I just purchased a 1997 986 with 16,000 miles on it. It has a Tip trans and after market wheels. I also received two covers and the factory hardtop. All for the paltry sum of $11K. I feel like I won the lottery or something akin to it. I think the gentleman I bought it from was having trouble selling it because of the Tiptronic. I had to take the low miles over the 5/6 speed manual. This thing is almost show room perfect.
It only has a couple of issues that need addressing. First, the driver side window doesn't retract/return like it should when open/closing. Second, the passenger side mirror doesn't adjust. According to the YouTube and Pelican vids/pics I have viewed these look like fairly straight forward repairs. I have the Bentley manual on order and am looking forward to setting things right.
Thank-you to everybody involved with this forum. What a resource. I always imagined how nice this car handled. Now I know firsthand.