Nismo or 911

mts

I've owned 4 Porsches with the most recent being a 911. If your pockets are deep I would go 911 without question. It's an experience any car person should have (if they can afford it) at least once in their life time. The cars are spectacular, nothing really drives quite like them, the Porsche Club is great and can provide some things that basically no other owners club can including access to pretty much at track in the world if you like to do lapping days. Apples to apples I believe it is a dramatically better driving experience than the Nismo.

However, if one of the things you are concerned about is cost of ownership though I would seriously question whether a 911 is a good fit for you. There is no such thing as an inexpensive Porsche. Cost of service is high and cost of parts is extremely high even if you do your own maintenance. I have a lift in my garage and do almost all my own work, but you still pay a real premium for the parts, even if you know where to buy them. If you don't know where to buy them, bend over. The cars are pretty reliable in general, but if you do have an issue it can be financially devistating. For example, I lost the IMS in a 2004 Boxster S which destroyed the motor and the repair bill was $20k. Even if I had gone with a junk yard motor I was looking at $6-$10k. Luckily Porsche goodwill covered most of my cost. My next door neighbor lost his PDK tranmission and the repair part alone was $18k.

Of course you would most likely never have a major issue like that, but since you are talking an out of warranty 05/06 it would be foolish to not have a educated understanding of possible ownership costs before you jump in.

In the end anyone should consider themselves fortunate to own either car, but I think the pros and cons of each are vastly different.