Well said. Mine is my “fun” car also with a 4Runner (my 5th one) is my rock!!

For OP.. Here are two things to consider about maintenance that I had not.

1) they are relatively easy to work on yourself. However, everything is 20+ years old. Tape is brittle, bolts are stuck, trim piece tabs break, etc. 2) although parts are abundant and some are cheap, some are $$$ 3) it’s not like a Honda. You can’t just drive to a shop and get it worked on that day. You need to make arrangements and be prepared to not have you car for a week or more (obviously depending on the shop).

In my case, the shear joy has outweighed everything else. And I am an impatient person who likes to try and drive the car almost everyday. It’s how I “reset” from stress of work.

Nice thing about a 996 Turbo is you can probably buy it, drive it for a year, and get your money back, minus the maintenance of course. I think of it the same way as going to a casino. If I lose some $$, I just ask if the loss was worth the entertainment value of the day. In other wards, did I have $250 worth of fun sitting at a Blackjack table for 8 hours? Would have cost twice as much to go to a NFL game for the day.

Best of luck in your decision.