Newbie - Should Ilive my childhood dream and buy a 911

Hi guys/gals, I'm new on here. Let me give you a bit of background on me. I am a car nut and have been ever since I can remember. I like my rear wheel drive cars and currently have a BMW 330i Sport. We are expecting our first baby at the end of the month and as my wife no longer needs her car we were thinking of selling my BMW or her Audi A4 and sticking with one car. Anyway, the reason for my post, I have been offered a 2000 Carrera 2 by someone I know. He has had the car since new and I know the car very well from day one. Its done just over 100k with main dealer service history. Its dark blue (not my first choice) with a light grey interior. With where I am in my life at the moment with a child on the way and with elderly parents who will not be able to get into a 911 my head says I should not go for it. But my heart says :thumbs: I probably wont get another chance to one a 911, this one seems to be falling into my lap. I have even convinced the wife by saying that I can keep it for a year and then sell it and buy something more sensible. I am getting it for £12k. It has been well looked after and not owned by a boy racer. Do you think I could keep it for a year and sell it without loosing too much. The thing is, growing up I never thought I would be able to own one of the greatest icons in motoring and now the chance has come along and I really dont want to pass it up.

Sell the BMW. Keep the A4 (you'll need it with the new addition). Buy the 911. Job done! Welcome to the club. ~ Maxie :thumb:

:agree: You'll love it and the price sounds very good if you have known the car/owner from new. The colour may not be 100% your taste but it will be good for resale if you decide not to keep it.

:agree: too :welcome: to the site

thanks guys. I like it when people tell me what I want to hear. The current owner has bought another car and was going to keep this for the weekends but has decided he will not be driving it enough to justify keeping it. It is fairly standard with very few options on it but its a good honest car. Another question, can you get an adult in the back seats or are they for toddlers only?

Depends how big your adult is? My daughter is 5'6" and skinny, she fits no problem on journeys of a couple of hours. Probably a little tight if you are a six footer though

Get the car checked over and buy it if it checks out!

Buy it buy it buy it! You won't regret it My gran loves my 911 and doesn't mind lowering herself in.. it's not that difficult On the backseats - they are very small for 6ft'ers but perfect for women and children. Also just tell them their in a 911 so 'shut it' (if you get any complaints- especially from the grand parents) :grin: :thumb:

We've got a 10 month old and I really wouldn't want to have a 911 as our only car - it's astonishing how much kit you have to take everywhere for a simple visit and once you get into the realms of travel cots it's a non-starter. If you can stretch to keep a bigger second car as well then go for it :thumb: Cheers, Phil

oh, we would keep the Audi if I bought the 911, for my parents above everything else. I used to have a 3 series coupe and they used to complain about getting into the back so the 911 just would not work for them. it would for me though The other option is to sell both the BMW and the Audi and buy a Range Rover Vogue.

Nobody ever achieved their dreams without just going for it. I remember buying a 928S4 when I was in my early 20's! Now that took balls! So at 40, buying a 996 was easy. no pressure, but is it on your drive yet?

can you tell my wife that? If it does go ahead it will probably be a week or so. Do you think the price is ok or really good? I am telling my wife that it is a bargain so makes financial sense too, not too sure how true that is though.

Silly bloody question! Of course you should. Go for it :thumb: Only one caution to add. Do make certain you have a sensible reserve in case anything significant does go wrong. My spannerman told me the tale of a local guy who bought his once in a lifetime 911 only to be faced with a vast bill three weeks later for something (From memory a complete exhaust system, but don't quote me). It took him six months to save up enough to put it back on the road.

Check autotrader for similar, but cosmetic condition is very important in the price and you don't know this with advertised cars unless you've been to look at them. Now don't let big bills put you off. you will get bills but remember, this car is not going to depreciate like a mondeo, and that will offset your bills.

Price sounds ok to me, you should just make sure there are no obvious big bills coming up - like a new clutch (£800'ish), front discs/pads (£600ish), new radiators (£800'ish), tyres (£800'ish all round). No oil or water leaks etc. It sounds like you know the seller and car well - that's a big bonus when buying any car! Baby-wise, I can confirm that for the odd trip a 996 works out ok - a maxicosi cabriofix will fit in the back seat (with the passenger seat pretty much all the way forward - my wife is 5'3" and has just about enough space...). A second buggy is useful, the quinny zap will fit in the front boot and has attachments for the maxicosi - although of course you don't want to be keeping a newborn in a car seat for much more than an hour or two. Go for it if it's your dream, but make sure you can afford to run it because as you can see the bills tend to come in multiples of £800!