I've wanted a 911 since I was a kid. It wasn't until I was in my mid 30's that I could actually afford one.
First Porsche: 1989 Carrera Targa.
Found it on Craigslist in the SF Bay Area. Had a PPI done at S-Car-Go in Marin, and agreed to a price with the seller. Wife & I flew to SF, spent the weekend there, then picked the Targa up on the Monday morning & drove it home. It was everything I dreamed it would be. Except I wanted to drive it year round. Upgraded to a 930S steering wheel, but that was about it.
Lessons learned: Wife does not like the 'wind in her hair' at any speed. The A/C sucked. I should have put the $1k into having the top rebuilt so it would seal better.
So I sold it.
Second Porsche: 1996 Carrera 4.
Found it on Craigslist in Texas. Had a PPI done, then had it shipped enclosed to the house. Though it didn't feel as fast in certain situations, the 993 was a much more sensible car. Great a/c. More trunk space. AWD. Could hold conversation at freeway speeds.
Lessons learned: 993's seemed (to me) to have more 'upgradable' parts than the 911 had. Spent a million dollars on wheels, suspension, turbo front bumper, replacement interior parts, golden rod shifter linkage, and a new steering rack.
Don't drive a 993, because you will want one.
Realized I had over $30k in the garage & had other wants/needs, plus I'd had a blast with both it & the Targa, so I figured I was 'over it'. Sold it.
Realized the hard way that I was not 'over it' at all. So...
Third Porsche: 1983 911 SC.
Found it on Craigslist in Portland. Had a PPI done, agreed to a price, drove her home. In a snowstorm. Did a few upgrades- wheels & tires, headlights, a 930S steering wheel, and spent several million dollars on a Kuehl A/C system.
Right about that time, the wife & I started making plans for retirement. Decided to buy a home in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Found out pretty late in the game that we had to put 20% down (had been told 10%). So I sold it.
Lessons learned: A/C is absolutely necessary here, but also hellaciously expensive to put into an SC. Though a bit trickier to shift, SC's are a blast to drive. You really don't need AWD in a 911.
A couple of years ago, I hummed & hawed about getting another- either a 997 or a (tired) 993. Ended up talking myself out of it.
It was quite the ride. I thouroughly enjoyed participating in the Oregon PCA 'Arrive & Drive' events. I also enjoyed hanging out here. That said, BFE really isn't a good place for a 911. It's a half day drive to get it worked on, the locals will try to screw with you because you're a 'rich furriner' and having three cars & two garage stalls sucks when half the year it's -20, the other half it's 105.
I'm having fun restoring (for life in the USVI) my '85 Land Rover Ninety V8 station wagon (which will ironically end up with more BHP than my 993) but I do miss the Porsche scene. I am also kicking myself for selling all three of them right before prices skyrocketed.
And yes, I do still have the oil filters I've been trying to sell for a while now...
Cheers,
Paul.