911 // Mid Life Opportunity

[joedanger]

Hello,

As an enthusiastic family-estate driver for a few years I want to buy my first sports car for some weekend fun and I have been drawn to 911s for a long time.

Budget is about £25k, I'm thinking about 997.1 C2 (manual), where is a good place to look?
I should say I have not driven a 911 so any advice on friendly dealers (Herts/Beds) who might be able to help me confirm what I'm looking for would be great too.

Thanks

[Mr lestat]

997.1 versions of the 911 are quite cheap unfortunately for a reason. I looked at a couple before I got my SLK55 AMG but was put of by horror stories regarding bore scoring, IMS bearings and engine rebuilds. Do your research well and make sure you know what your buying. If you want a 911 and that’s your budget I’d look at a 996 manual C2 first.

Have a look at Maundrell cars, they not too far from you

Edited by Mr lestat on Wednesday 14th April 12:36

[seawise]

bit of a mine field buying your first 911, especially for that budget, as it will rule out the more modern cars and using an OPC - do loads of research and then speak to a specialist dealer - the running costs budget might work out to be more significant than the purchase cost one - ideally find a specialist that does sales and servicing near where you live whom you will use for servicing etc. if they are proper people they'll be able to source the right car for you and it will hopefully be the beginning of a long term relationship.

Edited by seawise on Wednesday 14th April 12:22

[CocoUK]

Any reason for a 911?

If because ‘it’s a 911’ - understandable!
If because it has four seats - definitely give that a test with the family

You may also wish to consider a Cayman/Boxster, the budget gets you into very good examples

[anonymous-user]

if youre close to me you're welcome to come out for a spin in mine and we can go to 911 virgin.

yes things can go wrong with gen 1 but do your homework and youll be fine. theres more happy owners out there than unlucky ones. they sold quite a few in the uk

[g7jhp]

I'm in Herts and have bought cars feom Portiacraft and RSJ Sportcars.

I'd try the usual Indies (all have websites):

- Virgin 911 (Ivor, Bucks)
- Portiacraft (Mill Hill)
- RSJ Sportcars (Slough)
- RPM Technik (Tring)
- Ashgood (Horton)
- Cridfords (Surrey)
- Cameron Cars (Chippenham)
- Harbour Cars (Chichester)

I can also recommend Jaz Porsche in St.Albans for inspections and servicing.

[anonymous-user]

dont rule out buying an enthusiast owned car privately - youll know the car better speaking to the owner than a dealer in most cases. just flag your interest here, on 911uk and im sure someone will tap you up

[LeoSayer]

Also try Eporsche in Surrey who have a few in your price range.

[joedanger]

CocoUK said:

Any reason for a 911?

If because ‘it’s a 911’ - understandable!
If because it has four seats - definitely give that a test with the family

You may also wish to consider a Cayman/Boxster, the budget gets you into very good examples

Both those reasons! I considered a Cayman but I'm fairly certain I'll get more use from it if there is space for at least 1 child in the back (smallest child is 5yrs old so I'm hoping there should be room for her for a couple of years)

[Grantstown]

You’ll find with the 911 that there’s a sweat spot where the kids fit perfectly on a booster cushion, with the seat belt sitting perfectly on the shoulder. This is what I find with my 6 year old lad.

[CocoUK]

My brother has a 997.2 and daughter recently turned five, he’s just mentioned he will be seeing how she gets on in the back as she hasn’t been in the car for quite a while.

[Mr.Grooler]

Our two are 10 and 12 (and above average heights) and the four of us can fit in our 997 ok; wouldn’t want to drive for hours but for local journeys it’s fine (and fun). So you would have plenty of years of sensible family motoring left still!

[HughG]

I bought my 996 last summer in similar circumstances, our kids are 3 and 5. Modern high back boosters don’t really work in the back because of the width of the sides of the back and head shroud which foul the side and C pillar respectively. My wife has always had a thing about putting them in the best seats possible so I’m having a battle to convince her than a booster base only is ok.

[nunpuncher]

Our kids are 8 and 10 and both fit fine in the back without any boosters. The 10 year old is a brat with ants in his pants so he does nothing but moan about the lack of space. I sometimes transport his friends, all of whom are bigger than him and none of them have an issue. He's just a little st.

Anyway. I'd say do some proper research. Join marque specific groups and forums as the info and advice you get from people who are used to owning new 911s will be near useless for the older cars. A hastily bought one of these could easily see you spending 50%-100% more on repairs.

[S600BSB]

Never had a child in the back of my 997.1, but I did transport a plant pot at the weekend..

[ArchiesDad]

I’d echo what has already been said, buy with your head and not with your heart, the old adage of if something looks too good to be true !!!!!

Personally I prefer to buy private than from a dealer, most enthusiasts will welcome some one to pop along and tell them how lovely their car is ! If it’s 100% straight they will want to show that off unfortunately the price reflects this but remember not everyone has the balls to enter into 997.1 territory so you have some haggle room. The poorer quality examples are often traded or WBAC’d for good reason, they know you’ll prob have a PPI that will pick up any defects or abnormalities.

I’d err on the latter .1’s personally with the larger IMS and definately buy a manual car ! The auto is terrible and if it’s a car for enjoyment purposes, days out and driving then the auto is archaic, some people only passed their test in a manual. Leave them to it !

Above all, enjoy the journey and stand by for becoming a sponge taking on all aspects of 997.1 foibles !

[mr pg]

S600BSB said:

Never had a child in the back of my 997.1, but I did transport a plant pot at the weekend..

You must have driven like a saint with it like that.

[andy.s.964]

For that budget you may well be better off with a good 996 than a ropey 997

[joedanger]

andy.s.964 said:

For that budget you may well be better off with a good 996 than a ropey 997

Is the general feeling that £25k only buys a ropey 997? I assumed that was true for the < £20k cars but I thought there might be some good (if low spec) 997s within budget. What does the budget need to be for at least an "ok" 997?

I guess I really need to drive both & see which I prefer

[Mr lestat]

joedanger said:

Is the general feeling that £25k only buys a ropey 997? I assumed that was true for the < £20k cars but I thought there might be some good (if low spec) 997s within budget. What does the budget need to be for at least an "ok" 997?

I guess I really need to drive both & see which I prefer

Which is the same issue I had when looking, 997.2 is the better one but they are from 08 onwards. Starting at around £30k but with a fair few miles on it, I looked at a few but didn’t find anything that I liked at the time I wanted to buy for what I wanted to pay. If it was my money for £25k I’d look at a good 996.
I went completely sideways and bought an SLK55 instead.

Edited by Mr lestat on Thursday 15th April 16:53