odurandina

* i must not be reading enough.... i think i've heard about a couple of blown timing belts and maybe a couple more bad camshaft teeth in the last 3~4 years. hell we had our first blown balance shaft belt (ever) ? which didn't even result in anything else breaking. there are no serious issues with the 968 (bad pinion bearings were sorted decades ago)... cam pad/chain failure ? i know it's been known to happen, but i'm not sure i've heard about one yet. but, maybe at like 150 k miles.... now, there is the matter of having a headgasket or H20 pump failure, causing overheating and warping the head. and this is a major concern. cracked head ?

yeah, if you're Bob Norwood running 900 hp. he's probably cracked one or two.


968s require periodic valve jobs. mine could probably use one some day. my car got it's first cam pad and chain replacement at 114 k miles. but, it turned out they were barely worn.

i did them because

1. 17 year old (plastic gets brittle).

2. the chains stretch over time.


but this sky is falling crap is way overdone. the maintenance schedule for the 968 is hardly a deal breaker....

especially for a Porsche that gives you this much back on the road.



one thing i'm glad to see is the op is well on the way to getting up to snuff on making a good purchase decision.... with the cabriolets, a major consideration is the top.... those things are good for about 8~10 years in your driveway, but do better if garaged..... hopefully, Porsche will keep up with offering replacements. but, they're pricey.



crass edit;

*(this is out of hundreds of ads i've seen on CL, Ebay, Auto Trader and Cars.com [we follow the cars]..... and owners who post over 4 or 5 websites). that's a pretty large sample of cars where drivers aren't reporting failures .


the fleet of 968s were expensive. sadly, they were priced away from a certain element of 924/944 car enthusiast.... and as a result, for the most part, by Porsche standards, many of the cars have been treated with much of the same respect once only reserved for the flagship cars. it is only recently that we're finally seeing examples in poor repair.




just like you all have with your fixed lamp kits for the 944, more and more 968 owners are doing fixed lamp conversions. my fenders will be mass-produced and available soon for the 968 guys.... it's a pricey do-over, but these 993 style fenders have a higher rise than others that have been attempted before, and allow you to run 993 Xenon lamps.


.

Nandle

Wow you guys really have given me food for thought- I am stuffed, to play out the metaphor. If nothing else the debates alone offer perspectives I wont find elsewhere.

Odurandina I appreciate your perspective as an owner; and Chunkerz brings up points to consider to help in asking the right questions on the front end. I think I will start the thread as suggested Odurandina, and the issues you brought up in negotiating without records work for an individual- but not a dealer. There is a 968 on Ebay now I have been looking at- in Texas. I called and spoke with them- no records- they know nothing other then "it drives well" and they did some cosmetic things to it. I asked if they could get me in touch w original guy who traded it in- well yo know how that goes. He told me he had gotten 2 or 3 calls asking similar questions ( thanks to everyone here I knew what to ask) . I told him he might think that is a red flag- but what does he care , someone will come along not do any research and purchase it.

rap

I just did this. Google 968 or used cars. There are tons of sites. Most let your narrow your search. Some will post and email updates on new availability. Enjoy the search

EliteThink

Go for the 968. next choice would be a s2 cab. Dont care for the looks of boxters, especially the first few years.

Cole

This comment has been driving me nuts for days. It is by far the most arrogant and stupid comment I have read on these forums yet.


Who do you think was supervising the production of the cars? Porsche certainly wasn't just sitting back and waiting for them to show up on thier door step with no interaction.

Who were the men/women working on the assembly line? Were they somehow not as capable or different then then men working on the 968 assembly line? I can't image they replaced and entire crew of people experienced with building the cars with new people who had never built one before.

How many parts are directly compatible? MOST! Meaning the same engineering teams, same molds, same stamps, same machines and probably the same labor just at a different work site with a different name on the door.

The ONLY reason a 968 may have better build quality is because Porsche learned from the problems in design and production and evolved them over the years. The processes and the staff also got better at what they do with experience! It had nothing to do with having the " Porsche" name on the door rather than "Audi"

Side note: It's not like Audi doesn't build some of the best performance cars on earth. Ones that will run away from many Porsches. Audi has always pushed the development envelope and has acquired a bit of a reputation for things like "electrical issues" when the reality is that they developed a new system that the public was not ready to understand yet.

EliteThink

Great response. bring.on the next baseless comment. 911 guys are way outnumbered as there are way more front engined porsche cars sold than 911s. not to mention a cayman would smoke a 911 if corporate allowed equal horsepower. i can just hear some on rennlist in 20 years as the panameras are being parted out saying build quality was lower.

odurandina

Cole,

actually, yes....

i'll tell you... it's a damn shame 944s were built by Audi. some of you might not know why with so many people you meet, it seems like the only thing they choose to remember about the 944 is that it was built by Audi.... now why do you all suppose this is ?

it's because from about 1980 to 1990, Audi developed a very bad reputation in the auto industry. not just bad mind you, but they had one public relations failure after another with ****box cars, engines blowing up a month out of the dealer lots and death. that's right; DEATH.... they enjoyed the the single worst customer-relations in the auto industry.... wish i was overstating here. research it...

by the late '80s, this had undoubtably become a big problem plaguing the 944 !!!

picture this: "oh that 944 is just an Audi.... ouch !!"


(it's another reason they brought the 968s over to P-car Town) !!

i also happen to think this situation is still having an effect on values of the 944s.


they built my 968 just down the road from where Herm and his team designed it... with the engineers and executives having free reign of the plant to oversee every aspect of the process of building of our 968s.... so the cars are 100.00 % Porsches. i think it goes without saying that every P-car owner wants not only to drive a Porsche over any other car, but to also be driving one that was built at a Porsche plant.... and guess what.... the cars are at least one and a half steps up in quality, longevity and performance....


fair or not, perception becomes part of a car's branding....

nobody's ever accused my car of being a ****box Audi.


od.

Cole

Haha.........

Cole

Talk about buying into the marketing hype. "Porsche built this not Audi". Bet the same guys were turning the wrenches.

It's not like 944s were falling apart all over the place.

odurandina

Cole

Crap! .....and here I thought the 356 was a "Porsche"

Entire body assembled by two different companies

Cole

So lets see here.

The 944 was designed by the same guy that designed the 968. I'm sure Porsche finally grew big enough by 1992 to move production in house which was a whopping 32 miles closer. From a town of 27,000 people to a town of 32,000 people ( 2012 numbers).

I bet none of e same people kept working on the production line. I mean, a town of 27,000 shutting down your factory and opening the same job just down the road? Nah, it would be better to start fresh! ( screw that long term apprentice program Porsche was famously for)

Probably did not make financial sense to move all those stamps and machines for the parts 32 miles. Strange that they would retool everything to make it in a "Porsche" factory and end up with so many compatible and identical parts( and even part numbers)

Those damn Audi craftsman are so inferior to the Porsche plant workers 32 miles away. Must be something in the water.

Cole

Crap....they outsourced the 911 and Cayenne too......oh noooooooooop..........not built entirely by "Porsche".........aaaaaaahhhhhhhh......the world is ending........aaaaaahhhhhhhh...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/bu...anted=all&_r=0


The Boxter and Cayman was Outsourced as well......

http://www.porschesport.com/Porsche%...ationship.html


Actually, Porsche is more of a Virtual auto maker according to the article. outsourcing whatever it can.

Damian in NJ

The 968 and 993 were the last handbuilt Porsches. The fact that 968's were built by Porsche meant that you could avail yourself of the Exclusiv program, which meant many more choices in options.

I loved my 85.5 944-full leather interior, sport seats, sport shocks and springs, color coded Fuchs. And I had a track 951. But they weren't the same as the two 968's I've owned.

fittrjoe

But all said and done they still LOOK like 968's... I couldnt go there .

944 s2 cab bilstien coilovers 17" wheels CS steering wheel H4 upgrade rear seat delete schnel short shift