James Roddy loves a Porsche. To be more specific, he loves his Porsche 996 C4S. And why wouldn’t he? It’s a beauty, as our latest in the series of Porsche people profiles reveals…

This is a simple story that takes a while to unwind but finishes well. It’s a narrative about what happens when we fixate on a thing – and with boys, it’s cars or sport – and are determined to realise that dream when we have the means and money to do so.

James Roddy is an Essex boy, but not for him the vulgar allure of the Ford Cosworth. Nope. James was a Porsche enthusiast since Day One. And, with his dad and grandad fully paid-up members of the automotive industry, he was never going to follow the footballer route.

Instead, he was “surrounded by cars since he can remember – and that was a very young age”. Describing himself as “meticulous and obsessed with attention to detail”, he was clearly going to eschew the Dagenham Dustbin for something classier. He chose the Porsche 996 C4S. It’s a controversial choice for some, but not James. “Some 911 enthusiasts don’t like the 996, mainly because of the headlights, but that’s what I love most about it.”

“Super-welcoming, super-friendly”.

This attention to detail meant that the search was long if not especially tortuous – who wouldn’t want to look at Porsches all day – and he reached out to the Porsche community, whom he rates very highly, describing them (us, if you like) as “inclusive and very welcoming.” A truly classless group, in that everyone from the driver of the 1950s 356 or the (comparatively) humble Boxster is welcome, James’ experience has been overwhelmingly positive.

Boy meets car. Drives car home.

Like with many Porsche stories, the happy ending begins with love at first sight. “I pretty much knew this was the car for me as soon as I saw it sitting outside the showroom”, recalls a wistful James. “It was a well-maintained and ‘straight’ looking car”.

Of course, any pre-loved car is something of a gamble and when taking that leap, it pays to minimise the ‘faith’ part of the equation and James was happy that the car had already been under the care of Paragon Porsche for several years already.

He’s effusive about Paragon’s presentation skills, commenting that the car – a warhorse of 19 years standing – looked “as if it had rolled off the production line”. He arrived with a group of friends who were also driving 911s and the happy pack went off for a drive as soon as he had the keys and “created a day I’ll always remember”.

Design911 – not just for 911s.

James is equally happy with his experience of Design911, who sit comfortably in the middle of many Porsche owner networks. With our workshop and nerve centre handily placed for James, he’s a frequent shopper for accessories and a welcome visitor every time. And should those headlights ever need replacing, James, we have just the thing.