Bret:
I haven't created a buyer's guide, I'll take a short first cut here and possibly expand on it later on:
If you are set on a GT3 for your purposes, you have really good options now on the market, albeit some are pricer and are at the top of the price ladder.
I'd say stay away from RS 4.0 cars as their prices are in the collector range and if you were to track these cars at all, the downside on price will be major.
If you were to obtain a GT3 primarily for tracking, I'd say the best value is the 996.
For dual purpose GT3, I think the 997.1 and .2 are the best choices, excluding the 991 at this time. I think the 997.2 GT3 is the most technically advanced dual-purpose car there is, fulfilling daily/weekend duties and track performance superbly. The 997.1 and .2 RS cars also great choices, but the slider is more towards weekend/track vs. dd purposes, if nothing else for the attention-grabbing looks of the cars. All these are personal preferences of course. However, technically speaking the 997.2 GT3 is a tangibly better performance and daily driver than the 997.1 GT3 RS, and given their market prices are close enough today and it may be difficult choice between the two.
My Personal General Recommendations:
- Avoid crashed cars, minor accidents are OK as long as repair work was done to high quality
- Give extra scrutiny for cars with over 15K track miles; tracking is plays well into the nature of GT3s of course, but with high track miles, chassis tolerances widen and some play or vagueness become noticeable in the chassis
- Full service records is a must IMO
- PPI through a trusted dealer is a must also; however, a general PPI even for CPO purposes do not check some of the details; such as bushings, chassis rigidity, shocks, etc.
- High number of Range 2 or more than half a dozen Range 3+ overrevs should of concern
- Ideally have a cylinder leak down tests should be performed and results between cylinders should not vary more than 5%
- During a test drive, carefully listen to the start up of the engine and while running, for unusual clicking or whining noises, which are not good indicators. Not all such noises are indications of a problem, but maybe an indication of a brewing issue for the long turn.
- Check for IMS fix
- Check for clutch wear, it should be engaging without any cluncks or whines
- Check any bending of anti-roll bar end-links, stock end-links bend too easily even on 997.2 cars
I think the 996 GT3 buying recommendations and what to look for are already well documented through multiple sources. A concise summary can be found at:
http://www.gt3resource.com/page2/fil...orsche0029.pdf
I'll supplement this when I have the time with 997 information within the next couple of days.