I was looking at the 996 generation but decided I like the more classic look of the 997 generation better. So I've been looking at different ones for sale. Most likely a 2005 or 2006. Any advice for mileage or options?

 

The more desirable cars have Adaptive Sport Seats / Full Leather / PCCB / PSE

 

If you can find one with the LN engineering retrofit done then go that route if you are going early 05, otherwise, updated service records, decent but not crazy high mileage and a ppi should point you in the right direction. Find a couple of color combos that you like and test drive a few cars. Do not fall in love with the first one, it's easy to do.
As far as electronics I hate built in GPS in any car. They are outdated as soon as it's finished being built at the factory. Map updates are sometimes a pain and expensive. I prefer my non Navi set up. I use waze through Dension and it works great.

 

Adaptive Sport Seats and heated seats were my must haves.

Lots of people really like the full leather but that can be pricey.

Most people want low miles, but that comes at a price. As long as the car was well cared for you are fine. Not to many folks really put a lot of miles on these cars.

Always go with the newest, best cared for car you can afford. Let your budget guide that. A really nice 2005 S is better than a crappy 2006 S. For a non-S you would want the 2006 for the better IMS bearing. I believe that for the S both the 05 and 06 have the better bearing.


Color is usually the key choice for most people


I know of a nice seal grey 2006 911S with Adaptive Sport Seats in the Vehicle Market place (shameless plug I know)

 

Might sound odd, but I really like the self-dimming mirrors too.

 

At doesn't sound odd at all. The 911 sits so low that self-dimming mirrors are nice when there's a high profile vehicle behind you like a pickup truck or SUV.

I love PCCB (no brake dust on the wheels!), but it's not too common on S cars. I agree with others on adaptive sport seats and PSE. Full leather interior really makes the car feel more upscale.

 

For a non-S you would want the 2006 for the better IMS bearing. I believe that for the S both the 05 and 06 have the better bearing.

This is incorrect. When you say "I believe" you don't really know. My 2005 non S (March build 2005) has the larger bearing (confirmed by visual inspection); and the S or non S can have either larger or smaller bearing generally depending on the build date, but not absolutely.

 

I have an 05 S coupe manual. Adaptive seats, sport chrono, full leather, option Slate Grey Metallic, and optioned turbo wheels. Paid 45K for it. Also has a warranty and a fresh preventative rebuild (metal in the oil filter...paid for by said Fidelity warranty) about a year before I bought it. Got turned on to the car via a network of local collectors, pca officers, etc.

It was/is super cherry with about 26K miles on it when I bought it last summer.

 

Full leather and sport chrono. I actually really like my ventillated seats in the summer months but the downside is they make the car a bit more "lux" than racer... and I'm sure add about 20 lbs.

 

Agreed, but not available for 997.1.

 

My advice is to find the lowest mileage, best maintained, and desired color combo within your budget. These are items you can't change. Once you have found this car, there are not really any bad options (rear wiper?). You will have to decide if it lacks a "must have" item from your list.

 

Base model.

Or as close to it as you can find. Less stuff to go wrong. Car is lighter.

The only options my car came with were heated seats, Bose system, and HIDs. I could do without them all, but they are nice to have ...

 

Correct everyone will lead you away from 2005 how ever it's a matter of knowing whAt build date you have. Mine is a early 2005 with serviceable bearing. When purchasing I was already working on rms clutch flywheel so did bearing and done. Most late 2005 models already have improved bearing



Also : adaptives and full leather are great

 

The cost of retrofitting the LN bearing into an early '05 is and has always been less than the cost difference up to an '06. If you can find an '05 with the color and options you want I wouldn't hesitate. I wanted black with sand beige and went with an '05 early build. Bought it with 21K, drove it another 10K on the OEM bearing which came out perfect, and have since gone almost 30K on the LN bearing. Six great enjoyable years of ownership of an early-build '05.

As to options, the only one that was mandatory for me was power seat. The nice thing about options though, is they depreciate much more than the base car. Thus an optioned-up used car costs much closer to a non-optioned one than they did when they were new. Mine came with 19" lobster fork wheels w/colored crests, full leather interior, bi-xenon headlights (w/washers), BOSE, sport steering wheel, and the porsche floormats. The only option I wish it had is the self-dimming mirrors mainly because I'm used to them, but it's really not that big of a deal.

 

05 C2S, adaptive sport seats, sports chrono, yellow belts, yellow center console, PCM navi, heated seats, self dimming mirrors, bi-xenons, Bose, sport steering wheel, short shift kit, Fabspeed cold air intake, Misha ducktail. 78,000 miles and smooth as silk.