spooly

I’ve been into cars as far back as I can remember and like a lot of people, the 911 has always been my realistic dream car. I’m now (in my late 20s) in a position where I can make it happen. I was originally planning on waiting a bit longer but my previous vehicle was totaled in a hit and run.

My thinking now is that I should just buy it and enjoy it before my partner and I have kids and need something more practical and before I’m too old to really enjoy it. I want to be as reasonable in my purchase as I can be, so I’m looking at higher milage examples. There is a ~100k 911 S for sale local to me for ~$50k and I’m seriously considering buying it. I’d pay $20k down and finance the rest as I’d like to keep the rest of my savings.

Does this seem reasonable? I’m struggling to justify spending this amount of money as I’m normally pretty conservative in my purchases. I worry a bit about ownership costs for a high milage 991.1, but the pdk has been replaced and from what I’ve read these cars are pretty reliable overall (other than the PDK, door cards, spoiler spring perches, COVs). I don’t have a commute so the car would mostly be for weekend driving and errands.

shyamvenky

Get a PPI done. Get the service records - that should confirm if it was well taken care of.. and also if those known annoyances and wear items were replaced.
If this is all clear, then why not Of course, be mindful that some repair bills can be huge - but you already knew that :P
I bought my 991.1 C2S with some 95k miles, a couple of years ago.. now has ~110k miles.

duxsi

Late 20's? Where's the fire?

What year and model is it?
Has it had any accidents (forget CarFax for accuracy). Any mods? How many owners?
Remember that these cars can be extremely expensive to maintain, but if you are handy you can do some of the maintenance yourself.

dereko

If it's not a daily driver, then you should be fine. I've half a dozen 911's since my 20's as well (now much older) but I've always had a second car as a daily.

However make sure you can afford to maintain/insure/repair it. They are still ageing and things go wrong even if they are flawlessy maintained.

As the old saying goes, buying it is the cheap part

spooly

Late 20's? Where's the fire?

What year and model is it?
2013 Carrera S
Has it had any accidents (forget CarFax for accuracy).
CarFax and the owner say no, but I will try to confirm the validity of that.
Any mods?
No mods except for window tint.
How many owners?
3 Owners, last owner has only had it 6 months. Transmission gave out on him shortly after he purchased it. He did the 100k mile service at Porsche and the new PDK at an independent.
Remember that these cars can be extremely expensive to maintain, but if you are handy you can do some of the maintenance yourself.

Any idea how the suspension holds up on these cars? Would I potentially be looking at doing struts all around?

subshooter

I voted before I knew your age. lol.

As long as you have the big ones on track and funded, then go ahead and spend residual cash on what makes you happy:
1. House
2. Retirement
3. College Savings for kids

Your car will last another 200k miles so don't worry about the mileage. 991s are bullet proof. The engines are remarkable. I have three Porsches and have 7k miles on my 2022 GT3 and people tell me it has high mileage. lol.

You also have plenty of time to enjoy cars. A buddy of mine(much older than me) is 76 and drives a Turbos S Exclusive. He also still races cars all over the country. You have time to enjoy everything, just keep your priorities straight.

duxsi

Does it have PASM? It's a mildly more complicated suspension.
If possible, get an over-rev report just to be on the safe side.

Now work on convincing your partner that it's a "great investment".

rwbern

You sound pretty responsible with $20K disposable cash & the “rest of savings”. I am confident you will make a sound decision. I took the leap almost six decades ago with a new 356 & the rest is history. The P car simply gets in your blood :-) The 991.1 is a pretty reliable car. but must be maintained. Adjust the budget accordingly. I have passed 75K miles without a leak, rattle or squeak.
After all these years, I look forward to the weekends & every opportunity to turn the key. Runs to the grocery become fun and long road trips almost epic!
Do your homework, PPI, etc., maintain the car & enjoy.
P.S. The kids will love it!

rensoyka

my 914 died from rust and bad valves. I desperately wanted a 911, it was my dream car. then the kids and mortgage came. that was 40 years ago. I bought my dream 2 years ago and am definitely NOT too old to enjoy it. 6000 mile road trip coming up in a few months.

TiptonInAustin

I'll be the devil's advocate here. Around 29 I started a company. Luckily, I was still driving a beater Ford Escort and had all my savings and my wife had all hers. Taking a leap requires a cash cushion. Now, years later and I've had multiple Ferrari's, Mercedes GTs and just bought a 911 for fun. But if I'd bought that shiny new Infiniti G35 I was looking at when I was 24, I wouldn't have had all the fun I've had later in life.

There is a reason that tons of successful businesses are founded by rich kids. It's not that they are special, its the safety net. It's knowing its ok to fail. While you are young an energetic enough to seize opportunities, I'd keep the safety net. Right now, cash is earnings 5.37% and you are going to flip that and pay 8% on $30k while giving up 5.37% on $20k. You do you, just giving you my $0.2cents. Driving a limited edition Ferrari around COTA in your 40's instead of 20's will still be fun, I promise. YOLO is a trap sometimes!

Falcondrivr

I have a 2013 991S with 95,000 miles. It has been impeccably maintained. It is incredibly reliable. As long as you can verify the service records 100,000 miles is nothing on these cars.

dannyk304

If you're mechanically capable, many of the maintenance and repairs are possible to do on your own and this brings the cost of ownership down a lot (and incidentally the joy of ownership up as you become more intimate with the engineering of this fascinating machine.) a 100k mile 991.1 has plenty of life in it if well maintained. Get a PPI (ideally) unless you're very comfortable with your own review and rolling the dice. I bought a 2016 with 85k miles in 2021. It had one owner and excellent service records from the Porsche dealership. Also had a very light accident scuffing the bumper cover that was repaired but I saw no signs it touched the frame so I didn't care. I test drove a few with around half the miles and was concerned with the ride. I tested this one and immediately it felt so much better than the others, so I got it. No PPI, rolled the dice. I do all the work myself and it's been mostly maintenance with a few small issues (coolant hose leak, expansion tank issue, one purge fan) - which I did myself in my condo garage. I now have almost 110k miles and she drives even better than when I got her - I've done on my own: all 4 full brakes, all the oil changes every 3k miles, air filters, full PDK service, plugs, coils, VVT solenoids, drive belt and tensioner/pulley, engine mounts, upgraded to PSE and aftermarket headers, and a few sensors and little things. If you're paying someone to do these things it's quite expensive and makes the purchase less appealing. Engine is stout, but with 100k miles expect several of the aforementioned maintenance being required soon to keep the car in shape to last another 100k+ miles. The rest is unpredictable.

Bud Taylor

YOLO... I bought a 928 the week before I got married and it set an excellent precedent. The car was an unmitigated disaster. I had a Z sports car as a daily as well in my 20s. Even though you may end up losing 20K on an engine or whatever you have plenty of time to make it right when things go **** up. I grabbed the brass ring pretty well in my 20's but not nearly as hard as I would now at my knowledge level. Everything is temporary and money is tree pulp with ink. The only reason to save money is so you can spend it and your attitude is right just dont get browbeat when high risk leads to expected potential negative outcomes. Shrug it off. pick yourself up off the floor and buy the next bit of fun. Do get a PPI from an independent shop so you dont start off in the hole. Never visit a dealer except for PPI as they and most shops are crooks. Find "a guy" who does stuff on the side (they are everywhere).

spooly

Thanks all for the feedback and advice. The majority seem to think I should go for it provided I do my due diligence and everything checks out.
I'm somewhat mechanically inclined, and I want to learn more, so I'll definitely try to tackle the more straight forward stuff on my own.
My last car was a E90 335i which was also not the cheapest car to own, but definitely put a smile on my face.
The car has Sport PASM, Sport Chrono, and Sport Exhaust. The only things I wanted that it doesn't have is the full leather (less risk of delamination?) and Bose/Burmeister speaker system, but that's not a deal breaker.
Door panels can be fixed if they detach and who needs speakers when you have an NA 3.8L screaming to 7800 RPM

K996

Seems like you mostly have your priorities in line and you're not spending your last dime to purchase the car (I'm not a big fan of financing in the current interest rate environment though) but the thing about being a car guy is that you're also paying for the hobby and mental health that comes from doing something you enjoy.
Of course you enjoy the experience a lot more if it's not consuming all your spare funds and time to fix stuff that breaks, which is why having the proper bounding on price/mods is important and doing the diligence on the car itself to make sure it's not about to start falling apart.

Prices have come up a lot since I was your age but I was in a very similar situation when I was 32 and also had my car totaled unexpectedly.. no kids yet but they were a few years out and I decided to get a used 911 because it was the perfect size and sufficient power, PLUS it had back seats for the future! (This was the reason for a 911 over a boxster/cayman for me)
I have zero regrets about that purchase and like I mentioned in the first line, for me personally it was also a pressure relief valve to just go out and thrash it or cruise a little when work was sucking or I wanted to get away from the office.
Lotta good memories were made that just wouldnt happen in my F150!