Hogan

Hey everyone, this is my first post here, but I have been looking around for awhile, and you all seem to be a very knowledgable group of people, so I thought you all might be able to help me out.
Now, I know this seems like a stupid question, but there is some reasoning behind it so please hear me out.
Now, first off, I'm 18 years old, I currently drive a 2002 VW GTI 1.8T, and I really do enjoy the car (minus the front wheel drive aspect, but even then, I can live with it), but thing is insurance on my car is quite high ($1700 every 6 months in case you were wondering), and so I was messing around with insurance quotes and I checked on 911s, and, go figure, if I had a 911 I would save $1500 a year... no clue why. So I'm now thinking about selling the GTI for a 911, and I thought there would be no better group of people to help me decide if I'm suited for a 911 or not.
But anyway, a little background of myself before you all automatically say no because 18 year olds and 911s mix like microwaves and forks. I absolutly love Porsches, thanks to my dad, he raced professionally (through IMSA) for a number of years and raced primarily Porsches, and when I was about 7 years old he bought an 86 911 Targa Turbo (I know, it was very rare, and even more rare, in triple black), and so needless to say, he taught me how to drive, i regularly drive his 05 M3, and am still learning things from him, and I'm signed up for some high performance driving schools as well.
So, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say I'm some phenominal driver, but I know my limits, and because of my dad I know a lot about and respect the power and characteristics of a 911.
Anyway, I'm sorry that was so long, but there's my introduction, and my (not so) quick question. I would really appreciate any input, I would love to own a 911, its been my dream car for as long as I can remember, but if I'm not ready for it, then I guess I'll hold off, I have been looking at 986 base level Boxsters as well... but hell, its no 911.

Thanks again for your patience and input.
-Hogan

RacingBeat

no offense but.......duh........yeah! with that kind of upbringing you have a leg up on many asses that have sat in 911 seats. but, you do have to consider the needed use for it, i'm assuming daily driver?

Hogan

haha, well thank you, that was the answer I was hoping for, and I have driven some 3.2 911s, and I have confidence in my ability, and so does my dad (which is also another nice confidence boost haha)
But, yes, it will be a daily driver, thing is, I drive a lot now, but next year I'm heading off to college, granted I live in Bethesda, Maryland, and I'm going to University of Maryland, about half an hour down the road, and I believe they do have freshman parking, but I wouldn't be driving as much, and I don't think maintanence will be an issue, first of all, I'm already pretty handy with a wrench, and whatever I can't fix my dad can, espically cause he has had one himself.
Thanks for your input.

Amber Gramps

Hogan, welcome home. everyone of us were in your shoes at one point. if it makes you feal any better my 911 costs me about $30.00 per month to fully insure. sorry i'm 40 and have three other cars. we all think we are 18 when we are in our cars so with that logic get the car. it really is that simple.

now, the same 911 can be two very different cars to two different guys. take an '88, it can be the ultimate track car to one guy, and a bone stock show car to another. between my house and my mothers there are no less than 7 porsche. every one different, every one exactly what the owner wants it to be. gotta go................

Daniel Dudley

Welcome. If you like 911s, you came to the right place.

What does your dad think ? He knows cars and he knows you.

Aside from that, 911s are like licorice. Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who do like it a lot. The VW is a good all around car, and in many ways newer is better in the car world. OTOH, 911s have a few quirks and weak spots, but are generally solid runners if you don't get stuck with someone else's headache.

Spend twenty bucks on ''The Used 911 Story''. Also, read the top posts if you have not already done so.

Jay Laifman

I don't know. I can say that I remember being 18 and thinking how well I knew how to drive. See if you can remember your comments here 20-30 years from now and look back to think if you really were as good as you thought. If you are honest with yourself then, I think you will realize you actually were not. I'm not saying you are bad. You can be quite good. I'm just saying that you are probably not as good as you think.

Second comment. Freshman parking at University of Maryland? Is there any way that that is indoor parking? If not, is your plan to park this car out in the weather for the winter? Plenty of people do that to their cars, including 911s. However, there are plenty of 911 owners who will cringe at the thought of subjecting a 911 to that treatment.

Finally, I would strongly examine your thoughts that you can work on it, and that on the things you can't, your dad can. While Porsches are air pumpers just like the rest of the cars out there, they really do take special knowledge to do them right. There are many people on this list who can tell horror stories about Porsche mechanics who do this stuff all day long and can't get it right. Moreover, just because you and your dad can work on a car doesn't mean that in the middle of February in a snow storm dad's going to be able to find time to get down to your school to figure out why your DME has failed. 911s can be extremely reliable cars. So, it's not a given that you will need any work. But, I'm just saying that you should think about it strongly if it is necessary that you guys actually do the work for you to be able to buy the car.

I hope I haven't discouraged you. 911s are great and a person at any age can succeed well with a Porsche, and a person at any age can have a disastrous experience with a Porsche. Personally, for me, there is no substitute and I would have wanted one long before I ended up with my first (when I was 24).

Good luck.

Hogan

thanks for all your advice and reassurance, and douglas, thanks for making me feel fantastic about my insurance premium haha. and Daniel, my dad is kinda 2-sided on this one... he says from a safety standpoint, I might wanna go with the Boxster, cause although he was a racecar driver and a hardcore porsche guy, he still is obligated to be a dad every once in awhile. BUT that being said, he loved his 911 more than words can describe, and he knows how much I love them as well, so in that aspect he wants me to get a 911, under the circumstances that I take some racing schools (which isn't a bad compromise if you ask me), and if nothing else, I think he just wants to have a 911 around to drive again. I also see what your saying about the whole licorice thing... and granted I dont like licorice, I do love 911s, I have ridden in my dads for countless miles (and broken countless speed limits as well haha), and when I drove a 911, I had a smile plastered on my face for at least 2 days, and I didn't even really get to see what it could do, it was more the experience of the whole thing... the flat-6 gets to me everytime. And I'll definitely check out that book. Thanks.

Hogan

and jay i didnt see your post before i replied last, and believe me, i know im nothing special, everytime i drive with my dad i realize i have a long way to go, which is why im going to take as many driving schools as i can so i can handle the car, and I don't know the parking situation at UMD right now, but if it is outside, I'll be leaving it at home... covered, don't worry, a GTI is one thing, but I would care about a 911 far to much to know it would be sitting out in that. I also realize there are some things I can not fix, and neither can my dad... however, by saving $1500 a year on insurance, I'll have more money to pay for something if it does go wrong. and don't worry, you haven't discouraged me, it's going to take more than one negative (yet very valid) post to discourage me from getting a 911. haha. But thank you all the same.

RacingBeat

in the interest of saving money, seems like you've got a cost if you have a 911 sitting at home covered while you're in school all week? do you have the option of commuting daily in a different vehicle, or will you be living on campus? either way you're spending $$ for one vehicle to sit....

take it from my avatar picture, the "college life" has it's good points......my dorm room was a 4 minute walk from.....uh, never mind i shouldn't be telling you this....

Pedro356C

Hey Hogan...I can tell it's already in your blood...there's no escape...surrender... get Peter Zimmermann's book "The used 911 story" and start your research in order to find out what's the best entry level car for you... and keep reading these threads here...Rennlist is a great way to collect knowledge and virtual experience...

Welcome and good luck on your quest...

Hogan

hahaha good call racingbeat, and dont worry the only time it will sit at home while im at school is if its snowing or something, other than that, it will be driven, quite a bit, I won't let the elements destroy it, basically what im saying is, I'll take realy good care of it. Pedro's also right... I'm feeling it too... it's too late haha. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to give in.

Svaha

Take your time and find a nice one at a good price, it's easy to be seduced by the first one you look at. Be sure to drive many before making a purchase to experience how different these cars can be from one another after fifteen or twenty years. When I was in your shoes I bought a 944 instead of a 911 for the sake of practicality, and while I loved that car, it was a compromise that always left me lusting after every 911 I saw. Get a 911.

As far as working on them, to be honest, they seem to me to be rather straightforward if cramped. With the wisdom available on these boards I have been able to remedy many problems with little prior mechanical experience. They can be tempestuous little bitches, though. For this reason, I think it pays to shop around and find one that has been loved. I use mine as a daily driver, but it's a 96 so it's not terribly old yet. Once you've owned one for awhile they get into your blood, nothing else seems to provide the same sense of passion while providing true daily driver capability. Enjoy the drive!

Hogan

alright, thats all I need guys, thank you so much for telling me what I wanted to hear, I'm going to start looking at 911s. maybe a triple black targa, like my dad's. Thanks again guys. I'll report back soon.
I know what you mean Svaha, I went on a drive with my friend the other day, he was driving his dads 07 Boxster, and I was in the GTI, and the entire time I was thinking about what it would have been like in a 911.

Amber Gramps

I have one word for my fellow addicts:

SeattlePorsche

I would get a 911 if it is cheaper insurance. That surprises me though. Is it a certain range of older year 911s that get the lower quotes? I think driving skills on a track would be good, but what scares me is other driver's skills on the road, and obstacles like big trucks. I am 41 y.o. and drive a 911 as a daily driver this time of year. But there are alot of trucks out there, passenger trucks as well as 18 wheelers, whose rear end lines up with my windshield so I drive very cautiously. I think of the Porsche like a motorcycle as far as safety goes. I need to be much more alert in it than when I am in my Jeep.

Do grades in college matter? Because a 911 will distract you from the books. You saw that Borat movie? Well the 911 is a "p***y magnet"!