RE: The Brave Pill: Porsche 911 (996)

[SuperSonicSloth]

I can definitely see the appeal here, though personally if I were after a cheap Porsche, it'd probably be an early Boxster S. Probably fairly similar power/weight ratio, proper top down fun and looks that I think are only improving with age.

[Niffty951]

SuperSonicSloth said:

I can definitely see the appeal here, though personally if I were after a cheap Porsche, it'd probably be an early Boxster S. Probably fairly similar power/weight ratio, proper top down fun and looks that I think are only improving with age.

I've been mentally scarred after borrowing one from a friend and expecting it to handle like the memory of my 2006 Cayman S. It 'was' significantly less forgiving.

[mikey P 500]

Here is mine also an aerokit car which I think makes a massive difference to the 996

[Nerdherder]

hammo19 said:

Personally I think the 996 is the best looking 911 and driving one would give you a certain smugness knowing the Porsche purists shun you....this is a very tempting weekender

Not the most pretty in my book, but then again: Are 911’s pretty anyway? The appeal to me is not its beauty, but its stubborn way of getting a totally wrong recipe so right. Being on continental Europe I envy the price level of the lowly 996 in the UK. Am mighty tempted now to look into importing a wrong hand drive specimen of this plague-bearing leper of the 911 family.

Edited by Nerdherder on Sunday 19th May 18:19

[SuperSonicSloth]

Niffty951 said:

I've been mentally scarred after borrowing one from a friend and expecting it to handle like the memory of my 2006 Cayman S. It 'was' significantly less forgiving.

I've not driven one to comment, but I guess anything mid-engined is always going to have the potential to bite. I'd like one mainly to enjoy the back to basics motoring and 6 cylinder soundtrack at 6/10ths rather than to thrash the thing about.

[chj]

I had c4s for 2 years and 20k miles that had had a hartech rebuild before I bought it. Totally reliable and only necessary cost was a couple of tyres and a service at about £400. However found it dull after a while and never really gelled with it. Had no regrets with selling when it went to a new owner and have never missed it sadly.

[Julian Thompson]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

This is exactly correct in my experience

[Sine Metu]

Esceptico said:

I really don’t like the base 996.1 shape yet in GT3 form I think it looks great. Amazing how simple changes make such a difference. Of course GT3 also much better in other ways too. Gratuitous pic.

I had a 996 C2 once. Whatever one thinks about the looks (which I loved), the car is fantastic to drive. No question about that. What does amuse me a lot is whenever a magazine does an article on a Carrera they mention the looks - 'controversial ageing well' is the usual cliche. The C4S always gets the 'best looking 996' award even though it's a fat heavy Carrera. The turbo never gets that award purely because of a couple of air intakes. And the GT3? Even though it is the exact same as every Carrera with a body kit I don't think I've ever read a review of a GT3 and seen anything negative mentioned about the looks. Emperors New Clothes and all that...

[Engelberger]

Sine Metu said:

even though it's a fat heavy Carrera.

Kerb weight c4s:

993 - 1471
996 - 1470
997 - 1550
991 -1539
992 - 1565

Oh and while talking of weight a 991 Carrera S is 1495.

For a light 911 then the 996 C2 is hard to beat at 1340.

As with everything it is all relative. Stick a sunroof and a fat bloke in and you're up the weight of a 996 C4S. But the C4S is always claimed to be heavy and yet you never/rarely see that said of the old 993 or any 991 onwards.

[jakesmith]

Boxsters are great value and great cars and a lot more than 50% of a 911 considering the price difference but I don't think they are so close that they are a a perfect substitute, it depends on what you are after. If you just want a great drivers car from Porsche with good power then fine but there is more to the 911 than that IMO which is one of the reasons the market values them more.

Aside from the cachet of the 911 brand which many won't be bothered about (but many are), I found my C4S to be a different car to the 3 Boxsters I owned. Power feels up considerably vs a 3.2S, much more so than the figures suggest. The soundtrack of the car with PSE was on another planet from the 987S with it's Carnewal system. And I preferred the huge traction out of corners, the huge brakes, and the confidence inspiring AWD. Not knocking the Boxsters they are all great cars but depending on what you're after it might not be the best substitute for a 911

I bought a 987S as I missed my 997 C4S. It didn't fill the hole that the 997 left although it cost just as much to run, and I ended up trading it after a year. I missed the power, the noise, and the more special feel of the more expensive car. Not things that everyone cares about, but I did. Personally I don't like the side profile view of a 986 either it looks like an upturned bathtub where as the 911 is a design classic especially in side profile, but that's highly subjective of course

[soad]

Fittster said:

How much will Hartech charge to rebuild the engine?

And the answer appears to be that there isn't going to be much change from 10K for a full rebuild: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Could I spend 10K on a car I bought for 12K?

Edited by Fittster on Saturday 18th May 08:04

Depends if you can afford (both)?

[dinkel]

Mmmmh... I'd throw 20k at a decent Boxster.

[mmcd87]

You only live once

Edited by mmcd87 on Tuesday 21st May 12:03

[Ho Lee Kau]

"You could stick 50,000 miles on this one and it wouldn't be worth significantly less. You'd enjoy doing it, too."

So, 171000 miles and it would not lose any "value"....in the head of the seller maybe. In the head of a potential buyer - I would not be so sure. I personally would not buy a 911 with 171000 miles on the clock, the maintenance prices are still like on the new 911 and it will have a lot of wear and tear to be taken care of, maybe even engine rebuild.

[dibblecorse]

Ho Lee Kau said:

"You could stick 50,000 miles on this one and it wouldn't be worth significantly less. You'd enjoy doing it, too."

So, 171000 miles and it would not lose any "value"....in the head of the seller maybe. In the head of a potential buyer - I would not be so sure. I personally would not buy a 911 with 171000 miles on the clock, the maintenance prices are still like on the new 911 and it will have a lot of wear and tear to be taken care of, maybe even engine rebuild.

Truth by 171k miles most of the work would be done on a decently maintained one, would be a bit of a triggers broom but at the right price ...

[was8v]

Brilliant cars. Had mine 6 years ish.

They aren't as cheap to run as a hot hatch.

They are 20 years old so need attention due to age.

Engine failure is massively overhyped. They had trouble with a few engines in the early days, these showed themselves and saddled the 996 with the reputation.

Mechanically they are nothing to be afraid of, as easy as anything else to work on. Don't pay Porsche tax on parts and labour.

[LordHaveMurci]

chj said:

I had c4s for 2 years and 20k miles that had had a hartech rebuild before I bought it. Totally reliable and only necessary cost was a couple of tyres and a service at about £400. However found it dull after a while and never really gelled with it. Had no regrets with selling when it went to a new owner and have never missed it sadly.

Compared to the numerous TVR's you list in your garage I guess it would feel a little dull, why did you purchase it & were you specifically looking for a 4S?

[Ahonen]

baptistsan said:

Very tempting.

Wonder how bad the rust is?!

Mine's a '99 and has zero rust. They were fully galvanised.

[WCZ]

needs a bodykit to make it look acceptable so that's another few thousand
+ exhaust etc

[Chris Stott]

dibblecorse said:

Truth by 171k miles most of the work would be done on a decently maintained one, would be a bit of a triggers broom but at the right price ...

That’s my mileage, and my wife christened mine Triggers Broom some years ago