[Gus Berges]

Buyer is taking the car to the local dealer for the tranny seal repair ($2K parts and labor, 1 year warranty). Caliper repaint is $200 per corner at the best auto body paint shop. Head unit can vary wildly, but can do from $100-$500 installed. The other things are small that he can do himself. Tires (Michelin Pilot Sport) will be close to $2K installed/balanced/aligned). This was my second 996, both of which I bought knowing they needed TLC. I stupidly got scared by the IMS/RMS fiasco. Heck the 99 I used to have is still around and all it has required in the last six years since I sold it has been regular consumable items (brakes, tires, oil change)!

996s offer the best bang for the buck for 911s, and I would dare say even against other brands, but I'm just tired of having nagging issues all the time. Seems like everywhere I look, there is always something wrong with any car I am interested in. 997.1 are plagued by the same potential engine issues as the 996, except that it's even harder to replace the bearing. 997.2 apparently have some carbon build up due to DFI and PDKs are not as bulletproof as people think. Did research on Audi R8, and it too has its common issues. The same thing of a Ferrari 360 and the 430. Heck, even my wife's Audi Q5 now has the dreaded oil consumption issue that plagues earlier models.

Cars that have not given me issues? The 2002 Nissan Pathfinder I sold a couple of years ago. Now my daily driver is a Hyundai Santa Fe and even though it only has 20K miles on it, thing just runs with no issues (but it's boring as hell!).