KOTYKB

I’ve made the decision to move on from the Corvette brand after nearly six years of owning a C6 and the expectations to purchase a C7 Stingray. I was previously living in Minnesota then Newport Beach California where my C6 was a second vehicle and mainly for weekend use. After moving to San Francisco in December for a job opportunity it forced me to sell my Infiniti FX35 daily driver since I only have one parking spot in downtown SF. After nearly four months of taking the corporate shuttle to Cupertino for work each day, my Corvette is hardly used but I still enjoy having it for weekend adventures around the Bay Area. The reason I’m selling my C6 is that its registered in Minnesota and with high flow catted headers and ram air intake, I won’t be able to register it in California unless I bring it back to stock, which I don’t have the OEM parts any longer. My plans before moving to San Francisco were to sell my C6 and purchase a C7 for light weekend use and maybe put on 5k miles a year. The issue I have with purchasing a new or slightly used C7 is even with putting on low mileage each year, it will depreciate pretty quickly. Having a car in San Francisco is more of a luxury and not a necessity to get around town. My C6 hardly depreciates year over year while purchasing a C7 will take a solid hit over the first 4-5 years of life. Since I travel 35% of year and will only put on 5k miles max per year, its hard for me to own a car that will depreciate so much.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...mmaculate.html

After reviewing the automotive marketplace I’m leaning in the direction of a 07-09 Porsche 997.1 Turbo with manual transmission. From the research that I have done over the past couple of months, these vehicles have hit a floor and are now rising. The reason is Porsche only offers manual transmissions on some Cayman (GT4), Boxter, and 911's but in a very limited quantity and not on the Turbo or GT3's. The statement of the value going up only applies to the 2007-2009 turbo with Mezger engine, manual transmission, coupe, and with lower miles. I really didn’t want to spend ~$75-80k on my next vehicle but I can rationalize it if the depreciation is nearly $0 per year. Even factoring in insurance rates its nearly identical to a new C7 and yes maintenance is a lot for a Porsche but these are surprisingly very reliable cars with the Mezger engine.

It’s been a pleasure being apart of the Corvette community and I’m sure some day I’ll be back.

Hameister

Everyone needs to do, what they need to do.

I wish you luck with your plan, and hope it works out for you.

joeking

Good luck with your new purchase. The Corvette family is quite larger than the Porsche family but it is what it is. Good luck to you and I wish you the best!

jrose7004

Good luck!

franman69

If you want a Porsche, but Porsche. If you want a vette, don't live worrying about the depreciation. Live enjoying the car, however many miles you get to enjoy a year. Any late model sports car can't be considered an investment, other than an investment in enjoyment.

usdmpwr07

The 997 Turbo is the fastest car I've ever driven. It is a worthy upgrade from a C6.

Just be prepared for maintenance costs. Otherwise, I'd make the jump as well.

Cor430vette

Get ready to waste money. I had Corvette, purchased a BMW M3 took me 1.75 years to sell it and repurchase another Corvette. Those German cars break down allot. On top of that and most importantly the cost of getting them repaired is ridiculous. Do it yourself? Good luck German engineering is made to be difficult and their service tech manuals are horrible. Plus the cost of parts sky high versus American parts and aftermarket mods are again off the charts. German cars are all hype and simply show off brands the M3 did not impress me one bit.....
However, I hope your experience is not like mine. Good Luck!

AORoads

I'd say you've done the homework you need. And I learned something from it! Good luck with your new work and choice of car.

v26278

While its true they did not have the IMS issue, they are still prone to issues and can be expensive to maintain. I would also guess that with that vintage, a C7 Z51 gives up very little in performance, and may even be better balanced. Nevertheless, I'm sure you'll enjoy it, I know I would if I chose to get one.

KOTYKB

I disagree that I'm signing up to "waste" money on maintenance, owning a car that depreciates would also be "wasting" money in your eyes. I bought a 2004 E46 BMW M3 straight out of college and luckily I had a CPO warranty for the minor issues. I've also had things go wrong with my C6 over the years such as an alternator, AC compressor, rear transmission seals, and harmonic balancer. I'm willing to pay for the maintenance and parts on a 997T with the hopes that it won't be too severe with minimal usage. All cars are going to have issues and I do agree a Porsche will cost more than a Corvette to maintain. It's also an educated gamble that I'm expecting the car to lose little to no value if I keep the miles down, but that can all change and I'm going off historical data.

Kingman99

Hi

While l really love 911's even though l had vettes since 1968 l was ready to cross over until l read an article about how Porsche turned it's back on owner's over a Porsche defect.

Please check this out on the Porsche forum.

Good Luck

Alan

Davids65

I owned the poor mans Porsche for 7 years and in that time the only work I had to do was change the oil and once I had to change the tires I have already had my Vette in for repair three times for miscellaneous repairs including a recall. Fortunately my car is still under warrantee so it did cost me anything for the work.

I would buy another Porsche in a hear beat but not one between the years 97-08 IMS failure rate may be low but too high of a risk for me to roll the dice! In fact this is the reason I bought a Corvette which I have quickly grown to love.
This is a British video and as such uses language that may seem old hopefully not offensive. It is a good video and explains the issue very well!

I believe this was corrected in the 911 in 06' as they change to a newer larger motor again I love Porsches but it will be some time before I will buy another.

KOTYKB

The 996 nor 997 Porsche 911 Turbos had the IMS issue due to using a different motor than the standard Carrera. The 996/997 Turbo, GT2 and GT3's use a Mezger engine that was derived from the 911 GT1 Le Mans racing team.

thegame

997.1 tt with the mezger engine is an epic ride. Simple exhaust and tune and you have a monster. I was so close to pulling the trigger on one. You will love it

dryadsdad

The 997T is a terrific car. It takes a good deal of skill and even nerve to drive well but you get rewarded for learning how to do it too.

We came from Porsche and to my surprise the C6 fits me better. I hadn't anticipated this. My wife was the driving force to get the C6 and I just was along for 'the ride'. Glad I did.

I think you'll enjoy the Porsche but I'd not be surprised if you came back to the Vette.

thegame

Exactly. Two different animals. My 2 favorite cars

jimmie jam

You could also look at a 996T that is slightly older. Low mile really nice examples can be found for 40+-. I also prefer the automatic in these cars. Good luck.

Boomer111

Keep an account for repairs open and funded.

The Turbo 911 is a sweet car and a expensive one to own.

Dano523

Just a little FYI, but the reason that the 911's resale prices are so high, it due to the cost of maintenance required to keep them running correctly (short of the 996, which is just a motor waiting to self destruct at any moment)

When you go to sell the car, the first thing anyone will want to see is the service history, and if you are not current on it, the car resale value will take a big hit.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge 911 fan since they are one of my clients, but before you dive into owning one, you really need to be aware of the costs with them (service interval maintenance costs). Even on the new 997's, at the first 40K or 4 years, the maintenance cost of the car is in the $4K if no parts need to be replaced (just need to have the valves adjusted). At 80K or 8 years, expect to be dropping close to $10K or more instead by that time.

At 100K, pretty much time to drop the motor, and rebuild it, and maybe the trans as well.

Truth be told, if you are looking for a 911 turbo driver that is going to increase in value, might try to find a 1989 930 instead. This is the last of the air cooled motor cars, and what purest 911 still consider the holy grail of the 911's for a street car (short of the 959 and first GT3, while are also air cooled motors).

KOTYKB

Dano523 you are a bit off with your service assumptions Minor service is ~$600 and Major service is ~$1200. Minor service schedule is at 20, 60, 100k while the major service is at 40, 80, 120k miles. Now if I needed spark plugs at 60k ($1200) or engine belts ($700) at a service interval, it will be additional to the base cost. To perform the spark plug change the engine does need to be dropped but it doesn’t cost $10,000. Additionally why would you be rebuilding the engine at 8 years or 100k miles??? The 996 and 997’s do NOT need value adjustments, where the previous models did which is why the maintenance cost is reasonable with the 997's. I’m not buying the car to race it, its a weekend fun vehicle.