993chaz

I agree with Grant, you can get a very nice 911 for 20k and shouldn't have to do much more than scheduled maintenance. They are basically bullet proof..........just make sure you get a clean bill of health........and enjoy it!!

CN

I'll be the devil's advocate. I wanted a Porsche since I was about 11 yrs old. I (in my mind) couldn't afford it until I had no debt and enough cash to buy it outright. I would never finance a toy. Because of this, I didn't get my first Porsche until I was 38. The downside is, I couldn't drive a Porsche until I was 38. The upside is, I will never have to sell my Porsche and chances are, I will always own at least 1.

993chaz

CN....a sensible man!!

I have 3 vehicles financed and it ^%$%^!!!!

eddychan

Rumatt,

I use my 911 communting to work for a round trip of 86Km wihich is about 45miles daily. It's perfectly alright and it is the main reason I am driving it. Life is bore and we need some excitment and enjoyment out of it. Many people write in the site to ask for help and hence there are many terrible stories and real bad stuff about 911. But really, there are many many pore people who are happy about their 911s.
I agree with Grunt about 3.2 with G50 but am very happy about my 3.6 964.
I spent about 2K for the maintainance for my Porsche for the last 18 months and that includes some preventive stuff like the distributor.
The only thing I have to complaint is the air-con, its just not up to the job here in Far-east.
I stress the importance of holding up value when you want to sell it years later if you opt for a newer 911 then you will know what I mean...

Cheers and happy motoring.

Eddie

eddychan

I agree that you need to know about oil cool engine and Porsche in attempting your services and amintainance. It's not simply but can be done and save you a lot of money.
This site has loads of useful information and you will find people very helpful and this is another reason I enjoy my Porsche.

Have fun!

Eddie

David911

I love my 88, and wish I had purchased it sooner.

That being said, it is not uncommon for this vintage car to need significant work. A good PPI will help in avoiding this, but you could buy a car with 90000 miles that checks out fine but winds up burning oil at 95000 miles.

IMHO, you should not stretch to buy a 15 year old car. If you really want one, I would either get a 951 or look for an earlier car so that you can comfortably react to unexpected repair. I would figure on a minimum of $2000 year 1 expenses (just adapting the car to your tastes), and I would want to be able to handle a $4-5K repair without the world ending.

That being said, these are great cars and not really comparable to a 98 M3. The BMW is more practical, more comfortable, probably handles better but does not have the same raw feel that the 80's 911s do.

David

porklover

The 8 mile commute......

As far as I understand, the Porsche 911 engine has been all-alloy from the start. Now, not owning one, I could be wrong, but I would say that 8 miles would be ample time for the engine to get warm, if it's a concern start the car 5 mins beofre you leave for work.

Jay H

It's been my experience that it takes a good 10-15 minutes to get an air cooled 911 engine up to proper operating temperature. All that oil takes a bit of time to warm up...

Also, porklover, I would assume you mean to say that if the drive is not long enough that a person should start the car and let it idle for 5 minutes before taking off. If that is what you implied, I'd respectfully disagree. Letting a car idle for that long is not a very good thing to do to an engine. Start the car, let it idle for 30 seconds max, and then drive off slowly with conservative throttle input (keeping rev's under 4400 rpms) until the car is warmed up.

Best,

Jay
90 964

rumatt

Thanks again guys.

I definitely decided that nothing will happen immediately. I'm going to keep reading and see if I'm still inspired 6-12 months from now. By then it would be a much more comfortable transaction for several reasons.

As for the 8 mile commute, a simpler solution is to make a habit of taking the alternate 12-mile route that I take occasionally in the BMW.

2002M3Drew

I know this is a Porsche board, so I'll keep my comments to the M3 limited!

The E36 M3 (that is, 1995 through 1999) was a phenomenal car. The motors (3.0 in the '95, 3.2 in others) puts out a solid and very usable 240 hp. It will do a 0-60 time of approximately 5.9 secs, and it corners with the best sports cars. The thing about the E36 for America is that it was "dumbed down" for us, that is, we did not get the 286 hp car the rest of the world saw. The nice thing is that our version is less money to maintain and more reliable, not to mention more streetable. IThey have depreciated to a solid level now, so it's likely you could get in and out of one on the cheap, much like an older 911. It has useable back seats and a ood trunk. There really isn;t much of a downside.

If you autocross it, it's a great car. They handle great right out of the box, and with some simple suspension mods, it's a very capable car.

It's also lighter than the E46 M3 that I have. My car is a pig next to the E36 M3. You'll find it much more precise and flingable than your 330. Bottom line, don't think of the M3 as a fallback...it ain't a bad place to start, and I guaranty you won't be saying to yourself that it's boring!

Compared to an older 911, well, if you've driven both, you'll see an apple and an orange. Both are great. (I'm trolling here because I plan to buy an older 911 to replace my current toy, a Miata.)

Good luck in your search!

Thaddeus

If you want Porsche performance on a budget (relatively speaking) look at an 87-89 944 Turbo. Infinitely moddable, blisteringly quick, totally neutral handling. You can get a nice one for 8 or 9 K and drive it silly.

Had one; sold it. Biggest mistake ever. Now I'm looking for a 928 or a 911 project car...

cheers

Thaddeus

GrantG

Thaddeus - Yes a 944t is great bang for the buck, but it's also incredibly expensive to maintain (one of the highest Porsche models ever, along with 928)...

MIK911

If you have to ask.............don't get a 3.2 911. Not to be derogatory, or insulting, but for what you're describing, i feel that you're better off with maybe a e30 M3, or late 90's Mcoupe???
A 3.2 911 is 'really' raw (read: spartan), compared to your current e46. Despite the fact that i love my 911, i enjoy the creature comforts of my daily driver jeep. I savor the 911's loud,raw,squeeky,rattles,no-cup-holders,lousy radio reception idiosyncrisies (sic?) when i take it out for weekend DRIVES. Nothing beats the wail of an air cooled Porsche.
But as a BMW afficionado also (have had at least one in my garage since '86), i think the BMW's are more 'well rounded'.

Good luck
Mike
'86 911 coupe
'97 e39
'99 Jeep Grand Cherokee
ex-'86 e30
ex-'94 e36

Thaddeus

In my 3 years of 951 ownership, I did not find it expensive. I figured the cost per mile was comparable to my other (normal) autos. Biggest hit was a steering rack leak, 800 bucks for a reman'd unit installed. Not bad at all. And with the chip and some other tweaks, I was pulling 5.1 0-60's, cornering like a top, and never did find the top end (too chicken).

Is there anyplace that has postings of "typical" repair costs for 911's since I'm thinking about getting one?

Thaddeus

BTW, I won't argue about 928 costs. They are spendy...