996 daily driver, which one?

[kaisen]

I'd second Denis' advice on the Turbo. It's a more complex car: turbos, all wheel drive, automatic transmission. But it is twice the car. They are robust.

Buying one with over 100K miles is a great idea. They're *cheap* because all of the scared elitists who can't DIY are afraid of them and would only consider a low-mile car. The reality is that a 25K mile ten year old complex car will break as often as a 100K mile car. Regular excercise and maintenance is good for them.

Have it checked out. Enjoy it. Don't look back.

[HardDrive]

I had a 2002 Boxster, and it was a great sports car. Summer is fun, but driving along in the fall with the trees changing color, a flat 6 engine providing the sound track.....heaven. If you plan on driving it all year round, seek out a hard top for it. It makes it much quieter and warmer during the winter months.

Originally Posted by livi

I have been researching the early 996 models and I would not hesitate to get one. A lot of sport scar for the money. However I have decided to go for a Boxster instead. I never had an open top car and I am very curious to try out what many aficionados apparently feel is one of the best drivers cars. Also it is a bit less money.

[kaisen]

Oops

[livi]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

I had a 2002 Boxster, and it was a great sports car. Summer is fun, but driving along in the fall with the trees changing color, a flat 6 engine providing the sound track.....heaven. If you plan on driving it all year round, seek out a hard top for it. It makes it much quieter and warmer during the winter months.

Sounds great and thats good advice on the hard top. Thanks!

[livi]

Originally Posted by kaisen

Oops

Yes. Perhaps.

[chocolatelab]

looked at a 99 today with 47k miles.

VIn is

WPOAA299XXS621159

Anybody got carfax access.

Me thinks it might have been in an accident.

Current owner claims to have bought it at an estate sale.

[porsche4life]

Got any pictures? What makes you think accident?

[chocolatelab]

the front bumper seems a little of center. When you run your fingers around lights the seams are not equal.

The front headlights and side marker lights have been upgraded. Either the PO like the newer style or circumstances dictated replacement. The rear taillights are a newer version also.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by chocolatelab

looked at a 99 today with 47k miles.

VIn is

WPOAA299XXS621159

Anybody got carfax access.

Me thinks it might have been in an accident.

Current owner claims to have bought it at an estate sale.

Just FYI, it's against Pelican Parts policy to request to have Carfaxes run. It's $35, not exactly expensive.

Originally Posted by chocolatelab

the front bumper seems a little of center. When you run your fingers around lights the seams are not equal.

The front headlights and side marker lights have been upgraded. Either the PO like the newer style or circumstances dictated replacement. The rear taillights are a newer version also.

There are service operations, such as cleaning the front radiators, that require bumper removal. It's possible that the re-installation wasn't perfect. Has it been repainted?

The light replacement might have been an upgrade, removing the amber shaded headlights, tail lights, and side markers greatly updates the look of the car. The newer models had clear headlights and red/white tails, they're a direct fit on the earlier cars but expensive. I replaced the side markers on mine with smoked OEM lights because it's cheap and looks much better.

[Brillo]

Originally Posted by LeeH

This one:
2001 porsche 911

$18,950 obo Very tempting. Wonder if it's a salvage at that price.

That looks like the one a friend of mine had a few years ago. If it's the same car, it was a So. Cal car in great condition when he sold it (second owner). His had a built in radar detector, very nicely done.

[chocolatelab]

Matt

Thanks for the heads up. Had no idea about the car fax. Please forgive the error in etiquette.

[chocolatelab]

Matt

All the lights have been replaced to give it a more updated look. It does look great.

I checked the gaps at the front quater panel and the doors. It feels like there is a slight wave in the quarter panels. Thats what makes me think it was more than a simple light exchange.

I am going to have it run over to Black Forest and have the boys there give it the once over.

Seller wants 19.5. The other car i'm considering is a 02 turbo tip with 105 k miles for 29.

Im torn between the stick and auto turbo..............

The beauty is that I think there is no hurry as there are plenty of options out there.

[herman maire]

for a daily driver, I would seriously consider a auto transmission. Sitting in traffic for hours constantly shifting is not fun. The manual mode on my automatic daily driver BMW's is actually pretty good.
If maintained properly, I would go with the turbo.

whats your daily drive like?

[porsche4life]

It all depends on the drive.... I drive about 30mi a day and never hit congestion. Its all open highway, my stick shift corolla is perfect....

[onewhippedpuppy]

$19500 for a 46k mile 996 is a pretty good price, assuming it's otherwise a good car. I wouldn't be afraid of a properly repaired car that had been in a minor accident, but if the quarter panel has waves that would scare me. If there are obvious visible issues in the accident repair, what is else is hidden from view?

[speeder]

While I would personally prefer a manual trans on any 911, the turbo w/ the tiptronic performs like an unchained beast. Remember when Hurley Haywood set some record w/ it at the 'ring when it was introduced(?)