I jumped ship in April. A die hard 911 guy for 10 years, my '78 911 had been fully pelicanized - suspension, brakes, pistons, carbs - you name it. I had the car 10 years and the bond between us was oh so very strong. But family and work meant I couldn't enjoy my quasi-race car anymore, so I sold it and bought a 2002 996. Got great deal - $35K.
It ended up being much better than I anticipated. Looks GREAT in real life (everyone stares). Goes like stink (way faster than my already very fast 911). The full leather interior in my car is NICE, smalls great too. The car is obviously more rigid than my 911, with brakes (antilock of course) I could only dream about in the old days. No comparison
Don't kid yourselves boys - I've been in, and driven, dozens of air cooled 911's in my day, coupes, cabs, turbos, 964s, you name it. Sorry - the 996 is a better and yes a nicer car by every measure. When I see a cool 911 now - and yes I still look and drool - I think gee that's a neat *old* car. Nothing wrong with that, but much of the 911's charm lies in it's anachronistic feel.
Maintenance cost? Are you kidding me ? The 911 was expensive to own - I put tens of thousands of dollars into that car, almost every year! The 996 costs nothing except and oil change once in a while. You 911 guys gotta remember these are new cars so they don't need every part and piece replaced yet. They will in about 15 years or so, then maybe they'll be expensive....like the 911's are now.
Anyway - I used to think that 996 weren't all that cool, although I never bashed. In 2002 something changed though. The new front end, the upgraded interior. Five years later I made the move and couldn't be happier.
On September 12 I take to the track for the first time. My 911 buddies will be there and we'll see what happens. I kinda think I know how it will turn out because Jorian and I had a bit of a run up Cypress mountain once already and after six turn or so he was barely a speck in the rearview.
Why are they cheap? At $30K - $50K they're not all that cheap. The $25K ones are maybe...but that's comparable to buying an $8K 911SC. Sure it's cheap, but you'll pay in the end.
