Para82

Go 911. I've got a Jag XJ8 and an extremely rare special edition Mustang to compliment it - (ultra luxury and extreme race car) but the the 911 seems to do everything quite well and remain surprisingly comfortable.

jgreer371

Well I think my mind is made up. My plan is to definitely snag a 997. I don't think the 997.2 will meet the budget requirements this time around, but seeing how these hold their value I could see upgrading in a few years. I've got 5 kids and college isn't cheap. A nice car and a Harley is my therapy and vacation for an hour a day!

I started looking at the tiptronic but if it's not as good as the PDK then I'll just go with a manual. I'm planning on driving them both back-to-back though just to be sure. Seems like clutch life is all over the place so I'll try and find one that was fully serviced or already replaced. The advice here so far has been priceless.

Thanks again everyone. Hopefully I'll be posting a picture of my new ride soon.

DC911S

Cobra R from days past? That is rare if you have one....only saw one of those once on the road.

1Carnut

You will get various opinions here, but since this is a Porsche board I doubt anyone would say buy a Lexus. What I find interesting is that you have them both on your list. That LS is not even a very good drivers car for a luxury car and the Jag well that was not the best time for any Jaguar model. I have owned Porsche's for over 40 years (40 in all never in that time span did I not own at least one) and since you now live in the sunshine state weather is not that big a deal so you could use a 997 as a DD as long as you do not need to carry a lot of stuff or a lot of people. There is more to consider when thinking about a 997 (or any sports car) as your only car. As far as the manual/auto thing that's really up to you. For me I'm an old timer learned to drive on a 3 on a tree and stopped buying Ferrari's after my 430 and Lamborghini's after the Gallardo because they only offered flappy paddle boxes. I do own one PDK, my Panamera and I only keep it because my girlfriend loves it. I am not here to debate the paddles/manual stuff though I do believe the younger generation interest in cars is more about their electronic interfaces and how they can communicate in them rather than performance so I do think cars as I have know them will be mostly gone in 20 years. Sad but I'll be too damn old to give a damn by then. If you can buy your car dream for 35K then go for I have already had all mine and I wish they came at that price. Good luck.

sy308

I just put my 997.1 car away for the winter. I picked it up about 3 years ago from a seller in Naples, FL. I bought it sight unseen (like all my P-cars) without PPI. I also picked it up just over wholesale value due to the circumstances of the transaction. I was in the right place at the right time. It may or may not be easy to do the same here for you. I have many posts here on car value and how to figure price into the purchase. It sounds like you are cost conscious too. Just like me brother. Now, I want to make things specifically clear for you as no one has mentioned it yet. You need to be familiar with the IMS issue as it pertains to the engines used in the 2005 and early 2006 cars if this is your choice. Only a few percentage of the engines actually fail. Porsche recently announced reimbursement plans for those engines that failed via a class action settlement. My car was one of those that was effected. The original motor went at 18K. Be sure you read about this issue and understand the risks of the early 997.1 cars. The price can be right but there is some risk. I presume you are not a motor head so there may be a bit of learning curve. You need to familiarize yourself with the marque, including strengths and weaknesses in order to make a proper decision on not only what to buy but more importantly how much to pay. In general, the value depreciation curve of Porsche 911 type cars drops continually but starts to become more level at around 8 years after production. Obviously, cars just do not drop out of the sky. It took me between 3 weeks to 4 months to find each car I purchased. I sold two of the four and my other car is a 964 Turbo (lots of fun). The 996 cars are going to be much more affordable but suffer from model bashing. People don't like the lights and the body shape. Trade in will suffer. So lets say you are focusing on a 997.1 and are looking for advice. I have done this many times. I would not purchase the first car I saw. I would look in FL for a great deal because the cars are much more plentiful than in NY where I live. I would check almost only private sales unless a dealer just happened to have the exact combination of color and options and in that case I would purchase on the last day of the month in order to get the best pricing. I would be patient and expect to wait several months in order to find a car. I would check every on line source I could, including auctions, etc. I would also go to the local Porsche club meetings and get to know the officers. They have lots of contacts. I am sure they know the best people to help steer you locally to a purchase or inspection. Lots of other considerations. The car is a blast to drive. I have lightened flywheel and custom exhaust but when I really want to rip, I take the Ducati or the S1000RR for a spin. By the way my BMW 3 series (not M3) is quite capable and drives and handles quite well in under most circumstances. Good luck.

Ben Z

In the interest of accuracy: the small single-row IMS bearing was used in early MY2005 engines. Later MY2005 and all MY2006 have the larger bearing. The early ones are replaceable, the later ones not. All are subject to premature wear if the seals break down and dirty oil mixes with the grease. The greater load capcity of the larger bearing merely allows it to survive longer. The larger ones can't be replaced without removing the engine and tearing it apart. The smaller one can be replaced with the engine in the car. Replacing the stock bearing with a beefed-up LN bearing will in all probability lower the chances of failure to equal or better the larger stock bearing.

Chaos

Sold my 07 CK. Stuff broke did not know existed but great daily driver
Drive a 07 Ls 460 daily would be my must have if only one car with wife and baby. Perfect compliment to my 06 C4
06 C4. Great car but not good for me only car but perfect second one

Racetwin2

I talked about heritage before. This is a wonderful image showing all 7 verions of the 911 in one picture:

Nova997

Speaking of IMS and the "early" 2005 997 issue compared to the late 2005 (and newer) 997 issue.

I got the following information from another forum and would be interested in knowing if this information is valid.

'From the 997 work shop manual I extracted the following information on which engine has the smaller or revised larger IMS bearing:

Base engine (3.6) has designation "M96", can have the smaller IMS or revised larger bearing, you will need to know your engine number in order to determine which one you have:

Engine (3.6) number up to M96/05 69507475 has the smaller IMS bearing and Engine number from M96/05 69507476 has the larger revised IMS.

"S" Engine (3.8) has designation "M97", can have the smaller IMS or revised larger IMS bearing:

Engine (3.8) number up to M97/01 68509790 has the older IMS bearing and Engine number from M97/01 68509791 has the larger revised IMS.

The smaller IMS bearing can be replaced, this requires removing the transmission in order to get access to the bearing. The flange uses a 13mm center nut.

The larger IMS bearing can also be replaced but a tear down of the engine is required. The flange uses a 22mm center nut.'

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As a former owner of a 997 let me assure you that you can't go wrong with this car. Over the past 28 years I have had three Carreras. A 964 Cabrio, a 996 Cabrio and a 997 C4S. Although the latter had a Triptronic gearbox, it was by far the best machine I have ever driven. I just sold it to help me get a new 991 C4S of which I will take delivery in less than a week. I can't hardly wait. But my only regret is that I couldn't keep the 997 as well. I really miss her.
By the way I am totally new to this place (this is my first post) and I want tho thank you all for the invaluable help you have given me in configuring my new 991. Keep you all posted!

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Here are the first (G series Cabrio) and third (997C4S). I was lucky to put both side by side as the former ended up in the hands of a friend.

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Better here...

Edward911

WOW. Both machines are just amazingly gorgeous!

Wayne Smith

What Edward said!