RGO4

BACK STORY:
I have been looking to buy a 911 for several months and decided to get serious about it in January, 2021. Before I started to do my homework and was just browsing the car sale apps I was looking at 997.1 cars in the $35-$40,000 range. As I got more serious I started to read about the issues on the 997.1 which didn't totally scare me away. When dealing with 3rd party dealers, they have no clue to the common issues and seem to think just because it has the Porsche Crest on it, it is worth a ton. So I moved on to 997.2 cars as they are more "bullet proof" according to everything I have learned so far. I sold myself on the move up as a good idea because spending $10k or so more for a more reliable car now is better than $15K+ in repairs later. Now that I am searching in the $40k-$50k range I am starting to see 991.1 cars in my price range which is only adding more confusion to my hunt for my first 911.

INTENDED USE:
No matter which 911 I finally land on it will need to be a daily driver. I drive 5-6,000 miles a year as I have been working from home since long before it was the COVID thing to do. Part of my motivation for a 911 is to start doing club events and track days. I have no real idea of how often I will track the car at this point. My guess is I will do it, love it and hit the track as often as I can for awhile and then a new hobby/interest will pull me in a different direction. So lets use the 80/20% rule and say that the majority use of the car will be daily driving.

QUESTION:
If you had $35-50,000 to spend on a used 911 in 2021, which car would you buy and why? (Bonus points if you link to an active for sale listing!)

itrsteve

a 997.2 MT C2S would be my first choice all day long.

abiazis

996 Turbo S or the 997.2 S or 993 Carrera

cp0009

If you can go as high as $50K, 997.2 for sure. A couple of other suggestions that have always worked for me:

• Always buy from an owner and never a dealer. You are far more likely to get a service history (the dealers almost never have them) as well as a better price.
• Spend the money and get a thorough PPI. While the 997.2s do not have the issues that the 997.1s have, you still need to ensure you are buying a car that has been well maintained, and if anything is needed the price should be adjusted

The last two 996s I have looked at both needed work done (clutch, brakes, radiator replacement, etc); one car needed $4k worth of work and the other needed $8k; had I bought at market value and not gotten the PPI, I would have been upside down on the cars from the beginning. And the owners of those cars would not adjust the price for all of the repairs, so I walked on both.