Thaddeus

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GrantG

Thaddeus - you were lucky. I put a ton of $ into my two 951S's. Funny that you mentioned steering rack - I had to go through 4 remanufactured units before I found one that would work (warranty on the parts, but I had to pay all the R&R labor). I tracked both of mine heavily, so maybe that's why stuff broke all the time. Seems like 911s are more suited to the track (fewer mods needed and more durable). Amazingly fast for the purchase price though. My 951S was considerably faster at the track than my 996.

Thaddeus

Yeah, those ZF units in that application are junk, those and the front A-arms are the Achille's heel of the 944. Engines are good, though.

paradisenb

Rumatt,
Every Porsche is a unique piece of machinery. You must want this type of auto. They drive like nothing else, especially the older ones. The majority of people with these classics do not use them as daily drivers. I drive my 87 Cabriolet on sunny, dry days. Seldom at night and avoid the rain at all costs.
Dependable, yes. You will want an initial reserve account of $3,000-4,000. There will be things that you want or need to do. No doubt about it.
Porsches are the reason the term driving pleasure was coined. Porsches are fast, not so much in pure HP, not off the line. A Porsche, unlike other cars w/lots of HP, does its best working while turning. That where the fun comes in.
Do you like toys? Well, that's enough reason!

tdatk944+S4

Hate to be the bad guy here but , here goes...
Dude , if you can't get the right feeling from the Porsche, whatever model, just buy the Beemer or Lexus,or whatever pretender you like and live with the compromise.
Nuff said, Like the saying goes....If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand.

Tim

Lothar

Buy a very well maintained 78 to 83 SC with a recently rebuilt motor. I would prefer a total rebuild, but a well documented top end might be OK. You should spend a lot less than $20K, like $12 to $13K and bankroll the rest for the upgrades or mods you will want later. Maintenance is no problem.

I just don't think that a 3.2 offers significantly more seat of the pants excitement for the money. I have owned both the Carrera and an SC, so I speak from some experience.

jmarenas

I waited 15 years(houses/kids 3 of them/wife/ etc.) to finally find my "toy". Worth every year of waiting!! Now it is pay back time! Had many "other" cars. This one is a true Drivers Car! Good luck.

Mick Travis

I finally jumped at the age of 37. I bought an 81 SC with 100K miles on it. Clean PPI, solid engine, and a joy to drive. I will never not own a Porsche again. I will never get those 37 years back.

Dan Stratton

In my expirience as a Porsche owner that moved from a 97 M3, I found the Porsche to be way more fun to drive (89 3.2) provides a lot more road feed back, and closer to a race car feel out of the box without any modifications. Although the Porsche has most amenities they seem like they are add on thoughts to the original product and don't really make the car much more comfortable. I loved my M3 and miss it for it's comfort and powerful torque band and luxury/sport tuning balance. I don't miss the softer supension and body roll. And I certainly don't miss seeing one on every block.

As far as Maintence goes I found the Porsche to be easy to work on for the regular stuff like oil, brakes ect.., I even redid the suspension shocks, turbo tie rods, bushings myself. I find with a 911 it's a love them or hate them realtionship and those that lovem don't hesitate to strike up conversation in a parking lot something that never happened in my M3.

Dan...

mschafer71

My wife's car is a 2003 3.25i with factory sport suspension-pretty nice, my vehicles are a 90 mitsubishi pick-up truck, a 96 993 and a 88 3.2. The porsches make the BMW feel like the sedan it is. A well mantained 3.2 with G-50 is an afordable, great car for driving as much as possible. The 993 is even better but at twice the cost. I thought I would sell the 88 when I bought the 993, but just can't let the 88 go. Just be very very careful with buying a 16 year old sports car, you could buy a money pit or the car you'll never sell. Once you drive a well set-up P-car you will be hooked.

notbob

I recently sold a '99 M3 and finalizing a deal on a '76 911 w/993 motor conversion, having driven both within recent memory, I can tell you overall the M3 is a 10x better choice for being sensible / practical and all around awesome car... now as much as I loved that car I felt like i was babying it all the time, constantly worried about even the slightest thing. I hoped in that 911 (it was fully warm) and took off like a bat out of hell, the 911 kind of felt like an extension of your body, the m3 felt like a very good tool you were using but not as connected. I've driven E46 330s before as loaners when the M3 was in the shop the few times, no offense but I wouldn't own one of those to save my life, they're sloppy pigs in corners, and weigh insane amounts. Everytime I got out of those "great" brand new E46s and got in my E36 m3 it was like hoping from a camry to a bmw, things went from just plain dull / wrong to awesome and sporty.

Heres way I see it:
E46 330/M3 = nice creature comforts / high insurance / high maintenance / pigs
E36 M3 = just cant go wrong here
911 = Sexiest car there is pretty much and soo much fun to drive, but definately way more spartan, but it's a drivers car not a passengers car. As much as I like picking up girls I don't particularily care how much they like the car, it's there for me, my bmw buddy is the opposite his car is there for him to try to pick up girls with, I saw a study claiming BMW owners get more then Porsche owners, I think it's because Porsche owners are busy caring about driving and bother to get some when we get done, not trying to be pretty boys faking to be drivers.

To me Porsche = Drivers Car, BMW = weekend drivers car

RANDY P

someone once said "every Porsche is a $20K car, pay now or later"

I agree with the general statement that these cars require money set aside for inevitable failures. These cars aren't japanese - they run like hell but you have to maintiain them. Things to count on happening and what they cost at a reputable shop:

Oil changes at $60 / pop and you can't run it through a jiffy lube. Valve adjustments at $250 + a pop supposedly at 15K but usually requires sooner (my experience). Clutch at 80K around $1200 -$1500 and more if it's a G-50 (87 up) car. The possibility of bad valve guides at almost any point about 100K which to rebuild bare bones $3500 - up. 915 (pre 86) Synchro failure which happens quite a bit esp. if you're not versed in driving them properly $1800- up.

You have to take these cars to a true Porsche shop to get anything done. Never a general repair shop for anything. Even lifting the car on a 4 point requires special attention that most shops aren't aware of.

Point is, it ain't cheap. You have to pay to play. Had a CDI failure the other day which cost me $800 in a new Permatune and a coil at a shop. Last month was a $700 tuneup with WUR recalibration. (81SC) If you're on a monthly stroke and cash is tight you'd better find one that's been gone through, otherwise you'll pay the price. After owning one of these you see everything else is a bargain.

I found something that I like more than money. I love my car and will never sell. I honestly have probably close to 2x the purchase price into repairs and upgrades since I bought it 2 years ago. Price of fine art, I guess.

rjp

RANDY P

Looking at the reciepts, the tranny in my car has been rebuilt 4x......engine never torn open. 211K I think on the engine. Runs like hell still. budgeting $11K in rebuilding sometime late this year - but doesn't need it yet.

Could've bought a 993 by now but this one is uniquely mine....

pig4bill

Rumatt, have you driven a 911 yet? The majority of people hate the way they drive. You should try one before you go any farther, you might hate it and be wasting your time. Be sure to try an 87-89. Take an extended drive to be sure it's warmed up. They don't have full power when cold because the clearances are tight.

P-on

Rumatt

There is nothing like a 911. But as already mentioned consider a 944 for several reasons: creature comfort, a Porsche in your garage, the 8 mile commute...and lastly, you WILL fall in love with the marque and I guarantee you will buy a 911 eventually. I have a 1989 944S2 with 79K on the clock, clean as a whistle, drives fast, good A/C, power everything, better balanced than a 911, cruise control, ABS...etc...etc.. and I got her for $10,500 four years ago. There are better deals now with lower mileage. I'd consider it anyways if I were you. I took exactly that path when trying to decide if I could afford a "real Porsche". Trust me, the 944S2 is a real Porsche, on the track and off. Turbo's raise the price bar, but they'll smoke most earlier 911's and are better balanced.

And for info sakes before 911 fans get their panties in an uproar: I have a 1982 911SC that I love! Expensive to maintain, getting old, but raw, visceral and fun. It IS my favorite P car, and I love the SC line more than any other. I predict you'll need two Porsche's in the future Rumatt. They are addicting!