If your budget is around 45-50K you could also consider a 996 GT3. If your not going to track it then its probably not for you. But that being said, the 996 GT3 is a great bargain right now and an extremely reliable car with its GT1 derived engine. Not as pretty as a 997S but probably more fun. Just throwing that out there......

Jason

 

i recently bought a 05 996(yes the early part of the year was 996). after approx 30 days and driving a 997 I sold the 996 and bought a new 08. the drive, shifting, etc was a lot better w/ the 997...that made the decision...looks and interior are a plus.

 

Perhaps look into a 996TT. Same price range as a 997 with better performance and dependability of the dry sump GT1 engine.

 

My neighbor had a 2004 996 for sale and I thought about it but the 997 just looked better. I was going for a 997 C2 for about 4 months but then ended up jumping on a 997 C2S that was priced right. I am very pleased with my find.

 

Simple. 997 C2S...

 

I don't mind the 996 interior as much as some... but I have real concerns about the front headlights. Never was a fan of those. I've seen a 996 turbo S being driven around town that looks awesome. One thing about the 997 is that you could pick one up with CPO and have something like 4 years of warranty on it. There's definitely some value in that. All 996 cars and early 997 cars are out of warranty. Having said all of that the 997 is stunning. It sounds like a lot of people are starting to theorize that the next generation (whatever it's called) is going to look pretty similar and that the changes may be underneath the surface. Porsche hit a homerun with the current designs. Anything that ties back to the 993 does the trick. With the current success, I doubt that Porsche will do anything as radical as the 996 again (it's almost like their Bangled car!). I just think that any Porsche that I see on the road looks stunning. They just don't ever seem really dated to me.