Dreams v Reality - 911 thinking.

Favorite car (and I know this is loose considering) is a 911.

Every year when my parents say, "what do you want for Christmas?" I'll give them a small list of 25 dollar and under things...and then put "911. Any model. Any color. Doesnt need to have engine or ANYTHING besides a rolling chassis"

Never get it haha

Ive also made a goal to drive MY (future my) 911 to work before I retire...Ive still got 22 or 23 years till full retirement benefits. One day.

Without saying much, Ill say that it's my birthday and today I actually looked at 911s online. I was put in a very ridiculous situation (still in it, my situation not changed from yesterday at the party for my 40th) and I thought, "holy hell, I can get a early 996..."

Dream car already?

Or because Im as old as I am and wised up a little over the years, I think, "Nah, keep a grand to do little things around the house and SAVE the rest"

So here I am, I have the chance, but Im too rooted in reality and that I can always get one later.

I feel so much older today.

Also, I think part is that the early 996 is one of my least favorites. That might be what's driving me to just save, too.

hybridmomentspass said:

Also, I think part is that the early 996 is one of my least favorites. That might be what's driving me to just save, too.

The early 996 was a very underappreciated car for quite a long time and you could get them relatively cheap.  At least for now, that ship has sailed.  A 911 was my wife's life long dream and we bought one last fall, an early 996.  It's worth far more now than when we bought it.

Life is too short to wait to own a Porsche or three. Buy one!

Do it.  The only reason to not scratch your 911 itch with a 996 is if you can't get past the looks of the headlights.  If you buy a driver you can likely continue to drive it and not loose money when you get bored, or (more likely) upgrade.

Welcome to the club. :) 

In reply to APEowner :

I've never tried it, but I've always thought that you could get creative with a little tape and spray paint to make 996 headlights look at least a little better.

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

In reply to APEowner :

I've never tried it, but I've always thought that you could get creative with a little tape and spray paint to make 996 headlights look at least a little better.

I've had the same thought. Maybe creative sheet metal work?  Thinking someone(s) has/have already done this. 

I would have to go all in on the 996 and frost the outside of the headlight and put a translucent yellow circle on the rest.  

I'll leave this here:

$395

I can't say I've seen any aftermarket treatment that makes a 996's headlights look better, they always look tacky to me. The slightly updated versions though with the sort of smoked signals are an improvement over the early orange ones though to me. The great thing though when you are behind the wheel none of that matters!

Saving up for a future purchase never works out, values of the car you want will always outperform or at least match your rate of savings. I bought my cayman at a time when it was pushing my budget, or at least if I was responsible I would have saved the money for a house purchase. But now it's three years later and there's no way I would have managed to save up the $20k that the car has appreciated since then in that time. If you want it, get it.

I'll be ok, there's more to life than a Porsche. I'll get one eventually, I guarantee that.

We'll be doing a bigger 'honeymoon' in a few months (we dont have a lot of time after the wedding), so I'll use some for that, some home stuff etc Still saving a lot.

No Time said:

I'll leave this here:

$395

Those are for 996.2, which I'm actually kind of a fan of, headlight wise. Probably since they never shared them with the Boxster. 

.1 cars have fog lights in the housing, on the inner corner, so you have to open up the cover for them, which kind of ruins the look. Most covers just scream aftermarket from like 40 feet away, which is my main complaint. 

These aren't as bad, if you decide to forego the fog light functionality. I think the bezel makes it look much more coherent. 

I love my 996, drove it to work today in fact.  Granted it's a turbo, but still, I think they're one of the best bang for the buck 911's out there.  There was a time when the 964 was dirt cheap, now they're more money than a 993.  My feeling is, just like the 964, people are going to come to their senses about the 996 and when it happens, values are going to jump up big time.

docwyte said:

I love my 996, drove it to work today in fact.  Granted it's a turbo, but still, I think they're one of the best bang for the buck 911's out there.  There was a time when the 964 was dirt cheap, now they're more money than a 993.  My feeling is, just like the 964, people are going to come to their senses about the 996 and when it happens, values are going to jump up big time.

I'm still mystified by the 964<>993 price inversion. Ever since the 996 debuted, the 993 was heralded as the 'pinnacle' of the air cooled 911 line. That stood until ~2 years ago, when the 964 models caught fire. I have a close friend who just sold his 1992 Carrera on BaT for $111k! It was a very nice car, but not super low mileage and not a garage queen. Crazy!

In reply to dyintorace :

Yep, exactly.  The 993 was the one to have, the 964 a cast off.  Now the 964 is noticeably more expensive than the 993, despite the 993 being a better car and the last of the air cooled.

I'm fine with 996 headlamps. 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

My take was always that you can't see them when you're in the driver's seat, so why worry?

In reply to BoxheadTim :

Good point.

I was just out back with the dog–it's about to rain–and heard a familiar sound from next door: our neighbor backing his 996TT into the garage. Such a pretty car. 

In reply to fatallightning :

I'm not up to speed on the P-car numbering, so I'm not surprised I had the model wrong. 

Someday I'll move someplace warm to retire and will be in the market for one, and at that point I'll have to study the different flavors. 

The Yellow headlight cover above seems to be for a Boxster , do they make them for an early 996 or are they the same ?

The design works and gets rid of the weird 996 headlight look.

Thanks

In reply to californiamilleghia :

That generation Boxster and 996 share headlights (and IIRC the whole front end). 

Unless you want a turbo, buy a Cayman.

Disclaimer:

I am a huge mid-engined guy.

preach (dudeist priest) said:

Unless you want a turbo, buy a Cayman.

Disclaimer:

I am a huge mid-engined guy.

100% agreed for track work. A couple weeks I was instructing at a PCA event and both my students and I got a 987 Cayman S around the course faster than a 991.2 911 GT3 RS on the same tires. The mid-engine cars have much better front-end grip, controllable rotation, and the weight is centralized instead of at an extreme end (try throwing a dart backwards and you'll get the idea). You work with a MR, you fight a RR.

But if you only ever drive on the street, and always wanted a 911, then get a 911.