Bye, bye, Porca, it was lovely while it lasted
Discussion
I’ve been running a 996 C4 Cab Tip S for over two years now. Bought from Tom and Henry at 911 Virgin. Bought with 24,000 miles, sold yesterday with 47,000.
Despite being terrified about reliability issues (mainly from this forum) the car has been utterly reliable. Sailed through its 111 check, was serviced last year at JZM, one bank of coil packs changed as a precaution. I’ve been through a set of Conti 2s, one flat battery, and thats it!
Without doubt, THE most reliable car I’ve ever owned!
Utterly reliable, fairly comfortable, nice small proportions, great visibility, practical enough to take me, the wife, and two little girls all over the country......
Observations:
1. I know a convertible 911 is heresy, but I really fancied a bit of open toped motoring and really enjoyed it. The only compromise is the looks, the hood is completely leak proof and quiet. Don’t bother with the hard-top, complete waste of time. There is a bit of rattle and shake, but not too bad.
2. Do buy a Porsche Sports Exhaust, every 911 should have one as standard.
3. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BUY A TIPTRONIC! They are a complete, unmitigated pile os shite and have no place in a 911.
So, missing it already, terribly. The one problem with owning a 911 is, where do you go next?
Despite being terrified about reliability issues (mainly from this forum) the car has been utterly reliable. Sailed through its 111 check, was serviced last year at JZM, one bank of coil packs changed as a precaution. I’ve been through a set of Conti 2s, one flat battery, and thats it!
Without doubt, THE most reliable car I’ve ever owned!
Utterly reliable, fairly comfortable, nice small proportions, great visibility, practical enough to take me, the wife, and two little girls all over the country......
Observations:
1. I know a convertible 911 is heresy, but I really fancied a bit of open toped motoring and really enjoyed it. The only compromise is the looks, the hood is completely leak proof and quiet. Don’t bother with the hard-top, complete waste of time. There is a bit of rattle and shake, but not too bad.
2. Do buy a Porsche Sports Exhaust, every 911 should have one as standard.
3. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BUY A TIPTRONIC! They are a complete, unmitigated pile os shite and have no place in a 911.
So, missing it already, terribly. The one problem with owning a 911 is, where do you go next?
Could you elaborate on the Tip? Is it similar to driving your everyday E-Class in smoothness and just not responsive enough for faster drivers OR does it jerk allot on up & down shifts? I have never had the pleasure?? of being in a Porsche tiptronic but have experienceds BMW's SMG and Gallardos E-Gear which compared to an E-Class are both jerky and do seem to have a lag on up-shift at any speed.
It just makes me wonder how Porsche can justify still using it on the £95k 997 turbo if its as bad as whats said on the forum.
It just makes me wonder how Porsche can justify still using it on the £95k 997 turbo if its as bad as whats said on the forum.
Wanta996 said:
Could you elaborate on the Tip? Is it similar to driving your everyday E-Class in smoothness and just not responsive enough for faster drivers OR does it jerk allot on up & down shifts? I have never had the pleasure?? of being in a Porsche tiptronic but have experienceds BMW's SMG and Gallardos E-Gear which compared to an E-Class are both jerky and do seem to have a lag on up-shift at any speed.
It just makes me wonder how Porsche can justify still using it on the £95k 997 turbo if its as bad as whats said on the forum.
Don't assume the driving characteristics/performance of a tip box in a normally aspirated 911 and a turbo are the same. IMO they are totally different. It just makes me wonder how Porsche can justify still using it on the £95k 997 turbo if its as bad as whats said on the forum.
Wanta996 said:
Could you elaborate on the Tip? Is it similar to driving your everyday E-Class in smoothness and just not responsive enough for faster drivers OR does it jerk allot on up & down shifts? I have never had the pleasure?? of being in a Porsche tiptronic but have experienceds BMW's SMG and Gallardos E-Gear which compared to an E-Class are both jerky and do seem to have a lag on up-shift at any speed.
It just makes me wonder how Porsche can justify still using it on the £95k 997 turbo if its as bad as whats said on the forum.
The shift quality is not really the issue, shifts are OK up and down in auto and manual mode. You can hold gears, you cant over-rev the engine, and you can left foot brake etc.It just makes me wonder how Porsche can justify still using it on the £95k 997 turbo if its as bad as whats said on the forum.
BUT, its just a conventional torque-convertor auto. Its heavy, it saps power, it changes up way too early, and its effin thirsty.
Additionally, the ratios are all wrong. The manual is 6 speed, the auto is 5. In a tight, low speed corner you need first to avoid getting bogged-down, off-cam in second.
I could imagine the box suiting the extra torque of a TT more.
Ultimately, have a LONG test drive in a Tip before deciding. Its an expensive mistake if you make the wrong decision.
kennyboy said:
what are you getting next then? - natural progression a TT or GT3?
Would love to, but I need four seats, so GT3 is out.TT left me a bit cold to be honest.
I think the plan is to wait a year or so until the 997 S has done a bit more depreciation.
I'm going old skool cool for a while
Job38 said:
kennyboy said:
what are you getting next then? - natural progression a TT or GT3?
Would love to, but I need four seats, so GT3 is out.TT left me a bit cold to be honest.
I think the plan is to wait a year or so until the 997 S has done a bit more depreciation.
I'm going old skool cool for a while
Job38 said:
Paracetamol said:
What was the cost to you over the period of ownership?
Lets think:Servicing and tyres c. £1000
PSE c. £1200
Insurance c. £700 pa
Warranty £750 pa
Depreciation c. £15,000
Worth it?
If you're a PH, I guess so
jb12 said:
I am quite surprised with the MPG on the C4 tip, unless my On board trip computer is faulty I have managed to average 25MPG on combined run (911 Turbo tip).
I was pleased when I was getting 20MPG on a C4 cab tip.... Could easily make it dip a lot lower 
Always drove mine in M if it made a difference.Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff