Roygarth

At the end of the day surely it comes down to ones 'budget'. I had 20K to spend and therefore debated RHD 964 V LHD 993. I opted for 964. If my budget had been 15K I would have bought LHD 964. But I would have bought in England as I do not have sufficient knowledge/expertise/time to buy in Germany. If buying in Germany most of us would have to add cost of shipping an expert over to check the car out?

I hope though that Phil's thrill of getting a 964 has not been tempered by some of the comments on this thread!?

Best regds
Piers

Christer

I guess I was lucky - I purchased mine in October for £16k RHD. Mind you it did need a new clutch.

Phil Raby

Nah, still very pleased, indeed, with the car. Good to see the features have generated lots of interest, too.

Lots of plans for the car - look out for more articles in future issues.

Oh, and John Miles has turned me into a hooligan with his airbox mod!

Cheers

Phil

PS. I'm looking for teardrop mirrors if anyone has any spares floating around!

JW Hubbers

John, FYI: I ordered my copy on 25 feb., received it on 4 march.
Have only browsed it, but looks very good. Nice pictures!

Cheers, JW

johnfm

I may hve not been succint in my remarks re the magazine & the article. Overall its OK, I do actually fork out the £3.75 for a read. Its just little details that get me. The last paragraph of the report on the 964 mentions a price comparison to the 3.2 Carrera (something along the lines of not much more than a 3.2.... but I've left the mag at home) and elswhere it compares costs to a 944S2. Had the reporter had the benefit of looking at the classifieds in the magazine as he was writing he may have omitted these comaparisons, since 3.2's are about £6k less than most 964s.

Maybe I'm being too picky, so I'll shut up! Phil & co do an excellent job making good looking magazine that most of us like reading.

Christer

On a slight aside (as there are quite a few of us from the UK on this post), I wanted to ask about depreciation. I have a 1990 C2 and would not expect to lose too much through depreciation. How does a RHD 1994 Turbo 3.6 compare along the same lines?

Any ideas?

greg1234

I've been told that depreciation should be low on the RHD Turbo 3.6 due to its rarity. But of course it all depends.. if you buy from a dealer, you'll lose the dealer markup right away. The car itself may not have depreciated, but there's a few thou you paid for the car which nobody else will pay you for it. It may not be depreciation, strictly speaking, but it's money down the drain all the same.

Took me a few years (and a lot of money) to work this out... And of course the amount you pay to buy the car is crucial - spend £2K more than you should and you won't get that back when you sell it.

Also you have to be careful with a car like that - a RHD Turbo 3.6 in good condition is not really the sort of car you can sell in a hurry. For the money you'll be asking, people can buy 993s and even get close to LHD 993 Turbo 4s.... and of course there are a lot more LHD T3.6s around which are 10K cheaper. So if/when you decide to sell, it may be a while for someone with the right money who is specifically after a RHD car. (Unless you knock chunks off the price of course, hence more money lost.)

So in theory - the RHD T3.6 should depreciate less than many other models... in practice you always lose (at least I always do)

Christer

Thanks Greg - I have seen at £30k. At the moment I am not seriously considering it as haven't really been too impressed with Turbo cars in the past from a driving style (mine) point of view. There's a LHD at £25K.

Just a little something to think about before I go modifying mine to any degree...

greg1234

Christer -

You said you didn't like the Turbos from a driving style POV - I'm curious - could you elaborate?

George Stevens

Greg makes an interesting point.

I have owned 911's for nearly five years now.

After 4 years my previous 1977 Carrera 3.0 sold for more than I paid for it, it was a mint original car to start with and I didn't spend a fortune on it during my ownership.

Like the 3.6 Turbo, the 964 RS because of it's limited availability, if looked after, has shown over the last couple of years to be virtually depreciation proof.

I still feel that RHD standard 964's could still drop slightly in value over the next couple of years potentially bottoming out at around £15,000

Christer

Greg

This is purely based on OTHER Turbo cars - I have never driven a 911 Turbo of any vintage. I found that steering on the throttle is much more difficult - possibly because a) I am lacking talent and b) have a club foot . But seriously, when on boost I feel I have less control. But hey, I can learn right?

The thing is, I always keep an open mind and at the moment I am just considering the options before I go any further with my C2. This year I have had a hefty service at JZM which I was expecting plus I have upgraded to Boxter S 17" wheels and new tyres - which I personally quite like especially as the old Design 90 rims were completely buggered. I am now getting into the realms of suspension upgrades and thinking about a bit more power. I just wanted to have a look around before deciding what to do.

Before I get shot, I would like to point out that I am extremely happy with the car in general but there are certain areas that I need to address.

Anyway, this has nothing to do with the original post but seeing as you are home all day Greg I might as well have a chat

What do you think?

Riccardo

Christer,

I am going through the same questions in my mind as you are at the moment. I too am undecided what to do regarding my 964.

On one side I am tempted to spend some moeny on it do make it completely pristine, this would include also doing a few upgrades etc (like suspension). On the other hand, I think such upgrades will be money which I will never recover, so maybe instead I should save up and then buy an RS, which is what I would really like. Plus, as mentioned above, the RSs are quite rare and thus may keep their values better.

Christer

Riccardo

My car is far from pristine. The paintwork is good as it has been garaged for most of its life, but there are a couple of 'dimple-dents' in the front wing and a scratch on the back just underneath the engine cover slats. I don't think I am going to bother with those.

Have you driven an RS? Because if you haven't I suggest you try it. And don't go on the motorway, go down some local roads to see if your teeth fall out. Seriously though, I haven't spent long in one, so I could be wrong (just so Geeorge doesn't get upset).

I think it may be that over the last 5 years I have owned a RS200 replica with 350hp and the year before last I had a TVR Griffith (340hp, 1060kgs!!) and I think that the power craving is infringing on my reasoning. Don't get me wrong, I think that the 964 with 250hp does very well (it feels like more) - I really like the way that it is torquey but still loves the revs - The Griff definitely didn't like it over 5500rpm, mind you you don't need it in that car. The acceleration in the Griff was brutal, relentless - although I prefer the handling in the 964. The Griff is very twitchy. Mind you for that acceleration I would be willing to forgive a lot.

So yes, I am committing a sin here by even speaking about this stuff - I just think the car could do with a bit more power - and I guess the decision I have to make is what to do about it, if anything. Perhaps get a Griff on the side. I don't know how she would take it.

George Stevens

Christer


There is a lot of folklore surrounding the RS and how harsh the ride is.

You are right on the motorway or well surfaced A roads they are superb, on poorly surfaced B roads they are not very good, but not as bad as ill informed journalists would have you believe.

The problem is exaggarated when owners mess about with the suspension settings and ride height, they are much better if they are left standard.

I am probably a bit mad, I love the fact that the RS is so raw and basic, it is what a 911 should feel like, however the only creature comfort I do miss is A/C.

After my mishap last weekend, I certainly don't think it needs more power and if I had been in a Griffith, well, I probably wouldn't be here now!!!

Riccardo

George and Christer,

I have never even sat in an RS, so all my judgemnets are purely intuitive, but I tend to agree with George regarding the fact a 911 should be light and simple. I also agree with the fact a/c would be nice as well, thats why, if I buy one, I shall be looking for a Touring version.