996 first drive today

The car was a '99 coupe, sliver over black, 64k miles. Overall nice car, clean, one small ding, extensive carfax records, recent dealer inspection, new tires and 60k service. Car runs and drives very well, I am going to have to get me one of these The car needs a few minor things prior to having a PPI, just have to decide if I want to go forward on this one. It has given me the bug for sure, and dealer services make a trade deal easy... I am going back with my wife, since she will be driving it as well. Pretty good chance she is going to be supportive. I keep telling myself I should hold out for a more perfect set of options regardless of where the car is etc. Right now it is the sound and feel drawing me in... the convenience might take me over the edge. PPI first, PPI first, PPI first

Like what options is it missing that you want?

I bought a '99 silver/grey 6M with twice those miles (119k) after looking a looong time at several cars. No PPI and sparse records, but the PO had seven years' history with it and had treated it right. It's got a couple cosmetic picks, but looks and drives excellent. Nothing you wouldn't expect on a 15 yr old car.

After months of searching, I found a local car listed on Autotrader that had MOST of my MUST-HAVE features (e.g. full aero, cab, under 70K miles, tip.....wife does not drive stick and would only OK a toy if she can also drive it). Knew it was THE ONE seconds after I laid eyes on it and bought it on the spot after an inspection and test drive (cancelled the 3 other cars I had scheduled to check out that day). Best of luck with your search.

I got the bug the first time I drove the stick shift. I think for me it was the tach smack in the middle.

I have a friend here in Vegas that had my 996 since it was new. I rode in it shortly after he bought it and he let me drive it. He also has a couple of Ferraris. The Porsche and the two Ferraris mostly just sit in his garage but about once every few weeks he would pick one and drive it on a favorite loop he likes. Needless to say none of the cars have very many miles on them. One day he says to me that he would be interested in buying a hot rod I owned. I always liked his Porsche and I took it on trade towards the hot rod. I'm loving it, I haven't had so much fun driving a car in years. Mine has the stock exhaust an when its wound up it sounds great. Its vibration free and sticks to the road like glue. These cars have got to be one of the best cars in the world for the price they can be had for.

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I would like heated seats, leather dash and doors, LSD/TC or PSM, all of which I can do without. What it will need is upper strut mounts replaced, possibly the steering rack, and an engine oil leak repaired, not RMS, looks like spark plug seal or rear cam seal, maybe the cam cover. If they can fix the maintenance items and get the price down to 20k from the 23k asking price, I think we can strike a deal. Problem is the $3k woth of repairs it needs. The missing options became less of a concern after a couple of drives Oh, and my wife loves it! Negotiations picking back up Monday, IF we can make an agreement I will likely be driving it home next weekend.

Finding the right one with all of those options in a color combo you like may prove difficult. But not impossible. Probably need to widen the search area to somewhere you can fly to. Mine has the full leather which I do like but no heated seats. LSD is the one thing I would really want but figure I can always add that at some point. For aggressive street driving I haven't missed it. These cars have so much rear bite because of the tires and rear weight bias anyway.

Regardless, for us, just about any 996 is an upgrade over the new VW. The 911 is like a tank compared to even a '13 GTI, no annoying torque steer, better sounds and good power even at altitude. I only need to make it bluetooth capable and fit winter appropriate tires. It doesn't have to be a "forever" car, just a stepping stone towards a 997.2, and of course that target will change with time too.

Adding BT is easy. I just installed a nice alpine single din unit for $219 from crutch field. And picked up new dash speakers to start the process of upgrading all the speakers too. Mine has the non Bose premium stereo option code M490 which is an easy system to upgrade.

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I think it is hard to find one WITHOUT some of those options. My 99 has leather but no PSM and no heated seats. I have not seen many without that PSM button on the dash. I think it would not hurt to keep looking, especially with the noted repairs and the $20k price tag.

I would also keep looking without knowing more specifics. I bought a aero kit 99, leather dash and door cards, xenon lights, C4, etc., etc. 31K miles, $22K. I just posted a procedure on how to easily retrofit Bluetooth to the stock stereo. About $150

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The initial intent was to get a feel for whether or not the 996 would work for our needs. It is a very nice car cosmetically with lots of dealer service since 2011. Unfortunately it needs a couple spendy repairs. It could need a clutch soon, aos is probably orignal as is the water pump. There is a fair amount more service I would like to see it have. I think I have split the costs of wants and needs for the car fairly and $20k is good money for a car with a couple projects ahead of it. I will keep looking if they can't get close on this. Certainly a little patience will produce one with the options and records I seek. This one could be an easy way in this week. Somebody in my other thread mentioned that these cars are more fun to drive than to search for. That quote keeps ringing in my head. We shall see. My guess is the owner is not going to want to fix it and discount the price, and we are done. It is still a success because my wife and I are now looking forward to 996 ownership.