I posted a few weeks back that I sold my 997S and had some seller's regret. The regret has now turned into an obsession....trying to find the closest thing to a porsche money can buy with around 30k. One of you posted that I'd probably end up wasting more money if I sold the 997S....man you couldn't be more right. This is gonna hurt...

I impulse-bought a S2000 since (and you guys will burn me at the stake for this) it is the closest I could get to the pure road connection the 997S offered. I'm realizing now after a few weeks that I'm just too big for the car - my back hurts and my neck hurts since I can't see street lights without turning my neck.

Yeah yeah - then why did I buy the car? Manifestation of my seller's regret, I guess. Would have been ridiculous to eat it on the 997S and then pick another one up, I suppose (and I'd never hear the end of it from the wife - need to buy some time). Now I'm trying to shop the S2K for something a little bigger. Drove the following today in this order:

WRX Sti (new)
EVO X GSR
BMW Z4M
BMW M3 vert (e46)
Audi S5
Audi TTS

I'm all over the board, I know. But it was a fun day - especially when the dealer's let me go out by myself! Out of all of the above, the best cars were the Evo and TTS. It's been a long while since I've driven a turbo charged car. Evo was just so raw and fun - but want to try the MR with dual clutch. The turbo felt very unpredictable and didn't instill a ton of confidence, but I guess that's part of the fun. TTS was just pure drop-top fun - dual clutch a ton of fun - but at $54k, it's a hard sell.

Anyway, this is just mind-rambling in the meantime as I eye another p-car for the future. Just thought I'd share my experience and surprise since the Evo and the TTS were probably the last two cars I would have picked prior to driving them all today.

 

How about a 370Z? I have heard these are a pretty good ride. Might need a few mods to tighten it up a bit (some of the japanese "sports cars" have cadilac style road feel), but great engine, decent looks, good price.

Worth a test drive.

 

The s2000 has *excellent* road feel... you made a good choice... I'm sorry to hear it's too small for you.

Did you ever consider a 370z? While the 350z doesn't have the road feel of an s2000, my understanding is that the 370z is better in that department (and lighter too).

 

You need to stop kicking yourself . It's ok to feel what you are experiencing and there's no reason to continue to punish yourself with another car that you won't like .

You have taken step one -- admitting the truth to YOURSELF.

Good luck.

 

try changing the s2000... i had the same light problem..

A:get lower seat brackets.. (only about 3/4")
B:get new bucket seats that would be more supportive, depending how much u spend u can get some crazy bucket seats.. yes firmer but also more supportive.

i had a pic of some seats in friends car i was trying to post but his link didnt wanna work. oh well.. goodluck with the hunt.

great cars,

 

have you considered a car totally different from the porsche like an M5 or an E55? great buys out there pre owned and you'll avoid the direct comparison but many other things to appreciate.

 

OK -I have proccessed this a bit . I see all these other suggestions and I believe they are sincere .

I feel the only way out is up . How much can the cost of the loss be at this point ? You sold your car and probably got a decent price . You bought a car and got a decent price . Lets guess that the two transactions set you back 5 grand plus no car . Plus you'd have to pay retail (or private party) for another car .

You'd have to dig deep to fix this . To get you back in the same car in total you's be close to 10K lost . Maybe a little less but close .

That's why I suggest upward .
How far up depends on your finances but I do believe that if you walked into a dealership and bought a new 997.2S or used Turbo you would not even miss your last car . In fact you had some miles on that last car plus it was near warranty end --It was due for trade in anyway .

The Honda S2000 was just a hiccup in the process .

 

Yea, if your finances permit you, I agree with Yrallis 100%! If you end up just buying other cars that you are not 100% satisified with, just to fill that void of the loss of your 997, you will probably end up losing more money in the long wrong as those cars will depreciate also~Well, the S2000, if you bought used, I'm sure the prior owner has already taken the depreciation so you're ok with it~ but if you buy any of the other cars you mentioned, brand new, you will be hit with the depreciation for sure and end up losing more money and it will take you further away from the initial car you wanted/miss, the 997~
So if you are in a financial state to do it, I would take Yrallis advice~ And if not, why not at least stay in the same family and opt for a nice clean preowned Cayman? They are fun cars and are pretty nicely priced nowadays~
And one more thing, although not a 997, the S2000 is an AWESOME car! Good choice on the hiccup! HAHA!

 

The S2000 is only fun if you wring it's neck the whole time you drive it...otherwise it is a cramped, noisy, slow econocar. My friend had to sell a C4S and went to the S2000....for about 3 autocrosses and 3 months...then it was trade-in time. He had similar issues to yours. He loved the car at 8000 RPM and full slide around a course...then hated the drive home. The 370 is a great car. It is certainly not soft in any way. It is one of those "large on the outside, small on the inside" cars, however. I could not get enough legroom when I was in one. The road noise is crazy too. The engine is a bit coarse and it is about as fast as an E46 M3. I was impressed with the car, but it was not refined enough for me. IMHO, the only other cars I considered along with the 997, was the E9X M3 and the audi TTS. The BMW was the only one that I felt that I would not get bored with in a few months. But don't buy the 2 ton convertible. It makes no sense...just go for a 335 vert. I don't know enough about the TTS to comment specifically, except to say that the TT I drove was way better than I tought it would be from a handling perspective.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. Selling the 997S was for financial reasons and even though I took a $30k hit on the P-car, needed the 20 large to pay off some stuff.

I've never financed a car before, but I've been inching that way since some of these rates are so low!

In all honestly, I don't make enough money to afford a 70k car yet. The fact that I squeezed myself into a 997S (bought it used) for 2 years was painful financially, but definitely worth it. With a new baby and house, I've targeted the 35k and under range (for now) and the S2K, as mentioned earlier, is the only thing that was exciting to drive. Per the recommendations, I will try the 370z.

Here is WA it's particularly painful, since you pay taxes on every car sale - new or used/ dealer or pp. The seat lowering reco seems interesting. I'm 6'1" and 220 - don't know if there are buckets that will fit my fat a$$.

 

Man, I agree with yrralis1 100%...just keep your S2000, drive its wheels off until you're ready to pull the trigger for another 911. Otherwise, you'll just be wasting money in the process.

Here's a thought...turn your S2k into a dedicated track car in the mean time and have fun with it. When you're ready to move up...you'll still have a fun beater to throw around.

 

Reading this post makes me think twice about selling my car!

If my car were to sell tomorrow, I can easily see myself coming back to Porsche quickly. My issue with my car right now is my lifestyle. I'm working like a dog, commuting four hours (2 hours each way back and forth to and from work) Monday thru Friday in traffic, which is not nice in a manual Carrera S. On top of that I have a 50 pound Bull Terrier that treats cars and chairs like his chew toys.

Letting the car rest until the weekend for driving just doesn't seem justified, as I'm all tired out by Saturday and don't want to see any asphalt until Monday. But I'm saying that now while my car is actually still in my garage.

Thanks for posting and sharing your dilemma. I have to think twice now.

 

How about a second hand Cayman S???

 

The closest thing if not a better connected car would be a used Lotus Elise. Gocart handeling that will embarass a Lambo with a reasonable second hand price. Just not very practical.

 

I second. Or rather, I second it plan 'a' doesn't work. Seems like you had good reason for selling the 997. These are difficult times and you need to do what is required.
So, there's no sense compounding the problem by turning cars at this point, unless you absolutely have to. So I would do everything to get that S2K to fit properly. They are fundamentally excellent cars, even if they have very different dynamics from the other cars you listed.
But if that fails, and you have to buy another sports car at this time, a used Cayman or Boxter (s or not) are amazing vehicles. And versus any other car on your list, they will closely remind you of your 997.