Completely overwhelmed trying to find my first 911...
05-20-2018, 10:43 AM
#16
Team Owner
Originally Posted by sequel95
Hi Josh. Welcome to Rennlist. You came to the right place to learn from enthusiasts who know Porsches better than about any source. You may have mentioned this, but have you driven an air cooled 911, a 996 or a 986 Boxster? You will be amazed at the raw difference between all the years and models. If I had 35k to spend today on one of these awesome cars, I'd lean towards a 997 or a 996 C4S (have you seen the back-end???). I bought a 2001 Boxster S a year ago and it has been an awesome experience. It is not a 997, but it is a good place for me to start.
Also, stop by a local Indy Porsche repair shop and tell the owner or manager what you are looking for. The P-car dealers might be able to help. And look for some Panorama magazines. I'm sure someone here would mail you a year's worth if you ask nicely. There is a thread active now on this forum about a non-local buyer of a 996. Find it and learn from it. Ohio has a lot of P-car owners, so scour the local ads. Good luck and post links to cars here.
Also, stop by a local Indy Porsche repair shop and tell the owner or manager what you are looking for. The P-car dealers might be able to help. And look for some Panorama magazines. I'm sure someone here would mail you a year's worth if you ask nicely. There is a thread active now on this forum about a non-local buyer of a 996. Find it and learn from it. Ohio has a lot of P-car owners, so scour the local ads. Good luck and post links to cars here.
05-20-2018, 10:47 AM
#17
Team Owner
Originally Posted by BoomC2S
Whatever you decide on, a PPI is a must. There are some SC's that have had head studs broken and this is very expensive to repair.
05-20-2018, 04:52 PM
#18
Rennlist Member
Josh,
Welcome. I recently went through this process, as in the past 10 months. I did not have the anxiety you seem to be exhibiting. I am older, I am not starting a family and I too love Jeeps and currently own one that was at SEMA in 2016. I also own a 996 turbo. Your budget is not realistic. I looked at over 300 cars and flew to 5 locations out of state to look at a car. I too was interested in a G50 3.2 car that was only a Coupe. There are no $35K cars that meet your qualifications. Your qualifications put you in the $45K range and those cars need things. They are 30 years old and even when maintained still have issues. A dear friend who is nationally known in the Porsche world still believes air cooled Porsches are on the up tick in values.
Please go look at the cars you might find acceptable. There is no way to make an informed decision without look at the car and driving it. The less you spend now the more you should expect to spend in repairs in the near future. Every car I looked at in your price range were complete basket cases and needed a minimum of $15,000 worth of immediate work.
Just my 2 cent.
Welcome. I recently went through this process, as in the past 10 months. I did not have the anxiety you seem to be exhibiting. I am older, I am not starting a family and I too love Jeeps and currently own one that was at SEMA in 2016. I also own a 996 turbo. Your budget is not realistic. I looked at over 300 cars and flew to 5 locations out of state to look at a car. I too was interested in a G50 3.2 car that was only a Coupe. There are no $35K cars that meet your qualifications. Your qualifications put you in the $45K range and those cars need things. They are 30 years old and even when maintained still have issues. A dear friend who is nationally known in the Porsche world still believes air cooled Porsches are on the up tick in values.
Please go look at the cars you might find acceptable. There is no way to make an informed decision without look at the car and driving it. The less you spend now the more you should expect to spend in repairs in the near future. Every car I looked at in your price range were complete basket cases and needed a minimum of $15,000 worth of immediate work.
Just my 2 cent.
05-20-2018, 11:05 PM
#19
Burning Brakes
-Wrenching. I don't mind maintenance, etc. What I meant was I didn't want a project! A Saturday here or there is fine. I also have a great Porsche shop 10 minutes from my house. http://www.steinels.com/
-$35k budget. Might be a couple grand light, but it seems you can get a good driver for around there. I just saw this one pop up from an Instagram guy I follow: https://phidelt.wixsite.com/porscheforsale
-$35k budget. Might be a couple grand light, but it seems you can get a good driver for around there. I just saw this one pop up from an Instagram guy I follow: https://phidelt.wixsite.com/porscheforsale
05-21-2018, 07:54 AM
#21
Drifting
Be patient , the right car for you will turn up eventually ...
Like most people mentioned, a lower priced car will need more “ maintenance “ than a higher
priced one , but in the end it all balances out , even more so if you can do some work yourself or know
somebody who can help you !
Like most people mentioned, a lower priced car will need more “ maintenance “ than a higher
priced one , but in the end it all balances out , even more so if you can do some work yourself or know
somebody who can help you !
05-21-2018, 01:00 PM
#22
Quit Smokin'
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Step one needs to be finding one to drive. A 911 SC / Carrera is very much an antique car by today's standards. You may very well not like driving one, and that's ok, they're not everyone's cup of tea. They are most certainly NOT 997 GT3 / turbo cross shop cars. For me personally to enjoy a G body carrera, I need a 3.6 swap, brakes, and suspension mods. I like to do autocrosses and track days though. If you want to put down to cars and coffee, the stock one may suit just fine.
Good luck with your search. Good deals on good cars don't come up often. I would say expect to spend months not weeks looking.
05-21-2018, 11:18 PM
#23
Addict
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Not sure why your frustrated with my post. I’m hear to learn. If I have to spend more I’ll spend more. I said $35k was my budget and I prefer to spend less but people blow budgets all the time.
Lets try this...
$37,900 seems sorted and in good condition, known history etc. Is this a scam or something or misrepresented since it’s not $50k as you stated?
https://phidelt.wixsite.com/porscheforsale
Just trying to learn here guys.
The one question I might have is related to the engine rebuild. If they did the work they say, the heads would have come off. I'm surprised they reused the collapsible oil return tubes, rather than installing new solid ones. Maybe that's common to reuse the collapsibles, I don't know.
Mark
05-22-2018, 03:25 AM
#25
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Not sure why your frustrated with my post. I’m hear to learn. If I have to spend more I’ll spend more. I said $35k was my budget and I prefer to spend less but people blow budgets all the time.
Lets try this...
$37,900 seems sorted and in good condition, known history etc. Is this a scam or something or misrepresented since it’s not $50k as you stated?
https://phidelt.wixsite.com/porscheforsale
Just trying to learn here guys.
Don't give up the hope, you will still find good deals, and definitely a Targa would be in your budget maybe even less- just make sure the car has a ppi done & if not ask for one , and always, always buy the seller before the car, at least thats what i've learned so far.
Last edited by Tarek307; 05-22-2018 at 04:19 AM.
05-22-2018, 06:53 AM
#26
Morning all,
Hat in hand, looking for guidance. I've always loved Porsche's; the history, the aesthetics, the community, etc. Very similar to Jeeps which I've had all my life. Anyhow I'd love to go spend $100k and get a 997 GT3, 997/991 GTS, 997 Turbo... you know all the aspirational modern 911's that are N/A and manual.
BUT with my wife pregnant with our first child and looking for a new house in a good school district, I really shouldn't spend that amount of money. Furthermore, I feel kind of like a douche going and buying one of those Porsche's as my first Porsche. I feel like if I eventually get there, that's great, but I should "pay my dues" and experience much more of the history. Experience a little more about where Porsche has been before I make the jump to a modern car. And who knows, maybe I'll fall in love with the air cooled's and not make the jump or have both
So I have this crazy idea of getting a 911 for a few years, then maybe a 993 before I experience one of the water cooled versions.
And that brings me to the past several months. Checking the marketplace here, Pelican, PCA, BaT, Autotrader, Cars.com, Cargurus, eBay and evening scouring the individual PCA monthly newsletters for their classifieds. After all that time and looking at hundreds of cars, I have no idea what a "good" car looks like, how "original" it should be or whether it is, what a "fair" price is. Completely overwhelmed by the intricacies of the 911 world.
For instance, let's take this BaT auction for instance: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...sche-911sc-23/
Saw it pop up the first day and it's very close to my Dad in KC. I had him make an appt to go drive it and check it over. He looks at it, drives it, notes the flaws and we agree if it's around $25k we'll bid and try to win. BOOM it's goes for almost 50% of that with buyer's fees!!! Am I just out of touch with the value of that car... did it just go for too much... I have no idea.
So here I am, asking for help from you all. Can you help me find a car?
Any help would be much appreciated.
-Josh
Hat in hand, looking for guidance. I've always loved Porsche's; the history, the aesthetics, the community, etc. Very similar to Jeeps which I've had all my life. Anyhow I'd love to go spend $100k and get a 997 GT3, 997/991 GTS, 997 Turbo... you know all the aspirational modern 911's that are N/A and manual.
BUT with my wife pregnant with our first child and looking for a new house in a good school district, I really shouldn't spend that amount of money. Furthermore, I feel kind of like a douche going and buying one of those Porsche's as my first Porsche. I feel like if I eventually get there, that's great, but I should "pay my dues" and experience much more of the history. Experience a little more about where Porsche has been before I make the jump to a modern car. And who knows, maybe I'll fall in love with the air cooled's and not make the jump or have both
So I have this crazy idea of getting a 911 for a few years, then maybe a 993 before I experience one of the water cooled versions.
And that brings me to the past several months. Checking the marketplace here, Pelican, PCA, BaT, Autotrader, Cars.com, Cargurus, eBay and evening scouring the individual PCA monthly newsletters for their classifieds. After all that time and looking at hundreds of cars, I have no idea what a "good" car looks like, how "original" it should be or whether it is, what a "fair" price is. Completely overwhelmed by the intricacies of the 911 world.
For instance, let's take this BaT auction for instance: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...sche-911sc-23/
Saw it pop up the first day and it's very close to my Dad in KC. I had him make an appt to go drive it and check it over. He looks at it, drives it, notes the flaws and we agree if it's around $25k we'll bid and try to win. BOOM it's goes for almost 50% of that with buyer's fees!!! Am I just out of touch with the value of that car... did it just go for too much... I have no idea.
So here I am, asking for help from you all. Can you help me find a car?
- Budget is $35k, but prefer to spend less
- Driver is fine, but don't want to have to be wrenching on the car much
- Targa or Coupe only
- No Tail Preferred
- Originality I don't care much about but don't want to get killed on resale because of it
- G50 car? Is that important, everyone says it's better?
Any help would be much appreciated.
-Josh
A recomend a SC, they are (or at least used to be) undervalued cars! SCs will be the new black!
05-22-2018, 08:51 AM
#27
Team Owner
05-22-2018, 09:17 AM
#28
Burning Brakes
There are plenty of good driver quality air cooled cars out there for way less than 50k. I think that comment is a little off base. The good ones are going to go quick though. That is sort of the rub. You have to be in position to react quickly and get eyes on the car and be ready to make a deal.
I have been through a recent search and purchased a 79 SC this past weekend.
Couple things I would suggest are definitely go to the effort to drive different models and years to see what you like. Personally I have two very fast cars and wasn't really looking for something that was another fast car. I like the driving experience of the 79 and it is quite slow in comparison to my other cars. A late 70s car is not going to drive as nice as a late 80s car. You need to find what you like. Even if you see a car that is close by that doesn't really suit your needs go and check it out. The more you see the more informed you will feel and it will help you narrow down exactly what you want.
I would be leary of BAT. In the last two weeks I had the opportunity to go see and drive 2 cars that have sold on BAT. I will say neither of them was misrepresented by the seller on BAT but a lot of the negatives were surely left out. Both cars had some serious flaws that were very obvious when I saw them in person but somehow the peanut gallery on BAT never caught on and asked the seller about those particular areas of concern. In both cases the cars sold for more (not even inluding 5% BAT fee) than I would have even considered paying. I couldn't help thinking to myself both those new owners are going to be sorely disappointed when the car shows up. BAT is fun to watch for values but I am just not the sort of guy that is willing to buy site unseen based on a sellers description that highlights mainly the good parts. Not saying there are not some great cars on there because there are, just saying it is tough to filter them out.
Good luck in your search.
I have been through a recent search and purchased a 79 SC this past weekend.
Couple things I would suggest are definitely go to the effort to drive different models and years to see what you like. Personally I have two very fast cars and wasn't really looking for something that was another fast car. I like the driving experience of the 79 and it is quite slow in comparison to my other cars. A late 70s car is not going to drive as nice as a late 80s car. You need to find what you like. Even if you see a car that is close by that doesn't really suit your needs go and check it out. The more you see the more informed you will feel and it will help you narrow down exactly what you want.
I would be leary of BAT. In the last two weeks I had the opportunity to go see and drive 2 cars that have sold on BAT. I will say neither of them was misrepresented by the seller on BAT but a lot of the negatives were surely left out. Both cars had some serious flaws that were very obvious when I saw them in person but somehow the peanut gallery on BAT never caught on and asked the seller about those particular areas of concern. In both cases the cars sold for more (not even inluding 5% BAT fee) than I would have even considered paying. I couldn't help thinking to myself both those new owners are going to be sorely disappointed when the car shows up. BAT is fun to watch for values but I am just not the sort of guy that is willing to buy site unseen based on a sellers description that highlights mainly the good parts. Not saying there are not some great cars on there because there are, just saying it is tough to filter them out.
Good luck in your search.
