Sold the 997.1 - on to the next?
 

This was certainly an interesting week. A while back there was a thread where someone asked what it would take to sell your 997, and I thought about it and wrote that I would take $42k - pretty high for a C4 and probably not realistic. For reference, mine was a 2008 Carrera 4, silver, full leather, with about 47k miles on the clock that I had purchased about 1.5 years ago with 39.5k miles. I made some minor cosmetic changes and of course took great mechanical care of it, doing the majority of the work myself, although I did get a Fidelity platinum warranty that benefited me when the 6MT transmission had to be replaced and the engine cam cover had to be resealed.

As much as I like this car, particularly aesthetically after making my mods, I realized that maybe it was time to move on to something else. The bore scoring concerns and reliability issues led to a fair amount of anxiety, unfortunately, no doubt made worse by reading all the posts that come through Rennlist re: engine failures and rebuilds and so on. It's not that I can't afford a rebuild, it's just that it would totally ruin the Porsche brand for me. So I posted it on craigslist of all places for $40.5. I thought it was a high ask but maybe I could get someone to bite in the high 30s and essentially sell it for what I got it for, otherwise I'd just keep it. I had it listed for a total of 11 hours as I got several offers almost immediately and wound up selling it today for my asking price (which was several K more than what I bought it for). I ran the numbers and with all of the (excessive) maintenance, parts, repairs, upfront warranty cost, insurance, and mods, I paid less than $300/month to drive a 911 for 1.5 years. Not bad. Totally worth it. Auction sites like BaT make it seem like the 997 generation is depreciating but it could just be the winter season plateau so I was really happy to get my asking price.

The gentleman who bought it from me seemed like a real car guy who previously had a carrara white 997.1 4S with PCCBs, yellow belts and PSE that he traded in a couple years ago on a panamera GTS. He said he went back to the dealer the next day to buy it back, but it had already sold, and he's been kicking himself ever since. Hopefully he takes great care of it. Here's one of the last photos I took of it.

Attachment 1347992

I also have to say that this forum is incredible. I've owned multiple different makes before but this was my first Porsche, and the level of detail and OCDness that y'all have is on another level compared to other car makes. Good stuff.

Now, what to get next? I am thinking 997.2 (either PDK or 6MT, I'm not picky), 718 cayman, Jag F-type R, R230 SL65, or an aircooled 911. Totally open for suggestions too.

Nice story and looking car but you only put 2500 miles on it? I And confused, you said you put down 42k for it but listed it for 40.5 k which was supposed to be more than you paid for it???

Heh, I had a beer or two while writing that post so I edited a bit for clarity - my bad.

I put a little over 8k miles on it in 1.5 years, but only 2500 since May 2018 so I kinda felt bad just having it sit in my garage. I sold it for 40.5 after buying it for 37 in 9/2017. I think in general 997 prices are very stable and maybe even a little higher. The 42k number was from a prior thread where people were posting what it would take to get them to sell their 911. I'm pretty happy I got close to that.

Spent a good part of the day looking at autotrader looking for its replacement - the chase is always fun.

Not sure about your budget, but maybe a GT350R?

With an open mind and no prejudice properly test drive a 718 Cayman S manual. That thing is just mind blowing. Just out of curiosity I did the cayman manual track experience at the porsche center in Atlanta and was blown away.

Sad reality is when you sell of one these for around 40k, there really isn't anything else out there around that price range laterally that equals this car. You end up having to spend around 70k on a slightly newer Porsche.

well kept 997's, even plain jane ones, will hold their value well going forward imo

at $40k for a 40-50k mi car, there are few sports cars that are as nice as an overall package

7.1's do have some issues, but cars that are not tracked have fairly low risk of major failures

air cooled cars have gone sky high... 996's are ugly inside and out, 991/992 are bloated and too isolated, as capable as they are

997's are kind of at a sweet spot of performance, modernity, tactility, affordability

Do your research on GT350 reliability before going down that path. I thought about getting one as a DD (not the R) and after looking into it decided not to. I bought my 928 instead for various reasons, but not really as a DD though it probably is the car I drive the most frequently.

You'll love the Jag for 1 month purely for the exhaust noises, then you'll start thinking it's all kind of artificial and the rest of the driving experience isn't all that great.

Air cooled are expensive cool, and a totally different driving and ownership experience, but not the same use case as 997. Going on a longer trip in an air cooled car will have you taking more spare parts than clothes - plugs, caps, rotors, etc. It's just not a get in and decide to drive 300 miles type of car. A/C is a cooler breeze effect and you'll smell like an older 911 when you get out, which is great for attracting guys, but not girls LOL.

Good luck with the hunt and post pics of your new 997 when you get it :)

Thanks for the suggestions! I am not a fan of Ford or domestic cars, for that matter. I love ze Germans and Euros in general. There was an F-type recently on BaT (https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2016-jaguar-f-type-4/) - 6 speed, S model, and the owner added carbon ceramic brakes. I thought it was such a great looking car, clearly well taken care of, and wanted to bid on it at the time but the boss said no more cars at the time. The 6MT may have put that car over the top compared to the standard auto box that most of them come with.

It will be hard for me to step away from Porsche - as you all have said the 997 is a special platform. I just wish Porsche had used better materials and engine design on the .1 model, so the 997.2 is at the top of my list along with the DFI options for the Cayman (and maybe the boxster). I'm also doing my diligence on 3.2 carreras with G50 trans and then the SCs from 81-83. I have a few leads. I am happy to consider an older 911 because my driving habits have changed quite a bit. My SO and I now work at the same institution so we can commute together if needed, so my cars stay behind if they are being worked on, it's raining, etc so I don't really need a DD anyway.

I'd go 997.2 or 981 if don't need rear seats or all wheel drive. Love the look of the 981, if I didn't find my C4S it would have been my next car.

Agree that is a hard car to replace at 40k, likely need to add 15k give or take on what trim you are looking at.

After owning various 911 over the years starting with a 911SC up to the 7.1, I would go with a 7.2.

I second what Golfnut said, the 997 is the perfect sweet spot in the 911 line up. Oh and the SC air conditioning is not fun in a warm state. When I was looking to gewt back in the 911 world I almost considered another 964 but had the 'been there done that feeling' so went with the 997. 996's dont speak to me from the outside, interior yes, but not the exterior.

You sold your beautiful 997 because of posts on Rennlist? Damn.


I second the new 718 - great driving experience. GT350 has major engine problems.

Maybe I too do not understand this situation. Seems like you really enjoyed the 997; you had a vision and made some very nice cosmetic modifications. You read some "end of the world is coming" comments from some members of the "Panic Club" of Rennlist (Current President is Doug H) and decide to sell it as a risk management decision and find something else. I hope that I am reading the fact pattern incorrectly but IMHO you make a "huge mistake". What were you concerned about? A possible issue with bore scoring? If the risks you were afraid of were so high, how do you rationalize a seasoned 997 owner buying your car for more than what you paid?

Huge mistake.....HUGE.

You are reading it incorrectly. I did not plan to keep this car long term with one reason being reliability issues and another being that I wanted to try something else. It already bit me once with a 12k repair bill that was covered by warranty. So when the opportunity arose, I flipped the car to get something else, likely another Porsche. I don't think this is much different than any of the other threads about selling a 997 and getting something else. I definitely enjoyed the 997 and I'm hoping to find a nice 997.2. Or that rebuilt 4.0 997.1 with nickies in the marketplace ;)

Also, as nice as the guy was who bought it from me and as many cars as he's owned in the past, including a 997.1, he had never heard about IMS bearings or bore scoring so not a Porsche expert. Ignorance is bliss!