Hi all! Another newbie from Merseyside, looking for advice?

Hi guys! Been here a week or two now, everyone seems pretty friendly & welcoming and I'm hoping you could all give me some advice? Ever since I was a child I've wanted to own a Porsche 911, & after driving one recently I've decided to take the plunge! I've only got a budget of £10-£15k alas, but I know there are still some great buys out there. I'd be looking for a coupe, preferably in black, manual preferred though I'm fine with automatic if it brings things cheaper. 996 or 997 (though I've a feeling 996 is my likely option at this price range) I'd likely just be using it as a weekend car, as I've also got a motorbike, but work is only 10 miles away. What would you all recommend? I'm not super knowledgeable on cars & don't really know what to look out for, I just want to get the best possible 911 for the money I've got right now & any advice/help would be SUPER appreciated!

:welcome: to 911uk Ryan, You're right that a £15k budget will only get you into a 996. The good news is that there's lots of early (3.4 engined) cars around. Sadly, buying a car such as this is only the start so you may want to look at cars below £12k and keep some ££s back for getting your pride and joy fully sorted. Very few people sell cars not needing something doing to them and even then something will crop up and keeping a 911 on the road isn't cheap - even if you can do a lot of spannering yourself. Like-for-like Tiptronic cars will always be a bit cheaper to buy than a manual. Black 996s are actually quite rare - Silver was all the rage around the turn of the century - so you may be missing a lot of nice cars if you hold out for a black one. Have a good long read of the 996 sub-forum and especially the FAQ section but if you don't know what to look for, once you've identified a car that looks right, you definitely need to organise a Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI). It will cost a few hundred quid but the results may enable you to negotiate on the purchase price. There's a massive fan base of 996 owners on here so you'll get plenty of other responses I'm sure. Good Luck. :thumb:

:hand: first question is red or blue....that may influence things :grin: If there are cars you are interested in post them up on and you will get some pointers .........its the best way to learn from others who started in your position :thumb:

Moved from the newbie zone and bumped up as it seems to have slipped under the 996 club radar.

Should be able to bag a reasonably decent 3.4 996 for your budget. If you've always dreamt of owning a 911 get a manual. No offence to autos but they sort of miss the point IMHO. Always post up anything you're thinking of viewing as the advice on here is gold. Should be able to bag something like this with your buget: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011075889283

Hi there! That's a great shout that thanks, I must have missed that one. I was having a chat with Terry earlier and asked his opinion on a few, this is what I've seen so far: PORSCHE 1 - £12000 (Silver & Black Leather Interior, 73k miles. Automatic, 2003, CAT D. Aero Kit) https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-de...d=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New PORSCHE 2 - £12,995 (Black & Black Leather Interior, 73k miles. Automatic, 2004, CAT S) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264879919640 PORSCHE 3 - £13995 (Arctic Grey & Black Leather Interior, 92k miles. Automatic, 2001) https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-de...d=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New PORSCHE 4 - £14995 (Black & Grey Leather Interior, 88k miles. Automatic, 2002) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324109676410 PORSCHE 5 - £14995 (Black & Black Leather Interior, 109k miles. Automatic, 2004, CAT C. Private Plate) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124458415541 I don't mind an automatic or manual, and as I'm not planning on selling a Cat C / D / S etc is fine so long as I get it at the right price as I won't be planning on selling. The first one looked quite appealing, but Terry noticed somehow it had gone from doing 90k miles one year to doing 70k+ the year after on its MOT?! The second one I do really like too (even though it's been taken off eBay the owner may consider selling to me still) but it's quite far away, it's down in Essex and I'm in Merseyside! I'm fine going down, but I feel I'd like a local mechanic to look at it first make sure it's ok. What do you think? And if so, how much would you offer for these?

Hi Jon, so sorry I've only just seen this! I'm actually a fan of the true reds... Man Utd! :thumb: Seeing as how I'm sure that'll get me no help here, I'd better move on swiftly haha! Thanks for all being so welcoming, hopefully I can pick one up ASAP. I do have the money set aside, I just want to make sure I'm getting the right thing for my money (ideally around £12k, paltry as that may be to some on here! Though I can go a grand or two higher if it's worth it)

Find something local even if it's not quite budget or colour so you can try out a manual vs an automatic as setting yourself on buying one before you actually try it is a recipe for buyers remorse at a later date. Don't rush into something without knowing what it's like Don't rule out a cabriolet , they are great cars and usually cheaper than a coupe.

Have a good read around this section of the forum and get a feel for the sorts of things that need repairing or replacing as these cars age and wear. You could easily be into several thousand for brakes and suspension at the next service or MOT for example, even if there's 'nothing wrong" with the car on the day of purchase. To get the car working as it should, and get the 911 experience you're craving isn't cheap. That's not to say it can't be done, especially if you're flexible on spec, but at £12k unfortunately you're not going to be looking at sorted examples. That said, I am currently 'between" 911s and one or two that sound very promising have been advertised around that level. £16k is far more the starting point that really catches my eye though. There's a reason most specialists sell these for more. Anyway good luck, it can be done, but keeping some money back and being very flexible about spec is the way to do it I think.

Also, personally I wouldn't travel miles to see cars at that budget. Look at some local examples first to calibrate your expectations so as to avoid disappointment and/or self-imposed pressure to buy.

The black C4S is the only one I'd be interested in out of the tiptronic 3.6 cars. They 3.6 tips are known for scoring the bores on the engine. That's most likely why the black one has had a rebuild. If it's been done locally by a company in Bolton called Hartech, then that car is one serious bargain, so long as everything else checks out with it. I bet most the other 3.6 cars are in need of a rebuild, hence the prices. Usually we have a monthly meet only 45 minutes from your's over near Wilmslow. If normal service is resumed soon you're quite welcome to bob over and check out our cars/pick our brains. There's a few of us with 996s. Usually looks something like this:

Not my cup of tea, but shows what's (apparently) available:

Have you checked out the Adverts on here? http://911uk.com/adverts.php?category=Porsche+911&sub_category=996+:+1997-2005 Stuff like this pops up which in my opinion is a reasonable purchase: http://911uk.com/ads_item.php?id=10032

Might want to post the link up. I'm guessing this is the same car: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012026716498

I'd recommend looking for an early (1998/99) car with a manual box. The manual box will give you the most driving pleasure and the early version of the car has a far more reliable engine. This is because it has a twin row IMS bearing which isn't anywhere near as prone to failure as the later single row ones, whose failure rate is massively or-hyped anyway. The bores are also not prone to bore scoring like the later 3.6 cars. I'm pretty sure there are still cars like that out there that can be had for £12/13K, which you would then be able to bring up to scratch with a bit of spannering on the inevitable suspension refresh and around £500-£1500 of parts.