I work 6 days a week, so I need a car the will work reliably in all weathers. Is the 996 up to it?
Buying new you will have no issues as the 2 year warranty covers pretty much everything.
After that it can be extended (for something like 1K I believe).
A second hand car comes with a years warranty, which covers major items, but not oil leaks, and also excludes consumables like clutch and brakes.
It has so far been reliable for me (C4S), and has been driven in sun, rain, wind, snow, fog, hail etc. It feels completely solid under all conditions - there are few things I would rather be in.
It definitely useable as an everyday car, indeed it is hard to resist the urge to drive - you want to use it everywhere.
You may find yourself thinking of somewhere to go, just to have a reason to drive[
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I travel 60 miles a day communiting in it, and also use it for work. I needed something that would be reliable as well.
Whilst any individual car can show problems, if you look at the various surveys, Top Gear, JD-Power, etc. you see that the general level of reliablilty is higher than other German marques, including VW, BMW and Mercedes.
Whilst not in the Toyota league, but then no-one else is either, it is more than acceptable.
(BMW btw seem to have a longstanding Vanos problem that leads to repeated failures.)
When I bought mine, I looked at the cost for me to run it for 36-48K miles, and it is actually no more expensive than my Nissan 200SX (which is probably similar to a 350Z). All 996's require servicing every 12K miles, even the turbo.
Tyres cost a bit more, but not ridiculously so.
Comfort for long journeys is fine. Whilst perhaps not initially feeling super comfortable, you never get out aching even after 4 hours, so the seats can't be too bad. Climate control works well, so you don't really notice it.
Wind noise, tyre noise and engine noise are also perfectly acceptable.
Fuel consumption at motorway speeds, on a long drive, such as Nwebury to Manchester, is 25-26mpg.
Fuel costs are really not that bad. Obviously when driven hard it will consume more juice, but in everyday driving you don't have many chances.
With the PSM, if you are tired and driving home, and it is frosty or wet or the white lines are a bit slippery, it keeps a watchful eye over you. You can be over exhuberant with the throttle without having to worry.
I was a little nervous about driving it at first, but it is very friendly, flattering and easy to drive. It gives you confidence and is communicative, so you know what it going on (the single most important requirement in my mind).
Obviously to get the best out of it requires skill, practive and time, but in normal driving on the public road, it is hard to really go wrong.
Tyre wear is not that bad, I mostly drive on motorways though. The Continentals seem to last well.
"NOT buying one and preserving my desire of the marque"
Why! If you have the chance to have one, why not have one. There is no point thinking that you could have, should have, would have had one, if only you could have summoned up the will.
If all else fails, they depreciate quite slowly, compared to other cars, so you can always sell it if it is not for you and get a good chunk of the money back.
I'm not sure what repairing is going to be necessary, unless you're expecting some accidents. Parts are expensive if it does go wrong, but then it doesn't go wrong often.
If you were to keep 3K in a fund to cover emergencies, then this would remove (most) of the worry.
Whilst there are never 100% guarantees, the most likely outcome is that you will have a trouble free partnership and will enjoy every minute of it. I was worried that it would not live up to the hype or my expectations, but it does and it has.
It's all about smiles per mile.
