap for a number of reasons. Aside from doing the 30k service which hadn't been done on the car, I haven't put any money into the Giveaway Porsche. And I knew about the 30k service before I bought the car, so that wasn't a surprise.
Just my two "non-mechanical" cents.
April 25th, 2009 at 1:20 pm -
Stephen said:
Thanks for listing these books, looks like I'm off to the book store.
May 9th, 2009 at 7:40 am -
Ben said:
I skimmed through the first one at a friend of mine's house and it seemed very informative. Definitely a good idea to do some research when buying used.
May 10th, 2009 at 11:20 pm -
tdankodt said:
Thanks for the very useful tip!
May 12th, 2009 at 7:56 pm -
Phil S said:
forewarned is forearmed. more info before purchase
is a terrific idea.May 18th, 2009 at 8:01 pm -
Stephen said:
Thjanks for the list of books.
May 23rd, 2009 at 8:04 pm -
Phil S said:
and a book you would never get tired of picking
up and reading at any pointMay 23rd, 2009 at 8:57 pm -
Brad said:
Thanks for the heads up on these books, Right now, Books are as close as i get!
May 25th, 2009 at 6:45 am -
lar said:
little homework can go a long way.
May 30th, 2009 at 3:11 pm -
maria said:
research could probably save a lot of money in the long run.
May 31st, 2009 at 8:32 pm -
Julie said:
We're in the market for a nice used car, glad to know about these books – thank you! I'm going to see if our library will get them in for me.
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:11 am -
Andy said:
i was really surprised at what the '09 cayman's are priced at…..only $49,000!!
June 6th, 2009 at 11:08 pm -
Andy said:
i was really surprised at what the '09 cayman's are priced at only $49,000
June 6th, 2009 at 11:08 pm -
maria said:
anyone used these with success?
June 12th, 2009 at 7:05 pm -
Phil Schneider said:
I really want a mid 80's 911
June 12th, 2009 at 8:50 pm -
Stephen said:
I really didn't know there was a buyer's guide to purchasing a Porsche.
June 14th, 2009 at 9:35 am -
lar said:
books for specific models?
June 14th, 2009 at 4:54 pm -
Phil Schneider said:
knowledge and friends are good (caveman voice)
June 19th, 2009 at 8:57 pm -
R Hicks said:
I have the 911 buyers guide. Highly recommended!
June 28th, 2009 at 12:53 am -
Stephen said:
The assistance and reference material provided are priceless!
June 28th, 2009 at 5:35 am -
mitchell said:
thanks for the info – for when i eventually start shopping.
July 8th, 2009 at 2:45 am -
claire said:
gd info on the books ive been looking for a used porshe and these books will surely help me
July 11th, 2009 at 12:18 pm -
tracy davis said:
Thanks for the info on the books. I've always purchased new and now looking for a used 911Cab 4
July 17th, 2009 at 11:39 pm -
Stephen said:
These are wonderful suggestions/books for purchasing a used Porsche. Thanks again for the suggestions.
July 19th, 2009 at 8:08 am -
lar said:
any years to stay clear of with 911 or boxster?
July 21st, 2009 at 8:54 am -
Stephen said:
If the car is properly maintained then you should be fine.
July 24th, 2009 at 4:39 am -
tracy davis said:
Thanks for the info on the books. I've always purchased new and now looking for a used 911.
July 26th, 2009 at 6:53 pm -
tracy davis said:
I didn't even know they had buyer's guides for Porsches
July 27th, 2009 at 9:46 pm -
ernie said:
Thank you for the help. Peace Up Porsche On.
July 30th, 2009 at 7:28 pm -
Chris said:
Great resource guide, I will keep my eye out for these especially since my dream is to be driving on of these babies very soon.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:48 pm -
Laura Adams said:
Reseach is very important when you are making a decision of this magnatude.
August 4th, 2009 at 10:25 am
