Which of these Porsches would you buy?

[kptaylor]

I'd go for the 987 Cayman S! (I did...)

Newer car, (subjectively) better handling than the 996, and still stops most people when you roll up.

[Mike!]

in my experience, OP, you are doing it wrong. a porsche should be a impulse buy. i'm not saying crazy, reckless, i don't know about the quality of this car or my ability to pay this note impulsive, but if you are years away from making a purchase, as you say, then this is way too much build-up you are building up.

none of the cars on your list are truly transcendent. excellent, awesome, desirable, boyhood dream-worthy, yes. but in two years, so much will have changed. the car you put on a pedestal now could never live up to all your heightened expectations.

paying down debt with a two year plan is not the time to making porsche buying decisions. cash rich with time to burn is. maybe by then a lotus or a turbo 911 or an R8 will present itself, as if it were meant for you, sent straight from the heavens. THAT is the time to make your boyhood dreams come true. don't spoil it!!

This is all I have in the interim.

I know firsthand that needs and wants change over time. When my wife (well, then-fiancee) started a new job in 2008, for the first time we needed two cars. Up until that point, I had wanted, if we did two cars, to keep the Subaru as the practical car and get something sporty and impractical for the second car. But since my wife had never had a car of her own, it turned into buying a new car for her, so we bought her 2009 Mazda3 hatch, which she loved. Now she had her car, and I was still driving the practical car that I hated (2005 Subaru Outback, 2.5i auto). By fall 2010, I was sick and tired of driving a car every day that I didn't enjoy the driving experience of. The 3 was great, but not roomy enough to be the only car for our needs either.

I ended up buying a 2010 Mazda6, which was a compromise between what I wanted and what could be a reasonable only-car for us if we sold the 3. After months of me dropping her off and picking her up from work 90% of the time, we finally sold the 3 last year and are a one car family. In the meantime, however, she's now bought a horse, and we drive down a gravel road to the barn 3-4 days a week, giving us countless annoying rock chips on our shiny, low-to-the-ground family sedan. If they hadn't been over a year away at the time, I would have held out for a CX-5, even not knowing then we'd be buying the horse. Had I known, I'm not sure what I'd be driving now, but it might not have been the 6.

Anyway, I have a 6 now that I love to drive, but it's still not a sports car, much less a Porsche. My mom is still holding onto her 1977 924 Martini Edition and unwilling to part with it anytime soon. My wife and I are paying down our mortgage (overpaying every two weeks), her student debt, and some of our younger/dumber spending debt, along with a ~$400+/month horse hobby for her. The light at the end of the tunnel of all of this is debt going away and being able to spend money on MY hobby, which would be owning one of the cars above. I needs my dreams, man.

For a transcendent car, I would love a 996 GT3 or a Cayman R. That would mean saving longer before I get to that point though, and I'd rather have a base 996 a year sooner than to wait for something I'm frankly not experienced enough to appreciate the extra capability of. That can come with time. I don't want to try to buy one now and juggle debt, which would be stupid, but I also don't want to wait until I'm 40 and can afford a TCL-Approved 993TT or 996 GT3 RS.

[karl_1052]

964

[Dan92SLC]

Y u no consider base Cayman 2.7 or 2.9?

[That1njguy]

I chose the Cayman S.

One reason, it's the newest of the bunch. Second I prefer a car the is more about handling than acceration and high speed. Third, I've already had a 944S2 and 911. Time for a mid engine Porsche.

[Ross1013]

For a transcendent car, I would love a 996 GT3 or a Cayman R. That would mean saving longer before I get to that point though, and I'd rather have a base 996 a year sooner than to wait for something I'm frankly not experienced enough to appreciate the extra capability of. That can come with time. I don't want to try to buy one now and juggle debt, which would be stupid, but I also don't want to wait until I'm 40 and can afford a TCL-Approved 993TT or 996 GT3 RS.

IMO, the Cayman R is not a "transcendent car".

It's a very competent, very smooth, weakness-free car. Wild and crazy it ain't...a GT3, on the other hand...

[Golgo-13]

C4S or the Targa

[Yak Meat]

Its between the later cayman and the 02-05 carrera...

If just the carrera s was on there and not a 99-01 it would have won it for me.

99 - 01 996s have a lot of issues... hence their extremely low resale values... hello real main seal issue.

AWD in a porsche is silly and the Targa, while awesome, adds too much weight.

[Oliver@triplezoom]

Personally, out of those choices, I'd probably go with the Cayman S. The 996 doesn't really do anything for me and I wouldn't want an AWD 911.

If you're waiting a couple years anyways, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on early 997 values. Even right now you can get a decent 997 for $40k or so and prices will only go down (especially now that the 991 is available).

[roadtripper]

This is all I have in the interim.

whatever gets you there, then.

but the lesson of the horse is exactly what i am talking about. you want your porsche to be an "in the moment" car. it's not a trophy. you live with it. you can plan all you like, but then life happens. the beauty of a porsche - especially most of the ones mentioned in here - is that it is an entirely practical tool for most everyday use. i took my nearly new boxster camping all the time, for example. stone chips maybe weren't what i planned for, but that drive up the mountain sure was fun. and the car was up for all of it and then some.

again, whatever gets you there. just don't build up an ideal in your head. you never know what will appear for the taking when your coffers overflow. it could even be much, much better than any mere porsche!