Originally Posted by simsgw

Let me assume you're not worried about the fastest quarter mile run. (If you were, a modded Cayman or a ten-year-old turbo would be your best bet.) If you just want the best combination sports car *** GT you can buy for that money, I'd suggest starting your search with the 'base' Carrera. Porsche is very consistent as they move from one generation to the next. The base Carrera is always nearly as fast in car magazines as the S from the previous generation. Never quite. It may be a tenth slower to sixty for example, so it offers comfort to people who just bought the older model in the S specification, while also being a better car. It always delivers that "almost as fast" with more aplomb than the previous model S and the actual 'feel' of the car is always comparable.

With that basic advice, here's what I found in a quick check of a car-buying service my bank offers. Within 300 miles of my home in Southern California, dealers are offering seven cars at prices between fifty and sixty thousand. Two are the 2006 model year and the rest are 2007. They go from 23,000 to 40,000 on the odometer, with 'typical' being high twenties to low thirties. Those are all good mileages to be honest. Porsche recommends 9,000 miles per year without special attention to "sitting in the garage" issues in maintenance and these cars are five years old, so even the one with 40k miles is low mileage by the manufacturer's guideline.

The one with only 23,000 is a 2006, which is how it got elevated into the same range with cars one year newer. The other 2006 has 33,000 and is an S. Nothing wrong with that of course. I wasn't knocking the S above, just pointing out that a next generation 'base' usually comes very close to the current generation S. That one has 355 hp for example, and the current generation 'base' model Carrera has 345 hp with a fatter torque curve.

The generation we're looking at is the 997.1 in Porsche-speak. The current one is 997.2 so these cars are definitely not outdated by any means. Honestly, Porsches don't get out of date in sports car terms. The newer they are, the better they combine modern convenience with their sport car traits, but the difference between a "dot one" and a "dot two" isn't worth worrying about with your first buy. Now, a friend has a lovely 1984 model that is a delight on the race track, but its suspension is a tad harsh and the air conditioning isn't. Just is not, because he pulled it out when it became too much trouble for the wisp of coolish air it pumped. He trailers it to the track now. My 2009 isn't more delightful, just a lot faster and the air conditioner would chill a barracks. That's what I mean about Porsches and "old age". For the money you're talking, you'll get a very nice and very modern (and bloody fast) car if you look for Carreras in the model year 2007 and leave yourself open to nice examples from 2006. The typical price is in the high fifties which leaves you room for any customizing you might want, and for the tax and license if that is to be included in your 60k budget.

Summary: First look for the livability options you want in a daily driver; then look for the nice performance touches like whether it's an S or not; then add it to your list. When you have some favorites, spend some of that reserve on a good PPI, a pre-purchase inspection by a third party.

Some websites to visit for an idea of possibilities:

• Auto Gallery in Woodland Hills, California: 2007 Carrera S;
• Walters Porsche in Riverside, California: 2007 Carrera Cabriolet.

Hope this helps, and we look forward to you coming back to the forum with pictures of your Porsche.

Gary

Originally Posted by Skullbussa

I understand this is not a princely sum of money to many of you but if your budget were limited to $60k or less and you were pretty much set on some sort of Porsche 911, which model and year would you shoot for?

I'm looking for a rewarding driving experience that I'm not really getting with the e92 M3. I don't care about back seats. I do care about being connected to the road and having fun in my car.

Lack of bluetooth and iPod connectivity stinks, but as long as an aftermarket solution exists, I'm fine with that as well.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Originally Posted by LETS Race it

That was extremely well researched with awesome details Gary. Remind me to contact you when I start looking for another used PCar.....which is probably in another 3 months.