OT: Porsche Guy or Alfa Guy?

[Gsinill]

Originally Posted by paredown

I'm trying to deal with my new addiction--watching the auctions on BAT for cars that I can't afford.

Observations:
Porsche prices are insane (except for the 986/993 with the IMS cloud over them.) Even 944s are getting expensive and people are paying real money for 928s!

Alfas seem to be selling cheap--well, comparatively.

So it you were picking a budget project/fun car--would you go down the Porsche or the Alfa rabbit hole?

I happened across a local '86 Alfa Spyder for a measly $600 and it was mostly there, which is how I started thinking about Alfas (again). How had could it be I said to myself. (Actually I have some idea--my brother had three over a number of years that he kindly let me drive and we wrenched on together.)

As far as I know, the IMS issue never affected the 993, only the water-cooled engines of the later 996 and 986 (Boxster) engines had that issue.

I might be biased but Porsche all the way.
There is a reason why 70% of all Porsches built are still running.

[denapista]

IMS affected 997.1 cars as well.

Porsche motors can be rebuilt with ease, for a pretty penny of course. Those cars are meant to be driven and not stored in a garage. I love when I see them with over 80,000mi on the ODO.

[jlwdm]

I purchased a new 1974 Alfa GTV 2000 in 1975 and really enjoyed it for 8+ years. Then I moved to AZ and got rid of it as it did not have a/c.

With Alfa back in the US I decided to get another car two years ago and bought a 2017 Giulia Quadrifoglio. It is just a joy to drive but not what you are looking for.

Two months later I purchased a 2017 Alfa 4C. I did not know about going to track events when I bought it but I have driven 25 track days in the last 18 months. I really enjoy the track and the car has had no issues.

Then last July I purchased a 1973 Alfa GTV 2000 that had been restored.

So I am an Alfa guy all of the way and got rid of my X5 (work car) - nothing but Alfas.

So you know my answer.

Jeff

[grateful]

[QUOTE=denapista;2545260]IMS affected 997.1 cars as well.

987.1/997.1 IMS issues are extremely rare, estimated at less than 1%. I bought a 987.1 CS without a second thought and have had nothing but routine maintenance during my 40k mile ownership.

I also had a 986 without any IMS issues. It is the 2001-2002 model years that were affected the most.

[texbike]

Originally Posted by tuscanyswe

Porsches are to expensive and have been for quite a while and now the prices seem to drop so cant use the "investment excuse" to get one anymore.

I made my choice 2 years ago. I have no regrets, the turbo still makes me smile every time, its like im driving this mad rally car only it has handstiched interior and walnut inserts *** Oh and plastic buttons that break and pop out for the complete mazerati surreal feel.

Wow! Cool Shamal!

Originally Posted by Gsinill

As far as I know, the IMS issue never affected the 993, only the water-cooled engines of the later 996 and 986 (Boxster) engines had that issue.

Yeah, primarily the IMS impacted the 996 and 997.1 911s and the 986 and 987.1 Boxters (and 987.1 Caymans). Outside of that, bore scoring, AOS, and other fun issues negatively impact these cars as well. Reliable - for the most part, but man, there sure are some significant engineering issues with these cars that should be unacceptable in this day and age.

Originally Posted by RacerJRP

The Porsche bubble will burst IMO. Prices won't tank, but they will start to come back towards reality....the market can only support so much. Anyway that's the feedback I get from my friends that play in the exotic/ supercar space.

If you want a Porsche and can live with the headlights, a reasonably nice 996 can still be found sub $20k.

Agreed. I'm not sure if prices will burst, but air-cooled prices will definitely flatten on your everyday 911s and may deflate a bit on the cars that aren't really nice. I decided to cash in my AC 911s while the market was up a bit and rolled the dollars into what I felt was an underappreciated classic - an '88 Ferrari Mondial coupe. So far, I like it a lot.

Texbike

[grateful]

Originally Posted by alancw3

my favorite porsche ever is the 2002 gt2. basically a race car street licensable for the street. so much more ridiculously priced was the 2018 gt2 rs. like $450,000. what I see as a game changer is the much anticipated mid engine c8 corvette. from what I have read for $100k-$150 (depending on performance options) you are going to get super car performance. supposed to be released 7/18/19 as a 2020 model. this is actually the most anticipated corvette ever. I just hope it lives up to all the hype.

The current issue of Porsche Panamera has an article on a 996 GT2. Good read.

[mtechnica]

Get a 240Z while you can still afford one - even now they're skyrocketing. Japanese cars are the new collectible gold rush IMO. The time to buy a 911 or 912 was 10+ years ago. As far as alfas, some of them are pretty awesome but you'll lose your shorts on a clapped out spyder and it won't be worth that much in the end comparatively.

[tuscanyswe]

Originally Posted by texbike

Wow! Cool Shamal!
Texbike

Thanks! its a Ghibli but they can idd look very similar.

Get a 240Z while you can still afford one - even now they're skyrocketing. Japanese cars are the new collectible gold rush IMO. The time to buy a 911 or 912 was 10+ years ago. As far as alfas, some of them are pretty awesome but you'll lose your shorts on a clapped out spyder and it won't be worth that much in the end comparatively.

They are excellent driving cars. I had one and really enjoyd it. Just before i got the Ghibli actually. In uk they were plummeting last l looked. Here in sweden they are also pretty cheap and dont seem to be going up. Just way to many around to be collectible imo. Then again that does not seem to apply to porsches either.

Edit: Ahrmm okay so i kinda red that 240 as 350. ignore my evaluation and i havent had nor driven one either .)

[texbike]

Originally Posted by tuscanyswe

Thanks! its a Ghibli but they can idd look very similar.

Whoops. My bad!

Originally Posted by mtechnica

Get a 240Z while you can still afford one - even now they're skyrocketing. Japanese cars are the new collectible gold rush IMO. The time to buy a 911 or 912 was 10+ years ago. As far as alfas, some of them are pretty awesome but you'll lose your shorts on a clapped out spyder and it won't be worth that much in the end comparatively.

I think we may have missed the boat on inexpensive 240Zs:

https://bringatrailer.com/datsun/240z/

Texbike

[paredown]

Whoops--sorry for mixing up the 993 and 996 models...

The last one I really wanted to buy was the earlier 964--and they were cheap for a time, until wiser heads noticed that they were air-cooled and more classically styled. So they are through the roof now...

[Steve in SLO]

I have had Porsches for close to 25+ years now, starting with a 1978 911SC, 85 Carrera, 75 914, a 96 C2S, 73 914-6 GT clone racecar and currently own a 2004 GT3 and 71 911T-RS clone, so I am pretty conversant in Porsche. A few things I have observed over the years: they are relatively simple to maintain, and have been bulletproof in my hands. I drive rapidly but am fairly easy on my cars, so YMMV. Regarding a project car, as with any older sports car, some have lead relatively hard lives so finding a solid platform is a must-esp pre-74 cars which were not galvanized and therefore prone to rust. There is a robust aftermarket parts pipeline for pretty much any year, no matter what the model, and if you go vertically through a product line, especially 911/912 and 914, you can update and retrofit pretty much at will, to include engine/trans/suspension/brake swaps, which lends a lot of flexibility and creativity to a restoration.
I have 2 friends who are Alfistis that remark on how I must lack true committment for owning such easy cars to keep running, which tells me something. That being said, if a really nice GTV ever came my way, I would have a hard time saying no...they look so right.

[Tickdoc]

Muscle car is your answer. Or, at last it was my answer. I was a bmw guy forever, but have finally embraced my Route 66 roots and found bliss in American muscle. Would love a 911 but doubt I will ever take the plunge. Would love an Alfa but I don’t have the mechanical fortitude to keep one running.

[Bflath]

Originally Posted by Gsinill

As far as I know, the IMS issue never affected the 993, only the water-cooled engines of the later 996 and 986 (Boxster) engines had that issue.

I might be biased but Porsche all the way.
There is a reason why 70% of all Porsches built are still running.

That is correct. The 993 does not have an IMS. The early 986's with the 2.5 motor have a dual row bearing with a much less than 1% failure rate. It was the The Boxster with the 2.7 and 3.2 motors, and all 911/996 with a single row bearing that was susceptible to IMS bearing failure.
The IMS bearing issue did not go away completely until the introduction of the 987.2 Boxster/Cayman and the 997.2 911
I have an early 986 with the dual row IMS bearing. I don't worry about it at all. I just enjoy driving the car. I will however, have it changed when I'm doing the clutch.

[72gmc]

The Alfa I want is the one I can’t afford: https://www.alfaholics.com/our-cars/...290-completed/

[Louis]

It's too bad the OP isn't closer to St Louis - I could hook you up with a '73 GTV.

(I need to make room in my garage for motorcycle stuff and I haven't been driving the Alfa as often as it deserves to be so...)