Tcdoe
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2004
- Messages
- 286
My now ex-Megane RS, being a Renault, started to depreciate a bit too much to my liking. Plus another winter is soon upon us and I wanted something fun I could drive all year long. I tried selling the Megane for a while, but as it wasn't going too well I looked into trading it for something else at a dealer. At first I looked at WRX STI's and Evos as I've long wanted to sample some of Japan's finest. They would've suited both my all-season and track driving needs. I was however worried that they'd be a bit boring when not using every last drop of performance. Also their interiors are pretty horrible. Ultimately the plan fell through due to none of the STI/Evo-dealers wanting the Renault enough to make a reasonable deal. Time to broaden my horizons.
I've always wanted a 911, ever since I was a kid. The 996 however has never been particularly desirable to me. I've never really loved the styling and I've always gone with the ever so popular "it's not air-cooled so it's not a real Porsche"-opinion (although the newer water-cooled ones somehow are?), even though I'd never driven one. It's not ugly, but it's also just not as cool as the older ones. As I continued my online search I suddenly found a 996 Carrera 4 and realised that it actually ticked all the boxes (fun to drive, AWD, less depreciation). I started searching the Internet for 996 ownership experiences and once I got past all the "not a real Porsche"-bashing it became apparent, that the 996 is a rather enjoyable car to drive. In fact it's even supposed to be better than the older ones on a all-year-round daily basis. Easier to live with and more comfortable to use. The idea of finally getting that 911 started to grow on me, even if it was a 996. I tried to make a deal on a few AWD Carreras, but once again they didn't really appreciate my trade-in. By this time the 911-fever was so bad I started considering the RWD cars too. According to various forums it too should be ok in the winter (I'm talking about a proper "-25 degrees centigrade, 30cm of snow on an icy road"-winter, not a British "well it rains a bit more"-winter) as long as you have proper winter tyres and PSM. Right, that's settled then, 996 it is.
I found a recently imported dark blue C2 for sale at the local Porsche dealer. At first I wasn't that interested in it since it had practically no extras, but I thought I'd take a look anyway since the dealer wasn't too far away. Also the pictures in the ad did no favours for the exterior and interior. Once I got to the dealer and saw the car outside in the bright sunlight I couldn't believe it was the same car as in the ad. Further examination revealed that the car did in fact have a few crucial extras not mentioned in the ad. Namely PSM (necessary for relaxed winter driving), Litronic-headlights (Porsche for Xenon/HID) and the M030 sport suspension. I took it for a test drive and found a few issues but the dealer promised to sort them all out (which they did) and also do a large service before the car is sold. I also complained that the steering wheel is a bit too large (I'm too tall for many Porsches), so the dealer suggested we throw in a smaller and neater 3-spoke steering wheel. It took an official Porsche dealer to fully appreciate the words "RS" and "Cup" in my Renault's name. He made me an offer and I promised to think about it. Think about I did, a lot. It's funny, I didn't expect to like the car very much, much less wanting to buy it. Later that night I crunched the numbers and somehow the deal just made sense financially, even though I was swapping to a car ten years older and more expensive. A large part of the decision was the fact that the car had been inspected, serviced and was being sold by an official Porsche dealer and I would be getting a one year warranty on the engine and drivetrain (there has been a number of engine breakdowns, but the issue is largely exaggerated). The following day I went back for a more thorough inspection of the car and when I found nothing alarming I signed the papers. Fast forward a week and the keys were finally exchanged. I have now driven about 900 kilometers and I've been grinning like a fool for most of them. This car I wouldn't mind keeping a bit longer than the previous ones. I've already ordered a few parts and made some modifications.
Pictures of a dry, clean car coming soon. It's been raining almost every day since I got the car and I've been too busy driving it to take pictures when it's dry.
I've always wanted a 911, ever since I was a kid. The 996 however has never been particularly desirable to me. I've never really loved the styling and I've always gone with the ever so popular "it's not air-cooled so it's not a real Porsche"-opinion (although the newer water-cooled ones somehow are?), even though I'd never driven one. It's not ugly, but it's also just not as cool as the older ones. As I continued my online search I suddenly found a 996 Carrera 4 and realised that it actually ticked all the boxes (fun to drive, AWD, less depreciation). I started searching the Internet for 996 ownership experiences and once I got past all the "not a real Porsche"-bashing it became apparent, that the 996 is a rather enjoyable car to drive. In fact it's even supposed to be better than the older ones on a all-year-round daily basis. Easier to live with and more comfortable to use. The idea of finally getting that 911 started to grow on me, even if it was a 996. I tried to make a deal on a few AWD Carreras, but once again they didn't really appreciate my trade-in. By this time the 911-fever was so bad I started considering the RWD cars too. According to various forums it too should be ok in the winter (I'm talking about a proper "-25 degrees centigrade, 30cm of snow on an icy road"-winter, not a British "well it rains a bit more"-winter) as long as you have proper winter tyres and PSM. Right, that's settled then, 996 it is.
I found a recently imported dark blue C2 for sale at the local Porsche dealer. At first I wasn't that interested in it since it had practically no extras, but I thought I'd take a look anyway since the dealer wasn't too far away. Also the pictures in the ad did no favours for the exterior and interior. Once I got to the dealer and saw the car outside in the bright sunlight I couldn't believe it was the same car as in the ad. Further examination revealed that the car did in fact have a few crucial extras not mentioned in the ad. Namely PSM (necessary for relaxed winter driving), Litronic-headlights (Porsche for Xenon/HID) and the M030 sport suspension. I took it for a test drive and found a few issues but the dealer promised to sort them all out (which they did) and also do a large service before the car is sold. I also complained that the steering wheel is a bit too large (I'm too tall for many Porsches), so the dealer suggested we throw in a smaller and neater 3-spoke steering wheel. It took an official Porsche dealer to fully appreciate the words "RS" and "Cup" in my Renault's name. He made me an offer and I promised to think about it. Think about I did, a lot. It's funny, I didn't expect to like the car very much, much less wanting to buy it. Later that night I crunched the numbers and somehow the deal just made sense financially, even though I was swapping to a car ten years older and more expensive. A large part of the decision was the fact that the car had been inspected, serviced and was being sold by an official Porsche dealer and I would be getting a one year warranty on the engine and drivetrain (there has been a number of engine breakdowns, but the issue is largely exaggerated). The following day I went back for a more thorough inspection of the car and when I found nothing alarming I signed the papers. Fast forward a week and the keys were finally exchanged. I have now driven about 900 kilometers and I've been grinning like a fool for most of them. This car I wouldn't mind keeping a bit longer than the previous ones. I've already ordered a few parts and made some modifications.
Pictures of a dry, clean car coming soon. It's been raining almost every day since I got the car and I've been too busy driving it to take pictures when it's dry.
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