I have a sickness. I like cars, and I recently decided to buy another one. Mind you, the M5 is a fantastic car, but I wanted to fulfill the other half of my desires that don't require me to take into account the fact that I have three kids, etc. Also, I decided I would pick up a used car, as I don't feel like taking the huge depreciation hit in the first year.
I had two requirements. One, it had to be a convertible (I live 15 minutes from Malibu, CA), and secondly it had to be irresponsible. With that in mind, I turned to Ferrari and Lamborghini. While the prices on 2003 and newer cars are dropping, I didn't know if either the Gallardo, 360, or 430 were the right car for me. I don't baby my cars, and I never want to even spend a second worrying about putting miles on my cars. Therefore, I turned to Porsche. Specifically, the 997TT. Please note, I don't track my cars, and I live in Southern California, so I looked for a cabriolet with the tiptronic transmission.
I found a 2008 997TT Cab with Tip with about 7300 miles on it for, what I think, is a good price. It is GT Silver with a black top and stone grey interior. It has most of the options I would have picked, and had a sticker of 153K when sold last March.
In order to kill two birds with one stone (I needed some time to clear my head and get the car from Houston, TX to Los Angeles), I decided to drive the car out. Remember, I don't care about miles, and the car had a clear bra installed.
My 1,500 mile-plus drive was very uneventful. I didn't get a ticket. I managed to avoid deer, armadillo, and rabbit carcasses on the highway, and I didn't strike any shredded truck tires. I averaged 25 MPG, and the seats were fairly comfortable until the last 500 miles. The trip took two full days.
Overall, I am very impressed with the fit and finish of the car as it relates to Porsche, but it is not even close to the quality of the Beast. The speed and thrust of this car are very impressive, and while there is still turbo lag, it is not as bad as some people have written. I don't regret the tiptronic, but only having 5 speeds is a bit lame. I still have to get used to this car, and I will spend some time in the Malibu canyons with it to get a sense of the handling. For some of you in colder climate, I was able to motor around top down earlier today as it was 83 degrees here.
I snapped a few pictures with my point and shoot along the way so please don't expect brochure quality pics.
Speed is good!
Congrats!
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