first purcahse,help and advise

[steve from wath]

In may of this year , i will be in a postion to buy my first porsche

im looking at 997 carreras

friend has a carrera 4 , that i know well , and hes upgrading to a turbo

so if we agree on a price etc

what are they like to live with day to day

i know there are issues with bore scoring and the rear seal,anything else to look out for

before i buy anything ill be getting an inspection

i have around 25k to spend, , would i be better off getting a more younger cayman?, i know the differenc in seating etc, but what about the drive? etc etc

must say i love the 997 especially from the rear, and would love to see that ar*e every morning

thanks

[monthefish]

steve from wath said:

In may of this year , i will be in a postion to buy my first porsche

im looking at 997 carreras

friend has a carrera 4 , that i know well , and hes upgrading to a turbo

so if we agree on a price etc

what are they like to live with day to day

i know there are issues with bore scoring and the rear seal,anything else to look out for

before i buy anything ill be getting an inspection

i have around 25k to spend, , would i be better off getting a more younger cayman?, i know the differenc in seating etc, but what about the drive? etc etc

must say i love the 997 especially from the rear, and would love to see that ar*e every morning

thanks

My personal opinion is that, if you hanker after a 911, a Cayman will be nice but it won't satisfy. Suggest you drive a Cayman/911 back to back to check, if there's any doubt in your mind. If looks play a big part (as they do for me), a Cayman wouldn't even be on the table as they're very ugly cars.

Engine problems largely come down to whether it's a 997.1 or a 997.2 (997.2 have the more angular rear lights). If it's a 997.1, do a lot more research and then reach your own conclusion as there is no definitive statements or guarantees, good or bad.

911's (certainly from 996 gen onwards) are very easy to live with day to day.

[AvonM]

Not Porsche specific but be extremely clear in you own mind about what YOU want and don't compromise on that. Have a reason for each decision criteria (eg; C2 vs. C4). Focused car or all-rounder?

Every car ownership journey has its ups and downs and having a down period on a car that wasn't quite the one you wanted is miserable.

I have a thing about Mk2 Escorts had about 5 in my time. Saw a good deal on a 4dr RS2000 (living in Australia at time). Good car, but sold it after < 1 yr as it wasn't quite what I really wanted and didn't want to 'invest' in it. Bought a 2dr RS2000 soon afterwards... its been 11 years now and the relationship is stronger than ever.

Multiply the above example by about 4 times for a Porsche I suspect. Bought a 996 last year, the escort lesson was very helpful in not buying the wrong car for me... Had to be an early 3.4 C2 manual, LSD, sports suspension, and aero. Made classified ad sifting so much clearer, just took a little time. I'd even go as far as not looking at cars - even ads - until you have this clear in your mind.

[Digga]

I'd say the same applies to a privately sourced Porsche as for one bought from any dealer, save the very few who get 1st rate reviews on here and other web fora (see also 991uk), and that is: Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI).

It might seem a brutally hard lesson to incur a PPI cost and then have to walk away from a car, especially one you might have set your heart on (and the heart is by no means unimportant in all of this) but far better that than immediate and very costly repair bills.

As for which car, well the shape is s subjective thing; IMHO the very latest generation Boxsters do look very nice, but otherwise, overall, the 911 is more aesthetically pleasing than either the Cayman or Boxster in any guise.

[harleywilma]

Don't bother with PPI its money down the toilet!!!,They check for bore scoring but don't know what they are looking at. Go to a good reputable dealer they know more about them than most,or buy a cherished car and talk to the dealers that serviced it,Get the best spec car you can afford, it will be easier to move on when you've had your fill,Don't take too much notice of what you read on here or you will never buy one...

[Digga]

harleywilma said:

Don't bother with PPI its money down the toilet!!!

Very much depends on whether they flag something up the newbie might have missed.

harleywilma said:

Go to a good reputable dealer they know more about them than most,or buy a cherished car and talk to the dealers that serviced it,Get the best spec car you can afford, it will be easier to move on when you've had your fill,Don't take too much notice of what you read on here or you will never buy one...

On this I'd agree.

[monthefish]

harleywilma said:

Don't bother with PPI its money down the toilet!!!

What a stupid comment.

[993kimbo]

...and here's another one, this time from Ray Charles:

monthefish said:

a Cayman wouldn't even be on the table as they're very ugly cars.

[LordHaveMurci]

993kimbo said:

...and here's another one, this time from Ray Charles:

monthefish said:

a Cayman wouldn't even be on the table as they're very ugly cars.

They really aren't a looker to many people, myself included. Thankfully these things are subjective & if we all agreed it would be a very dull world

OP, get it inspected, drive a Cayman if you have any doubts., buy whats best for you.

As said, 997 is very easy to live with.

[anonymous-user]

Having recently been through this I ended up with a 997.2 despite thinking I wanted a cayman. I like the look of both cars but from looking at pictures the cayman looked the nicer car out of the two on the web.

So off to the dealer to test drive a 911, initial impression wasn't very positive but the experience is very different to anything else I had driven before so asked to drive a cayman for comparison which I did, very different experience and enjoyed it a lot. Back in the dealership to think about things, the only car that I took an interest in was the 911, never looked at the cayman again.

This is not saying the cayman is a bad car, just it is out classed by the 911 in so many ways. The 911 is the right car for me and if I had bought the cayman I would be looking at the 911 wondering..

The other thing I am wondering about is how the hell did I buy a car that rattles so much..

[BigLion]

I've gone through this whole process...avoid 997.1 and try to get into a 997.2

If you buy from somewhere like RPM then all the better

[sidicks]

gottans said:

The other thing I am wondering about is how the hell did I buy a car that rattles so much..

Rattle? It shouldn't rattle!

When I sold my 997.1 C4S it was 8 years old and had no rattles!

[anonymous-user]

Well it does much to my annoyance, hopefully the gold star rated technician will restore peace and order to it tomorrow.