At a crossroads with my car

[thstone]

We can all relate.

And now you know why many Porsche-people say that the 986 and the 996 were the first Porsche's "built to a budget" and in doing so, a lot of the components are kind of crappy and need replacement. I have replaced WAY more stuff on my 986 and 996 than the 944 Turbo.

What keeps me in the water-cooled Porsche game is that the entry price was SO incredibly cheap! Remember that you're driving a $60,000 car. To me, that means that I can spend $50,000 in repairs, upgrades, and track events and still come out even.

[recycledsixtie]

I can well relate to the OP. I find the problems can be niggling such as a recent w/s washer not working. Mechanic says hose disconnected off the w/s tank.

Tomorrow I take it in for a steady CEL(camshaft deviation). My 2001 base Box has only 45k miles. When it is fixed it is going up for sale.

It is not only the $$$$ but can't drive it with the latter problem. I'm done, finished.
The magic is gone. It has been the most fun car I have had in my life. Hardly driven it during the last month waiting for parts.

Thanks for listening!
Guy

[Topless]

When I bought my 1998 I thought I would keep her a year for kicks and grins and buy something newer like a nice 997 Turbo. That was nine years ago.

We all make choices. I am one of those crazy guys that believes in driving them til the wheels fall off, fix em, and drive em some more. I am in the minority. I currently own 7 cars, 4 motorcycles and a boat. 2 cars are at 100k, 2 are at 180k, and 3 are at 250k+ miles.

I figure if you want to own em, it's always cheaper and more flexible to fix and maintain em than to buy new and have 60 months of car payments. If I run low on cash and one needs fixing, I just roll it into the garage until some cash frees up. I don't have that flexibility with new car payments. Banks frown on missed due dates so you are locked in to a guaranteed expense every month.

That doesn't mean I never buy new but I shy away from it these days. I like freedom and flexibility with my cash. If I decide I want a new car, I'll go get one but I sorta like playing with the older ones.

Bottom line: If you like the car and want to keep it, take it to a good indy shop for a thorough preventative maintenance inspection. A good shop will carefully evaluate the car and give you some real $$$ numbers as to what you will need to spend to correct any deferred maintenance or problem areas and get it reliable. If it makes sense, get her fixed. If not, sell her and buy something else. It can work both ways but it's always best to choose the one that most likely allows you to sleep well at night.