Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

I've been dreaming about a sportscar since I was a child (am now 37). And Ferrari being my supercar for as long as I can remember.

Recently I found out I could actually OWN a pre owned dream car instead of a full-option Saab 9.3 I was looking for. So, with my budget in mind, there were two options for me: a 328GTS from the mid 80's or a 911 from late 90's. The 328 being the only Ferrari with regard to price and cost of maintenance that I could afford, and the late 90's 911 the only Porsche within my budget and a more modern interior (more important to me than older air-cooled models).

So, early 2006 I started to search and test-drive 328's. Found out that one has to be VERY careful with these cars, and that some owners couldn’t care less about maintenance and well care of the cars. Buyers beware. I also found out that this car was not for me. Too inconvenient. Although magnificent looks, it's not easy to drive and a quick stroll mostly ended in hard labor. The interior of the 80's looks very outdated in our times.

So, then Porsche came. And as soon I was close to one (been looking only to metallic black exterior and black leather interior) I was lost. Breathtaking performance, a sound that started me drooling right away, outside looks that can be recognized from miles away. The interior being much more modern and not so far away from interiors that can be found in cars today.

After checking approx. 10 cars in Belgium and Germany, I found this hidden gem. Although the car is 8 years old, it looks like new, only has 80.000 km, even the interior smells like (leather) new. The previous owner took great care in maintaining this car. It only needed 80K km maintenance (1000 euro) and I was ready for a year of fun.

3000km and two months further, I can say I don't regret buying this car for one single second. When I'm not driving it, it just stands in front of my garage so I can just look at it if I want. It's a dream come true. I can't say how reliable it is since I've only own it for 3 months. But I've have no complaints up until now.

Yes, maintenance is not cheap (relatively), and yes, running costs are high. But I keep in mind what my late grandfather said many years ago, "if you want to keep horses, you gotta feed them".. and I want to keep those horses. I don't care about running costs when I push the pedal and the engine revs up to 7000 rpm.. it's heaven.

I choose the 911 Tiptronic, because Porsche experts have told me they are a bit more reliable on the transmission, you never know how somebody has driven the car before you. Another (manual) car I was interested had some noise in the transmission after a checkup. Probably a broken bearing or so. Cost of changing the transmission is 7000 euro or 3500 for a revision. So, better start with a good transmission and save the money for gas :-).

I can recommend having a checkup on the car by an authorized Porsche dealer. For 250 euro they performed the same checkup as they do on cars for their own pre owned program. Worthwhile!

What else can I say?... well, it's June, the weather is nice and it's almost sunset. I'm going to take my black devil out for a ride on winding roads. That's the only reason I bought it for..

Have fun

(Sorry for the bad spelling :o)

Faults:

It's an air-cooled 911, so mercifully nothing has gone wrong with it. It's my third 911 (993) and none of them have suffered any "failures".

This was the end of the breed, a mid 1998 993 turbo (arctic silver with black leather). Left hand drive, German sourced car. I prefer the pedals and steering in the left hand drive air cooled cars to the right hand drive air cooled cars.

General Comments:

Utterly standard power wise, with 408bhp and 398lb/ft. Wonderfully quiet engine (too quiet I think), responsive even when off boost and immense torque above 3k rpm. Slick 6 speed manual gearbox is a jewel, and the 4wd system retains a largely rear wheel drive bias, thus enabling power slides (given enough space) and yet maintaining some sense of security in wet conditions. It doesn't pay to use full boost in any gear short of 5th in the wet though, even in a straight line! Brakes utterly astonishing for feel and capability.

Comfortable heated and electrically adjusted seats are comfortable, though very heavy and do not provide enough lateral support for the cornering ability of the car. Unique (in the super-car world) visibility - yes, you can actually see the outside world in every direction! Makes parking easy. The car is not particularly big either, barely over 4 metres long i'd say (less than 14 feet).

Don't get it serviced at a main dealer, use a well respected independant instead. 12k miles means a £200 oil change, 24k miles means a more thorough £420 service. Tyres go at the rears every 6k miles (£400), all four at 12k miles (£650). I use either Continentals or Bridgestones, the Pirellis don't afford the appropriate grip and the Michelins are noisy.

I have put a GT3 clubsport seat in place of the driver's seat, retaining the diagonal belt for normal use (commuting, etc.) but I have also added a 6 point Willans harness for "spirited driving" and track days.

I even have a roof rack for those odd occasions when I need to carry something bigger, like my mountain bikes!

Autocar tested this version of the 911 back in May of 1998, and achieved 0-60mph in just 3.7 seconds. I haven't managed that myself (nor am I likely to try given their rather brutal methods), but I am capable of achieving 100mph in 10 seconds (with a relatively gentle start). Subsequently I can keep up with Fireblade/R1/GSXRthou riders without too much trouble in almost all situations. This car covers ground across country every bit as quickly as my Fireblade did (i have sold the bike now for personal reasons).