First Time Porsche Owner

After 35 years of lusting after a 911, 5 months of searching and 4 months of discussions with my wife I finally purchased an '02 C2 last Monday. The car had only 17,000 miles, was fairly well optioned and had a new set of tires (there's a story (rant) a little further down about them). I can't believe how much of a blast it is to drive. I also can't believe how po'ed my wife was when I brought it home (I thought we had an understanding) - she wouldn't even look at the car for two days. She's finally coming around, though. Tire story. It finally cooled off enough here to be out and wash the car. Everything's looking good, I'm cleaning the wheels. Passenger rear, what's this? A wheel bolt appears to be loose. Oh, well, I'll torque everything up after I finish the cleaning the passenger front. Now what? I'm MISSING a wheel bolt on the front!! Okay, Friday afternoon, drive to the dealer in VA Beach, 1 hour to get through the tunnel, buy bolt and a few other odds and ends, go to install bolt - no go, the threads are buggered. Stinking tire monkey must have thought he was on a NASCAR pit crew and tried running the bolts in from the impact wrench. Now the search begins for an M14x1.5 tap and say a prayer taht it's only a couple of threads. Fortunately that was the case. I now have 5 bolts holding on the passenger front wheel. Hopefully that is the last of the fun times. Here are a few pictures. rob

Very nice and great job on including pics with the first post!!! Welcome to the funny farm....hide your wallet

Congratulations crash, I hope you don't live up to your namesake

Wow, car looks like new, very nice. Let you wife drive it and she won't stop raving about it. Maybe you'll have to get her a cab. I could never understand why wifes disapprove. Maybe they all think we will go pick up some chicks w these? hilarious Maybe they are saving for college funds for the kids? Na! Too bad about the wheel. Good thing you didn't have to get new bearing or anything major. Those treads are pretty hard to screw up since the bolt holding it is much softer (alum?). You may consider getting a clear bra and side markers to start. Let's see more pics and your list of options!!

Awesome car and color!!! Good luck with it!

Crash - Welcome and congrads! Nice car, nice wheels. Ditto on the clear side markers. Thanks for sharing the pics, 'cuz we LOVE pics! You're off to a good start!

Beautiful car Rob! Congrats!

Just curious: why is your wife so upset about your car purchase? I hope it didn't come down to a home improvement or a Porsche purchase.

Thanks, the car is in great shape. I've been getting kudos from my co-workers. My wife is just not a car person. Even after 26 years of marriage she can't understand my fascination and it's about the only thing we argue about. This purchase didn't affect college funds - youngest child is starting sophomore year at PSU and his college fund is paid up! I'll post some more pictures after I wash it again - we had a 10 minute shower yesterday morning that made a mess of the car. I'll post the option list this evening. The first 2 things I'd like to do are to replace the CR-220 head unit with a CDR-220 (already have the trunk mounted changer) and do a hidden garage door opener (that thing just looks tacky hanging off the visor). Other mods may have to wait a while until things really cool down at home. rob

I am lucky that my wife is the one who initiated the P-Car purchase in my family. She knew I always wanted one and believe it or not she always wanted one.....me a 911 coupe and her a Boxster so we comprimised and bought a 996 CAB! Best car purchase I have ever made. Hell, my wife is even a track junkie now after I "forced" her to sign up for one. SHe went kicking and screaming but then left asking when the next one was! Just have your wife experience the car and then she will understand. We've had the car for several years (just a model year 2000) now and still get excited everytime we go out to the gargae and say "which car" to which she replies "VROOOM VROOOM???" God I love that woman!

Crash, I did the thread thing myself this winter, they are actually easy to crossthread, the wheel lug bolt is case hardened steel, the hub is aluminum btw. 14m 1.5 ptch taps are very hard to find as you know, I had to special order the damnthing. Nice looking car, low miles.

Yeah, it probably is an easy thing to do. My frustration with the situation was that the tire shop didn't tell anyone, just left the wheel bolt off. I confirmed this with the PO this morning. That tap was difficult to find. I checked all the local hardware and auto parts stores and couldn't find an individual tap (didn't want to pay $139.00 for a low quality tap and die set, either). We don't have a whole lot of metric stuff at work, but at least I was able to borrow a tap handle. I ended up getting the last one at the local fastener supply store. At least I'm ready for any future stupid mistakes on my (or someone elses) part. Now I just plan to have some fun driving. rob

Dell, You really are lucky. I wouldn't trade my wife for anything, but I wish she was more understanding about my auto addiction. I envy you getting your wife signed up for a track day. I'm hoping... At a recent charity auction I won a day at Summit Point with Heinz Peters in a 911 ITE car. I'm hoping that she will go along and, maybe, get out on the track. She doesn't seem to mind speed. When we visit relatives in Germany she has no complaints about my driving on the autobahn, so there is some hope. rob

I have a feeling, one lap and she will be hooked!

Welcome to the group. You will find answers to ALL things Porsche. The people on this board are some of the nicest, most generous folks you could run across. They will answer the same question 50,000. times like it was the first. They provide links, humor and do it willingly. Welcome aboard. Car looks fantastic, love that interior color. I would have it if I wasn't prone to being filthy all the time. I would only be able to drive at the end of the day after a shower with my PJ's on. As far as the wallet goes; you bought the carand your wife has accepted that. Just do the mods; easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. I ask for permission cause I enjoy sleeping in the house.

Welcome to the funny farm! When my wife starts complaining about the P-Car, I just remind her that I (unfortunately) spend less time with my P-Car than most guys do on the golf course, and that the P-Car addiction is safer and cheaper than having a mistress! It could be worse! Car looks great, welcome to the slippery slope. Start thinking now about how to explain to her that you MUST install PSS9s and GT3 Swaybars for safety reasons . . . I mean, driving around at that 4x4 height is just unsafe!

Car looks great, welcome to the slippery slope. Start thinking now about how to explain to her that you MUST install PSS9s and GT3 Swaybars for safety reasons . . . I mean, driving around at that 4x4 height is just unsafe! This is almost standard; like the pics of the new ride.

My wife hates driving in my cars. She gets carsick. She loves looking at them, however. She never complains about the cost of maintaining/modifying them. She DOES bitch me out a bit for not driving them often enough...

Congrats! Keep the wife, there is nothing like a supportive spouse! K

John - OUCH! ...my car also resembles that remark! I saw in one of your other posts that you were in Austin and attended UT. I lived in San Antonio for 30 years! Moved away just after the Alamo fell to Santa Anna... oh, wait... I'm not that old! Must have been one of my other lives! Moved to NJ in 1999 then to NC in 2001, been here since then. We need to talk one of these days, �cuz I see some common, almost redundant, threads that are starting to get more interwoven each week.

Congrats on the car and nice pics. I know the feeling as far as the wife goes. When I bought mine I called her from the dealer and said " I bought the car" . She replied that she didn't agree with it. I did it anyway. I don't agree with all the jewelery she has or the 100 pair of shoes and tons of cloths, but she doesn't ask my permission. When I got home all 3 of my kids came running out for a ride. My wife came out looked, turned around and went inside. She has been in it 3 or 4 times in the last 15 months. She can't drive a stick so she can't drive it at all(thank god). She doesn't drive my car, I don't wear her cloths, jewelery, shoes etc. LOL.

Holy cow Tim! I lived in SA for 25 years and got my BA and MS from UT as well! Moved to Vegas 3 years ago (wife's job) but probably going back next summer when her commitment is up. This community gets smaller and smaller everytime I sign on Hook 'em!

Nice machine - my spouse wouldn't even sit in the car for about 2 months, but is slowly warming up to it. here is a great link to a garage door mod that really looks fairly easy. These interiors are so easy to work on as you can pull apart most of the stuff. you should look at the $20 car manual from the UK. Comes through high speed fairly quickly. http://gallery.rennlist.com/gallery/albur29

Beautiful car!! Love the colors. Welcome! I just did the clear side markers last week and they look great!

Dell - That is amazing! You were in SA for 25 years! I, however, did not attend UT. We have a lot of family and friends in SA so we normally get back to there about twice per year, usually in summer and at Christmas. This year, however, we did not go back in the summer and may not go back for Christmas.

Welcome to the board and congrats!

Temporary Threadjack. Howbout the College World Series, Give 'em Hell, Giv 'em Hell, Go Horns Go!! LV my brother in law is Hed Doc UTMB Galveston. Dr. Dai Chung.

Give em hell is right! That was one of the most dominating series since the early 80s when Roger was king!!! What a small world. I met my wife there when she was doing her residency after med school at UT (University Hospital in SA). The plate on the 911 is inspired by her medical director position (attached). Figured this plate should be hers since the plate on the ML (UT 96)was chosen by me before we owned the 911.

The thread is back to a new member being inducted. Threadjack over. Sorry for inconvinience, temporary melancholy.

TD, I'm reminded of a cartoon I saw back in the '80s that I wish I had saved. Guy is washing his Porsche and says to his wife, "Of course I am in love with my Porsche. You would rather I had an affair with Sally Jones?" I am debating doing some suspension mods. I ran my previous car in SCCA stock class AutoX with several local clubs. I am debating whether or not to run the Carrera or co-drive a friend's car (which would be way cheaper). If I go the co-drive route suspension mods are definitely on the short list for first major mods. rob

Cpa4S, Thanks for the link. That was the post that sparked my desire for the hidden remote. When things slow down and cool off here I am going to tear apart my opener and see what needs to be done. I am just trying to decide on a switch location - on the console or on the dash. rob

Crash, Congratulations! Welcome to the club. Just to let you know you are not the only one with a wife that is not supportive. I am on my third P-car and with every one, I have been given maximum sh*t. My significant other won't even ride in mine!!. In fact she has influenced my youngest daughter to also not ride in my car. My son, however, is a different story. Any way after a while she just ignores it (still jabs me now and then). Have to do all my mods in hidding.

I thought only my wife was the obstinant (sp?) one -- what is with this "boycott" approach to objecting to our car selections?!? I guess you can look at it two ways, negative as she won't ride in the car with you and, positive, she won't ride in the car with you so you can go faster and crank the tunes!

Agreed, I prefer to ride alone anyway. When we go somewhere together, I let her drive her Audi (She also doesn't like riding in my Lexus???). Maybe it's my driving style

I must have hit the lottery then when I met my wife.....she loves to race the Porsche, loves sports, is insaneley intelligent, makes more money than I could, is beautiful, and for some reason loves me. Trust me, I still to this day wonder why she hooked up with me in the first place!

(sorry about the hijack) Don't get me wrong...my wife is absolutely awesome...been married 24 years, two fantastic kids. She volunteers with a juvenile diversion program, runs marathons (1/2 marathon with my daughter next month), cooks great, etc. She just doesn't get the car thing. (She is also extremely modest and does not like to let on anything to do with $).

Can I hijack my own thread? I think my wife has the same problem. She feels that the car is too ostentatious and is somewhat embarassed to be seen in it. I can understand this, but it's not as if there aren't other equally expensive cars in our neighborhood (and it isn't a Roller or Bentley). Although she doesn't really have any idea what cars cost, just that Porsches are expensive. She is coming around though. Now her complaint is that the A/C is too cold. It was 104 when I passed the bank today, how can the A/C be too cold!?

Rob, if you have any questions about the Garage Door mod let me know. That's my DIY Link.

Damn Dell, there is one in every crowd, and THIS time, you are the ONE! My wife dosen't make jack-sh** as a teacher, but she loves teaching. She gave me no flack about getting the P-car. In fact, one evening as I was getting on the web to do more searching, she said "Why don't you stop looking and just get one!" Eight days later I was driving it home! (the P-car, that is!)