So I drove the car today! Impressions of that is following initial observations of the condition:
The previous owner bought it new and while I am not dealing with him directly I am told it is a local car and all the service work was done at the dealership so any service advisorys were/would have been done. He traded it in on a 2010 M3 V8. The car has only 54000kms or 33000 miles . The clearcoat is peeling a little under the back side windows that flip out (vs roll down) and a little around the top of the rear bumper so I am not sure exactly if this is because it is almost 9 yrs old or if it had a shoddy touch up/fender bender. Trim around the interior door handle is spidercracking paint on plastic so I am a little surprised on a BMW but noted others in reviews commented about fit/finish cheapness. Seats are comfy and car has a understated look but also has a sort of meanish look about it too. It is almost black but has a blue look in the light. bits of chipped paint/rash on the 18" wheels.
The car has a clean car fax but have not seen it. It is my bro in law offering me this car and I trust he'll be straight up. He dropped the price by 3k to me and I do not want to haggle anymore with him. It is offered at $22,000 certified.
Driving was interesting. It has VSA or stability control but we'll talk about sport mode first, We drove the car for a few miles and then when the car was running in 4th gear around 3000 rpm we hit the sport mode and instantly the car sort of lit up like it had 2 more cylinders. Wow. It was very lively and I would have probably thought the car as a whole was faster had I not been driving it myself. I felt the power but it was sort of like riding a sport bike where you did not sense the speed so much. It has a very short first gear (or maybe it is just damned fast) and only one time I had a rough slip into 2nd gear. It was probably just me. When I turned the car around slowly it was almost lugging it it sort of was clunky in the rear end - almost like a pick-up truck with a sloppy U joint. Maybe that was what it is but it was not that noticable and when I went off and on rolling straight it was OK - Maybe it is just the way the driveline is? Car gripped the road well and seemed to handle very tight.
We turned off the VSA button and I went around a corner in 1st with a little gusto and she slid out faster than I thought. Tires are Mich. Sport Cups I think - but not the racetrack R compound or anything like that. I let off & caught it but was a little rough and herky jerky. Nothing a little getting used to would not cure. Clutch is strong as I lugged it in 4th gear with no slippage. Brakes were great.
I sort of feel guilty dropping this dough on a car that I do not need to have. I do work my butt off and am doing a sucessful job and running a small company for 6 years now with growth each year. I am drawing the funds to purchase the car directly from the company as a dividend so no household loss for the family in a sense. My guys will also get a bonus and a 2nd raise in 6 months this Christmas allthough some may resent the boss driving in the lane with this toy.
So - I should decide tomorrrow on this so pour on the feedback. My bro in law has others who want this car. Ya ya I know but remember he is my bro in law and is doing fine without selling me this car.
I am not sure I'd find a similar aged/condition 911 for this money and this car is probably more practical than one allthough I am never ruling out another Porsche.
Thanks for reading!