prospective 911 buyer

[mrwho13]

hi, i am planning on buying a used car soon but am not sure what to get. i was thinking that the 87-89 carrera would be nice, but i want to know about it from people that own it. do you guys think that it is a quick enough car? (seriously) do you guys feel that you can put enough stuff in it or is there hardly any room? what does it cost on average per year to maintain it? how often does something go wrong with it? the reason i am asking all these questions is because i am a college student and don't have a lot of money to be constanly pouring into a car that breaks all the time. i am also considering E36 m3's and porsche 951, 944s2's. thanks for your time.

[jc]

"...do you guys feel that you can put enough stuff in it or is there hardly any room? "

If you are moving bodies, no. Well, ok you could fit a couple but it might involve multiple trips.

(kidding)

I fit my large hockey bag in the back seat, even with harness bar installed. There's enough room I suppose, you have to figure if you will have access to other friends' or family's vehicles, trucks etc. My faint memories of skule involved moving lots'o'stuff, eg mattresses. Kind of hard to fit in the back of a 911.

If I had a 911 when I was young I think it would have been a mistake, but that's me.

Cheers,
jeff

[ghanlon]

Quick enough? The skys the limit!
Enough room? Car pooling 1 person and books yes. 3 persons no (unless 2 are no taller than 3'0").Camping? fogeddaboudit.
Maintenance? Depends on previous owner, present condition,how you drive and care for the car. Could be a few hundred, or a few thousand a year. The newer 3.0 and 3.2 engines are very reliable and you cant beat the G50 transmissions.
All in all definately not the most practical form of transportation but theres nothin else like it!
Good Luck!

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ghanlon

[Jack Olsen]

Think about exactly what you want (street car, track car, mix of both) and plan it from there. The answers can be pretty surprising. If all you want is a cool street car, then a Carrera with a G50 is a great 911 -- one of the absolute best.

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Jack Olsen
My Rennlist page • My Pelican Gallery page • My Porsche Owners Gallery page

[orbmedia]

It is possible to own and operate a 911 at a very low cost if you are an expert at solving problems with it yourself. Many of the people on this board are like that. If you are at the mercy of mechanics then it's another story and the 911 can bust your wallet very quickly. If you get a 3.2 Carrera you will have a very reliable Porsche.

[Dantilla]

If you decide to go the 944 route, the S2 makes a better daily driver than a turbo. Better throttle response, much better gearing for around town driving, and you don't have to keep one eyeball on the temp guage all the time. The advantage of the turbo is all the performance upgrades available. The 944s have lots of storage room. Like any Porsche, parts are pricey, but if you get a good car, you won't need to buy them often.

[88911coupe]

I've had an 87 Cab and currently have an 88 Coupe. The biggy on these will be the clutch release mechanism but you may get lucky and find on that the PO did it. Other than that theyr'e pretty rugged and reliable.
Buck
88 Coupe

[Clark Griswald]

Originally posted by mrwho13:
hi, i am planning on buying a used car soon but am not sure what to get. i was thinking that the 87-89 carrera would be nice

When I think about a "used car" I am thinking honda civic. Most people buying a Carrera are buying a Porsche, not a used car.

Based on your description, you should really consider what you want out of this car. It is a highly specialized car and isn't very good by some of the measures you are asking about.

If carrying capacity and cost of owernship are major concerns, this probably isn't for you.

[Highwatash]

Amen.

[juan ruiz]

My 0.02 i own a 88 carrera and i consider my self VERY lucky, at the time of the purchase i have never own one before neither had any clues of it,to my surprise to later learn all about the famous G-50 Tranny and the 3.2 are call bullet proof engines,in my case the car was own by a female and well taken care of it,so i was lucky,the cost of anything that saids PORSCHE is astronomical period,but even with all their faults they are just in a class of their own,you must define what you will do with this car if you are going to enjoy it and drive it like a normal person they you be just fine,but if you whant to really go fast then prepare to spend some big bucks,so maybe a 3.3 turbo car be better.
Regards Juan
htt://MY88911.homestead.com/newwebpage.html

[Ray B]

I'd go with a Honda. As for a Carrera, it ain't exactly a dorm cruiser unless your ol' man has deep pockets.

[david c.]

Hi all:

Having driven a 911 3.2, a 928S and a 912E through the last 1.5 years of college and all of law school, I have to respectfully disagree with the naysayers.

In my experience, I have moved everything I had at my college apartment home (except my TV) in one trip. There is plenty of room in a 911 body especially if you are a creative and patient packer. The rear seats, when folded, make a great shelf. Loose articles fit well in between the rear seat bottoms and the folded-down rear seat backs. There is a big space under each seat for clothing and soft items. Fold your passenger seat back and it will go nearly flat (this does limit the area in the pass side rear seat). But, you can stack all kinds of stuff there. Also, the front trunk is not deep, but it does accept a ton of clothes on hangers. They squish easily. Almost every article of clothing I had at school came home in that trunk.

Be aware, however, outward vision can be restricted quickly in small and light (not accident friendly) 911.

Also, there are roofracks available for the 911 body. I have an old chrome Amco rack which I haven't installed yet. I plan to use it to haul luggage and track tires when need be. I think there are also luggage racks available to fit over the engine, a la 356.

As for a 928: tons of storage space. I mean tons. You can put lumber in a 928. I drove mine all last winter in Pittsburgh (hilly, cold and full of Steelers fans driving rusty Chevy and Ford trucks). With 200lbs of salt in the hatch and limited slip (referred to as "posi" here in the rust belt), I got around just fine.

For the most part, a Porsche is a dead reliable car. Having owned three in the last few years, I've had only two incidents where I was let down by a Porsche. Once was a failed aftermarket fuel pump and once was due to an overdue timing belt failure. Neither was attributable to me (fuel pumps just go bad and I'd only had the 928 a week or so when the belt failed-I planned to do it anyway) or to the Porsche design.

In my opinion, a well maintained and oft-driven Porsche is a great car for school.

Insurance cost is another consideration for a student. Neither my 928S nor the 911 Carrera 3.2 was super expensive to insure, and the 912E is downright cheap to insure.
Each was under $800/year before I turned 25.

And, for those of you who need that lil extra help, one cannot argue with the effect it has on savvy coeds.

David
912E

[This message has been edited by dave cardone (edited 08-21-2001).]

[pbs911]

Originally posted by Clark Griswald:
When I think about a "used car" I am thinking honda civic. Most people buying a Carrera are buying a Porsche, not a used car.

That was beautiful.




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Paul
78SC Targa

[wckrause]

I drove a two-toned 1968 VW beetle when I was in school. I paid $400 for it and sold it 10,000 miles later for $200. Never put any thing into it but gas and oil (lots and lots of oil).

I can't imagine having a Porsche in college. I think I'd probably be dead (too much beer and too little sense).

[firecall999]

All 911s are plenty fast enough for street use.
They also can work out pretty cheap to own as well. They are very reliable if looked after. If you learn to service it yourself then the TCO can be very low. There is very little, if any, depreciation on most 911s. Some are going up in value.

But I dont think most of us on this board really care about that. Not because we are all super wealthy. We just love 911s and would have one regardless!


Also you can fit a set of golf clubs in it. What more do you need?!

But seriously, loose objects in the back can become deadly in the event of a collision.

Get a 911. You wont regret it.
Coolest car on the planet.

Alex.