Barriers to first ownership pretty high!
Discussion
Hey all,
I'm in the market for a car for the first time in 20 years, having had a loving relationship with the car I bought myself for my 25th birthday, a BMW 328Ci Coupe replaced under warranty by BMW with a 330Ci after 2 years. My poor BMW will not get through its next MOT at the end of the month without me throwing 6x its value in parts and labour, and even then it will be a 200,000-mile car worth little more than scrap value since it uses oil and has corroding rear arches. it's time to say a very tearful goodbye to my faithful old friend.
Now I'm in my 40s and it's time for something different. I'm looking for something a little different but still usable as a daily driver. My budget is £28-35k, but I can stretch to £40k if it will get me into the right car. My boring choice is an E92 BMW M3 V8 or possibly an M4 (budget stretcher there) and my off the wall choice is a nearly new Mustang GT 5.0. But a friend of mine who works for a classic motoring trade publication says I am a total idiot if I don't consider some sort of 911. Now I was never the biggest fan of the Porsche brand despite my 20-year-older half-brother taking me on wild trips across the Alps in his 944 and later 968 when I was a teen. I did investigate 911 ownership a few years ago, but I was freaked out by stories of IMS bearing failures. The more I read about it, the less concerned I am, so I'm looking again. I know the general differences between turbo and non-turbo cars, and between 996, 997 G1 and G2, which seem to be where I'm looking.
Here's the problem however. I've never driven any 911. In fact, the only rear-engined car I've driven was a friends old Beetle many years ago. I imagine the driving experience is totally different to a typical FR layout car, which is what I'm familiar with. I don't want to jump into buying a 911 without having ever driven one, yet the few dealers I've visited were not inclined to offer me a test drive, even of a car not yet prepared for sale. Perhaps with my limited knowledge, they think I'm not serious. There's too much at stake for me to consider this a blind faith type of purchase. So how exactly do newbies get into 911 ownership?
I've already driven the M3 and the Mustang. Both were very quick cars in very different ways, but a little numb. Hence I'm seriously looking into 911 ownership.
Thanks!
I'm in the market for a car for the first time in 20 years, having had a loving relationship with the car I bought myself for my 25th birthday, a BMW 328Ci Coupe replaced under warranty by BMW with a 330Ci after 2 years. My poor BMW will not get through its next MOT at the end of the month without me throwing 6x its value in parts and labour, and even then it will be a 200,000-mile car worth little more than scrap value since it uses oil and has corroding rear arches. it's time to say a very tearful goodbye to my faithful old friend.
Now I'm in my 40s and it's time for something different. I'm looking for something a little different but still usable as a daily driver. My budget is £28-35k, but I can stretch to £40k if it will get me into the right car. My boring choice is an E92 BMW M3 V8 or possibly an M4 (budget stretcher there) and my off the wall choice is a nearly new Mustang GT 5.0. But a friend of mine who works for a classic motoring trade publication says I am a total idiot if I don't consider some sort of 911. Now I was never the biggest fan of the Porsche brand despite my 20-year-older half-brother taking me on wild trips across the Alps in his 944 and later 968 when I was a teen. I did investigate 911 ownership a few years ago, but I was freaked out by stories of IMS bearing failures. The more I read about it, the less concerned I am, so I'm looking again. I know the general differences between turbo and non-turbo cars, and between 996, 997 G1 and G2, which seem to be where I'm looking.
Here's the problem however. I've never driven any 911. In fact, the only rear-engined car I've driven was a friends old Beetle many years ago. I imagine the driving experience is totally different to a typical FR layout car, which is what I'm familiar with. I don't want to jump into buying a 911 without having ever driven one, yet the few dealers I've visited were not inclined to offer me a test drive, even of a car not yet prepared for sale. Perhaps with my limited knowledge, they think I'm not serious. There's too much at stake for me to consider this a blind faith type of purchase. So how exactly do newbies get into 911 ownership?
I've already driven the M3 and the Mustang. Both were very quick cars in very different ways, but a little numb. Hence I'm seriously looking into 911 ownership.
Thanks!
13 years ago I hated Porsche and everything they stood for. Then I drove one. I'm currently on my 6th Porsche and 5th 911. There's something for everyone. Find a decent dealer, describe what your looking for and with your budget you have a lot to choose from. Please make sure you try a few different types of 911 and think carefully about what you are REALLY looking for before you commit.
What am I REALLY looking for? I think, a 997G2 with a manual box, which I'm told is a very small proportion of them. The DSG on the M3 was amazing and did all the blipping, but I would really miss doing my own gear changes. There's nothing more satisfying that negotiating a tricky bend and getting the gear change just right! I'm sure I'm not the only one, but then why is PDK so popular?
I am also in my 40s, have owned a succession of BMWs including several i6s and hadn't driven a rear engined car until I had actually paid for my 911 3 months ago (I left the test drive to my far more knowledgeable friend). My 996 is everything i hoped it would be and more. Your budget is healthier and should buy a corker. Do it!
LunarOne said:
What am I REALLY looking for? I think, a 997G2 with a manual box, which I'm told is a very small proportion of them. The DSG on the M3 was amazing and did all the blipping, but I would really miss doing my own gear changes. There's nothing more satisfying that negotiating a tricky bend and getting the gear change just right! I'm sure I'm not the only one, but then why is PDK so popular?
'Cos people are lazy/think being 0.2s quicker to 60 is better... 
If you want a gen 2, you may have to up your budget or accept something with 60k+ miles on it (not all bad depending on your needs). Annoyingly, they're holding their money and have for the last 2 years.
My mate's got a 59 plate beauty in Aqua Blue (but his is PDK), lovely car!
You can go for a gen 1, especially if it's had a Hartech rebuild (for peace of mind), but these are like hen's teeth. The gen 2 has a nicer interior though.
rog007 said:
Speed! 
Try b4u buy and think carefully about what you want. Sounds like you're not gonna change cars that regularly and speed is great but might not have long lasting satisfaction. I had 2 slightly modded 997 turbos but have now been in a n/a car for longer than both combined. Thanks so much for all the awesome responses! I'll definitely be calling Ashgoods. They're less than 4 miles from me as the crow flies (as long as he's not drunk)! I'll also check out Northway as my office is in Reading and I visit a gym near Tadley 3x per week after work, so that's also very convenient!
I visited RSJ Porsche today in Slough as they have a lot of ads on Autotrader, and they had quite a few cars within my budget. However I was told that they sell 250 cars a year and never allow test drives. I can't believe how trusting prospective Porsche owners are - either that, or they know exactly what to look for.
If I find a car that I really like, are there any knowledgeable members here along the M4 corridor who might consider helping me to check out and drive a prospective purchase? I feel like I'm a bit out of my depth. I don't have a lot of time to wait for a good car to appear. One thing I haven't mentioned is that whatever I buy, it has to be soon and ideally before the end of the month, at which point my beloved BMW becomes a heap of scrap. I do have a bike, but I'm a fair weather biker and hate commuting on it, especially if I have to carry my computer, gym gear, etc. If the worst comes to the worst, a very generous friend lent me her '05 Cayenne S (She bought a Cayenne GTS recently) for 10 days while my car had its very first breakdown in 17 years a few weeks ago. She'll probably let me use it again, but I don't want to take the Mick and the longer I use it, the more she's hoping I'll buy it. It's a nice car in a barge-ish kind of way, but that sluggish autobox did everything it could to undermine the power of that 4.5 V8.
I visited RSJ Porsche today in Slough as they have a lot of ads on Autotrader, and they had quite a few cars within my budget. However I was told that they sell 250 cars a year and never allow test drives. I can't believe how trusting prospective Porsche owners are - either that, or they know exactly what to look for.
If I find a car that I really like, are there any knowledgeable members here along the M4 corridor who might consider helping me to check out and drive a prospective purchase? I feel like I'm a bit out of my depth. I don't have a lot of time to wait for a good car to appear. One thing I haven't mentioned is that whatever I buy, it has to be soon and ideally before the end of the month, at which point my beloved BMW becomes a heap of scrap. I do have a bike, but I'm a fair weather biker and hate commuting on it, especially if I have to carry my computer, gym gear, etc. If the worst comes to the worst, a very generous friend lent me her '05 Cayenne S (She bought a Cayenne GTS recently) for 10 days while my car had its very first breakdown in 17 years a few weeks ago. She'll probably let me use it again, but I don't want to take the Mick and the longer I use it, the more she's hoping I'll buy it. It's a nice car in a barge-ish kind of way, but that sluggish autobox did everything it could to undermine the power of that 4.5 V8.
Jim1556 said:
'Cos people are lazy/think being 0.2s quicker to 60 is better...
It's the whole driving experience that matters more to me. That includes torque, steering feel, adjustability on the throttle, and soundtrack. I used to live in Germany for 18 months, and have many thousands of KMs under my belt in excess of 200km/h and a fair few flat out in the BMW at 250km/h, so I'm not so fixated on outright speed or acceleration. I'm also totally disinterested in trackdays, but I am a fairly rapid and impatient driver on the road. How I have maintained a clean licence is a complete mystery to me!
IMHO I would definitely get a gen2 3.6 for the money you want to spend as no bore scoring or ims failure issues and a sweet engine that is as quick as a gen1 3.8S and the better gen2 pcm3 is a lot better than the older pcm2.1.
Couple for you
Red one is nice and a classic Porsche colour
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Grey interior is a bit love or hate but does have PASM.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Couple for you
Red one is nice and a classic Porsche colour
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Grey interior is a bit love or hate but does have PASM.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
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