I'm beginning to shop for one. Either a late 996, early 997, 4S's only, or possibly a Cayman. Any tips on what to avoid? Reliable enough to consider buying one with 80k+ on the odo?
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Any Porsche guys here?
- Thread starter SOLGardener
- Start date
Are you looking to adopt a 43 year old? 
your talking used Porsche so no matter what I hope you have cash to cover the maintenance and repair. That being said they have always been fairly reliable for what they are but it will for sure have issues here and there and they WILL be expensive to fix. but damn are they fun but there are honestly cars just as fast for less that are more reliable so it all matters on what exactly it is your wanting out of it. But if your looking to get a Porsche for the sake of owning a Porsche then I'd spring for as classic of one as you can find.
^^^ brings up a good point. What are you wanting out of it? The 996 and 997 are more likely to have better resale value or actually increase in value if that's a concern. Just MO.
I own a late 996. The 996 is the least desireable body style/headlight and have a bad reputation for intermediate shaft seal bearing failure. As a result, a 996 will be your most affordable option for a 911. When you are looking at these cars, you need to make sure that the IMS bearing has been replaced (or if the motor has been replaced). You can tell if it has a replacement motor usually if there is no cosmoline on it. Make sure you have at least $3000 tucked away for repairs after you get the car. Replacing all the little electronic bits or having to an IMS bearing replacement will burn through that really quickly. You need to check tires, brakes, service history, everything you possibly can, because stuff adds up really fast on these cars. Finding a reputable independent shop is also highly recommended. These cars will run way past 80K, so dont worry a ton about the mileage. Worry about what needs to be replaced and serviced at those intervals.
I would also avoid the Cayman. If you are over 6' tall, it's rather cramped. Furthermore, Porsche dumbs down the Cayman from the factory so as not to cannibalize the 911 flagship line. Cayman values are super soft. Think about what happened with the Porsche 928 - it's going to end up like that.
I have a budget and have seen a few 997's in that realm. I like the sleeker look of the 997 more that the VW buggish look of the 996, and understand that the 996 can have a body kit (I figure it's not cheap, and doesn't add much to the value.)
I have wanted a 911 since I was in 4th grade (1979). Silly or not, I had a silver 911 Matchbox that was a treasure and it was a "One day I'll have one of these", and I'm close to that.
I like the style, the sportiness, the sound, etc. for me, it's likely to be something that I kept for a long, long time unless I just hated driving it, and I've seen the 4s handle curves and it's sexy.
To some degree, I'd consider the Boxster. I like the looks of it, but it's a little bit of "girl car" looking. They can be had pretty cheap.
Driving wise, I'd expect to drive it to/from work 2-3 days a week, some play on the weekend..
.. and going out on the town with a beautiful woman that would look drop dead sexy taking my hand as I open the door for her. IMO, she deserves to have something like that for a carriage.
I've considered a BMW M3, but I've just never been a nut for Bimmers. Considered an Audi model or two, but they're just not as stylish.
I have wanted a 911 since I was in 4th grade (1979). Silly or not, I had a silver 911 Matchbox that was a treasure and it was a "One day I'll have one of these", and I'm close to that.
I like the style, the sportiness, the sound, etc. for me, it's likely to be something that I kept for a long, long time unless I just hated driving it, and I've seen the 4s handle curves and it's sexy.
To some degree, I'd consider the Boxster. I like the looks of it, but it's a little bit of "girl car" looking. They can be had pretty cheap.
Driving wise, I'd expect to drive it to/from work 2-3 days a week, some play on the weekend..
.. and going out on the town with a beautiful woman that would look drop dead sexy taking my hand as I open the door for her. IMO, she deserves to have something like that for a carriage.
I've considered a BMW M3, but I've just never been a nut for Bimmers. Considered an Audi model or two, but they're just not as stylish.
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Solid advice. I'm 6'3", so that's good to know. They look good though.
One of the pre-requisites for me is AWD.
Solid advice. I'm 6'3", so that's good to know. They look good though.
One of the pre-requisites for me is AWD.
so it sounds like your not going performance driven so I would find the cleanest best maintained example you could find. Boxsters are still fun and pretty damn good value for what you get but they still have issues. Biggest thing I see here is you've been wanting one since 1979, that means get what you really want, not a substitute that is something close. Again personally if it were me and I wanted a Real 911 to just have some fun in something like these would be at the top of my list
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/ctd/6060076564.html
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/6069197955.html
guaranteed to turn more heads than any of the newer models and will probably hold their value better as well.
