cretinx

Probably the smart decision - but OP wanted to know the pros and cons.

996 is cheap to get into, not expensive but not cheap to maintain, and a very different animal to the mid-engine cars in terms of behavior.

The engine is in the wrong place, so there's that, plus it was one of Porsche's last "analog" cars in terms of not having PSM (until later), PASM, Sport Chrono, throttle-by-wire (the later cars did get this), electric steering etc . . . you could even get it with a real limited-slip differential.

It feels old to drive. It doesn't have the chassis rigidity of the newer cars. It creaks. The interior is cheap.

But it does have a certain charm - OP needs to decide if he wants the very sophisticated and competent drive of a Cayman or that untamed ***-out behavior of the 996.

I don't have a dog in this fight - I sold all my mid and rear engine Porsches and bought a Lotus and a 944.