Unfortunately Porsche isn't known for great reliability. Just my two cents but I'd stay away from them if you can't afford to fix them. Big advantage to the corvette is reliability paired with reasonably low cost for upgrades and repairs. Have you driven a C7?
I hear ya about the reputation of Porsche's reliability on a whole, however the 911 seems to be a fairly reliable platform. Like with any make and model, they all have nuisance issues and most all have a production run that is a true gem.
The reports from owners that I've read on 911 forums, and the one guy I know who "knows porshce" say the 911can easily be made into a bulletproof DD weekend track machine, simply because they DONT break and require the same maintenance as similar cars put through the same paces...simply out, they're engineered not just to perform, but take the abuse of continuous performance...
I hear ya about the Vette, I desperately wanted one and know of their attributes, good and bad (from a research standpoint) the bottom line with it is, turns out it just doesn't fit my personality like I thought it would, or my needs...I haven't driven a C7. I wasn't looking in a price point to put a C7 in my market, especially aa C7 with performance package(s) but even if it was AWESOME, I still couldn't pick up my kid or wife, if I had my kid or wife with me, with that car...I'm just not at a point where I can have something as impractical as a 2 seat vehicle, regardless of how "impractical" a 911 may seem, its not, its just expensive as all get out...
But that's the real beauty of buying a used 911tt, particularly the 996 and 997.1
These were supercars in their respective time, demanding a sticker price between $115,000-$160,000...!!!!
I can buy that same car, I've found them with as little as 4k, 7k, and 12k miles, for $65,000 and as little as $30,000 with only 60,000 miles....the one I'm looking at with only 22k miles and upgraded with 200whp of turbo kit/exhaust/clutch, short throw shifter and 30mm RUF lowering springs is $55k.
$55k for a car that's still, practically new, and was $136,000...and now has $10k in parts upgrades alone! It's literally the fastest thing I've ever been in let alone driven, it feels like a 10sec car...from the factory they made mid 11 passes and 0-60 in 3.8sec...pulled 1.01 on a lateral G and topped out at 191mph...and damn, they're just Sexy to look at too
While I wasn't comfortable trying to see what "I could make this car do" on my test drive, it was very clear that this car was incredible and while it was fairly docile and comfortable to drive, it demanded alot of respect.
It was light years better than a C6, the two are not even comparable to me.
Really, when you look at the gist of it, the performance parts for the Porsche arent much more expensive than they are for anything else...an upgraded porsche turbo kit is no more ecpensive than a sweet twin kit for a Dmax or even Corvette, upgrading the plumbing and tuning by itself on a 911tt would be like adding a twin over stock kit, or adding headers, intake, cam, stall on a vette..its the OEM replacement parts and the labor that kills Porsche owners.
I'm not looking into getting into a debate as to what's the better car, I really was just hoping to hear from an enthusiast who might own/drive/track a 911 that also is a Dmax nut, the 911 forums are world wide clusters of primarily mechanically uninclined idiots who have money and go to performance driving schools and clubsport race as a hobby and I find it tough to really get the inside info I want.
The info is there, but these platforms are 15 years old and the content of the forums is so...out of touch with the DIY mentality...most these guys wouldn't even change their own oil.
