Jacks911

With the low prices on 996 series Carrera's - I am being tempted to sell the 968 and go back to a 911. Any thoughts? Yes I know about IMS & RMS - but having enjoyed a 1976 911 and a 964 - two Porsche's with "bad motors" stories - so I am not concerned. I am more interested in thoughts of the 968 long term values (will it be the next 914?) or experiences others may have had with comparing the two cars. Thanks in advance... Jack

JDS968

I can't imagine 968 values will be going down much further than they already have, but I'm no expert...

The only thought I have on the subject is that the 968 is one of the prettiest Porsches and the 996 is one of the ugliest. That should probably factor into your decision.

odurandina

996 engines are JUNK. that's why the prices are as they are. these cars are scrapped when the engines go. all the turbos are ok.

don't even think of a 996 NA. total crap.

FRporscheman

I don't think the 968 will ever be like the 914... nor will it ever be like the 993. It's just in a class of its own. The values will probably never go over the value of, say, a g50 911, but I don't think they will go any lower than they are. Maybe a little but not much.

As far as the cars themselves, I have also thought many times about moving to a 996. I love the body. The interior is ok, like a 968 interior. But the engines are crap. Also, remember that the number of 996s you see on the road is measured in cars per day. The number of 968s you see on the road is measured in days per car.

One thing I will say for the 996 - its engine sounds way better than a 968 engine.

JDS968

Around here, you see all luxury and exotic cars first and more often than anywhere else...but I never see 968s. Days per car? More like months. I think I've seen two others in the past year. Although I suppose the 968s, in this sense, are more like "classic cars" than "luxury/exotics"...and I DO in fact see things like '60s or '70s muscle cars, or old British roadsters, with roughly the same frequency.

Below 2000 RPM, my engine sounds for all the world like a diesel (can't much make sense of that). Above 5000 RPM, my engine sounds like a pissed-off lawnmower the size of a house.

FRporscheman

Yeah, even around here, I see a 968 on the road no more frequently than once in 6 weeks. And I drive around a lot!

The 968 engine sounds a lot better (IMO) with a cone filter. It will make it sound better all the way from idle to redline. Power? Probably 0, but I do it for the sound. The 4200rpm torque peak sounds great.

Damian in NJ

You're going from a car with a soul to one that doesn't have one. I wouldn't mind one as a daily driver as long as the motor was ok.

odurandina

i have NEVER seen a 968 on the road under any circumstance driving or parked. since 1995, (parked on the UT campus).

i've seen like 4 or 5 944s in the past 5 years or so, and 4 of those were like, in florida.




you HAVE to hear my car...... w/ my straight pipes and maxflow muffler, we're talking 125 DB pissed off lawnmower from hell.

when you let off the gas past 80 mph, the sound is electrifying, (pissed off lawnmower).

loudest 968 in the united states by far.

JDS968

You don't have to tell me, I used to have the Stahl equal-length headers to a true straight pipe, nothing but a stainless steel tube sticking out the back of the car.

Not that I have much more than that now

Lovvve the sound on overrun...

Hmmmm yours couldn't be very much louder if any

odurandina

there's been a bit more buzz about 968s in the past couple of years...

6-speed coupes bottomed in $$$ at some point in the past year, imho.

JDS968

According to KBB...my car, in an alternate reality where it's stock, is worth $7500-$8300. Depressing, not because I want to sell it, but because there's no reason for such a great car to be worth so little.

odurandina

i spent a day w/ the wife at south beach back in early april... parked early in front of a yellow Ferrari 360 that was parked in front of an Audi R8.

hundreds of people stopped, gawking at the cars all day. they spent a lot of time looking at my car... not as much as the other two but, my car looked right at home with the updates i've done... damn, + + SUPERCHARGER ? i love the exotic colors you all are running - (add wax)...


look at what some of the guys are doing ! taking advantage of the prices to get more cars by getting a second and a third car !


we're some the luckiest owners on earth.


foto: (edz968 engine bay) !!





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User 41221

Everyone hears a lot about the "junk" 996 motors, but do any of y'all actually know anyone who's experienced it? I spend a good deal of time around lots of folks with various models of Porsches, including plenty of folks with those "unfortunate" 996's, and none of them have been stricken.

Yes, it IS a real problem (IMS much moreso than RMS), but a little preventive maintenance would go a very long way towards eliminating that as a concern. There appears to be a lot more internet myth than actual experience when it comes to these failures, so I certainly wouldn't let that influence your decision (as the OP mentioned).

996's are very nice cars. The downside, in my opinion, is that you will see them a lot more frequently than you ever would a 968. The upside is that it's a lot easier to find parts and service for them. As much as I love my 968, I don't harbor the illusion that it does much of anything better than a 996, with one exception: it puts a spark in my heart when I see it, much less drive it. But thats just me, to lots of folks, they don't get that spark and think of the 968 as just a funny looking 944.

968's are going to be a niche car in a competively small marketplace for a good long time. When they do finally start to "appreciate", it will have as much to do with inflation as anything else. To use your 914 example, $1000 back in '72 would be worth about $5000 now (according to a couple of internet calculators I found). Assuming the same math holds true (unlikely given our current gov'ts penchant for spending, but we have to start somewhere) in 40 years, a '92 968 that sells for $10,000 now would be worth $50,000. So for you to see any appreciation down the road, something is going to have to change for the better in the 968 marketplace compared to everything else out there. Again, as much as I love these cars, I don't expect that to happen. And before you give me the "low production numbers" argument, let me point out that it applies equally right now.

I went through the same "what is my car worth?" exercise a couple of months ago, complete with a somewhat qualified "hey, I might be interested in buying it from you" from another RL'er. I decided that I'd hold onto it a while longer, and I don't have any regrets. But I've been a 944 owner for a LONG time (17 years now if I am doing the math right) and figure thats just who I am, and I am satisfied by that.

Have a BLAST in that 996, hold onto the 968 if you have the space, time and money to own both, and wave when you pass other Porsches. We are all family.

Damian in NJ

Scott, a lot of 968 owners got screwed by Porsche with 968 pinion bearing failures-but go on the Boxster and 996 boards and you'll get plenty of horror stories, enough to scare me off.

odurandina

scott... if you're even in the boston area, i'll take you to see a man who has pulled several dozen boxter, 996, and cayman engines. not a one ever seeing the other side of 50,000 miles.


he'll tell you stories of watching the oil pressure guages fade and fade down to nothing at lime rock.