Can you really live with a low-buck Porsche 911?

pres589 wrote:

Lugnut wrote: I have a 997, and I think the 996 is better looking.

You weird.

Like really really weird.

Devilsolsi wrote:

markwemple wrote: In reply to Devilsolsi: What does it need?

See here: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/open-classifieds/1999-porsche-911-c2-coupe-20k/121414/page1/ The big thing is a drivers side chain tensioner. Then a bunch of little things..

Asking is about 15% over market price - you could ding him down and have a nice car.

Nathan JansenvanDoorn wrote: It's a Porsche thing. If it was a Hyundai, everyone would be screaming about how crap that was. With a Porsche, you make excuses like: "yeah, that doesn't surprise me, they need to be driven hard." CLEARLY, the owners fault, and not bad engineering.

TR8owner wrote: In reply to Harvey: "It was low mileage, about 40K Kms and had a complete rebuild of the engine about 15K Kms ago." An engine rebuild after only 25K kms?

Yada, yada, yada. The failure rate is about 5%. Of those, almost all have been low mileage ones that were driven lightly. Your comment is unnecessary and not reflective of any actual facts except a lack of personal knowledge.

In reply to Ricky Spanish:

Already have one. I was actually looking to help a fellow 996 owner. Many people think parts prices are outrageous simply because they don't know where to look. Prices are pretty reasonable and these are still a DYI car. Up until the 991, the 911s are DIY. In fact, I'd argue that the most DIY 911s are the 996 and 997 (having owned 911s from 68-83 and my 996).

I have been DDing my 996 for two years now, rain or shine almost every day. I have changed the oil and done sway bar end links. Still amazing to drive, hauls the kids around just fine. Wonderful, fun, and such a nice place to spend time (full leather, carbon fiber, comfort seats, modern bluetooth stereo, etc.). Did I mention it drives and sounds like nothing else when heel toeing on a winding country road with targa roof back? Love. Jcamper

Nathan JansenvanDoorn wrote: It's a Porsche thing. If it was a Hyundai, everyone would be screaming about how crap that was. With a Porsche, you make excuses like: "yeah, that doesn't surprise me, they need to be driven hard."

ALL cars need to be driven regularly and hard. The most trouble prone vehicles are the low mileage ones.

I have a recurring nightmare where my car gets totalled and the insurance company can't find me an "exact replacement" with under 200k. Every low mileage car I work on is a nightmare, you see, while the high miles cars are cream puffs because thy have to have been maintained well to live that long.

I can see a 25k km Porsche needing an engine rebuild if it has the kind of owner who is afraid of it and does a lot of short distance cold-start driving with a lot of time in between. Basically the worst abuse you can inflict on a vehicle. People don't drive Hyundais like that.'

Get it hot, run it hard, never let it sit for more than a couple days at a time.

You know, you're kinda proving my point, right? I find 996 owners the most defensive when anyone dare criticise the hallowed Porsche name. (Insecure maybe?)

A 1 in 20 failure rate actually is anything but small, but I'm sure you can appreciate that.

Lighten up Francis, this is supposed to be fun. I actually have a Porsche, which no doubt you'll tell me (again) is unreliable etc etc.

Enjoy your purchase and lighten up. My comment was absolutely unnecessary. All of this is. At least I can laugh at myself as I replace my headstuds. Feel free to continue making silly assumptions about what I know.

markwemple wrote:

Nathan JansenvanDoorn wrote: It's a Porsche thing. If it was a Hyundai, everyone would be screaming about how crap that was. With a Porsche, you make excuses like: "yeah, that doesn't surprise me, they need to be driven hard." CLEARLY, the owners fault, and not bad engineering.

TR8owner wrote: In reply to Harvey: "It was low mileage, about 40K Kms and had a complete rebuild of the engine about 15K Kms ago." An engine rebuild after only 25K kms?

Yada, yada, yada. The failure rate is about 5%. Of those, almost all have been low mileage ones that were driven lightly. Your comment is unnecessary and not reflective of any actual facts except a lack of personal knowledge.

I had one a few years ago and it was a great car to drive. Didn't feel as solid as the 911s from the 80s but comfortable and fun.

That being said the prior owner replaced the intermediary bearing as did the owner after me. I avoided any major repairs but owned it for less than a year.

I would consider another but some simple things like spark plugs are more complicated with the layout of the engine and manifolds. Of I got another I would plan on the $1000 for a new intermediary bearing because they can be catastrophic if it fails at the wrong time.

markwemple wrote: In reply to Ricky Spanish: Already have one. I was actually looking to help a fellow 996 owner. Many people think parts prices are outrageous simply because they don't know where to look. Prices are pretty reasonable and these are still a DYI car. Up until the 991, the 911s are DIY. In fact, I'd argue that the most DIY 911s are the 996 and 997 (having owned 911s from 68-83 and my 996).

Having owned two 996s and an SC, I agree with the statement that the 996s are super easy to work on. I mean, they come from a Toyota-based mass assembly philosophy rather than the hand built philosophy of the air cooled cars, and you can tell when you get in there.

Plus, everything is RIGHT THERE when you open the boot or crawl underneath and remove the paneling.

markwemple wrote: Personal taste. I like the exterior of the 997 better, but the interior of the 996 better.

I completely agree with that.

I do think the 996 holds up well if you think about it in terms of 'late 90s styling'. But it pales in that category to what i consider nearly a masterpiece, the contemporary Volvo S80!