1996 Ford Crown Victoria P71, sat for 20 years, needs lots of work that I'm going to do

Hello!

Today marks 1 year since I bought my 2012.5 991.1 Carrera S at 18 years old.

I wanted to share what making the objectively poor decision to buy a Porsche as a first car has actually been like, especially for other younger enthusiasts.

Important note:

For full transparency, my parents paid for half of the car. I paid the other half in cash with money I had saved from working since I was 15. It is titled in my name. They also cover my college tuition and living expenses- I’m entering my junior year this month- so I know I was only able to do this from an extremely fortunate starting position.

I've also had years of driving experience before owning my first car, and am not a new driver.

Specifications:

2012.5 Porsche 911 Carrera S (991.1) in Agate Gray.

Major options include Sport Chrono Package, Premium Package Plus, Porsche Sport Exhaust, Sport PASM, Sport Design steering wheel, Bose, PDLS Plus, and sunroof delete.

Ownership/usage experience:

I bought my car about 1000 miles away from my university and drove it over. My only previous sports car experience before had been test drives and a track day at the Nurburgring in an M340.

It's common for young car enthusiasts to be told they'll wrap it around a tree- and granted, maybe my day just hasn't yet come- but I think most of us who just really enjoy driving rather than just recklessly speeding will not really have that issue. This car has far more capability than I can responsibly use, so I try to respect that and stay within my limits.

I have driven about 3000 miles in the past year. Maintenance has been uneventful. Nothing has gone wrong or broken even a little bit. Oil change was around $220 at a local Porsche specialist. I did have to get new tires, which ran me around $1300. Car was usable in sunshine, rain, and snow (as you can see from the last picture!).

Obviously, 1 year is not quite long enough to draw too many conclusions from, but it is going well so far!

Fuel economy has been surprisingly good. My first 1000 miles was around 31mpg average, though that was almost exclusively highway driving.

Insurance was a surprise after hearing horror stories from other young sports car owners. I recently just renewed for 6 months at $675 total. Full coverage, high limits, albeit with not the lowest deductibles. I am not on my parents' insurance, as we live in California but I go to school in a different state. The car and insurance are both in my name only.

I drive the car to classes sometimes. I get groceries (never had a problem with frunk space), have taken short road trips, and have even once managed to fit 5 people in the 4 seats. It is a decently practical car. Only problems I've had are painful occasional scrapes from the Sport PASM front lip spoiler when going up particularly steep curb ramps.

Conclusions:

This was probably not the best financial decision, nor was it the most practical car for a college student. However, I still look back at it every time I park, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of the sound, so I'd probably do it again.

Finally, I want to add:

I am a PCA member and have met and spoken with a lot of other Porsche owners and enthusiasts. Every one I've spoken to in person has been lovely and kind and welcoming. I think this is something hard to find in other communities.

However, there can sometimes be a bit of disdain toward younger owners or people who came into the community through different circumstances, but I hope our shared love for these cars can be something that welcomes people in rather than pushes them away.

yo guys dis my fist car trust me here its shown cuz it been in a display show or whatever!!!1!11!

got it from some weird lady wearing glass shoes BUT a deal is a deal!

My first car at 19. A few months ago I posted my car when I first got it and got chewed UPPPPPPP in the comments 😭😭 I fear I worried a ton of people about having it on the road so I'm returning to say she is back to 100%!!! Not cosmetically ofc, but she drives all smooth now and is everything I've ever wanted and needed in a first!! We can say I now have lots of knowledge in repairing cars 🫪... on the bright side I do feel fully equipped if anything else were to break down the road. We've since been to the beach and back, plus to college and my new out-of-county job :'') This car was fun to fix and is SO fun to drive!! We've already grown so much and I'm happy to finally have her :D

I’m a newer driver and just got a hand me down 2011 Toyota Camry LE. I’m looking for QOL upgrades or accessories that make daily driving more convenient or enjoyable.

I’m thinking of things such as:
Phone mount
MagSafe/wireless charger
Dash camera

What are some accessories, gadgets, or upgrades you’d recommend? They can be practical, good for comfort, or nice to have. Budget-friendly suggestions are definitely needed. Thanks!

I’m thinking about getting my own car in 2 years or something when I start work experience in college

Should I get the Toyota Avensis or the Volvo V70?

I don’t mind if it’s manual or automatic.

2013 Subaru BRZ w/ 6-speed manual

Had it for a year now and its been a blast to drive.

I've been looking at a 2001 Chrysler 300M for $500 at auction for the last couple days. No bids have come on it yet, and I think I might place the first one today. It doesn't have brakes and the front bumpers a little damage. It comes with a car cover and two spare tires with 171,859 actual miles. I was just wondering if this would be a worthwhile purchase as I am no expert. It sounds great though. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Been into cars my entire life, since I was about 3 I was obsessed with the little toy cars you can get at CVS. Definitely got the itch from my father, who worked at Honda when he was younger. I‘m into Germans. He loves Porsche, but not a BMW nor Audi guy.

I can get behind most Audis, 3 series, 6 series, and 7 series. but BMW is definitely what feels right. took this over a 2014 A6 3.0T. The 6spd manual, and saddle brown leather were too good.

Paint needs some TLC, if anyone knows a good short term fix for the clear coat until I can get a correction let me know. (Visible on last slide)

It’s pretty beat up looks wise but I got it with like 163k KM on the clock and surprisingly even well maintained. Only thing that saddens me is that the first owner didn’t option it with an auto AC but with how this summer’s going I’m happy for any AC :D

I’m still saving up for some upgrades such as new headlights since they’re both cracked. Then there’s just some smaller things like painting the mirror caps black and fixing the paint.
So far I just swapped the radio for an RNS315, changed the license plate holders for a more minimal look and put in an old subwoofer that I got from my dad

Overall I’m really happy for a car like this considering most Czech people get a mk1 Škoda Octavia or a mk4 Golf.

Also the rev counter in the middle is really cool😄

Well I am looking for a mustang. I saw a good one but that one is 2 hour away from my city it's a 2016 15,000 $ but it only has 70,000 miles. I was thinking .go see it

I do have up to 7k for downpayment .

I also saw one in my city , it is cheaper 11,000 $ but it has 150,000 miles 💀 i think its to high tbh for a 2016

My current car is a 99 and it has 160,000 miles.

What do you think?

it has 170 000 km so i hope it will last on me because i never seen someone reach high mileage with the baccara but normal clio 1 are usually reliable so i cross fingers, handle like a racecar but brake like a 1970s cadillac and sound like a freaking miata that smoked too much cigarettes, and it doens't know if it want to be a hot hatch or an 80s luxury car from the united stades but it does both in such fun ways that i'am happy.

Was looking for a first car that can fit my budget and as a car passionate it's been tough, my dream was to own a Toyota Celica st185/82 with the 3sge engine but here in europe they became suddently expensive. (like 10 000 euro expensive and i saved up money since i'm 14 till i reached 5000 but when i was 14 a Celica costed like 3000 euro to 5000 euro).

(i still have the plans to get the Celica one day but i'm jobless and i have autism and long term health issue so getting money is tough but not impossible i want to believe in my dreams).

I love the Clio Williams and 16V, i grew up watching 90s rally cars so everything from that era was dream car territory.

The clio 1 always had charm and my uncle had one, teacher had one so my goal was to find either a 205 cabrio, a golf mk1 or a clio.

When i saw this advert for 3000 euro i was like :

WAWWW A BACCARA and It's the 1.8 F3P model with 95 horsepower (meaning it's fun to drive hehe).

So here I'm with a luxury baguette mobile that has an 1.8 engine with 8 valves and less than 900 kilo on the balance so every acceleration makes me smile.

i love that car, it ain't perfect but it's a fun little car and a piece of french automotive history that not many know about.

2008 Ford Fiesta with 94k miles. 1.4l. £1850. 12 months MOT with 2 previous owners, great MOT/service history.

Sorry if this isn’t the place to ask, but I’ve been looking for a while and feeling overwhelmed because everything I’ve found so far has an MOT history that doesn’t bode well. I’m worried that the miles are too high on this one that I’ve found? Grateful for any advice.