2005 997.1 Carrera S thoughts - Page 1 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

Hello all I am thinking about entering Porsche ownership after 20+ years with BMW. I firstly admit that I am a huge BMW fan but have always dreamt about owning a 911 so thinking, why not? It will be used as a daily (so need a reliable motor) but my annual mileage is around 4-5,000 miles which includes a 300 mile round trip every couple of months visiting clients. Anyway, I have seen (not in person yet) a 2005 997.1 Carrera S with 130,000 miles. It had a full engine rebuild at 120,000 miles and has a full service history. Spec wise, it is quite basic. The price is £23k (it comes with a warranty from a independent Porsche specialist). It's not online yet so cannot share the advert. I would like to know if from the limited information I have provided, if this is worth considering based on my daily needs and that it will be comfortable to use as a daily? I own a 6 Series BMW at the moment (if the Porsche is a no go, I will either stick with my current car or go for a 650i) so they really are chalk and cheese. Look forward to your advice. Thanks.

How does it fare against this https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210100... a third less miles, all under carriage renewed, service history with JZM (highly reputable), lovely cocoa interior and atlas grey is a lovely colour too. or this https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209069... totally mint that one. Edited by julian987R on Saturday 3rd December 21:58 Edited by julian987R on Saturday 3rd December 22:10

I’ve got one similar. Engine rebuild by Hartech. It isn’t a daily driver but could easily be. Apple CarPlay unit helps. Biggest change is Ohlins fitted by Centre Gravity. Transforms the ride. Different exhaust and blanking thing added so the noise is great. Black on black. Perfect condition and had a cool wrap fitted as a pressie from the wife. I’ve owned lots of sports cars and previous 911’s but this one has really got to me. It’s actually stopped me from buying something much more expensive. I don’t have any desire for any other sports car. Had it a few years now and can’t see myself selling. Parts are reasonable. Insurance is cheap. Quick enough to be useable through the revs without things getting too licence threatening. Before it was a 630ish BHP M3, before that a 997 turbo, before that a GTR 35. All great cars but could only stay on it for short stabs really. The C2S is much more balanced as an all rounder. Pretty safe place to put your money too. I wouldn’t have got another unless it had an engine rebuild so the one you’re looking at sounds great. If used as a daily it will feel less special over time though. If you can afford and have space for something else I’d recommend that for dank and dreary commuting. Back seats are tight for adults but great for shopping etc. Reasonable boot space. And it’s a 911! These are looking good value at the mo. Probs won’t see much in the way of price increases as the recession bites but good ones should at least hold. One with an engine rebuild will be in that much more demand. Don’t wait too long or it will likely be gone. Good luck.

They certainly seem to be holding their prices.

They are certainly comfortable and many owners use them daily. I tried to daily my 996 but it wasn’t practical enough and, echoing the previous post, quickly feels less special. I think they are best enjoyed with a 2nd car that is more practical and can be used for the boring miles and short journeys. Depending on where you live, winter use will massively accelerate rust. For the car you are looking at, while an engine rebuild is reassuring, I would want to know what exactly was done and by who. Be aware there are a lot of other components on a car that age that will be near or past their life and may not have been attended to. I’ve seen many cars with “full service history” but the owners have avoided spend outside of fluid changes. A 911 on tired suspension is not a good car. To get to that age and mileage it will have had many parts replaced from new but they may well need done again by now. A few hundred quid on an independent inspection would be money well spent. A warranty on that age and mileage of car is unlikely to cover much. If it’s from a good independent dealer with its own mechanics then it will be reassuring but you will have to be pragmatic that it’s far from a new car and there will be a limit to what can go wrong that wouldn’t be classed as wear and tear. There is little that can beat a well looked after 911 though and I doubt you would regret buying a good one. I’ve not found any other car to be as enjoyable on a good road - the balance, handling, steering feel, noise, and the way they fire out of corners never fails to put a smile on your face. Yes you will have to spend to keep it that way, and some big bills can happen outside of engine work, but that is likely to be offset by a relative lack of depreciation.

julian987R said: How does it fare against this https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210100... a third less miles, all under carriage renewed, service history with JZM (highly reputable), lovely cocoa interior and atlas grey is a lovely colour too. or this https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209069... totally mint that one. Wow - that first one, for me, looks brilliant - and Cocoa (best leather colour IMHO - I have Atlas Grey with black)! Price looks very reasonable as well - have prices softened, or is time of year?

Worth a read through this thread https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Really depends on the nature of the rebuild. If it's had the full Hartech then that's great news, plenty just fix the bank or even cylinder where the damage occured. You need to see the receipt. Also worth checking very carefully for rust at that mileage, maybe it's been garaged but if it's been sitting outside and hammering up and down salty motorways in the winter it might well be corroded. Suspension history will need close attention too but if you're willing to do the work or pay for someone else to do it a full suspension refresh isn't that expensive.

I personally wouldn’t want to daily my 997. They can do it fine but there are other cars much better suited to the job. Im a bmw fan and have a 530d touring for daily duties which is lovely. Nice to have the contrast when I jump in the 911 at weekend. If I wanted something more special for daily duties I’d go m2 , m4 or m5! Or merc c63.

If its a good one of course these 911s are built to be dd. I've probably covered hundreds of thousands of miles through rain sleet and snow no probs in this series of Porsche. A C4S more useable all year round and has the wide body would be my pick as a first 997

I don't understand the point of having a car you can't drive as much as possible. So I won't buy one I can't drive. I've daily driven a Porsche and I had the same car in 2005 as a daily driver. I don't daily drive one car now as i have several. I recently bought a Van and that's harder to live with as a daily driver than any Porsche. The only thing that annoys me in a Porsche on the motorway is trying to keep at a fixed speed without cruise control. None of my Porsches have it but the Van and my BMW both do. So I try to avoid motorways and travel more on roads where possible. The 997 is very easy to live with especially if you're single and childless. Costs will not be insignificant as an old Porsche is way more temperamental than a similar vintage BMW. Expect to be burning 24mpg of premium fuel not the cheaper stuff. Sure you might be more comfortable in a boring modern car but who cares. How comfortable do you need to be. I've had all sorts of cars including the older Fiat Panda and I can say with confidence that was a difficult car to live with. If you really want to own and enjoy a Porsche then go for it. It takes time to really appreciate these cars. If you drive them occasionally they can feel special but living with one day after day gets you much more tuned in to it. The only downside is you get used to how good it is and forget. Driving something else occasionally then reminds you all over again how good the Porsche really is.

I ran my 997c2s as a daily. No problems at all….

Reading another thread from the OP about buying a different BMW I get the feeling he is cost sensitive in terms of maintenance. So I'm not making any assumptions here but it's worth stressing that the maintenance of a 15 year old plus Porsche is going to be very different than any modern BMW he has owned recently or considered buying. So as long as he has considered this we're all good. The BMW thread has a similar ring to it in that both cars have no online presence yet. So I'd hazard a guess he is getting first dibs from a dealer somewhere. https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...