alpine003

Yes you are also correct. For the avg consumer that is not a gear head in any way will always think any modern 911's are all the same. As enthusiasts, we often times forget this aspect.

AndyK

Exactly! Most enthusiasts will know the age of our cars by the headlight shape, rims, etc. Anyone else will have no clue, and since most of us keep our cars looking like new - most assume they ARE new.

Sue Esponte

My boss said he thought my C4S was new because he kind of remembered that the older ones had those strange looking headlights, whereas the headlights on [mine] are round.

My guess is that people grew more accustomed to (or accepting of) the look than some Porsche critics give credit. Also, while its design has been maligned by some, the 996 hung around longer than both the 964 and 993 and it outsold them as well. If you consider that the most notable difference between the 996 and 997 was the shape of its headlight housing, the overall design was around for around 13 years.

-Eric

gnat

I know I'm a heretic, but I just never liked the 80s-90s 911s and that was mostly due to the headlights. So while I appreciate that the 996 was a departure from the classic look that had endured since the original, I still like it better. Now that I appreciate Porsches on more than the aesthetic views of my youth, the bug eyes wouldn't stop me from owning an older one or a 997 (not a fan of some of the tech in the 991. Good god, I'm a Porsche snob!!!)

JMLavoie

I must say I empathize with the OP.
Before I made my decision to buy an 00 C2 last spring, not wanting to appear as a show-off lilkely delayed my decision to buy by a few months. Now that it is bought and the first few ackward comments and feelings are a few months behind me, I'm much more comfortable owning it ... but the real benefits are to my 15-yr-old.
The bond that this purchase has created between the 2 of us ... is, well priceless, ... especially on weekend drives and ... at the soccer pitch. He finally understands what a <handling> car is all about. I wish I had had that opportunity at his age but grateful for him.
Enjoy your daily and weekend drives!

SubzeroX

I realized, after reading the 4 pages of the "*** in a porsche" thread, that many people think porsches are really expensive, and we all know that a new fully loaded honda accord can cost more.

BUT.

lets keep it that way. dont tell people that it cost less than their BMW, or their honda accord. if we let the secret out, more and more people will buy the car and will diminish its worth. I got the porsche cause i love sports cars (and cause i could afford it). I used to have an S2000 before so I wanted a 2 door sport car with power. with minimal research I saw that an older 996 was very affordable. What I didnt know were the benefits it came with - valet leaves the car in front of the restaraunt (MY03 with GT3 kit), chick leaves her panties outside before getting in LOL, etc.

So what if a few people think we're pretentious etc cause we drive an "expensive" car. Dont justifiy it to them saying its not expensive. I want to keep that image.

SeanR said it best when some newb was talking about putting lambo doors on a 911.


sadly the price has dropped but its still a secret - lets keep it that way.

alpine003

I don't think you need to worry as only the initial cost of entry is somewhat affordable, relatively speaking.

Cost of maintenance is another thing and something not too many people that are used to buying Honda's can stomach.

As much as I dislike this part of it(maintenance cost/parts), I do feel it separates out the men from the boys and really keeps true enthusiasts in this game and weeds others out.

If I ever make a comment about the 996 being "affordable", I make sure to point out the maintenance aspect as well so that you are portraying a more complete picture.

Sherpa23

All true but it is way cheaper than my old Audi. I would never say it's cheap to own but it's very reasonable for what you get in return.

alpine003

I guess depends on what you want to do. If you want to use all OEM parts for maintenance and ALSO want to do upgrades, that can open up a whole another set of worms.

But yeah Audi's can also be nightmares. Thankfully I stopped back in '89 when I was glad to sell my '85 4000s model that had costed me more in repairs than my initial purchase price by the time I sold it.

gnat

Funny thing about maintenance costs on these, other than consumables, a few window regulators (those really should be listed as consumables...), a clutch (was about half done, but since it was out for an RMS anyway...), and a few fuel tank float resets, ours has had no major issues and has been cheap to maintain. Under warranty we only had 2 RMS replacements and the front end noise I mentioned in another thread. Its reliability and relative low cost in up keep was a major factor in buying a Cayenne.

That said, 10 quarts of Mobile 1 and a fresh set of PS2s are nothing to sneeze at. Had a coupon for a "free" oil change from my shop that I used last week. The dollar value of $40 barely made a dent in the bill :-(

I think some of those that talk about 996s being cheap also fail to realize that 20-25k for a 13 year old vehicle is still expensive. Especially if you are talking to a Honda/Toyota driver.

5CHN3LL

My car may be 13 years old, but it was born a "supercar" and it will always be a stunning vehicle. The GT3 body kit is like icing on a damned fine cake. I have yet to find anyone who doesn't think the car is amazing once they get over whatever snide comment they had to share. The 996 is a marvel of engineering, and represents one of the biggest, if not the single largest, technological leaps forward for Porsche.

I have had a couple of people make the "must be nice" comments, to which I reply "Yes, it is nice - and it was a long time coming." If it's a young person, I point out that they too may be in a position to acquire such a vehicle once they've been working for 25 or 30 years.

Finally... worrying about what other people think - especially when it comes to what car you drive - is a waste of time. If you wonder if you are an *** because you drive an amazing car, you just might be one.

speo

My car broke down recently and while I waited for the tow truck I heard a LOT of comments. Most I could not hear, but over and over it was "Carrera this" and "Carrera that" and "996 something else". One guy checked it out for like 5 minutes or more. Then there was the "You don't deserve a Porsche!!" comment. I felt many were laughing at me. Like "look at the stuck up rich snob in his stupid Porsche". I definitly did not feel very loved.

Ultimately being broken down sucks, but while moving, who cares what anybody thinks? I keep a low profile otherwise, so it's all good!

halik

^ Everyone here. Except for me. Well maybe even me.

I think most people realize that ~$30-$40K car isn't really special money-wise, it's an enthusiast thing.

speo

I like that actually! With other cars, they get old and kids buy them. So you driving next to a high school kid driving same car as you IF you like me and keep your cars long.

I don't see much kids driving Porsche cars. The Boxster sometimes maybe, but when I see a 911 I usually see a prefesional type behind the wheel or a die hard enthusiast.

AspenSTI2010

I've felt a little silly being 32 when I got my C4S. but its the people who are jealous/envious/unhappy that make snide comments.
Like others here, you work hard and as long as its not stretching you financially than anyone else can bugger off.
Who's counting the days till the snows come off