Well...after 2 and a bit years, I have faced the sad day of moving on the 997 to a new home and just thought I'd share my thoughts on the experience to hopefully guide some prospective 997 owners who are in the same boat I was in three years ago....Excited, but more than a little nervous after reading all those 'horrror stories' I suspect...!?
I first considered 997 ownership after my job changed and I was going to be working mostly overeseas in the week. My daily driver Alpina was far too nice to leave at the airport all week so I hatched a plan !
I would sell my Alpina, buy a cheap 10 year old 3 series touring for the airport/tip runs and taking the family/dog out, and use my equity and monthly company car allowance to fund a dream car !
I wanted a quick prestige car, with a real 'feel good factor', that could seat 4 of us on short runs and do the odd track day. And naturally this led me towards the wonders of 911 ownership. Theres really not that much else is there aside from the moneypit that is a Maserati Granturismo ? And thats not a proper sportscar anyway (as beautiful as they are)..
Naivety played a big part early doors. Like most people, my mindset/perception led me to believe that 911's were bullet proof and can do mega miles, so I just needed to find a tidy looked after example with decent provenance. I'd never bought a car from a dealer - ever - and I wasn't about to start now. I wouldn't be lining their pockets so I'd hang out for a private sale to get the 'biggest bang for my buck'.
Then I opened up the tinterweb. And words/phrases like 'IMS', RMS, Bore Scoring' and 'engine failure' started to leap out at me. I began to ***** myself and quickly felt out of my depth. This clearly wasn't going to be the simple and enjoyable search experience I thought it would be..
I wrote myself a spec wish list (which oddly excluded aero kit cars initially as I thought they were a bit 'drove it through the ripspeed section in halfrauds').
I looked at some private sale cars but struggled a bit to get the support and confidence I was looking for with Pre purchase inspections which also hindered my progress.
Ironically it was around this point that my wife (who isn't a real car fan) spotted a basalt black aero kitted car for sale in auto trader, and said that she thought it looked really mean, and that "if I was buying a weekend toy then surely it was a great opportunity to get something that is a little 'shouty' and that made me feel great when driving it". And before you could say 'need to buy another front splitter' (more about that later) it had gone from a real no no - to a must have ! Women eh ?!
Many months into my search (yes I really am that fussy!) I heard of a 911 specialist based near Heathrow called 911 virgin when working in Italy searching the forum one night. They seemed like good chaps and no harm in talking to them I thought ?
It was getting late and it was a long shot, but as I was relatively close, I called them when I landed - I think it was about 16.30 - and said I knew it was a long shot as they were probably closing, but any chance I could pop in to have a look around ?
A fella by the name of Tom then surpised me by saying "no problem come down for a chat and a drink no problem mate". I remember thinking he was probably desperate for a sale, or was going to be pushy. Or both. I couldn't have been more wrong and it was at this moment that the fog cleared and my confidence levels soared in buying the car of my dreams.
I rolled up to 911 Virgins lovely premises and I think Tom spent the best part of an hour de-mystifying 911 ownershp and answering all my questions. He didn't try to sell me a car at all. Nothing. He just came across as someone who a) knew these cars inside out, and b) loved doing what he did.
I actually had to ask what he had and told him about my budget of £30kish and that I probably couldnt afford any 997's in his ownership anyway :>) !
He then asked me about my ideal spec and went on to see that he had a Basalt black 997 C4S aero kitted car coming in soon whch had pretty much everything I wanted - with the exception of sport chrono which essentially was just a piece of dashboard bling anyway on a manual car.
It had PSE (a must!), painted adaptive sports seats (rare to be painted and more practical with kids in the back), mobridge, stereo upgrade, sport alloys and silver seat belts. Price would be £33495. And then I saw the car. And fell in love. Quickly. The condition and level of prep was astounding for an 8 year car. Ballbags. Wheres the man maths calculator..
Tom spent loads of time explaining the rev ranges to me, taking me out in the car, going through the car with a fine toothcomb, and the handover was just fantastic. It was everything I wanted it to be.
I collected the car on my 41st birthday in April 2013 and I can honestly say I didnt stop smiling all the way back to the mighty metropolis of Swindon. I couldnt have felt better in a £1m Pagani. I'll never forget that feeling (and noise) after years of dieseldom !
So "whassitbeenlikethenmister" ? Incredible ? Fantastic ? Rapid ? Easy to live with ? Affordable ? Absolutely all of those things. And I have to say that I've really bought into the world of Porsche. After frequent OPC open days/evenings where they have plied my wife and family with nice champagne, great food, giveaways, free car health checks, chocolates, drives in pretty much whatever we wanted (including a 30 mile GT3RS spin!), and a real honest down to earth friendliness (I remember once hesitating to go in to look for a t shirt as I though they would be a bit snooty) - my kids won't let me look eanywhere else for its replacement.
Nice work Porsche Marketing machine. And great work Swindon OPC. A top bunch of guys.
So back to the car. In the two and a bit years I've owned it, I've;
- Done 4 track days includng the 911UK 50th at Goodwood. Awesome track tool !
- Filled it with laminate flooring at B&Q and got told off by an old pensioner guy who said "I shouldnt be doing things like that in a car like this".
- Had some cracking family days out - some with the dog in the footwell !
- Driven it up and down the M4 to Heathrow (couldnt resist it on some nice mornings!
- Used it as a family car during the snow when I couldn't get the BMW off the drive.
In terms of expenditure (Insurance/tax/petrol aside) & fixes;
- A new clutch (didnt really need one. It just had a tiny squeak very occasionally when pulling away) but happened to mention it to 911 Virgin and they insisted that they collected the car on a trailer immediatley to fit a new one under their excellent self underwritten 12 month warranty scheme!). They even stuck a new RMS seal in. Cost £900 (at 34k miles).
- During a free OPC health check, the technician pointed out a tiny oil seal leak but off the record said he wouldnt bother fixing it as it was so insignificant. Again 911 Virgin insisted in getting it done at their expense). Cost £180.
- Two rear Porsche rated bridgestones £500. Also went for a geometry check at £120 to add to the provenance.
- 3 x 1 litre bottles of Mobil 1. Didn't use all of it.
- 1 x repaint of front splitter and PU (911 Virgin said I could bank a free repaint at a time of my choosing when it got worse).
And thats it ! Not even a sevice ! I just sold it back to 911 Virgin who offered me a really decent price as they were short of stock and had sold the car a few times so knew it was a good one. It needed the front splitter/PU painting again and a major service but they would take care of all of that as part of the deal. Incidentally - she found a new owner in a few days.
The best bits were;
- It never missed a beat. Ever. It never made any strange noises, wanted for very little and I just became uber confident with the reliability of the thing.
- MPG. I did a worse of 14mpg (track day) and a best of 33mpg. Averaged 23ish. Brilliant for a 355hp rocket !
- Sipped hardly any oil at all. Even on track days it was minimal.
- Sheer comfort, practicality and versatility (see above).
- The noise (don't even think of buying a 997.1 without PSE)
- People staring and pointing telling me what a nice car I had. Come on - everyone loves that don't they lol ?! Except my wife who hated all the attention.
- The wider stance of the turbo body and the lairy aero kit/tiger moth wing spoiler.
- The confidence the 4S gave you in rubbish weather conditions (I actually had some really enjoyable cross country winter sprints on greasy roads where I think I might have been pushing my luck with two wheel drive). The extra weight at the front definitley makes the car feel more planted versus the numerous Carerra S models I drove.
- Massively over engineered cup holders.
The worst bits were;
- Keeping it clean. It lived outside 24/7 as my garage is full of other toys.
- The front splitter scraping at the faintest hint of anything resembling a slight incline. If you do buy an aero kitted car accept that the splitter is a consumable part. It WILL beat you !
- PCM - Rubbish sat nav (not a big deal) and disappointing stereo (despite an upgrade).
- Even more rubbish sun visors.
So, in closing I hope you enjoyed reading this as I have clearly dripped on a bit. But to be honest Ireally wanted to try and redress the balance a little. There is just so much negativity out there about reliability and whilst I really feel for the people who have been affected, the fact is that a) people rarely write about the positive stuff and b) My car has exceeded every single expectation I had, and has been a joy to own.
If I were to dispense one piece of advice (copyright Baz Luhrmann 'sunscreen' !) , it would be to seek out one or more of the reputable 911 specialists out here to pick their brains and guide you in the right direction to avoid the numerous shitters out there. And even if you are a zillion miles away, I would highly recommend putting a call/visit in to 911 Virgin who will hopefully dispense the same level of passion and helpfulness that they gave me.
So - after a serious amount of thought (and prevention by my children in looking at anything else unless it's dealers give them nice colouring sets, bottles of water with Porsche written on them and posh sweets), I'm off to find myself a nice 987 Boxster Spyder to play with on some tracks around Europe.
If you're thinking of a 997. Do it. Just do it. It is genuinely the most emotional 4 wheel experience I have ever had. I just loved every minute of it and I know you will too - whatever model you choose.
It's been emotional Polly* - miss you already :worship: :sad: xx
*My kids name all my cars..I have absolutely no say in this matter lol
I first considered 997 ownership after my job changed and I was going to be working mostly overeseas in the week. My daily driver Alpina was far too nice to leave at the airport all week so I hatched a plan !
I would sell my Alpina, buy a cheap 10 year old 3 series touring for the airport/tip runs and taking the family/dog out, and use my equity and monthly company car allowance to fund a dream car !
I wanted a quick prestige car, with a real 'feel good factor', that could seat 4 of us on short runs and do the odd track day. And naturally this led me towards the wonders of 911 ownership. Theres really not that much else is there aside from the moneypit that is a Maserati Granturismo ? And thats not a proper sportscar anyway (as beautiful as they are)..
Naivety played a big part early doors. Like most people, my mindset/perception led me to believe that 911's were bullet proof and can do mega miles, so I just needed to find a tidy looked after example with decent provenance. I'd never bought a car from a dealer - ever - and I wasn't about to start now. I wouldn't be lining their pockets so I'd hang out for a private sale to get the 'biggest bang for my buck'.
Then I opened up the tinterweb. And words/phrases like 'IMS', RMS, Bore Scoring' and 'engine failure' started to leap out at me. I began to ***** myself and quickly felt out of my depth. This clearly wasn't going to be the simple and enjoyable search experience I thought it would be..
I wrote myself a spec wish list (which oddly excluded aero kit cars initially as I thought they were a bit 'drove it through the ripspeed section in halfrauds').
I looked at some private sale cars but struggled a bit to get the support and confidence I was looking for with Pre purchase inspections which also hindered my progress.
Ironically it was around this point that my wife (who isn't a real car fan) spotted a basalt black aero kitted car for sale in auto trader, and said that she thought it looked really mean, and that "if I was buying a weekend toy then surely it was a great opportunity to get something that is a little 'shouty' and that made me feel great when driving it". And before you could say 'need to buy another front splitter' (more about that later) it had gone from a real no no - to a must have ! Women eh ?!
Many months into my search (yes I really am that fussy!) I heard of a 911 specialist based near Heathrow called 911 virgin when working in Italy searching the forum one night. They seemed like good chaps and no harm in talking to them I thought ?
It was getting late and it was a long shot, but as I was relatively close, I called them when I landed - I think it was about 16.30 - and said I knew it was a long shot as they were probably closing, but any chance I could pop in to have a look around ?
A fella by the name of Tom then surpised me by saying "no problem come down for a chat and a drink no problem mate". I remember thinking he was probably desperate for a sale, or was going to be pushy. Or both. I couldn't have been more wrong and it was at this moment that the fog cleared and my confidence levels soared in buying the car of my dreams.
I rolled up to 911 Virgins lovely premises and I think Tom spent the best part of an hour de-mystifying 911 ownershp and answering all my questions. He didn't try to sell me a car at all. Nothing. He just came across as someone who a) knew these cars inside out, and b) loved doing what he did.
I actually had to ask what he had and told him about my budget of £30kish and that I probably couldnt afford any 997's in his ownership anyway :>) !
He then asked me about my ideal spec and went on to see that he had a Basalt black 997 C4S aero kitted car coming in soon whch had pretty much everything I wanted - with the exception of sport chrono which essentially was just a piece of dashboard bling anyway on a manual car.
It had PSE (a must!), painted adaptive sports seats (rare to be painted and more practical with kids in the back), mobridge, stereo upgrade, sport alloys and silver seat belts. Price would be £33495. And then I saw the car. And fell in love. Quickly. The condition and level of prep was astounding for an 8 year car. Ballbags. Wheres the man maths calculator..
Tom spent loads of time explaining the rev ranges to me, taking me out in the car, going through the car with a fine toothcomb, and the handover was just fantastic. It was everything I wanted it to be.
I collected the car on my 41st birthday in April 2013 and I can honestly say I didnt stop smiling all the way back to the mighty metropolis of Swindon. I couldnt have felt better in a £1m Pagani. I'll never forget that feeling (and noise) after years of dieseldom !
So "whassitbeenlikethenmister" ? Incredible ? Fantastic ? Rapid ? Easy to live with ? Affordable ? Absolutely all of those things. And I have to say that I've really bought into the world of Porsche. After frequent OPC open days/evenings where they have plied my wife and family with nice champagne, great food, giveaways, free car health checks, chocolates, drives in pretty much whatever we wanted (including a 30 mile GT3RS spin!), and a real honest down to earth friendliness (I remember once hesitating to go in to look for a t shirt as I though they would be a bit snooty) - my kids won't let me look eanywhere else for its replacement.
Nice work Porsche Marketing machine. And great work Swindon OPC. A top bunch of guys.
So back to the car. In the two and a bit years I've owned it, I've;
- Done 4 track days includng the 911UK 50th at Goodwood. Awesome track tool !
- Filled it with laminate flooring at B&Q and got told off by an old pensioner guy who said "I shouldnt be doing things like that in a car like this".
- Had some cracking family days out - some with the dog in the footwell !
- Driven it up and down the M4 to Heathrow (couldnt resist it on some nice mornings!
- Used it as a family car during the snow when I couldn't get the BMW off the drive.
In terms of expenditure (Insurance/tax/petrol aside) & fixes;
- A new clutch (didnt really need one. It just had a tiny squeak very occasionally when pulling away) but happened to mention it to 911 Virgin and they insisted that they collected the car on a trailer immediatley to fit a new one under their excellent self underwritten 12 month warranty scheme!). They even stuck a new RMS seal in. Cost £900 (at 34k miles).
- During a free OPC health check, the technician pointed out a tiny oil seal leak but off the record said he wouldnt bother fixing it as it was so insignificant. Again 911 Virgin insisted in getting it done at their expense). Cost £180.
- Two rear Porsche rated bridgestones £500. Also went for a geometry check at £120 to add to the provenance.
- 3 x 1 litre bottles of Mobil 1. Didn't use all of it.
- 1 x repaint of front splitter and PU (911 Virgin said I could bank a free repaint at a time of my choosing when it got worse).
And thats it ! Not even a sevice ! I just sold it back to 911 Virgin who offered me a really decent price as they were short of stock and had sold the car a few times so knew it was a good one. It needed the front splitter/PU painting again and a major service but they would take care of all of that as part of the deal. Incidentally - she found a new owner in a few days.
The best bits were;
- It never missed a beat. Ever. It never made any strange noises, wanted for very little and I just became uber confident with the reliability of the thing.
- MPG. I did a worse of 14mpg (track day) and a best of 33mpg. Averaged 23ish. Brilliant for a 355hp rocket !
- Sipped hardly any oil at all. Even on track days it was minimal.
- Sheer comfort, practicality and versatility (see above).
- The noise (don't even think of buying a 997.1 without PSE)
- People staring and pointing telling me what a nice car I had. Come on - everyone loves that don't they lol ?! Except my wife who hated all the attention.
- The wider stance of the turbo body and the lairy aero kit/tiger moth wing spoiler.
- The confidence the 4S gave you in rubbish weather conditions (I actually had some really enjoyable cross country winter sprints on greasy roads where I think I might have been pushing my luck with two wheel drive). The extra weight at the front definitley makes the car feel more planted versus the numerous Carerra S models I drove.
- Massively over engineered cup holders.
The worst bits were;
- Keeping it clean. It lived outside 24/7 as my garage is full of other toys.
- The front splitter scraping at the faintest hint of anything resembling a slight incline. If you do buy an aero kitted car accept that the splitter is a consumable part. It WILL beat you !
- PCM - Rubbish sat nav (not a big deal) and disappointing stereo (despite an upgrade).
- Even more rubbish sun visors.
So, in closing I hope you enjoyed reading this as I have clearly dripped on a bit. But to be honest Ireally wanted to try and redress the balance a little. There is just so much negativity out there about reliability and whilst I really feel for the people who have been affected, the fact is that a) people rarely write about the positive stuff and b) My car has exceeded every single expectation I had, and has been a joy to own.
If I were to dispense one piece of advice (copyright Baz Luhrmann 'sunscreen' !) , it would be to seek out one or more of the reputable 911 specialists out here to pick their brains and guide you in the right direction to avoid the numerous shitters out there. And even if you are a zillion miles away, I would highly recommend putting a call/visit in to 911 Virgin who will hopefully dispense the same level of passion and helpfulness that they gave me.
So - after a serious amount of thought (and prevention by my children in looking at anything else unless it's dealers give them nice colouring sets, bottles of water with Porsche written on them and posh sweets), I'm off to find myself a nice 987 Boxster Spyder to play with on some tracks around Europe.
If you're thinking of a 997. Do it. Just do it. It is genuinely the most emotional 4 wheel experience I have ever had. I just loved every minute of it and I know you will too - whatever model you choose.
It's been emotional Polly* - miss you already :worship: :sad: xx
*My kids name all my cars..I have absolutely no say in this matter lol
