The best entry level porsche is second hand. I got my first porsche like that. It had porsche warranty for 2 years and it costed 2/3 of the retail price. I love every moment driving it. The best part of owning a porsche is the sentimental value and the experience. Here you drop one, and only get the experience. I wonder how that will play out.
Completely agree. Plus, after initial depreciation, 911s hold their value pretty well (particularly the 1999-2004 996 models). I view a used Porsche (as compared to new) as "90% of the fun for 50% the cost".
The 996 turbo is currently an awesome deal. The regular ones are a good deal but one needs to check up on the service history.
Weird tidbit: I once put a 993 engine into a 996 rwd chassis and fit very well. The old 993 mount fit rather well and only needed some modifications to work. The engine had a 930 tranny bolted on (g50) and it fit perfectly as well. Of onlt that car were finished some day...
I bought mine through a mechanic/dealer, and had them fix the IMS bearing, rear main seals, chain tensioners, and switch to a metal water pump. Those were the main recommended preventative fixes I heard about.
Yes, you are right. Given how cheap they are right now some people get sticker shock when they learn a replacement will cost around $10k. That sometimes is more than half the cost of the whole car.
I've seen most prices for replacement significantly lower than $10k - usually closer to $2-3k (https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/996/241595-ims-bearing-m...). Plus there are a few other things that are easy to do at the same time (like rear main seals).
