Shortest ownership period?

Hi all, So I've definitely fallen in love with Porsche, and I also really enjoy this site. I have owned my '00 C2 Cab for one year and I just hit 45k miles on the odometer. I also have one year remaining on CPO warranty. I am giving serious consideration to selling it and moving up to an '02 or later. Plus, I love the way my black car looks after a wash, but I need to be extra careful with washing, microfiber towels, etc...and it can be a pain. I would take a decent hit, as I bought from a dealership, but I could get additional power and amenities, as well as shop for a lower maintenance color. That all said, before I spring this idea on the wife, I wondered what the shortest periods are that some of you have owned before "moving/trading up"? Thanks - Sean

3 weeks in a brand new Boxster 3.2S. It was awful!

Over the last 35 years I've owned three different iterations of the 911. I typically sell them just before the expiration of the warranty. The most important thing to do is to find a car you really love and hold on to it for at least four years, if it's new. Since you already bought the car when it was used, your depreciation hit shouldn't be that bad, provided that you are able to sell it yourself.

There's gotta be a good story in this. Do I need to slum over to the Boxter forum to read it? To answer the OP, I actually "owned" my first 911 for two months. I bought it during my sabbatical, and as I had a couple of jobs lined up, it was just a matter of which one I wanted, so I bought the car, bought a new set of tires for it, and enjoyed it immensely ('90 C2 coupe). This was in 2001... anyway, the seller had trouble getting me the title, so I was driving the car on his expired plate, then both of the jobs fell through, and there I was still unemployed with this very expensive car to own and maintain. A friend of mine, who had been shopping for a nice 911 offered to buy it, and so about 3 days after I received the title, I gave it to her for what I had in it (cost of car, tires, maintenance). So basically, it cost me nothing but gas and insurance. The second 911 was my '96 C2 coupe, and I sold it after a year because I was afraid that it was too fragile and I didn't want to spend all kinds of money maintaining it. I've since kept in touch with the buyer, he still loves the car and has had zero issues with it, so I'm really kicking myself on that one. I made sure that the 996 that I now own was CPO, so I don't have to worry about expensive repairs for at least a little while... hopefully I'll keep this one longer (that is the plan). BTW, my car is an '02. There are a couple for sale locally, both with around 25K miles, one black, one seal grey. The black one is owned by a real dick that I spoke with (and saw the car) when shopping, the grey one I know nothing about but the ad says CPO until 08/08. Both are priced around 50K. Raleigh, NC area. Michael

Michael, no story at all. The reverberations through the exhaust loosened my fillings and made my spectacles vibrate. The seats were wrought out of iron, along with the lowered suspension and the blue looked grey (special order Cobalt Blue). Although brand new with only 18 miles on the odometer it was already second hand as it had been ordered by another guy who, by the time it was delivered, was in the throes of a nasty divorce. Aparently the only way he would have been allowed to keep it was if it had been inserted (IYKWIM). I saw the car about a year later and it was back in the showroom... Boxsters!

Back in the 80's, I bought a 944 and sold it less than a month later.

I was talking to one of my customers back in the mid-eighties and mentioned that I was looking for a 911. He knew someone in his town who he thought would sell his 1978 911SC. I called the guy to ask about the car. It was a one owner, very low mile car. It was also an interesting color combination which I have never seen since. It was a black coupe with a white belt line leather interior which meant it had white seats and white leather inserts in the door panels with black dash, carpets and upper and lower door trim. We haggled over price for a few days and finally arrived at a price that I thought I could live with. I told him I would bring cash and if the car was what he said it was, I would buy it and drive it home. He was about six hours away and my wife, son, and I drove there on Thanksgiving day. He lived in a beautiful log house in the forests of northern Michigan near Traverse City. After looking over the car and drinking some wonderful hot chocolate while gushing over their house, I handed him the money and we headed back to Indiana. As you can imagine, it was quite late when we arrived at our house. Still, I had to spend some time in the garage deciding what I was going to do with this latest Porsche. Lower it for sure, etc. I finally went to bed around 2:00AM and was rudely awakened about 7:00 AM the next morning by the guy who had owned the car. He was nearly in tears and could not believe that he had sold his baby. He wanted it back. We were all pretty upset over this as we had spent a long Thanksgiving day. He was begging. I finally told him to call me back in a couple hours and we would think about it. After some discussion, we decided that he wanted it more than we did. When he called back, I told him to come get it and give me back whatever he thought was fair. The next day, he flew in to town, gave me $500 over what I paid him and drove it away! A few years later, a buddy of mine and his wife were touring northern Michigan with my wife and I in our 911's. As we approached Traverse City, I convinced my buddy to go to this guy's house to see if he still owned the car. He was mighty surprised to see me again and he did still have the car!

Great story - I'm originally from Michigan and we took our kids to a cottage on Lake Michigan near Traverse City this summer. We had a great time (the weather cooperated). Man, I wished I had my Porsche there to drive on those northern MI, twisty, 2 lane roads!

Thanks. It is pretty in that part of the world. We used to snowmobile in the Traverse City-Cadillac area. It is really pretty with a fresh snow.

I crashed my first P....a 924S about 22 years ago after 10 weeks....lack of experience (was only 18yrs old)..luckily for me it was only a 924 so I lived would have been a 911 back then I would probably not be writing this reply!!

I had a boxster S for 4 months before I traded up to the 911. IIRC it had something to to do, but not all, with the fact that my friends dubbed me 'the hairdresser' after I bought it.

there is a guy on the Cayenne site who bought a titanium red edition and 2 or 3 days later was trying to sell it back. can't remember his name, but the people on the board knew him well so it wasn't BS.

M-115 through from Clare through Cadillac to Benzonia can be beautiful and can be a nightmare - been driving it for decades to the summer house from DC. RE: the Boxster comments, it's different, not bad It's a very enjoyable ride

You guys make me feel better about my great ownership experience.....06 Cayman S....three months

I was wondering what you bought to replace the '05 Turbo. What did you get to replace the Cayman S?