What I have learned from this forum

[RFR]

1) Porsches are expensive to operate and maintain.

2) you have to spend 20 grand to get a car someone is willing to buy for 10 grand

3) If you don't spend the 20 grand no one wants to buy it at ANY price

4) A brand new targa top costs more than than whole freaking car is worth.

5) Everyone (except targa owners) hates Targas.

6) A/C on a porsche is a Joke.

7) For a grand you can have your car lowered aligned and corner balanced.

8) You cannot trust a normal tire shop with Fuchs. ( although they deal with much more expensive wheels, as on blinged out SUVs on a daily basis)

9) The rear engine design is actually dangerous

10) The weight distribution Sucks ( rear heavy)

11) Door pockets are made of freaking cardboard ( can you say warped to crap?)

12) A new uncracked dash is a fortune, if you can find one.

13) If the car sits too long, it smokes like a forest fire upon startup.

14) Even though a new targa top is 11 to 14 grand, you will still have a leaky car!

15) You cannot rotate tires on a post 77 car.

16) the gearshift lever is placed too far foward, not to mention you have a crap transmission and have to learn "TRICKS" to shift fast.

17) Floorboards are plywood?????

18) Rice guys "think" you are faster than them, when you are NOT.

19) light and turn signal switches are one step above Lucas
(maybe)

20) a broken head stud is a major financial disaster.
(Why are they designed to break anyway?)

21) God help your wallet should you need a rebuild!

22) Porsche could give a crap about parts support for older porsches.

23) A full leather interior is usless in a Targa, so are nice floormats for that matter.

Tell me why should I own one???

Keep in mind this bitter sarcastic porsche endorsement comes from having a Targa SITTING in my driveway for months!

Maybe I'd feel different if I could actually drive it



RR
78 Targa ( sitting in driveway)

[rnln]

Amlmost all are true but these are not what you should be thinking now. You should be thinking of how to make your driveway car running now . When it run, these are still true but you might for get them.

[RFR]

rnln, I agree, I have been a 911 owner for 8 months, and never met any of you fine folks or taken a drive on a nice road nor gone on a group ride.

The damn thing just sits in my driveway, with me wondering why I bought it. ;-)

[pegasus9]

Porsche ownership, in terms of older air cooled 911s is a man's game. Any fool with decent credit can put himself in a semi-new boxster for $xxx a month. But to restore and maintain a definitive 'classic' can be difficult and also puts a little pressure on the wallet. It costs money and time but the rewards are well worth it in my book.

Good luck

Maybe I'd feel different if I could actually drive it

Definite maybe..

[sus911]

I'm so sorry for you.
I've owned mine for 19 years and I still love it as much, even more than when I first got it! I'm so looking forward to making iy even better.
Sounds like a fairy tale eh?
makes me smile........

[pwd72s]

Seems to me you about summed it up. Darned if I know why I've hung on to the same car for 32 years...

[jwetering]

Yes...well a Porsche sitting in the driveway not running is certainly not going to give you the same feeling as a Porsche which has had some money and TLC invested. A broken head stud and worn out Targa top are not the end of the world, but yes indeed you could get seriously upside down in a big hurry if you went to a shop and said "fix it".

Problem too is that you'd never do just a broken head stud. You'd want to have the heads themselves done. No doubt there are other issues lurking too, which you haven't even got around to discovering yet. Brakes, suspension bushings for instance. It really never ends. I started adding up my invoices once - got to $60K and stopped, and that was years ago beFORE I started spending serious dollars. Gotta admit I get the Porsche feeling now though. Once you throw enough money and time at it there is truly nothing like it.

Let's face it, our cars are pretty much antique. They ain't Honda Civics.

No advice to give here unless maybe to think long and hard if this car in your driveway is "the one" you want to invest in. You'll do better financially by ditching a lost cause (yes - part it out and throw the unwanted bits away) and buying something for $10K that someone has spent $20K on already.

And by the way - a properly set up 915 is not crap.

[randywebb]

You left out # 24.


24) Despite any of the above, it is all worth it.

[RFR]

Kind words from all :-)

Let me clarify a bit, my car does Not have a broken headstud.

the mechanicals are good.

I am a DIY kind of guy, I custom buld guitars for a living.

The reason the car sits is because the PO neglected the registration for 3 years, it needs smog, and with insurance, I am looking @ about a thousand bucks to get it legal.

Doesn't seem like a lot, but this month 5 grand went out on on CNC costs for stainless guitar hardware I had made up.

This was money I would have loved to put into the porsche, but business comes first.

I also come from the world of Datsun Roadsters, A car that I know INSIDE AND OUT.

In an afternoon, I have done by myself a motor and tranny swap, a valve adjustment is a 15 minute job, Jackpoints are a breeze ( seperate frame, not unibody), etc.
With all the contacts I have made, parts are a breeze to find and relatively inexpensive.

Porsches are a whole new world for me.

That is an understatement!

Right now to satisfy my need to improve my car, I am painting....one panel at a time.

Heck a Porsche is just one really BIG guitar, and I paint them all the time.

Sure hope I get over the learning curve on this new beast and I can say I understand the porsche thru and thru!

Hell, maybe soon I will even be able to race around and discover that wonderful throttle lift sensation! ;-)

[aeroman]

I don't have any trouble beating most of them rice cars.

[zumwoll]

You are of course correct and I have been down the Datsun and BMW road but nothing is like a Porsche. I got into a funk about 20 yrs ago and my tech---I was working 70 hrs and week and had no time and made decent money---well he said---Go buy a Supra. That shut me up. Yes, you aren't in Kansas anymore. YOu are breathing the rarified air of a hand built automobile---and the guy who made the comment about the boxter is dead right. $400 a month and you could have trouble free driving with clean hands. I did have a Miata for a few months. BBORING!, Turn the key, it starts, handles nicely, put on a Jackson cold side supercharger and you would eat 90 % of the cars on this site. But it does not growl like a flat six or swivel around a corner like a slot car.
I don't have a stereo in my car. I hum along to the sound of that throaty rumble behind me , and when I get tired of hearing it, I kick in the six Webers and she sits down and rips my cheeks back. Ahh!!!

[Jack Olsen]

You do illustrate one good point that most newcomers to 911's miss. These cars are not usually a smart choice as fixer-uppers. Buy a really nice 20K Carrera and you can generally turn it around for about what you paid for it. Buy a rough one for 12 and it can easily cost 16 to bring it up to where it's worth 20.

For the record, I bought a fixer-upper.

Still, I agree with Randy's #24: It's pretty much the coolest car ever made.

[raj911]

The first time I test drove a 911 was 13 years ago when I was 18, was looking for a car and there was one in lot. I had a buzz that lasted for half an hour after I got out. Right there and then I knew I had to get one, someday. Finally bought my SC 2 1/2 years ago, and I still get the 30 minute buzz everytime I drive it. I have spent a lot on it, but it's been worth it. I want to be buried in a 911 when I die.

[rdrr]

the first time you drive it the grin on your face will make you forget all of the above. Think positive and eventually you will get great enjoyment from your Porsche!

[87coupe]

So if I understand this correctly, you haven't really even driven your car yet? And I don't mean a quick test drive around town, I mean take the car out on the twisties (or your fav driving roads) and really driven the car. Is this correct? If so, I imagine once you do you'll have a whole new perspective on your driveway fixture.

[RFR]

I must say (for me) this post is fun and actually cheering me up.

Brandon, No I haven't REALLY driven the car yet.

I've driven it from to Starbucks and back (2.9 miles) I drive it around the area by my house to keep the battery charged.

I did one evening however, take it up to 90 on a new development road. I never got out of third gear. Fun!

A buddy of mine has an 87 coupe and we traded taking turns and he was very impressed. I was suprised, my car was as fast and my 915 tranny felt tighter than his G 50.

I must say this; I always wanted a 911, now I have one, and I look foward to actually REALLY driving it! She seems like she longs to run free.

RR
78 Targa

[charleskieffner]

beats the hell out of spending money on my ex-wife and smiles at me every morning i walk out to it. doesnt yell at me for spending money or putting long hours into it. does not mind the smell of beer(its a german thang). and the best thing................it doesnt have the ability nor ever will have the ability to call a divorce lawyer or cheat on me. and it purrs all the time when i stroke it! LOL!

[Paul Crowther]

Too often people get a Porsche that they should have walked away from, but didn't, because they could afford it to buy it. Afterwards, they had little money left to set it right.

One should only buy a classic car when they can either buy it already in top shape, or have the dough to get it there. Otherwise, I hope they are a contented tinkerer that doesn't mind having a car that's indriveable for a while.....

Paul

[azasadny]

You won't understand what its all about (911 ownership and it's occasional hassles) until you drive the car!!!

[widgeon13]

You can't blame the car. I think the byline should be "Buyer beware" They are not inexpensive automobilies, even if you get a good one.

I think that the most important lesson I have learned in owning two 911's, neither brand new, is patience. Take time to find the right one for your budget and take time planning on what you want to do with it after you have made the purchase. Then do as much of your own work as time and experience allow, most of the time if you plan and take time to do the work, all will turn out well.

If you need the car as a daily driver, make certain you have the time and money to keep it running. Once you get it, drive the ******* thing, don't make it sit in the garage.

Lastly, if you plan to sell the car, don't make it something it is not. Don't screw the next guy. Sell it for what it is. If you have to put 20K into it to make it a 15K car, that's your problem, don't make it the problem of the new owner.