You have an aircooled 911, you must know everything about all 911s

[TheSt|G]

Anyone else get this? At Cars and Coffee and such I have complete strangers approach me to pick my brain on their upcoming 996 purchase and how bad the IMS issues and such are.

Seems similar to asking an E30 M3 owner what modern 7 series ownership is like.

[Dooodahman]

"Yes I do, and yes I do."

[aschen]

its a safer bet than asking a 991 owner about an oil pumper.

[wildthing]

Take it as a complement. You can always say something like, "Thanks for asking, but I am not the right person to answer that question. You may want to research it at x or read about it in y."

[TheSt|G]

Well, not to toot my own horn but they generally have asked the right person when it comes such questions. I just find it interesting that so many people take aircooled ownership as an instant sign about knowledge of the whole brand.

[pegasus9]

Can you blame them? I mean you were smart and cool enuf to buy an air cooled model. Lol

[dcjones56]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

Well, not to toot my own horn but they generally have asked the right person when it comes such questions. I just find it interesting that so many people take aircooled ownership as an instant sign about knowledge of the whole brand.

Isn't it though? Aren't we the most, for lack of a better word, fanatical about our cars and knowing everything about them. As I type this, I can easily see the three volume set "Porsche: Excellence Was Expected", Wayne's 911 101 projects and 911 engine rebuilding books, "The Porsche 911 Story", a Peter Zimmermann book, a Randy Leffingwell book, a Bruce Anderson book, two Patrick Paternie books (one being the Red Book, of course) and I could go on and on.

A friend of mine once told me that you had to be a fool or stupid to be involved in politics. That is true and I would also say the same about being a 911 owner. That's how I feel.

[redridge]

all 911 owners are fanatical about their precious Porsche... even 996 owners (which I think is a great 911 for the money)... but yeah, I would consider it a compliment.

[triplenet]

Had that experience last fall. Neighbor asked me about a '99 cab and gave me the dealer listing info.
I told him what I had read about the car in general and loaned him the new Excellence guide. He was in love and now owns it. We've all been there, asking, but not listening..
I'll take it as a positive that one thinks I'm an expert on cool machinery!

[porsche930dude]

yup I get that sometimes. but even more people that assume you know every old porsche. I have a 911sc and a 914. I dont know jack about your 944 or 928 or 356 . or your fiat x19 or any other old euro car you might have had or want lol I get it even more with my old jeeps. I know pre amc 1973 and older they are all the same. They want to talk about their amc jeep and i have no clue. but it makes conversation and thats half the fun of owning a cool car.

[RSBob]

I like to ask those people what they are smoking and ask if they are sharing. Actually if they want an expert on all things Porsche, they need to attend a local PCA meeting where all their questions and more will be answered. Don't expect to see me there.

[RedCoupe]

Actually, I have never gotten that treatment! I guess one look at me and they're pretty sure that I don't know jack about Porsches or anything else! But, what I do experience almost every time I drive the Porsche to work is one or more drivers who expect me to be driving like we're all on the last lap of Le Mans. And, the type of car doesn't seem to matter at all. The other day it was a guy in a camo painted V8 powered CJ5 Jeep. On my bumper, then passing on the shoulder, lifting tires up on corners, etc. Slightly entertaining at first, but it gets old quick.

[Bill Douglas]

You just tell them to buy a really nice one that has excellent maintenance records and get the IMS done. Doesn't matter if you don't know what you are talking about. I don't know either and I sound authoritative

[michael lang]

I get asked all kinds of questions when I'm doing a tech inspection from Boxster, Cayman, 996 & 997 owners. More from the 996 and 997 owners than anyone else, I find the easiest thing to do is listen to the question and if it is something I can answer since I already have the car on the lift I will show the owner exactly what I'm referring to. That way the owner also has a visual reference so maybe the next time he might feel empowered to put his car on a pair of jackstands in his garage and look for whatever it is he needs to see himself.

Alot of owners on the newer cars predominantly lease and will only have their car for the 2,3 or 4 years that of their lease. It will end and they will be onto the next car and think nothing of it. I like many of you on this board have had my Carrera for a number of years and plan to pass it along to one of my children when I'm no longer around so I view this as it is our job as classic 911 owners to keep the sport of the hobby alive, whether you're into just having the car as a weekend ride, the concours, autoX or DE. That part really doesn't matter, what matters is these folks are coming to us and telling us they want to know more, if you know the answer then tell them if you don't point them in the direction of this board or Rennlist or suggest PCA there are so many avenues to send them down.

[wes_r]

One assumes you have to be passionate (i.e knowledgeable) on some level to drive a 30-40+ year old iconic sports car. In most cases it's a pretty safe bet.

[NYNick]

Given the opportunity to talk about all measures of Porsches….
I will.