Son of Mad Dog

So IM used to driving my fathers 1983 euro 911 sc with all new suspension, motor, interior (corbeau seats, momo steering wheel etc.)

Im a die hard porsche fan that has been stuck in a mazda 3 for five years.

The 996 is in my price range. Ish. (mk2 are above etc...)

Can this car be as exciting as my dads older 911? it only puts out 210 hp at the wheels but can do 7500 rpm with the cams/heads/oil pump. it also weighs 2700 with his butt in it. Sounds like a demon is having sex with your grandmother from the SSI's etc..

I go home now after living in ohio for 6 months and the first thing i do to let anyone at home know im there is go to the garage and start his car just to hear it idle.

I have looked into getting a GTO for pure acceleration and comfort until i could really afford a newer porsche (or build a duplicate of dads.) but i keep coming back to my old dream.

I sat in one the other day and the interior space/materials didnt really wow me. It looked like a newer carbon copy of my dads with slightly better ac controls.

Thing is that this will be my DD, 8 miles a day with an occasional 480 mile jaunt home (through the mtns.) My dad has the luck of keeping his brutal car and driving a 545i when he has to use a/c etc...

I guess im rambling on, but i really hope that this car settles that excitment factor. Any of you guys own/have driven one of teh older 911's thats been set up to go? how does it compare? I have had some tell me it feels soft comparably. I drove a 350z and it could handle and drive, but it was too creamy too easy to drive fastish.

redridge

I would buy a 911... if you like that raw ride, the 996 wont give it to you. The 996 is a much more usable car... it is also faster than your dads car, but not that much. Take it on the track and it will run circles around your dads car.

ElTorrente

Yeah - I'd go for an older 911 if you want "rawness". The 996 might be too comfortable for your tastes - maybe too civilized. 993 might be what you want, but those are so expensive. I'd love to own an early 70's 911, actually, to go with my 996 daily driver.

uberskier

+1
If you want the "rawness", don't go for a 996 (although it's a great car). I bought the 996 because my wife wanted the "comfort" of a 996 compared to previous models.

914helo

I say go for the 996 because this will be your daily driver. It's comfortable enough with air conditioning and heat to drive to work everyday, yet still capable enough to blast through the canyons or drivers ed. on the weekend. It's the best of both worlds that way. Like everybody else has said the car is very refined. It definately has a different feel than my 230hp 914-6. However today was hot so I was driving the 996 with the killer ac...

tooloud10

Yes, I think some of the posters are forgetting that he's looking for a daily driver. Given what the OP has described as his likes and his needs, a 996 sounds about perfect.

Ray S

You need to go for a test drive. A 996 with PSE and an upgraded coilover suspension might fit the bill perfectly.

The sport exhaust may not be quite as loud as your dads car (it still sounds pretty sweet), but the 996 chassis is much stiffer and will make the older car feel far less rigid.

Good luck.

450knotOffice

A stock 996 will feel soft compared to your dad's old school 911. However, a 996 set up with coil-overs like the PSS9 or 10 (or similar) and a sport exhaust will feel plenty raw, and as Ray says, will easily run rings around the older car.

I have both btw, and my older 911 is much more raw than my 996, but I set it up to ride like a go cart and the 996 is stock.

Son of Mad Dog

I see, hmmm

you know, ive been "holding" back for 9 months now on getting a "new" car.
The whole time i only looked at 911's for a few days. Esp b/c I thought they were way outa my price range. But lately...

Thanks for the help guys. Tracy (my g/f of 5 years) hates my never ending search for the "one", but i sent her a pic of a 996 to which her reply was, if we could afford one she'd drive it and maybe let me drive. so i may have her on board. (which is surprising since she loves mustangs...Her only flaw)

Guess ill sit back and research some more. Truth be told, i just cant bring myself to drive her in the snow up here. But i may break down and get one anyways.

My plan is to keep my next car forever, hence my search for "IT". I do however picture myself in this car decades from now with it set up just as raw as my dads was and laughing at all the others in electro cars...

914helo

If it's going to be a car for both, then test drive a tiptronic. Even though my wife knows how to drive a stick very well, she doesn't enjoy it. She will however, drive my tip 996 all over town.

Son of Mad Dog

she lives in dallas, i live in wooster, ohio. (we wont be living together for another 2 years.)

She knows that she will be driving manual eventually.

Patrick E

Not a lot of people cross shopping GTOs and 996s. Maintenance is a whole different level.

Son of Mad Dog

My current car is a Mazda 3.

Ive been searching for the next car for 8 months seriously and since i bought the mazda not seriously. (67k miles)

The GTO fits comfort and speed but is just so disapointing in handling.
(i autox occasionally.) Which can be fixed by over $2k of parts from Pedders Racing.

Ive tried to keep an open mind and tried to look at EVERY car out there.
IM at the point where i may just put up 3g's and buy a cheap GTO to hobble along in for a few years until im better off and can go turbo 911. (the mazda has like 500 to go on the payment.)

I have even considered turbo'ing the mazda, but it just exudes cheap japanese interior and im really sick of it.
And apples to oranges teh Gto does have a much nicer interior, esp seats compared to the mazda.

I know of the Maintenance. Trust me, My dads gone through two motors, car has had 50k miles put on by him since 1996, but has cost (not including purchase) over $25k in maint. Its sweet, but for a dd thats a lil much. We do all the work ourselves on our cars.

RF5BPilot

The 996 is a great car to drive. I like it better than the 993 I owned. My '69 euro-version 911S was wonderful to drive, rarely driven in the rain, but would rust just sitting in the garage. The 996 is more refined, hence less interesting, but better "transportation" while still being a 911.

The problem I see today with using an Interesting car for transportation, is that almost any car I drive regularly, I have to treat as disposable. Driving in traffic and seeing results of carelessness (on and off the freeway)....a really wonderful car would leave me in a state of high anxiety.

Although I opted for a convertible, I got a relatively simple, 2wd 996 with the idea that I'd drive it as long as I can. If someone smashes it, I'll miss it, but it won't be the loss of a limited production/classic/you-just-can't-find-another-one-of-these cars. Been there/done that. No thanks...especially, when you get a lot of push back from insurers.

As people have recommended before, a 996 for regular use and an interesting, early model 911 for fun might be the best combination.

A compromise might be an early 80's SC. Still pretty basic, but rust-resistant materials.