The Last Summer with my Porsche 911

A bittersweet, and prolonged goodbye

A little over a month ago, I felt as if I was living the dream. I am a late 20’s guy, with a good job, a loving girlfriend (soon to be fiancé), and a daily driver that makes most enthusiasts sweat with envy: A 2002 (996) Porsche 911 Cabriolet. Now, contrary to popular opinion, this isn’t just any old 911 (even though it is). I will elaborate on what makes this car special.

It looks like a wet dream

You easily notice it from a distance, a glossy white silhouette gleaming in the sunshine. The BBS Sport Classic wheel spokes are a blur, their machined aluminum rims glinting in the light as they dance over the road’s imperfections. Above, a well dressed, happy, content looking man wearing brown aviators and cap, his hair fluffed by the constant wind. Enveloping him, is a supple, luxurious Natural Brown interior. It evokes the imagery of a handsome prince riding a white stallion upon a rich brown leather saddle. If 74 mph is reached, the active rear spoiler deploys, signaling to all passers by: “I am moving at pace, and I have the freedom to double the speed limit at any time!”. The exhaust note, and I’m not entirely sure if it’s stock, has a wet and guttural growl as the throttle body valve opens and gasoline is expended. Parked or at speed, this car is “pretty” or “cute” as my female friends describe it, and “excellent” or “clean” as my male friends describe it.

I comprehensively revived this car’s reliable and sporty qualities

I purchased this car in March, 2022. It had good bones: the cam deviation was low, the mileage was not high for its age, the owner for the previous 10 years was a Boeing engineer who always garaged it, replaced broken pieces as soon as he could, and performed timely oil changes. I was not wrong in my assessment of the owner or of the engine’s health, but I was wrong in my estimation of how much work was required to bring this car up to my very high standards.

An initial inspection of the car, just after purchase, revealed early signs that the maintenance hole. The digging had begun:

Water pump, thermostat, coolant reservoir, engine mounts, new Air-oil separator (AOS), new AOS hoses, new oil cooler o-rings, new catalytic converters sourced from a lower-mileage car, four new oxygen sensors.

A squeaky clutch action led to a preemptive maintenance job addressing the entire driveline in an expensive transmission-out surgery:

Clutch, clutch fork, pilot bearing, flywheel, pressure plate, slave cylinder, IMS, RMS, transmission bearing.

I hate, and I really hate, bad bushings. The only way I can enjoy a sports car, is if I am able to push the suspension just as much as I can the engine. The car rides “as new” thanks to the most expensive service I’ve ever bought for a car.

New control arms all around, new shock mounts all around, new Koni dampers all around, new bump stops all around, new sway bar bushings and links all around. Every single bushing underneath the car was now new. Only the springs and sway bars remained.

Of course, the car had to look the part as well.

New plastic trim under the front trunk, new “B-pillar” trim, Paint protection film over the headlights, new leather OEM shift knob. Some additional leather-wrapped interior pieces from parted out 911’s.

And how can I call myself an enthusiast if I do not perform the “OEM+” modifications that enthusiasts are known for?

Heat-blocking window tint on every window, baffled (turbo-style) oil pan to reduce the load on the AOS, 997-swapped shifter assembly rebuilt with metal bushings, and a set of gorgeous BBS Sport Classic wheels from a 996.1 Aero Kit car.

What is the result of all this financial hardship? Was there any benefit to spending over $20,000 on new parts and service? Am I truly finished with maintenance? Was this all an exercise in absolute stupidity while I should have been bracing myself for a financial diet?

Sweet dreams are made of this…

Bliss. Emotional top-down driving. Confidence at the wheel. The ease of speed. I could drive 150 mph+ with the top down on the Autobahn with this car, right now. The speedometer was my plaything; rising and falling as quickly as I wanted it to. The 911 grips hard, like a gorilla’s fist, in the turns. Squeezing the throttle ahead of each apex activates the rear-weighted bias of the 911, gracefully pushing me around the bends and always in a direction I expect.  Every chicane on a back road feels initially weightless on transition, then full of lateral thrust around the turn, like a confident dip in a roller coaster. I have no fear, no anxiety and no embarrassment while driving a beautiful car. This is what I wanted, this is what I’ve waited for years to achieve!

I am a late 20’s guy, with a good job, a loving girlfriend, a car I love to drive…
…and a financial crisis.

Let’s talk about life for a second

I’m being hyperbolic about this car causing me a financial crisis. I’m financially “okay.” I have a well-sized retirement fund, I’m paying low rent, and have no debt. But, I have a lot of financial assets in the form of a car that I don’t need, and not a whole lot of liquid cash on hand.

There are many more things in my life that can bring me happiness other than a very nice sports car I can barely afford. I value family, travel, business opportunities, having a home, and helping others in career growth. I don’t think I need to lecture anyone on why cars aren’t “the most important thing in the world.” But I found it valuable to take a step back and think about how I wanted to really spend my time and money moving forward.

Owning and repairing an older, well-running 911 cabriolet has been an excellent adventure in my life, but I’ve concluded that to be the happiest version of myself in the future, I need to sell my 911. However, that does not mean I’m giving up on being a car enthusiast, I just have to pursue my passion in a more affordable way. I’ll probably write about my next adventure soon (a fortune teller told me that a supercharged MX-5 is in my tarot cards…).

How do I responsibly wrap up this automotive adventure?

I titled this piece “The Last Summer with my Porsche 911” because I live in San Diego where the winters are often sunny and dry, perfect for driving a convertible sports car (and much better than our foggy-wet months of May and June). It’s a romantic and bittersweet title, like a spring-fling between lovers who know they aren’t compatible for marriage, but want to enjoy the moment anyway.

The convertible sales season in the USA is usually Spring and Summer, so if I can’t sell my car for a good price now, I will sell it next year when the market is better (hopefully).  I recently acquired an older BMW 3-series that serves as my daily driver, so the miles on my Porsche will be minimal between now and its future sale. In preparation for the sale, I have researched the Porsche market, gotten in contact with salespeople at auction houses, and asked my automotive enthusiast friends for their advice. I’ve sold my previous two cars privately for good prices, so I think with enough due diligence I can sell my Porsche well.

For now, I’m enjoying the fruits of my labor. My beautiful Porsche 911 has been demoted to “weekend-only” duties. In the future, a new and unknown adventure awaits me, as it awaits us all.