Next 911 after the 996 - Decision time

[nickpan]

Hello

I’ve found myself in the fortunate position of being able to upgrade my 996 Carrera 4 to another generation of 911.

My budget is £55k and I’d like a manual coupe of some guise.

I do 10,000 miles a year on weekends with the odd euro trip, live and park my car in Zone 2 London but am not adverse to finding a garage.

I’m edging towards a 993 C2/C4 with low owners and mileage as I’ve spent a bit of time in a pals 993 C2S and it’s a nice place to be. I also like the idea of limiting my exposure to depreciation but accept I may be buying into an air cooled bubble that sees my investment half next year.

Other cars I’m considering are gen 2 997s - preferably an S or even a GTS if I leveraged up a bit or a Cayman GTS as I’ve no kids. I’ve promised I’d take my dad around Spa one day and they seem like decent cars to do it in although they don’t feel as special as a 993.

Has anyone got any advice for me before I pull the trigger? This forum has been such a valuable resource for me over the last 10 years, I feel guilty not asking!

Cheers,

Nick

[Kettmark]

I'd be seriously looking at a 997 turbo. £55k just gets you into one.
I've just bought a 997 s and will look to upgrade to a turbo next.
Gt3 models a little rich for me unfortunately.
Get out & try some. Good luck!

[GT4P]

£55k budget a low miles manual 997.2 (3.6 or 3.8S 2wd coupe)would be my choice.I think 997Gts will be to expensive and don't think you will feel short changed in the C2S. If thinking Cayman I would take a late build low miles 987.2S/CR over a 981 Gts. 993 is a lovely car but will you find a good low miles car in budget these days?
As always said with these type of questions drive a few to see what suits I don't think you can loose on any of them so depreciation does not come into the equation if you buy well

[MrC986]

I can't help on personal experience of "trading up" from a 996, though I was amazed that with your budget of £55k you could get into a 997 GTS (albeit a cab) though with an extra £5k of so on top of that budget, the following was available (now sold sadly)
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

You've a genuinely tough decision to make, though I'd suggest you find an OPC with both a 997.2 & a suitable Cayman GTS & drive them back to back to answer the one part of your question. I think you might find a 993 a disappointment dynamically & the maintenance costs vs a more modern Porsche will be more given the recommended service frequency & the age situation on the various components.

[sundayjumper]

I was in a similar-ish position recently after six very good years with my 996. Here's my thoughts...

• Depending how low you're talking, the premium you'll pay for a low miles / low owner 993 could be eroded quite quickly by actually using the thing.
• I've never driven a 997 but sat in a few and didn't actually get any "wow" from them, they seem a bit plasticy.
• People (tbf - mainly 996 owners) often complain of the 997 feeling big/heavy and losing nimbleness compared to the 996.
• People often complain of Turbos (996, 997) actually being quite dull once you get over the fact they're very very fast.

I ended up keeping the 996 and buying something else with a different character to go alongside it.

[Cheib]

I'd be looking for a highish mileage 997 GTS which do come up every now and again. Might have to stretch the budget £5k or so. Low mileage cars of say 20k miles would be £75k but something with 40k to 50k miles on it would be around your budget I reckon. If you're putting 10k miles a year on one it makes sense buy a one that's already done that kind of annual mileage which is "high" for these cars. My manual 997 GTS has done 30k miles in six years which is on the cusp of being high mileage....I reckon if I put 15k miles on it and I sold it a dealer would ask £60k to £65k for it. Currently it would probably be up for £70k at a dealer or maybe a bit higher.

[nickpan]

Thanks for all the advice so far.

In summary, I am very happy I turned to PH as it has led me to reconsider my options.

First things first, I am not putting a penny down on a 993 until I drive a 997 C2, S, GTS and Cayman GTS as the general consensus on here seems to be that they are all very good cars. I hope a Porsche dealer is willing to accommodate me test driving this long list of cars! Can anybody recommend an OPC in and around London?

I’m surprised that I didn’t get more support on here for the 993 but I guess they’re in demand, more because of their looks, rather than the way they drive?

Interestingly, I had a 993 inspected last week by a well regarded Porsche inspection company. Sadly, I had to walk away as they discovered well disguised accident damage although they also questioned whether a 993 with 110,000 miles was really worth the £40k in the current climate.

Thanks agand for the replies.

[n12maser]

nickpan said:

I’m surprised that I didn’t get more support on here for the 993 but I guess they’re in demand, more because of their looks, rather than the way they drive?

A lighter narrow-body RWD 993 carrera with sorted suspension (e.g. Bilstein PSS10s or KW3s) is a phenomenal drive... make sure you try one of those (just in light of you mentioned a drive in a friend's heavier 993 C2S).

[boxsey]

Seeing as you're considering a Cayman GTS as one of the options you could also consider a Cayman R as that would be well within your budget. It's older of course but not as old as a 993 so that shouldn't be a concern. I find the CR every bit as special as my previous air cooled 911 (964) was.

[Cheib]

nickpan said:

Thanks for all the advice so far.

In summary, I am very happy I turned to PH as it has led me to reconsider my options.

First things first, I am not putting a penny down on a 993 until I drive a 997 C2, S, GTS and Cayman GTS as the general consensus on here seems to be that they are all very good cars. I hope a Porsche dealer is willing to accommodate me test driving this long list of cars! Can anybody recommend an OPC in and around London?

I’m surprised that I didn’t get more support on here for the 993 but I guess they’re in demand, more because of their looks, rather than the way they drive?

Interestingly, I had a 993 inspected last week by a well regarded Porsche inspection company. Sadly, I had to walk away as they discovered well disguised accident damage although they also questioned whether a 993 with 110,000 miles was really worth the £40k in the current climate.

Thanks agand for the replies.

993's are great cars but I think will be more expensive to run...given you're doing 10k miles a year you can run 997's on a warranty which obviously you'll need to pay to extend every couple of years. I think the warranty can be extended to cars 15 years old.

Not sure I'd go for a 993 as a daily driver.

[ChrisDT]

Nickpan, if your do start looking for a Cayman R - There is this one for sale, manual as well https://www.harbourcars.com/used-car-details/Porsc...

[Heathrow]

I went the other way - from a 981 Cayman S to a 996 C2. The 981 Cayman I think is vastly underrated and IMHO both the 2.7 and 3.4 make a fantastic noise, are sweet engines and all round capable sports cars. You will miss the steering feel, but that's what you get with EPAS these days. However, as a weekend and track toy they are very competent. The gearbox for example is fantastic compared with the 996 IMHO. Once you get over the "but it's not a 911" psychological barrier, you can really appreciate the car's qualities.

A couple of the usual suspects will be along in a minute to slap me down but I would suggest if you are serious about a Cayman to save yourself £10k and try a Cayman S over a Cayman GTS. If you value the overall driving experience as a package there is very little in it and you can find a Cayman S with virtually the same spec as a GTS if you are patient without the price premium.

Good luck with the search.

Edited by Heathrow on Tuesday 14th November 12:47

[anonymous-user]

n12maser said:

A lighter narrow-body RWD 993 carrera with sorted suspension (e.g. Bilstein PSS10s or KW3s) is a phenomenal drive... make sure you try one of those (just in light of you mentioned a drive in a friend's heavier 993 C2S).

Controversial in these parts maybe, but I'll say it:

TBH, a well sorted 996 will run rings around it. AND be as tactile and feelsome (more so, arguably - I'd say on steering alone)

But it won't be an air cooled car in the vein of the original. Yes, the 993 is beautiful.

The 993 is quite flawed because it's based on a sixties car. Yes that car has been developed to be barely recognisable in engineering terms from the original, but it has a lot of compromises.

[nickpan]

Good Evening All

Small update!

Heading to Brooklands OPC next Monday afternoon to test drive a 997.2 C2S and a 991.1 C2 and possibly even a Cayman 981 S.

I’ve told them I quite like the look of a ‘7 GTS but they have none in stock at the moment.

To be honest - if I like to he C2S in PDK guise, I’m sure I’ll like the GTS even more so I can seek a test drive afterwards.

I’m very excited but also weary that I sold my M135i after just 4 months of ownership after the novelty of the auto box wore off.

Decisions decisions!

[highway]

PDK is well regarded yet so was tiptronic in its day. Now tiptronic is generally seen as desirable as herpes in a 911. The modern cars are fast and easy to drive. Very comfortable and easy to live with. The older cars are physically much smaller, noiser and more agricultural to drive. My 993 ‘feels’ fast though in comparison to its great grandchildren, it is not. However, I have come to appreciate that feeling fast as opposed to actually being fast is a positive. You cannot wring the newer cars out in gear on the road. Changing gear with PDK in a 991S really drives this point home. They are very fast and thus any pleasure derived from fast on road driving is heavily tainted by fear. They are the opposite to the old cars in that they can feel slow despite you travelling very fast.

Other than the silhouette and the name an aircooled car is not a similar creature to a current 911

[Sine Metu]

nickpan said:

I’m surprised that I didn’t get more support on here for the 993 but I guess they’re in demand, more because of their looks, rather than the way they drive?

I think the 911 air cooled bubble is maxing out (except the really special stuff) so not much appreciation potential. Plus, as nice as it is, a 993 will never have the classic 911 look which from many is the only look in terms of iconic cool. And everything that came after the 993 drives better, is better, does everything better. So unless you're really into the specific look of a 993, I'm not sure what the point of buying one now would be when 55K will buy you so much more 911.