996 C2, down to 944 S2
Discussion
Due to commute, school fees and other reasons the 996 has gone. it has been replaced by an Audi A3 TDi, a good car but missing that X factor.
I have been looking and noticed that you can get a quite good 944 S2 for £5k. ( 2 small back seats are a must )
The question is would it give me 90% of the fun of the 996, or would it just be a big disapointment. should I just walk away from porsche until I can get another 996/997?
has anyone else down graded like this?
Sorry not intrested in SC,964 or 993, just can't bring myself to pay that much for a car of that age.
I have been looking and noticed that you can get a quite good 944 S2 for £5k. ( 2 small back seats are a must )
The question is would it give me 90% of the fun of the 996, or would it just be a big disapointment. should I just walk away from porsche until I can get another 996/997?
has anyone else down graded like this?
Sorry not intrested in SC,964 or 993, just can't bring myself to pay that much for a car of that age.
I can't compare the 996 to the 944S2 since I've not driven the 911,though clearly its going to be a step down performance wise. The S2 is fantastic value for money-probably the best value sports car available imho,and you'd probably not lose much when you came to selling it on. Fantastic chassis, refined,surprisingly practical,and deceptively quick considering the BHP.
I just sold mine for £5150 on PH and am now in the process of looking for a 964 C2 or possibly a late Carrera 3.2-I'm under no illusion that the S2 was probably as good as either of them (and better in some ways) and I'm missing it like f*ck - especially in weather like todays,but I'm really interested to see what a 911 is like regarding ownership experience. Hope I'm not disappointed!
I just sold mine for £5150 on PH and am now in the process of looking for a 964 C2 or possibly a late Carrera 3.2-I'm under no illusion that the S2 was probably as good as either of them (and better in some ways) and I'm missing it like f*ck - especially in weather like todays,but I'm really interested to see what a 911 is like regarding ownership experience. Hope I'm not disappointed!
Just a passing comment, but some people have only ever been able to run 944S2's on account of not being able to afford smarter machinery ... bear in mind that they may be miffed at seeing their P&J's being looked down on by those who have (or have had) much bigger budgets to play with.
I'm not saying you are, but bear it in mind.
And a helpful comment from me - here is a thread I posted a year or so ago, hypothetically contemplating the same move, but the other way 'round (IYSWIM.)
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...
Oli.
I'm not saying you are, but bear it in mind.
And a helpful comment from me - here is a thread I posted a year or so ago, hypothetically contemplating the same move, but the other way 'round (IYSWIM.)
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...
Oli.
I had a 944 S2 before my current 993, and they are bl**dy good cars. Better than the 911 in some ways. Certainly more practical.
Get a good one and you will not feel short changed.
I'm really sorry I sold mine, and if I had the space I'd have kept it.
My tips would be:
a) look at a lot: I can't help but feel there are going to be dogs out there at that price;
b) if you can get one with air con - very rare, but they do get hot with that engine sitting almost on top of you
Get a good one and you will not feel short changed.
I'm really sorry I sold mine, and if I had the space I'd have kept it.
My tips would be:
a) look at a lot: I can't help but feel there are going to be dogs out there at that price;
b) if you can get one with air con - very rare, but they do get hot with that engine sitting almost on top of you
Jonny996,
OK, fair enough. Happy hunting for a good one. I'd second Tertius's comments - look at a lot because there are dogs out there (I looked at 7 when I bought mine a year ago), and Air Con is a rarity (and often broken.)
If you are ever in London and fancy a poke around a decent specimen, drop me a line, I'm more than happy to oblige.
Oli.
OK, fair enough. Happy hunting for a good one. I'd second Tertius's comments - look at a lot because there are dogs out there (I looked at 7 when I bought mine a year ago), and Air Con is a rarity (and often broken.)
If you are ever in London and fancy a poke around a decent specimen, drop me a line, I'm more than happy to oblige.
Oli.
Yes - great cars - reasonably inexpensive to run once sorted out - but beware because even a nicely looked after example with FSH may require cams, cam chain, valve springs, etc. A head gasket may become a problem (as the gaskets rot and the age is now at the point when they are starting).
It can cost around £3K to sort out an apparently good car after a proper strip and check of vulnerable components that a pre purchase inspection will not find. It should find things like steering rack, UJ, discs, pads, tyres suspension etc - but that may add to the cost.
An expensive low mileage one may still need a lot spending on the internals and a high mileage cheaper one may have had most things already done and be better value. If many of the itmes listed have already been done - this is a good safeguard.
Despite the low initial purchase cost and low running costs (once the car has been given a proper birthday) they are all at an age at which many need expensive work that you should add this to the purchase cost when justifying the model to buy.
Baz
It can cost around £3K to sort out an apparently good car after a proper strip and check of vulnerable components that a pre purchase inspection will not find. It should find things like steering rack, UJ, discs, pads, tyres suspension etc - but that may add to the cost.
An expensive low mileage one may still need a lot spending on the internals and a high mileage cheaper one may have had most things already done and be better value. If many of the itmes listed have already been done - this is a good safeguard.
Despite the low initial purchase cost and low running costs (once the car has been given a proper birthday) they are all at an age at which many need expensive work that you should add this to the purchase cost when justifying the model to buy.
Baz
Have you thought about a late 944 turbo?
You could drip-feed money into tuning it as circumstances allow. The tuning potential of these cars is enormous - limited like most things - only by your wallet. With new developments such as 3.2 litre big bore motors using Nikasil coated liners, Garrett dual ball bearing turbos,Motec engine management, solid lifter valve train, worked heads,intake & exhaust manifolding - the sky's the limit. The late 250 bhp turbos had an LSD,hardened first & second gears & 928 S4 front brakes.
Modern developments mean that lag can be massively reduced from the levels exhibited by the standard car.
As with any older machine - you can take it as read that you'll have to throw away all the suspension!
You could drip-feed money into tuning it as circumstances allow. The tuning potential of these cars is enormous - limited like most things - only by your wallet. With new developments such as 3.2 litre big bore motors using Nikasil coated liners, Garrett dual ball bearing turbos,Motec engine management, solid lifter valve train, worked heads,intake & exhaust manifolding - the sky's the limit. The late 250 bhp turbos had an LSD,hardened first & second gears & 928 S4 front brakes.
Modern developments mean that lag can be massively reduced from the levels exhibited by the standard car.
As with any older machine - you can take it as read that you'll have to throw away all the suspension!
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