99-00 996 issues? seeking advice

Guys, I am a 23 yr old that just graduated from UT-Austin. I landed a consulting job that pays close to 50k a yr. I have a been a huge fan of porsche as far back as I can remember. I am very interested in purchasing a 99-00 996 in the very near future. All my friends/family tell me I should wait 2 or 3 yrs before getting it(Hell even my manager says I should). I have other friends that came out of college with the same car craze and have settled for the AMGs Mercedes and M3s. They tell me that I will not be able to afford the maintanence on a Porsche and advise against the purchase. Here are my questions for you avid fans Maintenance Is it true? Is maintenance ridiculous? What are common problems found in the early 996s? Can anyone tell me their personal maintenance expenses for 996 on a yearly basis? Other issues... Should I wait a few more months so the 997s drive 996 prices down more? Will the car last me comfortably for the next 6-7yrs? Will I experience material depreciation in the next few years? If any of you can help me out, please answer my questions. You don't have to answer all of them, just whatever you have answers to. I am so eager to own a porsche-any help you can provide would be appreciated. -------

All right! A fellow Horn! Now for your posting..... One question at a time. First things first, do some extensive searches (or just flip through all the previous pages) here on this board as well as the renntech.org board (great DIY site to save on your maint costs). You will be able to answer most of your questions. Most will tell you to stay away from early production MY99 and to get the newest model year you can afford. DO NOT buy the firsts one you see. There are so many 996s on the market for sale right now that you should be able to get the combo you want for the price you are looking for. I was pretty mechanically declined when I bought my P-car and now I do quite a bit DIY stuff that save 100s on maint costs thanks to renntech.org Word of advice, unless you plan on modding your car extensively...stay away from this board (it can be hazardous to your wallet). Good Luck on your search, Dell UT grad '96 and '01 (undergrad and grad) ps. got a good feeling about Oct.9th?

I am extremely excited about Octtober 9th. I do not want to dissappoint myself though. Many times UT had a very good chance, but lost the game. I'm going to stay positive and supportive. Also, not very familiar with the acronyms. DIY? MY99? I am waiting to find the combo I want. The only MOD I want on my car is an aero kit, and I'm looking to purchase one with that installed already. BTW, are you a UT MBA? Hook em Horn!!

"...Can anyone tell me their personal maintenance expenses for 996 on a yearly basis?..." my '00 996 is serviced by the book: regular oil changes, tire changes (5th set) and brakes (3rd set) and orginal clutch! my car has more than 85k miles, and its a daily driver. it's cost less to maintain than the last bmw i owned (says a lot). but when they break, the repairs be as much as $10k (engine) know this going in, and be prepared if this should happen.

DIY=Do it youself (oil changes, brakes, etc.) MY=Model Year (MY99=Model Year 1999) Not a MBA though (Ph.D.). Thought about flying to Dallas for the Red River Shootout but I would have to cancel too many classes that I teach and the department wouldn't like that too much (the students would though). Maybe next year I can plan ahead. Feel free to PM (private message) me if you need anything and don't want to post in a thread. Dell

I have a 2000 coupe and although my miles are very low,I've had absolutely no problems or costs.I change my own oil/filter and it costs me about 40 bucks. Good luck!

I too joined the Pcar club this year. I searched and searched and looked at a lot of cars. I talked to the local PCA president and he recommended some good mechanics to talk to as well as shops to buy from. I then had 3 cars checked out. I finally bought a 99 cab with 32k miles on it and full service records (very important!!!). The other 2 had gaps in their records and that made me very nervous. I then had PPI's done on all 3. It was the best $150 per car that I spent. 2 of the cars had been off road and painted and one was actually missing water lines. AMazing. I love the car and have put about 2000 miles on it in 3 months. The PCA club is awesome. Before I bought the car, I was on this site every night. Most of the people here are great but always do your own homework. Good luck and welcome to the club!

2000 c2 I have owned for 1 year and have put 9000 miles on it. 20k total miles on the car now. Knock on wood ...no problems , just 15k mile service and a bunch of other things I have added that my wife does not see the need for!!!!!!! But oh well, gotta have a few mods! My last mercedes was in the shop every other month..Piece of crap! Good luck!

99 Model Year has a coolant reservoir problem that occurs at 25 -40,000 miles. Here is my story: https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...lant+reservoir

Buy a Honda. In a few years, you'll be making more money and the P-car won't be as much of a financial burden as it is today. You'll enjoy it even more when you can afford it. $50k/yr sounds like a ton of money to someone fresh out of college. It's not. Also, if you hate your job or lose it that car will be a huge albatross around your neck. Study up on the cars, drool over the magazine reviews, forget what your friends are driving and buy one when the time is right. If you're a MBA, you can crunch the numbers and likely reach the same conclusion.

When I graduated in 1963 I got a brand new Corvette conv. My new wife said she would work and we wouldn't have any kids till it was paid off. It was $3300! I drove it every day for 15 years and sold it for $2000 more than I paid for it. Five Corvettes later and now a 99 996 Cab. I bought my 99 996 new. I had a RMS (Rear Main Seal) fail and fixed under warrenty at 6000 miles. This would be about a $1500 repair at the dealer. All 996's from 98 to present have seen this problem. I do all my own maintainence since may car is out of warrenty. Oil change about $30 for me $200 at the dealer. Plugs $80 for me $300 at dealer. However Porsches are not as easy to work on as Chevy's. Partly because everything is stuffed in the rear engine area. A shop manual was $700. Do you have the time and ability to work and maintain your Porsche? If not figure that the dealer will charge about 3 times what a Ford or Chevy dealer would charge. Are you prepared to give up something else in your life to support your car if it needs it? Are you car crazy like me? Or are you just a poser who wants to look cool in a Porsche? Only you can answer the question.

I regret waiting too long to buy my p-car. But, be aware that these cars are not as inexpensive to own as, say, a Toyota or Honda. Sure, you can do the oil change yourself for $40-50. But, new tires cost $1,000 or more, and the rear tires last 12,000 to 15,000 miles if you're lucky. Compare this to $200-400 for tires on a Toyota, that last 40,000 miles or more. Other repairs will come up. It's not guaranteed to happen, but you should be prepared for the random $1,000 plus repair. If you can afford all that, then go for it. Otherwise, just wait and hitch rides in your friends fancy cars. You'll be laughing all the way to the bank later on when you buy a house, self-finance your grad school, etc., while they pay off big credit card bills. Good luck!

Mani - I would go for it if you run the #s and can afford the payments. I would recommend buying a 99 or 00 from a dealer and getting the Porsche Certified pre-owned warranty. Its 2 years/100k miles of coverage and is similar to a new car factory warranty. This will keep you from getting hit up with any large repair bills the first two years. More details are at: http://www2.us.porsche.com/english/u...rs/default.htm

StevefromMN....... FYI...RMS is $800 Oil Change not anywhere close to $30. (Oil Filter $15, CORRECT oil $45 min--9 qts @$5 qt 0W40 Mobil1) still $60 or so is much better than the dealer charge of $200-$300.

Mani, I'm also only one year removed from the world of academics.. I graduated in 03 from law school, make over 100k/yr, but when I ran the #s, I could *not* afford a 2000/01 996. Well, it's not that I couldn't necessarily make the monthly payments; rather, I made a list of priorities for myself, and a home topped the list. With my mortgage payment figuring to be somewhere close to $2200/mo, and with my school loans topping $700/mo, I would literally be living paycheck to paycheck if I purchased the p-car of my dreams (figure a $800+/mo payment). With home interest rates still relatively low, I'd suggest you invest your money in some property as opposed to a MY99 996 - which, if your investments pay off, will be easily afforded in the very near future. You'll not only save money in the long run (your home should appreciate and provide you with a nice tax shelter and the 996s will/should continue to come down), you'll get the car you want (options, etc) and appreciate it all that much more when you do. Just my 2 cents..

Dude, 50k sounds like a lot but you'll wonder where it all is at the end of the year. My 2 cets is to save some money, buy a house, or condo or whatever and you will put yourself way ahead financially. The p-car won't be that fun after a little while. If you want fun in a fast car you have to get out on the track! There are many ways to get track time. For 10k you could buy a nice 944 track car or older 911 for a bit more. Do some PCA DE events & you'll think the 996 may not be the hot Idea that it seems now. Go fast, Take chances. FS

Be prepared for a lot of people to tell you not to get a Porsche (usually because of jealousy, at least that's what happened to me). If you'd like to (probably) save another $5,000, and can wait 6-12 months, then yes. It depends on whether you can wait or not. I agree with Dell. Make sure you get exactly what you want for a fair price. The next twelve months are going to be a buyer's market on 996s (imho). Wow, Dell, I was exactly the opposite. I did a lot of work on my 944 (almost everything) but when it took me like 45 minutes to change the air filter on my 996, a 5 minute job on the 944, I pretty much vowed never to do any more work on the 996. lol. Good luck Mani

guys, thank you so much for your responses. I have considered other investments. ie house, investment funds....well the market returns are low, im too young and instable to get a house at this point... aside from that, one of my main worries is that while 993 prices have held up, im getting the feeling the 996s are going to drop substantially in price. I've read posts where porsche fanatics merit an upgrade from the 993 to 997 a good idea, while many agree the upgrade from 993 to 996 was not worthwhile. Surely, the 996 drivers will also want to upgrade in such a case, if viable-and in most cases, it is. as far as maintenance, i hear RMS leaks, coolant leak, 15k maint check up, expensive tires, 30k maint, oil changes(cheaper to DIY)...anything else guys?

Have you considered getting a new boxster instead of a used 996?

This should cover it. Cracked coolant tank, Key jams in the ignition switch, MAS Air sensor tends to go out around 30k and immobilizer control units Airbag warning light/sensor harness issues, RMS issues, Low radiator hose issue (get a plate), Rear glass seal issue Sunroof cover rattle issues

no way. if im gonna get wet, im going for a swim. 911 all the way

the 993's have held up because of a low supply and an over supply of 996's. Performance wise and daily driving wise the 996 is way better than a 993. I have read tons of articles and posts and that is the way it is. I can see being in love with your 993 and not wanting to change to a 996 because those things above don't matter, I respect that all the way. My first Porsche is an 00 c2 coupe and it is awesome to drive everyday, run up the mountains with friends and drive everyday. Porsche might not have made it as "quality" as a 993 because of the company situation back then but it still is a better car than the 993 in every way....except for the "soul" of the car.... I also agree that the headlights from the boxster was a mistake and I do like the round better on the 997. But the 996 is still a better car than the 993, and the 997 is better than my 996.... Don't let anyone try to sway you on with their opinion. It all boils down to 2 things only. 1. Buy the car you have driven and like the best all around! 2. Buy the car you can afford! Because I think the 993's were ugly compared to the 964 was why I did not get one, even though I could afford at the time. My best friend had a 993s and loved it as he thought the 996 was ugly to him. There are plenty of people out there who have had no major problems with their 996's than who have had problems with them. You only hear from the pissed off people most of the time. Your car should make you feel good about yourself as well as get you from point a to point b...What car that is is only known by you! Good luck. Robert

Live the moment, the future is incognito. but save some money for the kids. best wishes WOT

993 vs 996 I test drove a 993 and a 996 when I bought my 996 in 99. I would have bought a Vette instead of a 993. The 996 just blows away the 993. But Hey that's me you may see it different. YMMV (your milage may vary) Drive each car first before you make any decision.

Well put Mani...swim with the sharks not the minows! All or nothing...that's the Horn mentality!!!

If you want a large part of your life to center around your car, go for it. Or get something like this RX7 http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...=&cardist=1811 and party harder.

Hey Mani. I'm in Houston too! Just went to Nxcess with a friend to buy a 996. Recently I sold my 993 and S4 wagon (married with kid) and bought an E46 M3. I love my M3. It's great BUT make no mistake it is NOT a 911. I bought it because I'm a young father who likes the track and ocassionally drives clients to golf or lunch. Sold my 993 to save the cash and reinvest in my company. Sold wagon because it's boring. M3 or M5 was in the crosshairs and decided on M3. Having said all this I begged my wife to let me buy a used 99 996 which would have been 10k cheaper but she 'won'. I just want my PCar. Edit: I'll resound Frank's sentiment. Buy a house/condo first.

This thread really caught my eye since I'm in the same position as Mani and about the same age. I've decided to just get the car and enjoy, hopefully in the next month or two. A lot of the decision had to do with the fact that I saved up some money while going to college and bought a condo not too long ago. Thats probably they way too go as long as you are going to stick around in the same area for at least a year or two. Otherwise, you'll be temped to spend the extra money on the car and not towards and investment, like a home.

I'm telling you guys.. I make over 100k and I'd be having very real cash flow problems if I had purchased a p-car *before* my townhouse. Mani, think of it this way: I'm assuming you'll be renting an apartment, correct? Unless you've got some unique living situation (where you're friends are letting you stay rent-free or you live with your parents, etc al), you'll still be shelling out a fair amount for rent every month, especially if you're living in the city (and I assume you are considering you'll be working at a consulting firm). If you have a p-car, I doubt you'll want to live in that 'shady' part of town that has apts renting for $500-600.. which means you'll probably be shelling out somewhere b/w $800-1100 for a place every month. Believe it or not, that's not too far off from a mortgage payment on a home/townhome/condo, depending, of course, on the price point of the home. For example, you could buy a $150-200k condo on a 5 or 7 year ARM (since you won't be living there more than 5 or 7 years, most likely) at a 4.5 - 4.75% int rate (Depending on your location). That puts your mortgage payment somewhere around $1000-1200 /mo, depending on your taxes and whether there's any association fees. Not too far off from your rent, huh? And GUESS WHAT - the $ you put towards interest (vs principal), which is almost ALL of your mortgage payments during the first 10-15 years of home ownership, is ALL TAX DEDUCTIBLE - meaning, of course, you get the appreciation afforded your home and the equity under the benefits of a tax shelter... otherwise that $50k you're making will be more like $30k when all is said and done.. Look, bottom line is this.. you can go '***** out' and get your p-car now.. and *should* it have any issues, you'll be having trouble making your rental payments, much less making the payments on the car.. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy the p-car of your dreams - you should - but only after being smart about your investments, etc... Rome wasn't built in a day... Set your financial foundation with a home first, and then worry about a p-car down the road (and that way you may be able to afford a 2000, 2001 or perhaps even a 02 in some time).

Mani, I am in almost the same situation as you. I'm 22y/o, but only make 36K a year. I've always been in love with the 911 and just HAD to get one my senior year in college. Luckily, my parents were willing to back me up on this. So I split a '99 996 C2 with them. And yada yada yada, I know I should invest for the future and all that *$&#, but it has really been the best purchase I've ever made. It's an absolute joy just to drive to the grocery store. A year later, I will still catch sight of my car in a parking lot and need a few seconds to realize it's actually mine. Even the weaker MY99 996 is a great buy. I say go for it. Just make sure you get a pre-purchase inspection. You will just have to give up other things in life in order to pay for the maintenence / repairs (Big TV, fast computer, etc.). I have not had any major mechanical problems at 73K miles. I'm just pumping money into it every once and a while to try and bring it back to perfect, minty fresh condition. One thing about the 996 that irks me though is that the stock US suspension is aerodynamically unstable. You'll want to look into lowering the front 20mm and the rear 10mm to bring the car to the Euro spec, which is where it was designed to operate. It was changed for the US because of our safety laws. There's some good stuff on PCA.org about this. Check this out: http://www.pca.org/tech/tech_qa_question.asp?id={0344F61B-79A4-4AF5-A949-034D5F7FD3B7} One more thing. If you're a young guy with not a lot of money and a need for speed, it's tough to beat a motorcycle. My roommate bought a brand new Yamaha R6 for $8,000 and he easily beats me off any stop light, any time. You don't get the Porsche experience, but you can still get your speed fix and have plenty of money left over. I think I may have to become a biker in a couple years, after I get rid of my 996. Still, for now, I don't regret buying my car and it's a great time.

Mani, in my opinion (since you asked) and based on your situation as you've described it, buying a 996 right now would be a pretty big mistake. 50k is a good starting salary (way more than I made at my first job outta school!) but it won't go as far as you'd think. Plus putting that money into a depreciating asset with relatively high maintenance costs will put you behind the 8-ball at a time in your life when you really don't need to be burdened with a lot of monthly expenses. I know it seems tough and you want to treat yourself, but you can still get something fun and sporty that costs a helluva lot less than a 996. An older Z car, Supra, RX-7, C4 vette, Mitsu 3000, etc. These kinda cars will still be a lot of fun to drive, have lower initial costs and probably have lower maintenance costs to boot. Plus in 3-4 years the 996 cost will be much lower and you could buy a newer and/or upgraded model for the same scratch. It's win-win. Don't get 'car poor' just out of school, it's the wrong priority and has teh potential to push you into making further bad financial decisions if things get tight. Either way, good luck with your new career!

I think the important question is whether you will pay cash for the 996 and, if not, how much money do you intend to put down on the car?

First off, I am very grateful for all the input everyone put on this post. Here are a few answers... Nota_Troll- I wouldn't recommend your friend buy a car from Nxcess Motorsport. They have shady business tactics. I went to check out a 996 there, and 5 of the panels were painted differently. I live less than a mile away from Nxcess(near the galleria) and on many occassions I have seen wrecked cars on truckers coming into the shop. I have a feeling they sell a lot of wrecked cars with clean titles. I would be very wary of it. Polarbear- How the hell did you afford to buy a condo during college?? Impressive...and ya, I'm not sure if I want to stay in Houston. I'm from Dallas, and I'd prefer to be back in Dallas if I could. and Houston property inside the city is ridiculously expensive. Rama- you make a very good point and honestly I have also been contemplating that idea. One of my friends that recently graduated bought a 4bdroom house, rented out three rooms to college students(which pays the mortgage) and gets the tax shelter. Its an awesome idea, but I really don't know if I'd like to commit to Houston(or maybe I'm just using that excuse to go with the P-car) Mereel- awesome parents. do you drive it hard? what maint. costs have you experienced so far? and ya, i can give up big screen tv and fast computers-don't know if i can give up alcohol and partying it up though. k996-you make very solid points, and it scares me jw97c2s- parents-3k, me 4k- so 7k down, and my buy price will be around 37k, 5 yr loan, but I intend to pay it off within 2.5yrs with payments above $1100 a month. kinda scary, and I'll be broke. but the car should last me 7-8 yrs right? once again, thanks for your honest opinions and help everyone Mani

As with any P-Car.....it can last longer than you as long as you take care of it. Regualr oil changes, etc.

Manni, I can understand your desire to get into a 911 but with all due respect, you're nuts! $1100/mo for a car is over 25% of your annual salary. Take into account taxes, rent, and food alone, whew, you're living on the edge my friend! But, having said that, I came out of college (14 years ago) making substantially less that $50K/year and substantially much more in debt than a $30K loan for a car (I paid for my undergrad myself - all of it @ average $18K/year for years '86-'90). If you can live with no dinner on Thursday because your check doesn't get deposited till Friday morning, then yes you can probably do it. But, do you want to live that way? I didn't (and I don't miss it either...). By the way, I only get about 4K miles out of the rear tires on my car and it cost about $600 to replace them (tires from tirerack and installation done locally by an independant shop). Best of luck.

Joe, 4k miles only?! do you track your car? luckily UT-Austin-good business school, cheap price so no debt ya, I imagine its quite difficult. right now, im enjoying the benefit of a roommate, so we live in a luxury apartment(used for corporate housing), and rent rates in Houston have dropped so I pay 400 a month for my room. Joe, after taxes, its 38% of monthly income. damn taxes...

Hi Mani, Yup, 4K miles. Nope, I don't track the car (yet). I've realized for some time now, I must drive my car (and probably incorrectly so...) harder in a different way than just about any other P-car owner. 4K miles is a mean value through about 8 sets of tires, not all from the same tire mfg either. Somehow I seem to be able to get them bald pretty quickly. I've also blown the gear shift linkage on my car twice, something else that seems to be rare amongst 996 owners. But, knock on wood, I've never seen a drip of oil nor does my car consume any measurable amount of oil between changes. As an aside, tell me I don't have a golden wife: she doesn't count my beers when I drink and has never said a word about $600 worth of tires every 4k miles. Aong with my car, she's a keeper! ;-) I hear ya about the taxes but I'd rather live in the US and pay 'em than live anywhere else! You should feel lucky too, Texas doesn't have a state tax does it? Cheers.

"I can understand your desire to get into a 911 but with all due respect, you're nuts! $1100/mo for a car is over 25% of your annual salary....[snip]" there are 84-mo. lease plans for a 3 to 5-yr-old 996 that would put your payments way below $1,100/mo--like less than half that. btw, if your're getting 4k miles out of your rear tires, then your alignment is severely off or you're replacing them prematurely. i've seen 12k-19k on my rears (p-zero rosso, s-02, 02a, 03). i got more than 6k out of r-dot tires that were used exclusively for track events.

Hi Rob, I thought of alignment too. I've had my car aligned just about every time I put new tires on it (or at least had the alignment checked). The rear tires wear evenly but I began to suspect something my dealer was doing was wrong. So I subsequently took my car to Custom Alignment in Mt. View CA. They have been recommended here on the rennlist. Same result. Tires I've used: Contisports and p-zeros and I now use S-03's (despite my dealers shock that I use a non-N rated tire). Same result on all tires. Two points to consider: 1) I mostly drive with my rear spoiler up. One, I think it looks cool (sorry but I do...) and two my car tends to run a bit hot and I think that the spoiler up helps somewhat in cooling. 2) I am an admitted "jackrabbit". That is, I don't launch like I'm drag racing but I do indeed get it in gear and floor it as fast as I can from start to stop, start to stop, start to stop... I've "rationalized" the tire wear based on the above two points and just live with it.

In my opinion 50k per year is not enough to pay for a 40k car. You really should spend a 10 to 15k less and then have more money to spend on girls and bars and going on really cool trips looking for bars and girls. Hey I was 23 once (only 30 now) and it is NO fun to no be able to do stuff like that since you spending all your money on a stupid car. Oh yeah... a friend of my once told me. "Really nice cloths are better at picking up women than a car. Reason... You can't bring the car into the club with you."

I would say you probably shouldn't do it since you could be in a lot of trouble, financially speaking, should any unexpected problems arise with the new 996. If you do decide to make the purchase then I would strongly advise gap insurance for the depreciation you will experience. Good luck!

Skip the car for now! Buy a reliable daily beater for cash, pay yourself a steep Porsche payment every month. That way, if things go well your Porsche account is building....if you hit a bump in the road financially you just contribute less and you don't have a payment hanging over your head. In 2 years you'll have $20-$25K to put towards a mint '03 996 which will be selling for low $40's. Finance $20K and you'll be driving a pristine machine for a Honda payment and from an equity standpoint you'll never be upside down!

Free advice is worth what you pay for it. That having been said, you are categorically making the wrong decision if you buy the car at this point in your young life. You are just starting out. It is not the time to be financially reckless. Saving your earnings is very worthwhile. Plus, based upon the 1% savings rate in the US, it will make you unique (financially solvent). But what do I know, I only retired at age 37.

Laurence, that was a funny post. Good thread guys. I'm about to be in the same position as the thread starter. Perhaps another FD RX7 for me, or G35...

Has anyone pointed out the $2000/year insurance bill for over 25 males yet? I wonder what the tab would be for a under 25, in a city? $5000/year maybe?

I'm sure not all transactions/cars are great but as long as you have the car PPI'd it's all good. BTW - he bought their car. Good luck to you.

Mani, you have mail.

Oh my! There is definitely something wrong with your alignment. I used to average from 8,000 to 10,000 miles on my rears when tracking every other month, and now that I haven't tracked in a year, I've put over 15k on my rears already. Something's up...

"Mereel- awesome parents. do you drive it hard? what maint. costs have you experienced so far? and ya, i can give up big screen tv and fast computers-don't know if i can give up alcohol and partying it up though." The car cost me $36,000 to start (including taxes + registration). In the year I've been driving it, I have put $3,000 more into it. That includes regulary scheduled maintenence as well as unexpected repairs. For example, the ignition switch broke so that I could not put my key in. $82 to fix. Needed a new battery. Fixed a very minor oil leak and replaced the rubber for the spoiler. I also needed new tires. I installed a new clutch for $1100. It didn't need it quite yet, but I was moving cross country and wanted my regular mechanic to get it done. The other day I hit a parked truck in a parking lot. Just a love-tap really. It was completely my fault. Anyway, there is a little hole in the front bumper now. $1300 to fix! If I did the labor myself it would be $800 for parts! So I bought a bra for $100 which I'm going to use to cover the hole up. Problem temporarily solved. Do I drive it hard? I don't floor it everywhere I go...haha. I'll hit redline a little less than once a day. She is a bit rough when the engine's cold though (a characteristic of all 996's or just high-mileage ones?), so I always let it come up to temp before I put my foot down. Then it really purrs though. And as for alcohol and partying it up? Well...when you have a tiny coupe that can hold three people at most, you hardly ever get asked to be the designated driver! Still, if not for my parents taking $20,000 of the initial purchase price, I would not be able to afford this car. Make sure that whatever decision you make doesn't put too large a dent in your financial future.

I'm looking forward to Oct 9th too! The last TX coach to lose 5 in a row was Darrell Royal...his last season. I agree with the people saying wait a few years. The maintenance and possible continued depreciation of a 996 will eat away at your early earnings. A friend with a 2002 C4S is also going through tires every 5000 miles or so and maintenance is steep. Invest in real property, unless you never have intentions of having a family.