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Allow me to reintroduce myself... (also, a WTB thread)
Once upon a time, I was very active in the ISF community. Along with another former owner, we organized what I think is still the largest gathering of ISF owners to ever have occurred on the East Coast (ISF Mega Meet Part I) and it is debatable whether it was the largest gathering anywhere (our SoCal members always claimed they had more). I was--and I suppose still am--a moderator here on Club Lexus as well.
Then the Porsche bug bit me.
So, in 2015 I sold my MY09 ISF and bought a 911 (997.2 C2 for those familiar). I used to always say in the "should I get XXXX" threads that would pop up on here, the only reason to get out of an ISF that didn't involve a financial reason would be to get a Porsche. I followed my own advice, and it was a great car. But then, as so many people who get the Porsche fever do, I decided I needed more. So I sold my base model 911 for a 911 Turbo (997.1TT). Talk about reaching the top of the mountain with sports cars!! That thing was an awesome car. It could do everything, and was surprisingly comfortable too even though I never daily drove it. And man, was it fast.
But then after a year of owning the 911 Turbo, I realized that I was essentially just collecting it. I wasn't driving it. It felt wasteful. Plus, I spent a TON on maintenance and minor fixes. Since I was fortunate enough to own the car outright, I decided I'd rather have the money than the car, so I sold it. I didn't even feel too sad. It was like I had the chance to own my childhood dream car, but then realized that it wasn't quite that important to me after all. I now drive a '17 Jeep Wrangler as my daily, and that is a fun vehicle for entirely different reasons than the Porsches were.
Why all the backstory? Well, I've always missed the ISF. I won't say I like the ISF more than the Porsche turbo--but when it comes to value, reliability, utility and price... I'm not sure the ISF can be beat. Do I wish it had a manual transmission? Yes. But the fact that I'm seeing ISFs in the 100K mile range go for less than $20K these days, and I know ISFs are good for 250K+ miles with minimal issues, it seems like a darn good buy to me. Plus, the way mine sounded with the JoeZ exhaust system simply hasn't been replicated in another car that I've ever owned. Glorious!
So, while I am in absolutely no rush, and willing to wait for just the right car, I'm starting to look around for ISFs again. If any of you are thinking about selling, or know someone who is, here is sort of my "wish list"
-At or near $20K is my preferred price range. This is going to be a 3rd car for me so I'm not looking to spend a ton.
-Mileage is ok, but no more than around 100K
-Some mods are ok, but I'm not in to a lot of carbon fiber, aftermarket hoods and bumpers, tall rear spoilers, etc. Suspension and exhaust mods are a positive.
-Black is my preferred color, but I will consider any color except silver.
-Maintenance history is a STRONG plus.
-I would even consider a car that has an accident on its record provided the details of the accident are known and the repairs are proper
-East coast would be preferable as I'd like to pick up the car and drive it home rather than ship it, and I don't have the time to do a cross-country road trip right now.
I realize that I might be looking for awhile, but I thought I'd throw all of that out there. If anyone knows of something fitting the above, shoot me a PM. For all of those members who are still members from "back in the day" hello again! I'm really happy to see RR Racing doing so well on the aftermarket front. Rafi and Simon are great guys.
Welcome back, even though you never officially left... also, a great read with the back story and owning a Porsche! Hope you find that "right" ISF that you're looking for!!!
Great story and write up. I've enjoyed my ISF but the itch to 'move up' in car tiers is always there(some people are just never satisfied). I've even ran some canyons with a few PCA friends and every time I attend I want to go and buy a 911, especially a Turbo. But it's always good to hear about guys who come back to the ISF after a hiatus speaking about how great of an all around car it is. You're right about the exhaust note, I have an x-force catback and all the PCA guys were giving me compliments on how good it sounds, you can't beat the sound of a V8. Good luck on your search!
I still remember your thread on the IS F to 997.2 thread. Owning a black car myself, people said I was nuts for wanting to constantly maintain and upkeep its shiny coat. That Porsche right before the first detail still looked magnificent! For all the negative press on the car when it first came out, it's really great to hear owners wanting to come back specifically to this platform, despite there being newer Fs out there. Irrelevant is whether it may or may not become a collector-type of a vehicle, but rather an owner who really appreciated what the IS F was and is still looking to come back to it-- that says a lot. No need for a welcome back....once an IS F owner, always a part of the IS F family!
vbb, great to have you back. Thanks for sharing your story. I had my Porsche experience before buying my ISF in 2008. It was a strange experience for me too. I had always loved the 911 and thought it would be amazing. I had owned 2 S2000's (AP1 and AP2) and then got into a 996.2. I was disappointed by the handling coming from the S2000 so I added the x74 suspension. Then the shifting was no where near as good as the S2000 so I added the short shift kit. That was better but alas, still no real LSD on that car. And then there was the expansive maintenance, and the terrible reliability. I had the rear main seal replaced 5 times for leaking, ridiculous. I dumped it with 6 months of warranty left as I didn't want to be on the hook for more work at $150/hr for labor.
I picked up may ISF and haven't looked back. I love this car. I do still miss having an S2000 and hope one day to have another, but I don't really need 4 cars. :laughing:
-Some mods are ok, but I'm not in to a lot of carbon fiber, aftermarket hoods and bumpers, tall rear spoilers, etc. Suspension and exhaust mods are a positive.
-Black is my preferred color, but I will consider any color except silver.
You literally just described my car
Welcome back, good story and feedback on the Porsches. Its nice to always get those little stories of affirmation on owning an IS-F, because, most of us being "car guys", are probably always straying a little and wondering what we should get next.
Hey vbb, I remember you, and actually attend that meet, as well as your threads. And I definitely remember when you got the Porsche and moved on, so definitely welcome back.
Right now it's a great time to own ISF with all the aftermarket support we have now If you feel need to enhance abilities of a stock ISF there are now truly so many things available. I understand why you felt the need to move on at the time that you left there weren't many options available for the ISF regarding True Performance oriented upgrades. But since you've been gone so many things have changed the availability now of quality suspension upgrades such as Penske coilovers, Ohlins coilovers, RR Racing coilovers, LCA bushings from FIGS and RR Racing, New exhaust setups available from Hayward and Scott, long tube headers now available as we all dual mode exhaust setup from PPE and and few others.The aftermarket has continued to expand for ISF with the help of our vendors such as Figs, PPE, RR Racing, Sikky, and few others that have helped to continue further develop ISF.
Now that the ECU has been cracked the ability to tune ISF I have been greatly increase. As you are now probably aware, RR Racing Tune, Tuned intake and Supercharger that are now available has significant change ISF potential regarding power. These enhancements have further woken up the performance abilities of the ISF. All of these new performance enhancements have allow ISF to stay competitive against current models of vehicles.
A FBO, tuned ISF with upgraded suspension components such as ohlins coilovers, LCA bushings, FiGS mega control arms with set of PS4 tires and you now have further enhanced ISF abilities to be competitive with the current crop of vehicles out there. And you can still DD ISF with that type of setup with no problem and if you add a supercharger to it that turns it into beast mode lol.
There's one area that the ISF just truly excels, its perfect Jack of all trades. Is it the fastest no is it the best handling no is it perfect car no, but ability to be a great fun, pretty reliable car, that can be tracked and then DD is fantastic not to mention a car that responds very well to mods especially with the tune now being available.
I'll definitely keep my eyes open good luck with your search and welcome home.
David.
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome back! It's kind of fun shopping for just the right ISF again. My plan would be to maybe drive it 50/50 with my Jeep, so not really a daily, but not a garage queen either. Porsche makes, in my opinion, the best sports car that can be had under $100K. But the maintenance is higher, the utility is lower, and the cost is higher when compared to an ISF. I may have another Porsche somewhere down the road... but right now, the ISF is more what I want.
Here's a quick picture journey of my cars since I left:
08-03-17, 12:20 PM
Allow me to reintroduce myself... (also, a WTB thread)
