An older 911 for a college car?

Is that what she wants or what YOU want? That car is priced very high, and it is a regular Carrera, not a C4S. A C4S will look like a turbo, but without the tail and the intake vents in the rear quarter panel. A regular Carrera with those miles can be had for about $20k, maybe less.

As for being bulletproof, if you do the IMS bearing, you should be good to go.

 

I think it's crazy, but that's just me. My daughter (who likes Porsches and has driven my Cayman and 911S) decided that what she really wanted was a Toyota FJ-Cruiser, so that's what she got. My son got a Jeep Renegade. Both of them like to do things with their friends in the outdoors.

 

My advice would be to get her a safe reliable discreet C size CUV that has great visibility. Something she can park anywhere and not stick out. Something that has lots of room for her stuff and excellent visibility. A newer Toyota, Ford, Honda, Subaru etc. Subaru’s have an excellent safety record and have AWD for bad weather. Safety safety safety

 

I would be more inclined to send her to college with a newer low mile SUV with lots of room for stuff and friends and not be concerned about maintenance costs. Also boyfriends are not always the best Porsche drivers even though they may think they are. Just saying

 

A 20 year old car is never going to be as reliable as a new car. They also aren't nearly as safe as a new car. I don't know how your daughter is, but remembering my college years, I would in no way want her driving around with 3 drunk friends (yes with two stuffed in the back 'seats') late at night in a 911.

I agree with what others have said, get her a plain, reliable (aka not an Alfa or LR) new or newish small SUV or hatchback. Then she can haul all her stuff around when she has to shuttle back and forth to campus or her internships or whatever. Plus she will be able to keep it for a few years after graduation while she saves up for a house or whatever.

 

It isnt practical, but you're only young once. I went to college in 2000 in a 1994 Trans Am. I wouldnt change that. I got that car my senior year of high school, it was awesome, I still have it. I think the question would be is she into cars? Is she into 911s? How far away is college? My college was 4 hours from home, so for big moves my Dad drove up in his F150 and helped because I couldnt haul everything in the car. That would not have worked if across the country.

 

As mentioned above that is a base 2WD Carerra not a C4s as mentioned in the ad. Even if it was, the tires will be the issue with snow and ice. They are 20 years old and there is a long list of stupid issues that they can have. Porsche parts, no matter the year, are still expensive.

 

For the record, I'm probably the only person commenting on this thread who daily drives a 996. I bought a 2003 C2 in December to daily drive, and it's been fabulous. Not a single issue as long as you don't have to drive in the snow. It's simple, classic, easy to drive, and very fun. That said, the car is for sale because I don't need it anymore now that working from home is a thing and I have a Turbo to run around in - I listed it on a 996-centric Instagram account today and within 40 minutes had a guy ask for PPI and to see it Saturday. Joe Public is finally appreciating a base 996 as the superb sports car it is!

Incidentally, I also drove a Porsche in college. Aside from occasionally finding a donut on the roof or something stupid, never had a problem.

 

I agree with most on this, terrible idea, but I like your style.

 

I have only one thing to say, and I buy more cars in a year than most people buy underwear. Bad idea, you want a car with a warranty that if something goes wrong there Is someone to take care of it at no charge. No car is bulletproof (who made up that stupid statement) and a 20 year old one is certainly not. Half of the adults I know cant drive very well and I certainly would not hand a car like that to someone that I had not trained to drive it right!

 

When I was in college, what was important to me was:

1. 4 or 5 seats to fit in multiple friends to carpool.
2. Cheap:
   • Fuel economy
   • Consumables (tires, brakes, etc)
   • Repairs
   • Servicing
   • Low insurance group
3. On servicing, being able to take it anywhere for decent service: for example, Ford dealers are everywhere and many local mom and pop repair shops can easily get Motorcraft parts.
4. Ample trunk space for carting things between university and "home"
5. Reliable for a long trip after sitting idle for weeks of walking around campus

I don't think a classic Porsche 911 fits any of that criteria. 4 seats, but the two in the back are pretty tight, tires are going to be wider and more expensive, repairs are going to cost more, servicing on a classic Porsche is not best done at the dealers so you'll be looking for independent shops that specialize (expensive, few and far between, etc...), insurance group will be high, parts availability will be low (i.e. wait times on shipping), forget about lugging around belongings, and classic Porsches don't like to sit for long between drives - expect a dead battery after 2 weeks.

I'd advise an American-made SUV. I bought a CPO Ford Edge Titanium V6 AWD a couple of years ago: it's comfortable, capable with passengers and cargo, adequate with the naturally aspirated V6, relatively inexpensive to purchase, maintain, and insure, isn't going to get stuck in most commuter driving scenarios (I've also done some light off-roading), and has been extremely reliable. An Alfa Romeo is extremely cool, but is a little more of a niche car that comes with higher costs of ownership.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Agreed on all bur American made cars. They are the worse.
M’y first car was a Buick skylark... loved it as it was my 1st car but it was an utter catastrophe and not reliable in the Las Vegas Heat. Ended up at the dealer often ... I only had German thereafter and never had issues as I knew what to buy...
Recently wife wanted a new esacalade, I was against, she won... result: nothing but electrical gremlins!
Id recommend a not sexy Honda CR-V, pilot or Camry but that’s just me


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Tesla Model Y

Zero maintenance
Reliable
American

Flamesuit on

 

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1.7 G with after market anti roll bars
0 to 60 in <4 seconds
AWD
No trailing throttle oversteer
Can drive itself in traffic (kids are always using their phones in the car)

Here's a little clip
https://photos.app.goo.gl/W5DcB6GRq6bzc8nb9

Watch the Prius cut the robot up !

 

I just did my freshman year in college, first semester a 996 and second a 997, both great cars without problem. Drove the 996 around 2,000 miles in 3 months and then my 997 for 4,000 in one month before COVID hit. They were both cabriolets and could fit big items if needed, I see no problem with them at all as they required absolutely NO maintenance! You don’t need to spend much to get a great condition Porsche! Just my thoughts


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I think the visibility is fine. To get a new radio is probably $100 or so and I’m not sure about the cameras if I’m being honest, I never looked. On the 997 to replace the unit was $800 at minimum because of the screen it has. I will say the 997 is THAT much nicer than a 996. I drove them both hard and sold them both without losing a dollar. The biggest “problem” being is the IMS bearing, but most have them addressed and if not, they’re highly unlikely to happen. I have a lot of experience with both if you’d like to reach me by phone...in short, I think it’s a great idea! Also know I was in Arizona...as far as weather goes.


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I have seen a 991.1 C2, GT3, GT3RS, 991.2 C4S, C4GTS, TTS, GT3, GT2RS, and 992 C4S on campus. I am inclined to believe these are mostly students' cars. I think that a Subaru is a good college car. Safe, reliable, discreet. Perhaps the WRX for the fun factor.

 

04 996 has MOST.
Bloody horrible setup that will require more than a head unit.