Found a local 2005 Porsche 997 Carrera S Cab with only 8k miles. Like New.

I've owned many brands already including some nice high end cars. But now that I'm older, I'm at the stage where I'm not really into 0-60, g-slalom #s, HP, etc. Having said that, I've always wanted to own a porsche 1 day.

I'm sure several of you have owned 911s before, how are MY2005s? Anything to look out for? It's hard to think a 6 year old car with no warranty is about $50k.. any thoughts?

 

They retain their value b/c they're great cars that are also durable and reliable. My dad has owned a 911, I've only owned a Cayman S, but a 911 is on my bucket list.

 

I believe MY05 used the same intermediate shaft (IMS) bearing as the late 996 cars. For peace of mind, I'd change out the bearing for a LN Engineering part. It requires dropping the transmission, but I think it's worth it. Once the IMS bearing is taken care of, you should have many years of enjoyment from that car.

 

I have a Total 911 magazine that stated that there are no known IMS failures on the 997 . Porsche kept trying to fix this and while it is still possible the bolts around that bearing are huge now according to the article I read! Very few problems with the 997 as compared to the 996!

 

Most MY05 997 cars still used the older M96 engine with the smaller IMS bearing. Only the late build MY05 cars had the M97 engine.

 

I have a funny relationship with 911s. I've had 3 now - I buy one, I get bored and sell it then whatever I get next reminds me that there's really no better all around package out there, then I wash, rinse and repeat

A GT3/3RS might convince me to keep one. Maybe. Maybe I should find out.

 

Quality automobile... If the price scares you, don't be afraid to get something with higher miles.

 

According to the guy writing the Total 911 article Porsche upped the size of the bolts around that bearing 4 times . He said final fix is that the bolts are now extremely massive in size! My understanding are the the 99-01 models are the ones to avoid like the plague! Article also stated that the IMS thing is relatively a 996 problem and so much of a non issue that most 997 owners are unaware of the problem.
I don't know about you but I always think it is a good idea to avoid the first year of any new model no matter what it is or who made it.

 

Here is a great explanation of the IMS issue:
http://www.lnengineering.com/ims.html