Got the 996, now what do I DD?

I've started several threads here and started a few wars already on my new 996. The 996 will be strictly a "fun" car, only for weekends, nice days, and maybe occasional visits to the track. Now I need to purchase a daily driver. I'd love to hear some comments in case I've missed something. I've got a somewhat unique situation. I work from home and I don't need to commute any longer, but, I have to visit customers from time to time in my local area. I've more or less had the same type of position my entire career. In the past I was required to drive my own car and I'd do it to the tune of 35k miles a year or so. Over the past 12 years I've owned a 2005 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V, a 2012 Mazdaspeed 3, and I currently own a 2015 Ford Focus ST. Over that time period I've amassed 350,000 miles on said cars. I chose these cars because they were relatively cheap and I could sell them for a very high percentage of the original purchase price, even with a lot of miles. My situation has changed and, due to company policy, have to rent cars on a near weekly basis. I've put on about 3,000 miles on my personal car in the last six months. I'm going to get rid of the Focus and buy something to replace it. I don't need anything new and want to buy the most interesting and fun car I can but have a few must have parameters- -it must be automatic. All three cars were stick but a condition of buying the Porsche was I must replace the Focus with something auto. It was a spousal agreement in buying the Porsche. -it has to be able to carry demo equipment. What this means is it must have a passthrough large enough to carry a six foot long by one foot by two foot piece of gear and have a decent trunk/cargo area. Cars with fixed rear seats are a no go -it must be able to handle Midwest winters. -it must be nice enough to transport clients on occasion. These clients are typically regular guys, so impressing them is not a requirement. -no front wheel drive -it must be relatively reliable, no 996 type failure modes that cost five times what the car is worth. That being said, I am willing to work on my own cars. Mileage is not as important as condition. - here is the kicker; I don't want to spend a ton of cash, I'm looking between $5-10k. So far I'm looking at 2006 and newer 3 series xi's, 3 and 5 series wagons, Touaregs, old Cayennes, Audi a4's and 6's Suggestions? -

Or if you want to dominate the streets and local highways....if you tune the NOS timing down to millisecond, you'll run 9s.

Hmmm... 996 Targa (rear glass opens for your pass through requirement) with a Tip Cayenne is what I was going to suggest until I saw your 5-10k limit. You aren't going to get a Cayenne worth having for that price. You can find some 955 base examples that low and the occasional S, but they are always sad/storied examples. In the 15-20 range you can start to find 955 Turbos that are worth considering. Unlike the 996 (and I know I am in the minority) I don't think the 955/957 interior design has aged very well. It's complicated looking with tech, but it all looks/feels like old Tech while the spartan-ness of the 996 has helped it age better in my opinion.

[Image-only post; no author-written text. Original image references:] https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlist.com-vbulletin/519x296/hamsters_car_8f80e137aaaabc36d95f867d0c1e53295d9b7112.png

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I've never driven a Cayenne. I'm near Chicago and there are tons of private party Cayennes for sale below $10k. As I haven't seen one in person I can't comment on the condition/sad story aspect, but if I could get a few years out of a nice looking example for that money, I'd just drive it into the ground. The tech doesn't bother me on a car like that. I'd just tear out what's there and put in something aftermarket that has what I want.

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is that the vaunted Viggen!?

Rumor has it...they had to use SR-71 with ultra-mega-high-speed camera to capture this image. ^^

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here's an example of a turbo with 117k. If I brought $3500 in cash and an armed wingman, the seller might take it. It might be worth it if it runs and drives. The pics show no lights on the dash.. https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/6109908954.html

If you are serious about a Cayenne being a possibility, go spend some time in the Cayenne forum. Lots of good info there. Lots of dual Cayenne and 996 owners, so you'd be in company if you did it

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Hey, why not? I'm not your typical Porsche owner. I do "well" but I'm not in the demographic of the new Porsche owner. I've spent a lot of my life in the nominal mold. I've got friends, family, and neighbors that buy Toyotas, Hondas, and Chevys because that's what they are "supposed" to do. I woke up one day and realized you only live once. If I can buy a used Cayenne for the price of a really used Honda Civic, why wouldn't I do it? A few thousand in maintenance here and there isn't really going to make a hill of beans.

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Damn, a purple Porsche truck for $7,500? Wonder if it was a rolling studio for adult videos.

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you never know. Maybe it's in decent condition and the f$cktard that owns it hasn't had the chance to destroy it yet. He's willing to "negotiate". This means he doesn't have the skill or stamina to withstand the $3500 flash of cash. If it checks out ok, what's wrong with owning a porno purple "Porsche truck"?

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Bought her 996 when I was 26/27 and making 35k/yr (Internet bubble), never had a garage, it's been street parked its entire life, drive it in any and all conditions, barely done maintenance on it. So yeah, not a "typical" Porsche owner Actually it was a legit color you could order. The 996 had a similar color available too. I think it's incredible in person. I couldn't do it on a P!g though as I'd think of Barney every time I looked at it.

I have got an A6 quattro stationwagon, perfect combo with a 996!! Volkert

Audi allroad?

I have a q7 with the vw narrow angle v6. Slow, reasonable gas mileage, and best of all cast iron block. It is indestructible. The make a cayenne with the same motor. Our q7 has 180K miles - oil changes every 10K. And it has never burned a drop of oil.

Late E46 or early E90/91 would be my vote. Not like I'm biased or anything. Or an early P!g. Something about old Audis scares me from an upkeep standpoint.

Look at a used VW CC.

A Cadillac CTS v would be a good dd for you.

My DD is a 2008 128i, about to roll 180k miles, bought it with 50k miles about 4.5 years ago. It's got the NA N52 inline 6, which has been a workhorse. I can fold the seats down and fit my 5'9'' surfboard without issue. Only thing I've done is replace battery, brakes, oil changes, plugs, and coils. Hell even if you just got a 328 it might give you a little bit extra room length wise in the cabin. Pretty sure they'll fall in the $5-$10k range easily.

https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/6119821669.html This 2004 Acura MDX might fit the bill. Cheaper to maintain, lots of room, decent power.

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Jesus. sucker for punishment much? I would want something easier to maintain and helluva lot more reliable than a used german car/suv. I understand those cars are nice but if you have a used 996, you're going to have 1 money pit with that, why buy another? Buy a the newest Toyota Camry you can find for 10k. Trunk is huge.

BMW done. There are so many to choose from you can find exactly the one you want at a very reasonable price.

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I love the look of these but I don't think it fits the "utility" portion of my needs. I'll take a look at one in person.

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The wife drives a Pilot. Least reliable car I've ever owned. It's also the only car I've ever owned that caught fire. The brother in law has a Civic that's always in the shop. Honda reliability? Whatever.

I'd also vote for an early e90 given that you can wrench yourself. Maintenance and repairs can be significant but as long as you stay away from the 335i you likely wouldn't hit any huge repair bills. I have a tuned 335xi and the driving experience is a lot closer to then 996 than I was expecting.

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I have a very similar set of requirements. Except the midwest, but I do have to visit people and go to my place in CO. If you want to stay in the Porsche family you're looking at an early Cayenne. Get one that has had the water xover pipes replaced. Big messy job. I looked at some of them and liked the ride and look, but was put off by the poor fuel econ and high regular mx. My wife wanted a MB R-350 with AWD. I drove two of those, and just like the Porsche, I couldn't get by the fuel use and high mx. Both of the MBs I drove had electrical issues, and I hear it's pretty common. We also looked at a couple Land Rover SE. Same thing, except the mx to keep that on the road was going to be a nightmare. Finally, last Nov we settled. It's not very sporty, but I was tired of messing with these lux-Euro fuel hogs. I got a 2010 Subaru Forester. It was $5500 with 141k miles on it. It's been flawless since I put a set of tires on, and changed out the timing belt and rollers. A word of caution. The 2011-16 have some kind of issue with the piston rings, and they often have high oil consumption. Subaru has been hit with a number of replacements due to oil use problems, but only on the 2011 and later cars. So far, I've made a dozen long trips in it with zero problems. Getting an honest 25MPG combined fuel use, and it'll haul your stuff with the rear seats folded. For the mission you've stated, it would be perfect, but again, it is not sporty of course.

You should be able to pick up a nice A4 or 3 series in that price range. I had a 98 A4 for a while, the only 'normal' car I've ever owned, and I really liked it. Go for one with Quattro and a nicely trimmed interior.

Since you have the toy for when it is sunny, I would say look at getting something basic that you can just drive and not worry too much about. You mentioned the E46 and I love those cars (had an '01 330Ci) but I think they have a lot of maintenance needs. I wouldn't want to spend too much time worrying about my daily driver. Full disclosure, I'm in the process of looking for a toy and my daily driver will be an E90 335i but only because I've had it for 7 years and I know what I have. I'd recommend something like a used RAV-4, Rogue or even an Outback - reliable, roomy and all wheel drive for bad weather. Your first reaction may be that the cars I listed are boring and they are - they'll start when you need them and get you to your destination only asking for gas and an occasional oil change. And by being boring, it gives you more of an excuse to take out your 996. Good luck.

2005-2008 Acura RL. Mine has been extremely reliable, just regular maintenance and mnor issues, very tech'd out, All wheel drive. 300hp (oops, scratch that.... no fold down seats) 2004-2009 Porsche Cayenne S - I see them all the time under 10k in my area. (should really stop there... that's that one you should get). Otherwise, Audi/VW wagon Benz Wagon Beemer Wagon

My bad weather driver is my 1999.5 F250 Super Duty with the 7.3 liter engine. I bought it about 8 years ago. Oil changes are somewhat expensive since it holds 15 quarts. I think this truck will run for the next 20 years with minimal maintenance. The only things I have had to replace in the past 8 years were a bad clutch throw out bearing (I have the manual transmission) for $17 and a few hours of my time, and the AC compressor clutch for $70 and an hour of my time (the original clutch was worn and was slipping), that I replaced two weeks ago. Not sure if you can find a decent one for less than 10k though. I recommend a 1999.5 or 2000 with the forged connecting rods. The 2001 through early 2003 7.3 liter with the sintered connecting rods are also good trucks. The early 1999 F250 SD ECU was upgraded mid year so that's why I recommend the 1999.5. You can tell them apart because the early 1999 F250s had the Super Duty engine decal towards the front of the fender where the 1999.5 had the decal closer to the door. Another option is an older, but well kept BMW X5. I stumbled across one locally that had higher miles, but was well maintained. I bought it for my youngest son, paid $3800 for it a year ago, and I have only had to replace the gas gap. It has the 3.0 liter straight six which is a great motor.

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+ 996

I recently went through this exact same thought process. I went and bought a 05 E Class 320 CDI. It was $5K and had 150k on her. Now has 166k and been flawless. But to be fair I have only owned the car since 12/16. It is a car that does most things very well. 30 mpg city average and I got 37 on a trip from PA to FLA and back, 2600 miles. The 05-06 CDI's have the straight 6 engine. It has 210 hp but 400 pd/ft of torque. It is like a freight train on the highway. It will cost more when it does break, but hopefully this doesn't happen often.

You have the last of great Merc diesel. Aside from the black death leaky injector seal and another issue. The car is flawless.. throw a set of winter tires on it and go..

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I've always flirted with the thought of owning a diesel. Maybe I'll add a few to my list...

Get a Vanagon Syncro, that way you have every need covered: Whatever your 911 can't do, the Syncro can Whatever the Syncro can't do, the 911 can It is just a great pair of cars, every need is covered. http://syncro.org/

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I already have that base covered. I need something a little less expensive that fits in a parking space and covered airport parking.

Pro Tip: Before trying to park inside structures, break down tent for best results. Otherwise, the poles of the tent will likely have a party with the roof. Sincerely, Proud Owner of a Honda Element with a SIX INCH foam bed in the rear + roof & below bed storage. p.s. I know talking to an Element owner can be intimidating, it's a common feeling. Don't fret

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that's a well built tent, rated to 100mph open. It's not that I don't want to park it in the structure it's that I keep damaging the structure and they keep sending me repair bills.

Have you looked at the late 90's Lexus? They're reliable, in your price range, pleasant to drive, and many can be had with 4.0 V-8 RWD auto good for 300 horse/300 ft-lb (GS400/SC400/LS400). Not Viggen fast, but the GS400 is probably on par with the 996 in a straight line. If you want something a bit different, you can go JDM - where the 2JZ-GTE is more readily available. With a bit of tuning, it will decimate all. https://www.japaneseclassics.com/veh...toyota-aristo/

I bought an '06 Cayenne S back in August for my wife who is really hard on cars. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money because she just trashes whatever I get her - what she did to an E55 AMG that I got her to daily a few years ago was criminal. Paid $8,400 plus a $405 buyer's fee at the auction. It had high mileage and I had to fix a couple of minor issues (blower fan, rear hatch struts, cracked rear bumper cover), but otherwise has been very solid for the past 10 months. It cleaned up really well. I like it so much that I actually swapped dailies with her and she now drives my S430. It gets decent gas mileage, about like our various Explorers, etc. did. I was scared about maintenance issues from reading on the Cayenne forum, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.

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that,sir, is exactly what I want.

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Thanks. I joke with friends that I have the dream garage in 2005. 05 E Class 320 CDI and a 99 996 Cab I wamy to move up in the world, but Dammmmm.....

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Double, triple check the water xover pipes have been upgraded. Or, knock down the price a LOT, and have it done. 100% failure rate. Roger at 928sRus.com sells the kit if you DIY. I liked driving the Cayenne ok, it has a nice ride but I couldn't get over the cost of prem fuel on long trips. Yikes.

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I searched on the 928sRus.com site and couldn't find the Cayenne parts. I am curious because I am considering one for my wife's next vehicle. I may end up commuting to Atlanta once a week so I may take her Mazda3.

I get the old car thing - the 996 and the Corvette together are 39 years of older car to keep running - but any DD my wife drives will have a warranty and roadside assistance (but not necessarily a spare tire). I don't mind being stuck on the side of the freeway at night, but...