Help me spend some money, 996 replacement edition

In reply to dean1484:

John Welsh wrote: If mpg does not matter than an Infiniti M56 awd (epa 16/18/23 on Premium) or the lesser M37 awd (epa 18/20/24). Pretty much the entire Infiniti brand can be had with a letter X in the name for awd (though always with an automatic transmission) Added bonus: big depreciation if shopping for a 5+ year old model but still less than 100k.

This also gets my vote. Compared to the Euro sport sedans, the Infinitis are more reliable and usually a lot cheaper because "reasons" I guess.

Either that or the Evo option. I have a hard time imagining the Evo doing you any image favors with clients though. Unless they're young tech startup dude bros.

I had no idea that generation TL came with a manual. Color me intrigued.

Appleseed wrote: I never knew the TL came in AWD. And a manual?

I knew they came in manual but I had no idea manual and awd!
They look to me like a great Canyon Commuter.

Question for Tim:
I have not experienced but I have heard that in the Sierra Mountain passes during winter they will require either chains or awd and snows. What I don't know is who is the "authority"?
Does a Highway Patrolman or CalTrans employee stand across the road an assure compliance?
Do you just show him the awd badge on the back of the car to prove?
I'm guessing they do not crawl under to assure a dual dif. Maybe easy to check for a rear dif added to a fwd car but harder to see a front dif added to a rwd car.

Where I am going is...would the addition of an AWD badge (and snow tires) be enough to gain you access to the road?

CHP literally closes the road and won't let you pass until they look at your car/tires.

I have a Cayenne Turbo S and it's a hoot! However, its definitely an SUV and drives like one. Well, like the Porsche version of one, but still an SUV.

What about buying the Porsche back from the insurance company and make it good enough and have some money left over.

In reply to docwyte:

Right but they offered the Infiniti G35 in a rwd and an awd version. Had to be rwd to get manual.
If you had a rwd on snow tires that you added the awd badge to (or in this case just the letter X), would CHP let you through or will they crawl under to assure a front axle?

Appleseed wrote: I never knew the TL came in AWD. And a manual? Paint the center of the "beak" body color, and I'd call it good. Because that beak grille is absolutely hideous.

The 12 and later TL did not have that horrible beak.

2005–2012 Acura RL can be had with AWD.

IS350 w/AWD? Reasonably small for driving in the city, should beat your mileage requirements. Should be comfortable for long road trips, especially if you can find a current generation (2013-up, I think) model Harder to find than an IS250, but they are out there.

LifeIsStout wrote: This is a bit out of left field, but what about one of the newer Taurus SHOs or a Fusion SHO? 300+ HP for either (365 for the Taurus), both are AWD, and I was finding plenty of Taurus' up in the PNW (where I live) with under $15K and with less than 60K miles.....

Was thinking this as well, or an AWD infiniti.

One concern I have with the newer cars is that a lot of them require me to go into RX8 selling territory, which would mean that I have no trackable car. That was the reason why the original budget list only had the Evo in the $20k bracket.

I should probably look at the RL, after all I generally like Hondas and it's not as fugly as the AWD TL.

In reply to conesare2seconds:

Beat me to it. There are deals to be had, I just got this :

for cheap and my wife REALLY likes driving it.

cdowd wrote: What about buying the Porsche back from the insurance company and make it good enough and have some money left over.

Good enough isn't going to work. Fixing the structural damage alone is $10k+. With the high buyback I'd be upside down even further after the 11k engine refresh and have a car with a salvage title.

As the owner of a $3,600 Range Rover, I highly recommend it.

R32 Golf?

In reply to wvumtnbkr:

They weren't even on the radar, but it looks like at least the 2004/2005 ones are well within my budget according to a quick CL search. Even a the later DSG one should just about be within reach.

I'm SO confused why an X-drive, stickshift 335 hasn't been mentioned. Add a chip, 400+ HP. Dead silent, classy enough for clients.

While slightly over your budget, this 996 turbo cab should be a consideration..

https://rennlist.com/forums/vehicle-marketplace/990709-fs-2004-911-turbo-cabriolet.html

Full disclosure: I live at 5600 feet in the mountains above San Bernardino, we keep the chains in our cars until the day after Mother's Day. Because, it snows on Mother's Day. Our house hold DD's are both 2005's.

My wife's is a BMW X3, 3.0 auto. We paid $5500 for it in January of 2016 with just under 120,000 miles. These things leak oil like they might be British. The oil pan gasket requires removing stuff like an axel that goes through the oil pan, Motul is not cheep but the chassis will not rot. This is the last year of the GM auto, I would not think of getting a newer one but I am on the lookout for one with a stick. They come up on occasion, just have to keep looking.

My DD ia a Toyota Highlander Limited. Classic Japanese automotive appliance. Purchased in August of 2016 with 92,000 miles in need of all of the 90,000 mile service requirements for $6000. I spent a fortune at the dealer getting everything done and now have the warranty that goes with it. I would do it again. The car today has 122,000 miles, after spending five weeks in the body shop getting fixed after a self induced accident.

Having to talk with "chain control" to get home just adds to the fun of the commute.

David

In reply to Devilsolsi:

I think 10k over budget goes outside the realm of slightly. 30k for a meh condition, rebuilt titled car seems a bit silly to me.

lnlogauge wrote: In reply to Devilsolsi: I think 10k over budget goes outside the realm of slightly. 30k for a meh condition, rebuilt titled car seems a bit silly to me.

Ah I missed the rebuilt title part. Seemed like a good deal otherwise.

Blaise wrote: I'm SO confused why an X-drive, stickshift 335 hasn't been mentioned. Add a chip, 400+ HP. Dead silent, classy enough for clients.

Because I already ruled out BMW IXen and Subarus in the first post? .

Not a big fan of either of them.

In reply to Devilsolsi:

Yeah, rebuilt title is something I'd like to avoid (which also rules out almost all Evos in my price range). Plus if I do get another 996 I'd want a coupe - we already have enough convertibles as is.

The answer here 4x4, can tow fst, get over 20mpg is an used eco-diesel grand cherokee. No, it's not fun or fast but it seems to make sense and knocks out a bunch of things at once. Which leave's room for toys.

In reply to yupididit:

What's the market like on these with the recent lawsuit/EPA troubles? Are you finding them in the $15k-$20k range? I can only find 1 on autotrader and it's $33k. Found one on Ebay for $24k, but it's got 93xxx miles