Best 911 for 1st time owner under 65k?
Best 911 for 1st time owner under 65k?
Author
Discussion

mostlymauiwaui

Original Poster:

24 posts

27 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
Hey all,

I've been saving for over a year to buy my first 911. I don't know a huge amount about the entire 911 lineup and all the generations in any great detail, but from what I've researched so far, the two cars that appeal the most to me under my budget of £65k would be a 911 991.1 Carrera 4S (for the natural aspiration, although, I've never owned or driven a naturally aspirated car...) or a 997 Turbo. I'm looking for your expertise and opinion on what to consider (as nobody in my circle of friends or family are petrol heads), any caveats and tad-bits of information that will help me with my decision.

My usage is very limited, I work from home, and we have a Macan S 2023 for a family car, so it will be quite low milage as a weekend car and a car for me to drive around town in doing odd jobs in the week like the post office or supermarket.

Should I be considering anything else?

stuckmojo

3,493 posts

204 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
Great question.

Personally I'd go for the best 991 you can afford.

Then again, I'm looking at 997 Turbo manuals myself, so maybe you shouldn't listen to me wink

Fnumber1user

411 posts

68 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
Buy the newest you can from an OPC so you have a half decent warranty on it.

Hoofy

78,647 posts

298 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
Is that 991 actually N/A?

Maxym

2,440 posts

252 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
Might 65K buy an early 991.2? Echo the comment about a decent warranty. Generally reliable cars but they can go wrong in an expensive way.

Twinfan

10,125 posts

120 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
Hoofy said:
Is that 991 actually N/A?
Yes, 991.1 is NA. Turbos came in for 991.2.

guyvert1

2,103 posts

258 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
I'd go for the 997 Turbo, its got enough old school feel along with being modern enough not to cause to much headaches. It'll also hold its value better.

A manual would be the sweat spot for extra engagement. Stalk some of the known specialists for peace of mind. (911Virgin/RPM/9E/Ashgoods etc)

therams

281 posts

201 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
Camerons have a few in stock, in budget


https://www.cameronsportscars.com/stocklist/?Websi...

Hoofy

78,647 posts

298 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
Twinfan said:
Hoofy said:
Is that 991 actually N/A?
Yes, 991.1 is NA. Turbos came in for 991.2.
Thanks! Tried googling and still wasn't sure.

ellroy

7,500 posts

241 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
I’d go 991, but don’t discount the 2wd over the awd version.

They do drive differently, so you may prefer one over the other.

Maybe a slight cost advantage as well on the 2wd.

superlightr

12,916 posts

279 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
I would try and go for a 991.but what flavour is the question. Drive lots one or two will gell with you. Heck I drive two 911 turbos back to back and they both felt different to each other! One was alive and fun the other meh!

Have a 991.2 targa 4s currently and love it to bits.

Louis Balfour

28,176 posts

238 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
mostlymauiwaui said:
Hey all,

I've been saving for over a year to buy my first 911. I don't know a huge amount about the entire 911 lineup and all the generations in any great detail, but from what I've researched so far, the two cars that appeal the most to me under my budget of £65k would be a 911 991.1 Carrera 4S (for the natural aspiration, although, I've never owned or driven a naturally aspirated car...) or a 997 Turbo. I'm looking for your expertise and opinion on what to consider (as nobody in my circle of friends or family are petrol heads), any caveats and tad-bits of information that will help me with my decision.

My usage is very limited, I work from home, and we have a Macan S 2023 for a family car, so it will be quite low milage as a weekend car and a car for me to drive around town in doing odd jobs in the week like the post office or supermarket.

Should I be considering anything else?
997.2 preferably a GTS.

MDL111

7,946 posts

193 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
I would go for a 997.2 C2S manual - should leave you a decent amount of money for running costs (or your next car). I think the 997.2 is one of the best modern(ish) drivers cars. Do not think you will lose a material amount of money on one of those if you decide you want a 991 or a Turbo later on.

m88ony

337 posts

117 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
If you can stretch then a 991.1 GTS is my recommendation. Cracking engine.

happy fish

58 posts

203 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
Hi I bought a 991.2 a couple of weeks ago , private sale as well . All I can say is wow the turbo engine is really something else compared to the normally aspirated engine, for general use it’s fast in all situations.
Plus the screen with Apple car play is a real bonus.

Percy.

1,020 posts

90 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
In a similar position myself, around £60-70k to spend on my first Porsche, ofcourse a 911 is the first thought.

I prefer 991.2 just for the facelifted looks, however the engine is different, changing from 3.8 N/A to 3.0 Turbo. £65k gets you a good 991.2 Carrera S, Ashgood Porsche have just posted a £70k 991.2 Carrera T if that's of interest.

I also looked at 996 Turbos, with the X50 power kit, I prefer the 996 look over the 997 personally.

For me though, I think a Cayman GT4 is a better value for money option at £65k and this is the direction I've headed towards.

46AF

58 posts

234 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
m88ony said:
If you can stretch then a 991.1 GTS is my recommendation. Cracking engine.
Agree with this.. if you go for a 991.1 then the GTS is a big step up from the 991.1 S in terms of driver engagement which it sounds like you will want if it’s a weekend only car

You won’t get a manual with your budget but PDK cars come up around £68k if you can stretch to that

It will also hold its value better than the equivalent S

Kickstart

1,091 posts

253 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
Its probably worth keeping your eye out on collecting cars as they seem to regularly sell 991's and the prices seem a fair bit lower, although I would be having a very careful look as some of the cars can be a bit questionable

MrVert

4,454 posts

255 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
If it’s for a weekend car, for me a really good, well maintained, lowish miles 997 C2S would be the choice, in manual form..

Or, as someone above said, the Ashgoods 991 T would be very, very tempting.

https://www.ashgood.co.uk/vehicle-details/used-por...

Decent guys to talk to and deal with as well.

  1. slightbudgetcreep

supersport

4,459 posts

243 months

Wednesday 9th August 2023
quotequote all
The post office and supermarket aren’t really what the 911 is for.

Personally for me I would probably go as late a 997 as you can get or even a 996 GT3 (just) avoid the bloatware and then go drive the thing,