Poll: What to do with my '99 986: Upgrade, Modify, or get a 911?

[Ckrikos]

I would not buy a modified turbo although they can take upto 650hp and remain reliable, I view these cars as worn likely abused. Keep in mind with tuning and extra power the drive train will be worn much more. A turbo with 88k miles should be below $40k. Ca has many nice cars on auto trader. I have been researching turbos for a few weeks as I am considering picking one up during bonus time.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Ckrikos

I would not buy a modified turbo although they can take upto 650hp and remain reliable, I view these cars as worn likely abused. Keep in mind with tuning and extra power the drive train will be worn much more. A turbo with 88k miles should be below $40k. Ca has many nice cars on auto trader. I have been researching turbos for a few weeks as I am considering picking one up during bonus time.

Last I checked I saw more than few 996 Turbo in the mid $30K's with mileage nowhere near 90K. PRISTINE interiors. And that's on Autotrader where cars are always on the expensive side.

I spoke to my mechanic about buying one of these and he straight up warned me about the higher maintenance costs. He knows I'm becoming leary of expensive repairs after spending about $12K since my Boxster hit 70K miles.

[RaisedOnPorsches]

Perfectlap, you make some excellent points regarding the air-cooled/waterc-cooled resale divide. I agree the production numbers are simply too high for all of the water-cooled models to make them worth much 5-10 years from now or beyond. This is part of why I keep looking at the SE550, but it will probably be the 986 that depreciates the least overtime. That said, beyond the cosmetic details, there is little different between a SE550 and a 2004 S. The limited production models that are actually worth something more than the standard variety are the ones that have significant performance advantages or some especially quirky history.

The SE550 that I mentioned earlier with 110k miles is selling for $15k, which is a mighty fine price. Still I wonder after financing its purchase, selling my '99, getting iPhone functionality setup on the SE550 BOSE system, and whatever other hidden repairs there might be, if I'd come out ahead. Would I just be better off putting the money into new/performance upgrades on the '99. At this point, I've replaced so many of the 'aging' components. With that SE550 there is little in repair records for me to inform my decision by.

The 996 Turbos are beautiful cars, but I think with their maintenance, tire costs, and fuel economy, they'd have to be relegated to Sunday driver/garage queen status as well. The non-Turbo 996s just don't do it for me. I don't know that I'd feel much of a performance gain over my 986, even if I am driving the runt of the litter engine-displacement-wise.

All this continues to make my head spin.


One last thought/question. One aspect that I really have enjoyed about my '99 986 is how easy it has been for me to do my own repair work (not all the time, but as I like). Being a mid-engine Porsche I initially expect my Boxster to be near impossible for me to work on without a proper mechanics shop.

I wonder how much of this would hold true with the various models being discussed here. Are 993s, 996s, 996TTs, or even '80s Carreras considerably harder or easier to work on than a 986? How do costs of repairs compare? I'll have to chat with my mechanic more on this too.

[Perfectlap]

Yikes I'm not sure I'd pay $15K for a Boxster with 110K miles unless like my car it came with a file folder full of receipts for major maintenance repairs. I tell people these cars are reliable but they are definitely not durable. Some people think they can wrench away all those bills but I recall one invoice nearing $5K and only about a quarter of it was actual labor. Parts for these cars are not cheap by any means. And the higher up you go in the Porsche line up the truer that is.
Also, the 550 is very nice looking car and buying one second hand might have saved me quiet a few pennies on upgrades but at the end of the day the only 'special edition' Porsches that really hold value are those with limited production engines. Porsche love to max out options on Boxsters/Caymans and Carreras to slather the sticker with big mark ups. The 50th Anniversary 911 is one of the more egregious examples of this, almost putting you at the doorstep of 991 GT3 pricing, but at the end of the day a Porsche derives nearly all of its value from the engine. All other acoutrements hold little value once the engine mileage shoots north. Or a buyer without much knowledge lands in a seller's lap.

[jacabean]

The SE550 is not really all that special . That car is no big deal . they fetch the most dollars for the 986 cars though . If i where you i would take another look at the 996 cars . they are such a bargain , drive great and feel more substantial than a boxster . especially if your coming from a base boxster the 3.4 911 will feel like a rocket ship . I put almost 4k on my 01 cab 911 in 3 months , that is usually what I put on my boxster S in a whole year . I love driving it and i am really bummed that winter is here.

[Perfectlap]

^Not to quible but some 996's are a bargain. Namely the ones with limited production engines. Most Carreras do not get those engines. And most 996's do not have gobs of neck-snapping power for their weight. But to be fair Porsche's have never been powerful cars in general. The Carrera didn't cross the 300 HP until very recently with the 997, meanwhile its been getting heavier ever since the 1998. And of course you're not upgrading on handling when you move to the 996 from any Boxster/Cayman. It's a trade off for sure -- If you move to an AWD 996 even more so, understeer a plenty.

Another thing that is not a bargain is a 996 bought at or slightly above market that still needs all of the big repairs like suspension, clutch/ims, etc. Once you add these costly repairs to the purchase price, which is at premium to the Boxster even though the Boxster has essentially the same engine, just a de-tuned version, you're usually walking into a fair price and not really a bargain given the abundant supply of low to moderate mileage 997.1's. And now that they're coming off warranty, the 2009+ 997.2's which have a much improved engine. The delta between 997.1 and 997.2 is sure to come down quickly without that factory warranty coverage. Which will make sinking big money into a 996 up for major maintenance all the less appetizing when you could just be in the newer flavor of Carrera. Although personally I would wait for the 997.2 to come down in price a bit more over jumping into 997.1 that has a non-serviceable IMS bearing (big minus in my book for long-term ownership). That's the catch 22, if you find a 996 that has had the IMS addressed and is low mileage, the owner wants a premium, which makes holding out for some 997.2 price depreciation the smarter move in my book.