The journey home. Our route back into a Porsche 993

Meet Little Red, Phoenix or Skittle or PCAR7. We have not decided yet

High mileage, 6-speed, incredible condition, AWD.
Just the right prescription for my mental health.

About 10 yrs ago I sold my 1998 Carrera S under duress.  Times were a bit tight and unfortunately 993 values were on the rise.   Despite proclamations that I’d keep the car forever I sold it on Bring a trailer to cover life’s expenses and fetched a record price at the time, many thanks to testimonials from people in the Porsche community for that.   Anyway,  selling was the right decision at the time, but I've carried guilt over parting ever since. 

My 1998 Carrera S.
I think you can see why I miss it. 

While selling net me a tidy profit that satisfaction proved insufficient to fill the void left in my soul. Since its departure a few cars have come and gone.  All of which were impressive in one way or another.  Unfortunately none captured my heart enough to make me forget about that 993. Like every car-guy full of regret (we all are aren't we?), I kept my eye on the market.  Rarely did a compelling 993 surface that was feasible monetarily.  I was happy to see an incredible swan-song model get it's time in the sun but I wanted fate to throw me a bone.  I wanted to return like Rocky Balboa into the 993 social media groups and rule Cars and Coffee like the god I think I am.  I needed a manual coupe with AWD for the ideal Colorado experience and carve some goddam mountain roads.  Sadly a lot of richer people needed that same car too. “Needed” is a funny word when talking about a 3rd car, but I'll use the word for its comedic effect.   So, of course, I never found one. 

UNTILL, I DID. 

Behold ! my 132,000 mile creampuff.
Honest cars are hard to find, 
a car w/o secrets at this age is special.   

The tagline on the Advertisement was “Hesitate at your peril.”   And I did not hesitate I assure you.    Why?  Because the seller was Nathan Merz who was not only a friend but also kind of a big deal too. If you don't know who he is, then you are wasting time reading my blog, when you could be watching Nathan's plethora of educational Porsche content.    

Nathan is a pillar in the Porsche community. He possesses an encyclopedic understanding of the 993 and perhaps any generation of Carrera.  As a broker, he enforces a zero-compromise standard for factory originality.   I always say buying a seller is smarter than buying a car. This was certainly one such situation.  Heck, as of this writing I haven’t even looked at the documentation for this car yet.  I just knew this was the car I wanted.  

This is not the interior you expect in a 132,000 mile car.
Shout out to Cocomats, they rushed these to me in 72 hours

I immediately listed my current car for sale hoping for a hail Mary of quick sales.   Luckily my quirky taste paid off and my Macadamia Metallic Brown ‘09 Carrera S 6-speed sold in hours.  So, within 10 days we stored our kid at Nannas and were off to drive this high mileage creampuff  from Redmond WA to Boulder CO.  Over 1500 miles in a car we had yet to see in person.  

I'm the one on the right. 

How the heck can I be comfortable on a long trip with a car with such mileage?   That's pretty easy, I just don’t care. When you get the car you really want nothing else matters. If it blows up tomorrow I’ll push it into the garage and sit next it in a folding chair and sip wine till I save up enough for repairs.

If I was worried, I’d tell myself a well maintained air-cooled Carrera can last as long as any 90's Toyota. Which is FOREVER. Any old car will need projects completed.  It’s about the work getting done without the fanfare of flying broken fasteners or  self-destructing plastic bits. These cars are built like bolt-action rifles.  There will be tasks to complete on this car and I’m gonna love doing them.  Yes Porsche's are costly cars to own, but even if this car spends months on jack stands waiting for me to save up for services, I'd still be a very happy. Seems  I’ve said this before. 

As we drove I compiled a list of tasks in my head the car would need. Not a list of complaints, a list of things that the car deserved.   Things that would rightfully bring the car back to the glory of a 3 decade old survivor.  Like washing your horse after a long an arduous journey, this Carrera needs and deserves our love.  Sappy enough for you?  I know, I'm even annoying myself a little.

Yes, I could have maps and pics of the driving excitement.
But I'd prefer to actually have the fun more then document it.
So go on your own drive.  

Day 1 of driving was Redmond WA to Boise ID which became satisfying once we hit US-95.  US-95's charm lies not in frantic corner-carving, but in sweeping spirited momentum and epic, cinematic scale.  Idaho’s Palouse border felt like driving off the edge of the earth. The horizon explodes as you drop a massive 2,000 vertical feet down into the canyon floor. The sweeping, multi-lane descent felt unbelievable as that flat six made its trademark noises in our ears. 

You know you love it when the valet puts your car out front.
Our wedding anniversary happened somewhere along the drive.
Neither of us recalled the exact day. 
. 

Every car today is too damn cool.
No "S" no Turbo, no ceramic brakes.
Base models are coming back in a big way. I'll start the trend. 

As we traveled people would say nice things and ask about the car.  More so than other cars I have owned.  Something about an older 911 is very approachable.  Perhaps it is the difference between perceived income vs perceived passion.   Not to say that you cannot have both, but people that drive a 993 in this day and age are definitely passionate about the car above all else.

View from Niwot.  Gotta love Colorado!

More to come....    See you at Colorado Cars and Coffee...