Stewart By Stewart 2 years ago

My Porsche story: the sub-£10k 911

As part of a new series where 9WERKS members share their Porsche journey, Stewart explains how a risky purchase of a 911 for under £10,000 has paid off

I bought my 911 just over four years ago. I was looking for a 997 to start with, then I had a phone call from a mate who new someone selling a 996. After a few phone calls to discuss the car in greater detail, off I went to look at it in person. As a ’98 car, It was a very early 996.1 Carrera 4. It was clear this 996 had had some recent work done to it, including new rear suspension, as well as a couple of other new parts. I sat down to discuss the price with the private seller.
In his words: “I’ve spent too much on it, so it needs to go. If I don’t sell it today it’s going to We Buy Any Car,” to which my reply was “Well I’ll give you £100 more than We Buy Any Car, how about that?” “Deal,” came the reply.

Categories

    So, we inputted the 911’s registration number on We Buy Any Car’s website. It came back with a valuation of £7,100. I therefore purchased the 911 – my first 911 – for £7,200. It was a cheap car, I thought.
    Funny enough, I didn’t use the 996 much to start with, as to be honest I did not like it! I wanted to sell it straight away. But with help from a local specialist who was telling me to drive it and enjoy it, after putting a few things right on the car, I started to do just that.
    I joined south central TIPEC and started to get out to club meets, shows, drive-outs and so on, and began fully immersing myself in not just my 911, but the enthusiast culture around it. So far the 996 has been to Wales (both north and south), Yorkshire, and Scotland under my ownership, with awesome new memories made each time. It’s gone from being a sports car I hated, to a sports car I now love.
      Sure, it has had a few problems on the way – it’s not all going to be plan sailing with a 25-year-old Porsche – but it has been rich with smiles per miles that’s for sure. In terms of work done, so far I have replaced the front suspension, rear arms, brake discs and pads all round, exhaust back boxes, brake pipes and front rads. However the best upgrade I have carried out has got to be fitting an Apple CarPlay stereo to bring the car more up to date in terms of connectivity and infotainment. I only bought a cheap aftermarket unit but it works well and does exactly what I need.
      I have looked at selling my 996.1 to move up the 911 ladder but the big question is, what to you replace it with, without spending a fortune on buying the car and associated running costs? I’ve considered a 997.2 but the road tax on that generation of cars kills it for me.
      I have therefore concluded the 996 is cheap to insure, tax, and service – in fact it can do all that for the same price as just taxing the 997.2 for one year! The 996 is a great 911 and a performance bargain, and my experience with purchasing one for comfortably under £10,000 just proves it. 

      More multi-media Porsche Editorial