BrooksBier

Hi, I am new to the forum and have wanted a porsche 911 for a long time. I have test drive a 1987 carrera 2x. It is in very good condition with 130k miles with a recent top end rebuild. It has been well taken care of and showed strong in the PPI. I live in an area that is very hot in the summer but this will be my 3rd car, so will not be used a lot. I will say that I am not blown away by the performance of the car but have a budget I would like to stay under $20k. I can do that with this car. Is a car like this one you tend to grow to appreciate more once you have it and learn how to drive it better? I did not drive it that hard during the test drives. I know there are other car makes out there that are faster but I want a Porsche. Thank you.

wildcat077

Hey there,

I have an 89 Carrera and finally after three years of setting it up to my liking i started doing some DE's and i'll admit that one will never know the true potential of these cars until you dial it in right and take it all out on a race track !

Trust me ... and thousands of other owners on this Forum,they grow on you
An 87 is a good year for a first Porsche as they have a lot of earlier car issues that have been resolved and make owning/working on one more pleasurable,not that there's anything wrong with the earlier ones.They all have their positive points !

Cheers!
Phil

Carrera3.2LG50

My car is an '87 and I absolutely L-O-V-E love it!

I've owned it for about a year and a half now and as I'm sure you'll hear from many others it does grow on you. While they may not be the fastest car out there compared to modern cars, you need to think of the car as a whole and enjoy the driving experience and not just the stop light grand prix.

I see your point about the power... keep in mind it's 24 years old... but with a pre-muffler/sport muffler/chip combination, you can get some great response with the 3.2 engine.

I'm in NC. Summer = HOT. 1987 P-911 A/C = HOT. Since my car is also just a weekend car, I'm not inclined to spend a lot of money redoing all the A/C components. If this was my DD here in NC, I may have another opinion...

Good luck. You'll get all the answers you seek here.

ivangene

I would say that first impressions can seemto be a little like you are driving a slow car..it takes a bit of dialing in and a bit of learning to get these to come alive. The performance mods are well documented and the gains from learning are high...I came from a 996 which seemed "faster" but at this point I am confident I can drive my little 86' faster around corners than I ever could drive the 99'

mostly due to driver repairs and a few mods to the car

these are not 0-60 cars...they are more like 40-120 cars....thats the fun zone

BrooksBier

Thank you all for the posts and info. On the 2nd test drive, I had the seller who races his m3 get after it a little more when I expressed that it was not as quick as I would have preferred and it did impress me when he drove it. I have not driven other eras but I really like the 85-89 vintage and it fits more in my budget.

dshepp806

I think your selection is good, with the G50 tranny. Should you drivean '86 and before, you'll get to see what the 915 tranny feels like (big difference b/w the 2. I love my '89.....and am a G50 fan....TRUE,...you'll not realize the potential 'till on the track (or pushing it elsewhere). AC sucks and requires sufficient mods......

NOT cheap to upkeep,..so you want to be sure you get a well-maintained selection, at minimum,...

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

Doyle

privatepang

Do it!
U wont look back

w00tPORSCHE

Not enough power ?? Please spend some $$ on airtickets, come to Seattle and sit in the passenger seat when Ed (ivangene) takes the wheel on Mercer Way ...... End of story. Rest will be history and your wallet will never weigh the same ever again. Ask me how I know

rusnak

These cars put out plenty of power. More than most can use, to be honest. I would say that a lot of new owners are in the wrong gear most of the time as well.

BrooksBier

Thank all of you for the info. I have been researching this for years and put an offer in today and will get an answer tomorrow morning. This is my first and probably only shot at this so I wanted to buy right.

BrooksBier

Are most new owners in too high of a gear? I found that I was a lot of the time.

ivangene

LMAO Amar....

you still remember?

bkjwhipple

oh, great road!

Ed Hughes

Or come to Palomar Mountain, where my little old '84 can hold her own against 997s, F430's, M5's, C6's, Vipers and on and on. They can smoke me in the straight valleys, but not in the twisties on the 7 mile climb. These cars come alive at 4K plus.

Oh, it looks like you'll get the '87 possibly, but if you go back to looking, look at '84 on up, and DO NOT get hung up on G50 vs 915-it ain't that big a deal. Or, I could say bypass the '87 on up until you get to the 6 speed G50 in '95. Then you're talking....

irobertson

I have to say that I find my '88 simply a blast to drive. It is not the fastest car in the straight line, but I find that it's the perfect balance of power and handling, and I love the feedback and sense of connectedness to the road it provides. It's so precise, it's almost like a mechanical extension of my brain, if that makes any sense at all.
It is the most fun I have had in a car in years. :-)