Hello all I am new here and want to tell you my story, and what I want to buy. After years of buying and leasing cars I am at the stage in my life where I want to buy a couple of good cars, pay cash, and stop having money tied up in car payments and interest. I had my sight set on 2 cars. An Audi A-8 and a Porsche 911 cabriolet. On May 4th I bought a stunning 2002 Audi A-8 L. Now as for the Porsche I killed my stash of cash buying the Audi so I have plenty of time to do research and learn about these cars. I want to buy something in the $20,000.00 range, and at the rate I am going I will probably need about another 16 or 18 months to save the money. With that said here are my thoughts. I want to know what was the first year the cars had a fully automatic roof. I was also wondering if the manual ones are a pain. I had a 90 Corvette convertible that was manual, but only took about 20 seconds to open and close. I have also been reading about the air cooled cars vs. the water cooled ones. As far as this issue goes I know I will not find the answers in a thread like this, but would love to get some suggestions on some books to read to learn more about these vehicles. It seems like the air cooled ones are pretty cool, but are they as reliable? I am leaning towards something in the 95-98 era. An automatic roof would be my first choice, but I don't want to pass on a better car just because it has a manual roof. I am only considering a manual transmission. Once I get this car I want to keep it for a long time. I had a Lexus LS 400 that had 260,000 miles on it when I sold it so a long time for me really is a long time. I hope this was not to broad, but I feel the more I learn the quicker I might be able to save the money.

 

The automatic cab top has been available since the mid 80's. 993 cabs are a steal right now, just make sure to do a PPI with a leakdown and compression test to make sure the motor is healthy. You won't get into a 996 (liquid cooled) cab for under 20k yet. A 993 you could do, and they are a fun car. Make sure you have about $5k saved up for maintenance repairs on any older car.

 

Thanks for the reply. I just purchased 2 books. The Porsche 911 Story, and the Porsche 911 Red Book. Have any of you read these books? If so how are they? I can't wait to get them.

 

I got a 1985 carrera convertible a couple of years ago and I have not had any problems ... standard maintenance of course. This one has a manual top and I would recommend unzipping the rear window prior to retracting. I got a decent 'boot' and tonneau cover that I use each time - which would add to the fold down time. It does not take long - but not as convenient as an automatic operation- then again - I got the car for the drive so it does not bother me. Lovely car! As far as getting it - I would say that knowing where it comes from and getting a some one who knows these machines inside and out is key. Generally, I understand that oil leaks are a problem - something that a not so trained eye can identify.

 

Both books are good, the red book is a fantastic resource for the different models.