Best Places to Find Used Porsches

Wondering where the best places to find used Porsches are? Me too. Since I’ve been doing a little more intentional searching for Porsches lately (rather than the casual dreamer approach), I’ve started to figure out where I think the best place to find a good deal on a used Porsche will be. Here’s my list so far.

Craigslist.com
It’s tough to beat craigslist.com in my opinion. It’s much like the AOL classified boards way back in the early days of the Internet. Free (in most cities), simple, and usually fairly straight-up people hawking their wares. I’ve also noticed that by and large, people tend to offer stuff at more reasonable and oftentimes downright bargain basement prices. Sure the selection can be a bit slim, but people posting on craigslist.com are usually motivated to sell. One of my favorite techniques on craigslist.com is to make contact with a seller, then wait until the listing has expired (usually about 7 days), and if the seller hasn’t reposted, contact him/her after another week or so. Lots of times you’ll get an even better price on whatever they’re selling since many just give up after posting once or twice.

Auto Trader
I’ve never been a huge Auto Trader fan. I guess it always seemed a bit cluttered and low end to me with the black and white pictures. Course I don’t read the newspaper either. Maybe it’s the newsprint. Regardless, it can be a great source for some used deals. In the issue I picked up yesterday, I was surprised there weren’t more Porsches listed in my local market. There were a few decently priced cars, but most seemed like dealer offerings. Again a little patience can pay off when you can find a car that’s been listed for 4 or 5 weeks or longer. That’s a great opportunity to pick up a great ride for even less.

Local Newspaper Classifieds
Not high on my list, but sometimes you run across a deal here and there. Being a guy who makes his living on the Internet, I’m firmly in the Traditional Classified Ads Are Dead camp. I can’t remember the last time I even looked at the classified ads much less bought or listed anything there. Course you can find all of the ads online at the newspaper’s web site. If you want to consider this as a source, save your pocket change, a tree, and some time by looking online.

Excellence Magazine Classifieds
Worth mentioning if you’re looking for a particular vehicle or a Porsche with a little less risk involved. I’ve found over the years that the people who tend to list cars there are usually Porsche aficionados. They tend to take care of their cars, know what they have, and price it accordingly. If you’re looking for a steal or a project car, I doubt it will come from Excellence Classifieds. Great magazine though.

duPont Registry
Honestly, I’m more than a little surprised this has held on as a monthly publication. When it started as a quarterly publication, if I remember correctly, although it was cool, I didn’t see any way it was going to last. Much less go monthly and include other luxury items. Personally I think good deals on everyday Porsches are rare in duPont Registry. If you’re looking for something rare or high end, it would be a great place to keep an eye on. It’s also a great dreamer’s mag and can be a great source of eduction on models. One interesting thing I just found out today…you can view the latest issues right online in their entirety for free. I even signed up to have them delivered to my inbox monthly.

cars.com/usedcars.com/vehix.com/Yahoo! Autos/AOL Autos
I lumped these web sites together, and there are hundreds of them I haven’t listed. Unless you stumble on a niche site or something small or local, they basically all have the same listings. In my opinion, most of the listings are dealer Porsches and if you hit one or two of the big ones like cars.com and usedcars.com, you’ll have seen most of what’s available. You certainly don’t want to NOT look at these sources. Just find one or two sites you like and watch those for deals.

eBay Motors
Lots of people have found killer deals on luxury or high end cars on eBay. I don’t happen to be one of them. For some reason, given eBay’s popularity and it’s consequential growing number of scammers, I’m leary of buying something like a car on eBay. As long as you’re careful, do your homework, and buy from someone with a positive reputation on eBay, you should minimize your risk. I’m always tempted by the killer deals though on eBay Motors.

I’m sure I’ve missed some important sources or hidden gems. If you have one (or more!) to add, please leave a comment. Maybe we’ll start an ongoing list of sources specifically for used Porsches and places where people have found the best deals. I know this isn’t going to be my first and last Porsche purchase, so a good resource to refer to when I start looking would be very helpful.