Discussion
Hi,
I'm probably sticking my neck out a bit here, but I feel that my latest steed, a 981 Boxster has build quality as good as my old 928. Even the nice noise the door makes when it shuts is there, overall fit and finish in the interior seems better and more solid. I remember being quite disappointed with the 986 Boxster, it felt very cheap in some areas... The 944 it replaced was much better built!
Someone will no doubt mention recent reliability issues, but how much went under the radar before the internet became so commonly used for information exchange?
Thoughts?
I'm probably sticking my neck out a bit here, but I feel that my latest steed, a 981 Boxster has build quality as good as my old 928. Even the nice noise the door makes when it shuts is there, overall fit and finish in the interior seems better and more solid. I remember being quite disappointed with the 986 Boxster, it felt very cheap in some areas... The 944 it replaced was much better built!
Someone will no doubt mention recent reliability issues, but how much went under the radar before the internet became so commonly used for information exchange?
Thoughts?
Huskyman said:
Hi,
I'm probably sticking my neck out a bit here, but I feel that my latest steed, a 981 Boxster has build quality as good as my old 928. Even the nice noise the door makes when it shuts is there, overall fit and finish in the interior seems better and more solid. I remember being quite disappointed with the 986 Boxster, it felt very cheap in some areas... The 944 it replaced was much better built!
Someone will no doubt mention recent reliability issues, but how much went under the radar before the internet became so commonly used for information exchange?
Thoughts?
Yes, I agree with you. Porsche were on their knees when they built 986/996,so they never had the cash to follow the 993 and 928 era for quality. Plus, Wendelin Wiedeking was all about making the business profitable in an attempt to save the company. I think the current Porsche product line up, which let's face it, is now a line up of mass produced cars, is up there with the best of them. You can't compare the Porsche of today with the Porsche of the 60's under Ferry.I'm probably sticking my neck out a bit here, but I feel that my latest steed, a 981 Boxster has build quality as good as my old 928. Even the nice noise the door makes when it shuts is there, overall fit and finish in the interior seems better and more solid. I remember being quite disappointed with the 986 Boxster, it felt very cheap in some areas... The 944 it replaced was much better built!
Someone will no doubt mention recent reliability issues, but how much went under the radar before the internet became so commonly used for information exchange?
Thoughts?
I kinda agree. I actually thought the outside door handles of my 986 were broken when I bough the car as they actually seem to flex in your fingers. And the boot makes a terrible clang when you shut it as it's just a piece of steel with no nod to any soundproofing. But I'd bet a 986 is a hell of a lot lighter then a 981.
Many don't like the slightly plasticky interior, although I'd argue that it looks a lot more Porsche than a VAG clone 987 or 981. And when I look at the paint quality which is superb, and the general condition of the car it's hard to believe it's nearly 15 years old...it looks fantastic. Compare it to the missus' A3 of the same year which had peeling lacquer, a worn out interior, and squeaks and clonks from everywhere when we sold it. And whilst an early noughties 986 is THE £5k performance car bargain of the decade, it will have held it's value remarkably well compared to other similarly priced cars, or other sports cars, of teg same era.
Many don't like the slightly plasticky interior, although I'd argue that it looks a lot more Porsche than a VAG clone 987 or 981. And when I look at the paint quality which is superb, and the general condition of the car it's hard to believe it's nearly 15 years old...it looks fantastic. Compare it to the missus' A3 of the same year which had peeling lacquer, a worn out interior, and squeaks and clonks from everywhere when we sold it. And whilst an early noughties 986 is THE £5k performance car bargain of the decade, it will have held it's value remarkably well compared to other similarly priced cars, or other sports cars, of teg same era.
SkinnyPete said:
I'm not sure I see the 981 interior as particularly well built.
The 987 is very good as standard but made even better with the full leather, where as on the 981 I think the full leather is a must have because the plastics are so unpleasant.
A £50K 981 interior is comparable in terms of materials and quality to that in a £150K 991 Turbo S. The majority of the parts used are the same. I don't find the plastics unpleasant at all.The 987 is very good as standard but made even better with the full leather, where as on the 981 I think the full leather is a must have because the plastics are so unpleasant.
Hard-Drive said:
I kinda agree. I actually thought the outside door handles of my 986 were broken when I bough the car as they actually seem to flex in your fingers. And the boot makes a terrible clang when you shut it as it's just a piece of steel with no nod to any soundproofing. But I'd bet a 986 is a hell of a lot lighter then a 981.
Many don't like the slightly plasticky interior, although I'd argue that it looks a lot more Porsche than a VAG clone 987 or 981. And when I look at the paint quality which is superb, and the general condition of the car it's hard to believe it's nearly 15 years old...it looks fantastic. Compare it to the missus' A3 of the same year which had peeling lacquer, a worn out interior, and squeaks and clonks from everywhere when we sold it. And whilst an early noughties 986 is THE £5k performance car bargain of the decade, it will have held it's value remarkably well compared to other similarly priced cars, or other sports cars, of teg same era.
For the record, I adore the 986/996 cars, and don't think they're badly built at all. A new 996/986 was still quality product. I just think they were Porsches engineered with production cost/efficiency and volume sales higher up the list of priorities than they were with previous models.Many don't like the slightly plasticky interior, although I'd argue that it looks a lot more Porsche than a VAG clone 987 or 981. And when I look at the paint quality which is superb, and the general condition of the car it's hard to believe it's nearly 15 years old...it looks fantastic. Compare it to the missus' A3 of the same year which had peeling lacquer, a worn out interior, and squeaks and clonks from everywhere when we sold it. And whilst an early noughties 986 is THE £5k performance car bargain of the decade, it will have held it's value remarkably well compared to other similarly priced cars, or other sports cars, of teg same era.
SkinnyPete said:
I'm not sure I see the 981 interior as particularly well built.
The 987 is very good as standard but made even better with the full leather, where as on the 981 I think the full leather is a must have because the plastics are so unpleasant.
Mine is a GTS with lots of leather, but the overall quality feels like a big step on? I've never sat in a basic 981, but it feels as good as my old 928, and it is rattle and squeak free with the PASM set to fully hard.The 987 is very good as standard but made even better with the full leather, where as on the 981 I think the full leather is a must have because the plastics are so unpleasant.
Hard-Drive said:
I kinda agree. I actually thought the outside door handles of my 986 were broken when I bough the car as they actually seem to flex in your fingers. And the boot makes a terrible clang when you shut it as it's just a piece of steel with no nod to any soundproofing. But I'd bet a 986 is a hell of a lot lighter then a 981.
Many don't like the slightly plasticky interior, although I'd argue that it looks a lot more Porsche than a VAG clone 987 or 981. And when I look at the paint quality which is superb, and the general condition of the car it's hard to believe it's nearly 15 years old...it looks fantastic. Compare it to the missus' A3 of the same year which had peeling lacquer, a worn out interior, and squeaks and clonks from everywhere when we sold it. And whilst an early noughties 986 is THE £5k performance car bargain of the decade, it will have held it's value remarkably well compared to other similarly priced cars, or other sports cars, of teg same era.
The book figure for a 986 S, which is the closest to a 991 GTS is 1320Kg, the 981 is 1375Kg, so not a world apart... I do agree with the paint quality, it was very good, and there is a part of me that misses the purity of the steering feel on the 986...Many don't like the slightly plasticky interior, although I'd argue that it looks a lot more Porsche than a VAG clone 987 or 981. And when I look at the paint quality which is superb, and the general condition of the car it's hard to believe it's nearly 15 years old...it looks fantastic. Compare it to the missus' A3 of the same year which had peeling lacquer, a worn out interior, and squeaks and clonks from everywhere when we sold it. And whilst an early noughties 986 is THE £5k performance car bargain of the decade, it will have held it's value remarkably well compared to other similarly priced cars, or other sports cars, of teg same era.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I agree with you on some points, but the quality of some of the fittings not seen seem to be better quality. I intend on keeping my GTS for a very long time, as it may be the last of the breed of big normally aspirated flat six that isn't from the GT stable. I don't wear rings full stop, or my watch when driving the GTS or my daily hack, that seems to be the downfall of a lot of interior plastics..pete a said:
The 981 GTS with GTS interior pack is a fantastic place to be, I had the privilege of spending the day in one last week through the Alps and it was great, also the PDK seemed excellent and it sounded fantastic.
981 GTS fantastic quality and fantastic car.
I would agree with you, and I feel very privileged and happy every time I get behind the wheel. I bet you had fun spending a day in one in the Alps!! Oops don't mention the PDK, that's a whole new argument.. I did a very naughty tunnel run in it the other day and the sound was immense with the car in sports plus!! The pops, the bangs and the crackles bring out the 9 year old in me.. 981 GTS fantastic quality and fantastic car.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I do know that Porsche put a lot of effort to keep the weight down for the 981, and it is a bigger car. I should have checked my sources for the figures before posting, the figure I quoted for the 981 was from the Porsche website, and that was the DIN figure. I've found another figure for the 986 S which gives it as 1295Kg, but I am struggling to find a DIN figure for that car. I don't think the EU figure was in force when the 986 specs where released, and I pulled that from an American website.The 986 was a steel monocoque design with steel doors, and lids, the 981 is a hybrid steel/alloy shell with alloy lids?
Gmund said:
Yes, I agree with you. Porsche were on their knees when they built 986/996,so they never had the cash to follow the 993 and 928 era for quality. Plus, Wendelin Wiedeking was all about making the business profitable in an attempt to save the company. I think the current Porsche product line up, which let's face it, is now a line up of mass produced cars, is up there with the best of them. You can't compare the Porsche of today with the Porsche of the 60's under Ferry.
The fact is that the 986 and 996 are of a better build quality than any previous model.The 996 was much more popular than the 993 and this is proven by how many they were able to produce and sell. Remember that the 993 was not helping Porsche to survive, they were going bust at the time because they were so expensive to manufacture and did not have enough sales. Why were they so expensive to manufacture, not due to the good quality, but due to the fact that after manufacture they had to fix them to make them sellable. In fact when they improved their production techniques they reduced manufacturing errors by 50%, yes 50%. The 996 was so popular it saved the Porsche company (not to exclude the Boxster) from going under. This was not down to poor quality, otherwise no one would have purchased them, but down to popularity due to the fact that the 996 was and is a much better car in all respects to the earlier models and other marques at the time. My 996 is a 2004 and is like new inside and out and I use my car a lot, for work, plus it gets taken onto the track six to eight times a year, touring Europe on very long mile journeys. So the poor quality issue with the 996 is unfounded and my car is the proof to that fact. + dont forget there is a 560k on the clock 996 turbo out there still going strong.
I'm a 928 owner who does all the work on the car, and in course of those jobs I'm regularly gobsmacked by quality of components and engineering I encounter. This sheer hang-the-cost quality is one reason why the car is so rewarding to spanner.
I'm sure the interior of current Porsches are top quality, but in terms of a comparison with the 928 and it's Porsche contemporaries I would suggest:
- let's look at a new Bosxter in 2040 and see if it's held up as well as my 1991 928 (or 2055 to see if it's as good as the superb early 928s owned by others
- quality means a lot more than the interior of the cabin, though even in that area a comparison in 24-40 years' time will be interesting!
I'm sure the interior of current Porsches are top quality, but in terms of a comparison with the 928 and it's Porsche contemporaries I would suggest:
- let's look at a new Bosxter in 2040 and see if it's held up as well as my 1991 928 (or 2055 to see if it's as good as the superb early 928s owned by others
- quality means a lot more than the interior of the cabin, though even in that area a comparison in 24-40 years' time will be interesting!
Edited by stratfordshark on Friday 24th July 09:44
anonymous said:
[redacted]
It's a matter of opinion. YOU think Tiptronic is bad. Others may think it's a reliable gearbox perfect for cars driven everyday and in inner-city environments. So I beg to differ about the built quality of the 996, I think it's not so bad. And, many, many more people thought so too, apparently.Edited by watercooled on Friday 24th July 18:45
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