notbostrom

So whats the deal with 993 prices? I'd love to find a clean 96 or 97. There are lots listed "for sale". I put that in quotes because you see a lot listed for sale but when it comes down to it they will sell them but only for some ridiculas price. granted they are desireable yrs but a quick search of the classifieds here and the neded auctions on ebay demonstrate that most of them never sell. 90% of the ones listed on ebay never sell or reach reserve. The avg asking price seems to be about $38k but I never see any that actual sold for that. I plan to purchase my first P in the next month or two and find myself torn between a 993 if I can find one thats actually for sale or a later model (2000-2002) for about the same price. I assume the 993 should hold its value better but thats only worth so much since I want to drive this car on a regular basis.

Any advice?

Marc Shaw

Try posting this to the 993 forum - they might have some pricing advice.

Marc

Gary R.

What exactly are you asking? Do you want a 993 for $15K? $20K? $25K? $30K??? You can find 95 C2's for mid-twenties all over the place. As they get newer the price goes up depending on milage and condition. A C2S will cost $45K+ in any kind of good condition, regardless of year. A 993TT goes from $60K on up to the sky... Learn about the cars, use EBlow as a barometer but don't buy a car there. Listen to Marc, go to the 993 Forum, though I hear they can be a little "touchy"..

Martin S.

Above we see, "find myself torn between a 993 if I can find one thats actually for sale or a later model (2000-2002) for about the same price." Why is this? There must be a reason...it is because a willing buyer and a willing seller agree that the 993 is worth more.

Some say that the 993 is the last of a line...a real retro car. Sit in a 97 Carrera narrow body car...then sit in a 78SC...nearly identical cockpit...now jump into a 996...very Lexus like I have been told.

The 993 is the last of the oil cooled/aircooled models. The basic engine block (cases) originated with the 964...you see the same 964 cases on 993TT cars and early GT3 cars. The serial # start with 964......

Buy a 2000 to 2002 model....there are lots of horror stories going around about the 996 being a disposible motor...when they fail, they just swap them out and send the broken motor back to Germany...same story on the 996 trannies.

Then again there are 993 horror stories on valve guide changes being needed...about a $4,000 job. But the up side, once it is done..it is done.

I have had a 993 for 6 years. I paid $60,000 for it in late 2000...that was about what they were selling for new, back in 96 and 97...how's that for holding its value. I love the car...it has been very good to me...extremely reliable, no valve guide issues, yet. I have no plans to sell it..unless I could move up to a GT3 car...and I don't want to spend the money. I should dummy up and go to bed!

ventoGT

Depending on Condition, 993 prices are all over the place. You can find them for high 20s or low $30Ks with some looking. Best advice is to drive some and see what you think, then go from there. Nice 3.2s are still selling for the low $20Ks properly sorted, and about 50% more for widebodies and special models...

A low asking price may not always mean a low cost of ownership...keep that in mind when shopping. You may pick up a 993 with 150K miles for $25K, only to throw another $3-4K into it to get it sorted right. Always have at least $2,000 cash handy to take care of issues early on in my opinion...

As Gary said, go to the 993 forum, and make sure that you have some specific things you are looking for in the car as far as condition, body type, transmission, etc. The more detail you give, the better the answers will be.

Welcome to Rennlist and good luck with your search!

mcuozzo

I can tell you that a lot of the cars on ebay do sell, just not through ebay. I was the high bidder on my car but the reserve was not met. The owner and I worked out a deal and we were both happy.

If you are looking for a specific color combination ( I was - gaurds red over black), be prepared to search for a long time or get into a bidding war when the right car comes along.

Also bear in mind some of the cars are bone stock some and some have nice upgrades. Mine has new wheels, new front and rear spoilers, 996 sport seats (to be installed), 3 spoke steering wheel, cdr 220 stereo, RS gear shift ****. I'm also replacing the headlight lenses, putting in HIDS, getting ultrashield put on, intsalling the ROW mo3o suspension and having the windsheild replaced. So when I'm all said and done, I probably wouldn't sell my car for under $40k. The car has 36K miles.

If you find a bone stock car with say 70-80 k miles you would probably get it for 28-32K. But as mentioned be prepared to upgrade some things. Not so much for mechanical problems, but the car will be dated and some items (lenses, windsheild) will need replacement. Watch out for the slippery slope of upgrades as wlle. I did not have all those things mentioned above on my list when I bought the 993. It's fun but it gets expensive!

Of course the most important thing is to have a good PPI done so you aren't paying for unseen mechanical problems.

As far as looking for cars for sale, checking the places mentioned are good, but networking with other Porsche owners/mechanics is a great way to find cars for sale. Go to some local PCA meetings and I'm sure you'll find some nice cars for sale.

Also driving a 993 on a regular basis may work out cheaper than a 996 in the long run. There are less electronic components to go wrong and working on the 993 yourself is a lot easier (plus there are some great DIY sites and threads here). I won't debate the styling and character merits of the 993 vs 996, because that could take the thread in the wrong direction. And as you said the 993 will hold it's value and in some cases appreciate. 996 values have and will continue to fall steadily.

Good luck and here is a teaser pic, hopefully it will pull you to the dark side (ie 993 ownership).

Matt

notbostrom

I guess one of my true questions is what would be beter as a daily driver? Obviosly 2000 and up is more comfy and more creature comforts but those are not must haves.. I need to drive both and form my own opinion after driving them but it seems the 993 would be more "fun". This won't be a garage queen, it will be driven 20-30k miles per year so reliability needs to be solid.

Second question is pricing. As I said I see a lot of 993's "for sale" with rather lofty asking prices but hey anyone can dream and advertise a car for any price they want. Hell if you wait long enough there is one born every minute so at some point it may even sell. But I'm looking for a good source for realistic pricing. Obviosly an enthusiast or collector is willing to pay a little more for the same car to fufill some childhood dream or plans to hold the car for a long period of time. I'm looking for actual prices that cars sold for in a resonable period of time .. say 30 days. Any suggestions for real pricing and value info?

BTW thank you all for your input. It is a huge help.

jeffz993

this is a new deal for me. new to rennlist and new porsche owner (95 993) i have owned and still do own a few fun cars 88 e30 m3 still have and prior ferrari, m-cars, and audi's. but never a porsche. i for some reason started getting info.(i should have done this years ago, what a fun car) on 911's via web and mags. only 3-4 weeks ago. i wanted a weekend 2 seater car my wife and i could do some fun road trips in. i wanted a vintage feel but reliable.(is that possible?) and something to hold some value in future. found a used sports car dealership with a good inventory and not pushy sales people. they tossed us the keys to what ever we wanted. great test drive day. just by chance a 95 993 c2 just came in on trade. i was leaning more toward a 996 targa. but once we drove the 993 done deal. i am glad we bought the car then because the more i hear i think it was the car. heres some info. notbostrom to help compare 95-c2, 56k, dark green/ tan, not a scratch, rsr exast, chip, susp., lt fly and clutch, full history, solid car upper $30's. it might be on high side but it needs nothing. fresh purchase 1-28-06 hope that helps

notbostrom

Jeff,

Do you feel the car is "solid" enough for regular driving. I have a feeling the car will get way more miles on it just because its more fun to drive than my SUV

mcuozzo

Hey Notbostrom,

For what it is worth, I used my 1984 911 targa for 5 years in Northern NJ\NYC putting on about 11k miles a year and it held up perfectly. It's amazing how much my 993 reminds me of that car in character and perceived quality. Of course it's more modern and more powerful, but the interior is similiar and it still has that solid 'thunk' when closing the door, trunk, etc. When I drove the 996 for a week in FL, I didn't get that feeling of solidity\reliability.

Matt

jeffz993

its really tough in the morning to walk into the garage and get in my audi (allroad) and not jump in the 993. i think this car wuold be a great daily driver, but that was not my intent. i have only owned the car for 5 days, but tuesday i did run some erands. about 100 miles and 4 stops a good part of a day and was very comfortable. plus enjoyed the drive. no doubt! great for day to day use. p.s. i drove a 996 to compare and agree with mcuozzo. the 996 had a less solid feel and too refined for what i was looking for. the 996 felt like a bigger car.