968 considerations
Discussion
I'd agree with the whole involved driving thing compared to a fast BMW, my Wife had a 535D MSport when I had my 968, and even with the M030 suspension, the 5 was harder/crashier than the proker, but at the same time less connected to the road!
Air-con would have been nice, but things improved when my exhaust blow was sorted and it no longer heated the driver's foot-well!
Air-con would have been nice, but things improved when my exhaust blow was sorted and it no longer heated the driver's foot-well!
Its essential to inspect the Variocam area before you buy a 968. My last one had an up to date Porsche main dealer service history when I bought it with about 75k miles. When the balance belt broke a few weeks later (another story!), I discovered the inlet cam had 9 teeth missing. Even DIY, it wasn't a cheap fix with the new cams costing around £1200.
I subsequently wrote a fairly detailed Variocam Inspection Procedure which you can still find on several sites through a google search.
The further twist to the story is that a well known Porsche independent specialist subsequently owned my car for several years and had to replace the cams again after only around 30k miles.
I subsequently wrote a fairly detailed Variocam Inspection Procedure which you can still find on several sites through a google search.
The further twist to the story is that a well known Porsche independent specialist subsequently owned my car for several years and had to replace the cams again after only around 30k miles.
When I was about to buy a 968 around 8 years ago I agreed to pay 1/2 an hour labour to the dealer to take the cam cover off. Back then he said he could buy 2 new cams for £360 trade. Obviously cams are a lot more expensive now, just like the car was when I went back with my cheque book a couple of days later .
Go the whole hog and get a CS and leave a mrs or child at home (or take out the 'extender shelf' covering the rear seat wells and get a proper mounting bracket and seat fixing in place for a child seat).
Driving down the simple roads and motorways you will have plenty of nice looks and notice that people seem more willing to move over for you. Around town you will have people actively try to help you out of junctions and smile at you (this may be a new experience for anyone who has owned a 'normal' Porsche).
Yes it is a 20+ year old car so don't expect modern bells and whistles and if you go for a CS the more buttons the less attractive it is . You will hear the odd squeak and rattle from time to time but so? You will certainly notice the lack of sound deadening - you will not care.
I have spoken to a number of people who have been looking at getting a 968 over the last 4-5 years. I have yet to hear of a single one who took the leap regretting it.
Buy withyour eyes wide open and remember it is still a Porsche and that you should put £1kpa on one side for maintenance, regardless of if you use it all that year or not...
Driving down the simple roads and motorways you will have plenty of nice looks and notice that people seem more willing to move over for you. Around town you will have people actively try to help you out of junctions and smile at you (this may be a new experience for anyone who has owned a 'normal' Porsche).
Yes it is a 20+ year old car so don't expect modern bells and whistles and if you go for a CS the more buttons the less attractive it is . You will hear the odd squeak and rattle from time to time but so? You will certainly notice the lack of sound deadening - you will not care.
I have spoken to a number of people who have been looking at getting a 968 over the last 4-5 years. I have yet to hear of a single one who took the leap regretting it.
Buy withyour eyes wide open and remember it is still a Porsche and that you should put £1kpa on one side for maintenance, regardless of if you use it all that year or not...
blade7 said:
Don't mean you can get CS money for a sticker'd up Sport though
Admittedly there's not much one can do about the logbook but if one obtains a Certificate of Authenticity from Porsche for a Sport it will record the car as a Club Sport. This is because, essentially, Sports are Club Sports. They came of the line in Germany as Club Sports and were shipped to the UK as Club Sports. It was only the UK dealers that put some of the creature comforts back in and the Sport badge on the back. The creature comforts do include air-con in my case but there have been times where I'd rather they'd put the "you've left your lights on" buzzer back instead...
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