hadyn Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 With the ongoing credit crunch, I've noticed that Porsche 911 Carreras of the 996 variety have come down to circa 15ish grand for early ones with 80-100k on the clock. Can anyone give me any feedback on the reliability of these cars and generally running costs as a dailyish driver?? I've read quite a bit that the 996 has a flawed engine and the rear main seal on the engine can go at anytime. Is this true?? Any pointers?Ideas or comments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I had been shopping for one since the beginning of August. Send a pm to Stevieboy on here. He works as a mechanic at Porsche in East London. I spent a lot of time talking to him at JAE and he scared the sh!t out of me with the size of some of the bills that these things can create....... With this in mind, I looked elsewhere to spend my money. Problem is, they look so damn good.... H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Lemons, absolute over rated lemons, especially old ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 996s do have a design flaw that mean the RMS leaks. It can be replaced - but still might leak again. I don't believe the cost of replacing the RMS is that great - but chances are, if it leaks once it will leak again. Or you might be lucky and not have the problem. I believe the early ones also had some issue with porous cylinders but I don't know the details. I've always been in two minds with 996s. They are pretty cheap now - but they do have a fairly bad rep (especially the early ones). On the other hand - the 964 had a bad rep when it came out but most of those issues have been sorted by now, and mine is absolutely fine (if you ignore the fact that it's 19 years old and hence is going to have some problems anyway). I have heard of 996s lunching their engines - and then you really are talking big bills - but I don't think that's particularly common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 The non turbo 996 engine is a massive bill waiting to happen. Even scrupulously maintained ones can grenade themselves with no prior warning. Unless you're getting one with official Porsche warantee you need to think very carefully before buying one. Can you afford 8k for an engine/rebuild? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadyn Posted September 12, 2008 Author Share Posted September 12, 2008 The germans are really building some shocking cars recently in regards to build quality.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Not heard any scare stories about 997s. Wouldn't mind one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imi Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Dont particularly love the look of the 911 (exterior or interior) - looks like a glorified beetle, however considering the amount of money i have spent on the supra - I sure could have driven a 911 Turbo brand new for 2 years........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooquicktostop Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 I owned a Targa 911 some years ago, Red car with black leather and a whale tail, it was one of the most disappointing cars I have driven, it was a fortune to look after as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 After my TRD disappointment it look like a 911 Turbo is now favourite but I need to save about 10K to be realistic about running one. I'll just be a bit disappointed to be on the forum as a non Supra owner but it doesn't seem to bother most...... H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazboy Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Not heard any scare stories about 997s. Wouldn't mind one of them. I've heard loads. I was close to buying a 996 C2 in March this year, decided to wait another year before putting money into a purchase and glad I did, 996's are losing money hand over fist and I've seen one for sale in a dealers for £13k, so I'm sorry to sound like a snob but I do not want to own another chav cult classic. To be fair I don't think anyone saw that the Porsche bubble was going to burst, nor as explosive as it has. Perhaps a Corvette and an Alfa GTA instead for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 I've heard loads. Like what? What problems do the 997s have? I haven't paid much attention to them, so if they do have issues I might have missed it. But I would have expected to see it mentioned on the 964 forum I belong to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike M Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 The 993 is still the most saught after the now isnt it? My mate who's into Porsches said the build quality dropped when the boxter was released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syed Shah Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 A lot of German cars dipped in build quality big time in the mid 90s to mid 00s. (especially Mercs), but are supposed to be getting their act together now. With that in mind, perhaps something a little older; or a newish one if you can stretch to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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