403portside

Hi everyone,

I'm on my long search for the right 997 for me. It's been a childhood dream of mine. I know I want a 6 speed S but am still deciding between Cab vs. Coupe and C2 vs. C4. But that's not what this post is about.

What I'm wondering is - how has the feel of your Porsche changed as you've racked up the miles? In other words, any difference in how solid or 'tight' it felt from say <10K miles to the say the 20K-30K mile range? I know the engine probably gets better with time but I'm more interested in the rest of the car.

I'm interested in your feedback for this reason: I see a lot of cars with between 20-30K miles that are priced very aggressively and wonder whether I should pay a premium to find one with lower miles. I know people say "buy the best car you can afford". I could afford a new one, but that doesn't mean I can't get more overall value from buying one that's a few yrs old with some miles. I guess what I'm asking is - what part of the ownership experience would I be missing if I bought a car with 30K miles vs. 10K miles (besides warranty). How has your car changed in feel over the miles?

Sorry for the long winded question. I hope you guys know what I'm trying to get at.

Thanks!

Edgy01

Still amazingly tight.

Mspeedster

Since the 997 has only been out for about 5-6 years and you wanted one since childhood, you must be a teenager then? (Just joking, couldn't resist.)

I bought mine as the second owner with 9K miles on the clock. However, I test drove several others of the same vintage with 20K - 30K+ miles. Honestly, they all drove great and felt very tight. One had a very annoying rattle, others were mostly rattle free.

I went for the lower miles car because the overall condition of the exterior and interior was near flawless, even had some new car smell in it. Plus it had most of the options I wanted. I probably paid a little more for it compared to the other cars, but still got a good deal and the difference is well worth it to me.

p-cardriver

Over 50k miles on mine and it is more wonderful every day. I replaced tie rods recently but I beat the old ones up at the track, otherwise hasn't needed anything to keep that feel just right.

I wouldn't be afraid of miles up to 100k with a PPI, and I might go well over that. Been thinking about a 996 turbo because the prices can be quite low and even with one of those I'd go 75k miles or maybe more for the right car with good maintenance history.

tpenta

Just 2 more cents here: I test-drove an 06 S with 46k miles at the dealer in San Diego and the car was very beat up and didn't feel right at all. I don't know enough to tell what was wrong but I didn't think twice about continuing my search. The car even had a CPO and they were trying to convince me that it was just fine but it wasn't.

Having said all that, 40k on a german car is really nothing. It's really up to the driver. If they abuse the hell out of it or take it to a lot of track events, then it will definitely have more wear than the one that's been a daily driver.

Mine is getting close to 40k and honestly it feels very solid and stiff all over. The only problem I'm having is with one of the radiator fans. I just haven't had a chance to take it in for work yet but it seems I have a bad resistor.

I must say that everything people say has been true for me. I came from BMWs and don't look back. I enjoy every single drive without question. It has also been a non-issue as a daily driver -- except for the skii trip and the infrequent trips to Costco...

Good luck.

-T

abe

20-30k on these cars is still a new car. As long as it was properly taken care off...let someone else take the depreciation and use your money to buy something else....maybe a second P car...air cooled.
abe

rijowysock

I had a cab with 20k miles an put 5k on it and it felt great, the chassis on cab you can feel the flex tho.

I have a coupe now and bough new and put 10k miles on it and still feels the same as it did with 7 miles new. Chassis feels much tighten than the cab.

Buying my coupe was best thing I've done and I'm glad I didn't get a 4.

The 4 just doesn't feel the same and I still wouldn't buy a 4 even if I lived where it snowed. And I will never buy another cab either as the coupe just feels stunning.


As far as driving feeling, car doesn't feel any difference in my opinion from 7 miles to 25,007 miles. I'm sure with HIGH miles when wear points start needing to be replaced it will feel different tho.

403portside

Thanks guys. I appreciate your feedback.

My test drive this morning of an 06 C4S with 30K miles prompted this post. It drove fantastically well (aside from the steering wheel being slightly off center) and was priced well. But I've got this thing in my head that my dream 911 has to be *perfect* and have under 10K miles. I left the dealership feeling a little silly that I think that way and that I may be passing up a great car, but I want to do this once and do it right and the mental satisfaction is more about getting the exact car vs. saving money.

Thanks again. I hope to join the club as owner in next few months.

axhoaxho

20K-30K proper driven miles is nothing. As for my 07 997S... if we follow the owner's manual, the first oil change is not even due until 20K miles

Regards,

yemenmocha

Oddly enough mine was tight with no rattles for the first few thousand miles, then had squeaks/rattles for about 8-10k miles, and for the past few thousand miles is very quiet. I can't explain it.

bradyb

403portside - I just sent you a message about a couple of cars in the SF Bay Area.

403portside

Thanks. Just saw it and sent you an email (yahoo).

At Law

I bought my '06 with 5k miles on the clock.
It was and is showroom condition.

I have put about 3500 miles on it since I purchased it and
it drives even better every additional mile I put on it.

I will say, when I was looking, I drove a couple of 997's with
30k on them that felt a little loose. It really depends on
how it was driven by the previous owner.

When I have 30k on mine, I guarantee it will look and drive
like a brand new one.

Dave07997S

My car just hit the 20k mark and the car is as tight as the day I got it. Its never seen any track work and I tend to be careful for speed bumps and such. The 997 is an extremely tight body and chassis.

Dave

Nugget

In my experience, urban driving is much harder on cars than track time. Six months of trekking up and down the streets of central Houston caused a symphony of squeaks and rattles in my C2S cab that two years of track time never did. Track time makes you buy a lot of tires, brake pads, and oil changes but I don't think it's particularly hard on the car itself.