As the owner of a 924S I say Seize The Day!!!
They are cheap enough to buy, and still a lot of fun to drive, plus easy to load for quick trips to the hardware store & beer runs.. :D

To make it a even deal, beside the fact that most 944 parts swap out and since Boxster twist wheels are cheap & plenty and bolt right on..
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1258680558.jpg

Sounds like you should wait and save, if a 924 is all that's within reach. It will still cost $ to run and keep that thing up. Money you could save towards a car that makes better sense. Also, life in the West is expensive. You will be house poor, even if you rent. I wouldn't burden myself with a heap to keep up until I knew I was financially well settled after the move.

G

yup

Just to instigate, my favourite pic of my S:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1258706587.jpg

Just wanted to update as I'm still having this dilemma, although a lot has happened. It's a good thing we didn't buy a car last Fall / Winter. The company I worked for closed its doors at the end of the year 2009. It was a bit of a surprise, but in a way probably not. So I was jobless for a month until I (and many of my previous co-workers) were picked up as the new Midwest division of DISPLAYWORKS. Things now are "ok", but we're a little behind on the savings for The Move. So even harder to consider a car. Still...I can't stop shopping. But now it's for a potential replacement for the Subie rather than a third car. Believe it or not, that's an even tougher challenge...it has to be THE car. So I don't hold a lot of optimism and firmly believe we're going West with two Subies. I can work with that...

Cheers.

If you move to El Lay I will GIVE you my car!

Well my new company is located in Irvine. :) But still most likely Portland, with Seattle close behind. Stay tuned...

Save your money, a 924S is not a particularly rewarding car to drive in any case.

Move, and then buy the Porsche you dream of.

PS: Those giant ricer rims look absolutely ridiculous on that car.

A 924S would not scratch my itch. It would make me itchier.

I had a 944S, a good one, and a 951, equally good. If you want a 911 or a BoxsterS, and I think you do, then how would this help ?

I like all Porsches. Any of them would be a fun car IMO. But you're right, I'm pretty sure I'll be saving for one of my "it" Porsches.

Doug;

No kids? I can't imagine trading SW Ohio for Oregon or Washington as a place to raise a family.

I have 4.5 years left till we move to Cincinnati (either Amberley Village, Anderson Township or Indian Hill) after 25 years in SoCal. My wife is an Orange County Native (socal) and cannot wait to move to Ohio. We visit twice a year (I have Bearcat Season Football Tickets) and she doesn't understand why I left.

California has been very good to me. But California is a tough town. Make no mistake about it.

10 years from now, I can't imagine what the tax burden/median demographic/daily existence will be like. The exception, I think, will be if you are willing to own your own business. Lots of money in CA if you are willing to fight for it. Being an employee is going to get tougher and tougher out here, IMO...

But back to the Porsche stuff. I drove my 1974 914 2.0 to California after college and couldn't get it smogged here (because I was young and stupid) so I sold it and bought a brand new Honda (I am an idiot). These guys are right about bringing a car out west. The used cars are MUCH nicer here than the midwest. I would never even consider buying a non-CA, AZ or NV used Porsche.

No kids. Family in central and northern Indiana, but some of them may move out West very soon as well. Despite the time we've done here, we just have no desire for it.

foxy brown is still wondering what is taking you so long to get to the left coast....dont listen to those so cal guys. i lived in OC for three years for work. when i was laid off i was so happy to head back north to the PAC NOR WET. you wont need two subies up here, one will do.

Ummm...economy...lack of savings...weather...[insert other excuses]...

Looks like we're coming out to Portland in early June (details still to be finalized). Hopefully part of that trip will be job hunting, etc. Still have a lot to do at the house to get it ready to sell.

Almost a year after my last post...this has been an interesting re-read. With what's transpired over the past year, I still couldn't offer the best advice.

On the one hand, I wish I had bought a 924S...carpe diem...because I'd most likely have a nice running Porsche right now (instead of being completely Porsche-less). Sitting here today, I can honestly say I wouldn't care if it wasn't "the" Porsche.

On the other hand, I did carpe diem...but on a POS 964 C4...and its "POS-ness" put an unfortunate dent in our savings. I dumped it before it drained it completely.

Is there such a phrase as "carpe diem, just be careful about it"?

FWIW job is ok, but house prices continue to fall in this area, so unless I can find a killer west coast job, we're here for a while.

Dammit.

Didn't anyone here warn you about the '90 C4 and the reasons why you see them for so cheap in the paper?

If you buy now in yur current abode you will have further logistical problems of moving the thing, which in the end means an expense. Thus my suggestion would be to wait until you move. Also the extra cash on hand would give you a reserve if the need should arise.

Further your selection of cars out west would be better and in better condition than in the rust belt. when buying discreationary transportation it is best to buy something that has an apprecaition curve rather than a depreciating one...since 924's and 944's are still not seen and may never be seen as being objects of desire it is best to find an old 911 or 356.

Further patience is a virtue, along with vigilance as sooner or later your are very likely to stumble over something...

Get a 968. That'll suit ya fine. I'll likely be doing this myself in the not-too-distant future... I've toyed with the idea of another 951 to replace the one that burned up a few years ago but it's a bottomless pit of boost upgrades and I sorta don't want that at this point in my life. Plus the 911 was the "replacement" for it, which I still have and will have until I leave this earth, at which point it will be passed on to the most deserving family member and by "most deserving" I mean the one most likely to keep it and pass it on similarly themselves...

Anyway the 968 fits my bill for a fun, reasonably inexpensive, reliable 4-seat convertible. The 944s2 cabriolet wouldn't be bad either but as I see it why buy a first generation 3.0L when you can get a more refined version (with the piston oil squirters and a few other niceties) such as on the 968 for about the same price?

Just something to consider. The cost of owning/keeping up either an S2 cabrio or a 968 is likely to be far less than a 911 (or a 928, or certainly less than a 951...)

Damn 951s are fun though... Fun like a heroin habit...

As much as I want to wait, I have a feeling there will be another Porsche in the garage this year. We've had too damn many mis-fires for our move out west, and with the still weak economy I'm just not sure when we'll be able to get out there. I'd hate to pass on a good car just because I thought we'd be moving soon, but end up still here. I've already done that. More than once.

So the real trick will be for me to not buy on emotion...which is kinda what happened with that 964. That lesson learned, the more likely problem would be just buying a car because it's convenient and not really getting something I want. Although, it's hard to know if it's a car I like w/o owning it first, so...who knows.

SW Ohio looks like England from above on Google Maps. You aren't going to see anything like that out West. You might be better off where you are and driving a new-to-you Porsche to lots of destinations.

Oh, and you shoulda bought my Carrera. 10.5K and a strong runner. Had 244K miles on the original motor though. The German guy that bought it and exported it was going to do a rebuild. Apparently there's room for that expense when flipping to the Euro market.

When he got here I told him to not get a rental car while he did his business. He took my advice and put another 1000 miles on the car before it went abroad.

Milt, I guarantee you SW Ohio looks nothing like England. But to your point, I know there are plenty of destinations left unexplored by D&J. Or I can always just take the curvy(ish) roads when visiting the family. :)

I told myself I'd never buy a "high mileage" car again unless I had major cash reserves for rebuilding and restoring. But then again, never say never...

I'm reminded of the fable of the ant and the grasshopper.
Sounds like you are doing the responsible and right thing.

Doug, did you see the thread on the low mileage 968 in MN, that just needs a clutch?

Bill

There's no real way to know what that car needs or doesn't need.

It's being sold through a wholesale auction "as is," with only the "bad clutch" disclosed. There's no other disclosure or representation as to condition (it's expressly sold "as is") and you can't do a PPI or any other real mechanical inspection on it.

The Ford dealer that owns it doesn't want to deal with it and is dumping it at auction.

How lucky do you feel?