Great quote and it was my attitude when I bought my car. It had like 12-13k in repairs done a few months before I bought it with a very extensive owner history. Btw my car has been very reliable though I could spend 3K on it at any time to make it nicer. . Anyhow I don't really regret buying it but it seems like people just cannot get past the Carfax thing when you sell them.

 

you need to drive a 993 in order to decide which car to buy. they are very different. 993s are great but not modern cars, and not much power.

 

The Carfax thing is only an "issue" if you want it to be. I think Rennlist provides a skewed view of the 993 universe. People on this site are fanatic about their cars, and many of the posters here have those pristine, unblemished cars... but that's a very small sample of the approx 30k 993s that were sold in the US. Most 993 owners are not on Rennlist, and most cars get a ding or two in 20 years of life.

The repairs were 10 years and 2 owners ago. If you like the car, and the price is reasonable, and you want to buy it, then buy it. The $29k in mechanical work has taken care of all the major items - resealed engine, new suspension, new clutch, working AC, new sunroof cables. Get that scratch repainted and new tires and you'll have a quality driver 993 in which to pack your family. Your two-year-old will be happy in the back seat for the next 6 or 7 years or more. My 7-year-old has loved riding in the "Porsche-car!" ever since I started bringing her to daycare in it when she was 2.

Personally, I'd prefer to have a refreshed, relatively mechanical 20-year-old 993 than a 10-year-old 997 that may have all sorts of mechanical, electrical, and computer-related repairs and updates coming up in the next 10 years.

 

I drive a '97 993 as a secondary family car. I don't use it for commuting (train ftw), but I stuff my wife, 8yr old, and 5yr old in it almost ever single weekend for long drives. My car just turned 127k miles and has been relatively drama free so far. We've also used it for several longer trips (5-6 hour drives each way) without any issues. I've found it forces us to pack sparingly and actually enjoy the trips more.

While it's been a great and fun car that my family loves, it's also an old car. I've had to put ~12k into it to keep it in good-great shape. The larger work and majority of that cost (engine out valve job / head work / clutch) did have the car out of my hands and in a shop for a month, but I'm betting that'll be the last engine out service for several years. I'm also constantly tinkering and doing smaller repairs myself, so there have been a few times where I wanted to drive the car and couldn't. However, I grew up working on cars with my dad, so I also use the car as a learning tool for my kids to teach how things work and have them help me, so they're not afraid of maintenance like this in the future, and the car has been unsurprisingly more reliable than the 60s and 70s muscle cars I grew up working on. If you don't have a decent set of tools and confidence to do the work yourself, a high mileage 993 is probably not for you. Also, if you have a family getting in and out of the car all the time, expect extra wear and tear on the interior (and maybe exterior), and if that worries you, then that's probably another knock against the 993 route.

Personally, I drive the 993 because it has gobs of character, it's a blast to drive, and it's been a family bonding project.

 

Exactly. I think I bought my 993 from someone who bought it without driving, and felt underwhelmed compared to his more modern 991 so he had to get rid of it. He was "I hear you have to get an AC". Then bought one. Then drove one. Then sold one.

@BG3 Yes, I had a 'friend' who went through my story. I'm in Charlotte if you want to take a 993 for a drive. On a day where there is only sun. We here don't let 993's get wet.

 

Thank you, DocTock993. I was hoping to see where you guys would value such a car. My only reason for not posting the price is, I didn't want to artificially skew that number.

This would be a third car for us. The fun car. Not necessarily a family car in the true sense of that word. We'll use the SUV for vacations. The main reason I mentioned family is, I'd like for them to be able to comfortably join in the fun if they wanted to go along for the ride. Regardless if it's a half-hour drive or a four hour drive out to the "Dragon" for a day trip.

My first car was a '76 Mercury Capri 2.8. It was a rare car. I bought it from a friend of my father's for $100, rebuilt and restored it and drove the hell out of it. That car taught me a lot of the driving instincts that are still with me today. I don't mind getting my hands dirty. Certainly part of this is a selfish dream I've been chasing since I first saw the 956's and 911's practicing at Daytona as a child. I mainly want my son to have experiences I couldn't, when I was growing up.

 

That would be graciously appreciated! Shoot me a pm with your contact info and we'll see if we can get together. We live about an hour away from most of CLT. Lived there for 10 years.

 

 

'96 C2, MT, Polar/Black

 

 

As a guide - here are sale prices over the last 18 months for MT 993 C2/C4's. (Only two of them are C4's). At 120k miles, you're probably looking at between $40-50K.

 

Is that from BAT?

 

With 3 accidents, I wouldnt touch north of 42,500 and that is with the assumption of a clean PPI. All the recent work done - thats incrementally nice but that is also cost of ownership of 993. If you buy, you will have hard time selling it ever. That needs to be factored in.

 

Keep in mind this is a 20+ year old car. BUY THE BEST CAR YOU CAN AFFORD or save up until you can!! Will save you in the long run! If you are extremely passionate about owning a 993 then no issue. I come across many people who "want" a 993 or 964 due to all the "Air Cooled" hype out there. But in reality when rubber meets the road and they come to understand that these cars are NOT CHEAP to maintain they lean toward 996 / 997 (there is no cheap Porsche as I say.) FIRST AND FORMOST you need a GOOD INDEPENDANT MECHANIC who KNOWS THESE AIRCOOLED CARS! Period!!! I can't stress this enough! If you don't... even if you go to the Porsche Dealer most don't know these cars unless it's a "Certified Porsche Classic Center" even there it's iffy. Prepare to shell out big bucks. Good luck!

 

fundamentally you have a much bigger question to answer:

do you love the more connected feel and look of an older car without the comforts and are you willing to do work on your own and have the time: the 993 is awesome
if you want to jump in and drive in higher comfort and not be bothered by little things like switches failing, trim warping, poor AC, sunroof malfunctioning but you are willing to give up some of the visceral driving experience: 997

the 993 engine and gearbox are bulletproof and my personal experience has been one of shockingly low issues and maintenance mechanically. amazing cars. but its a fair amount of upkeep for everything else and someone with the time can certainly keep these cars in amazing, like new condition. if you have small kids and you are around the house a lot this might be perfect for you

I dont know the 997 but i own a 991 and the 'get in and go' factor is 5X better than the 993. My wife cringes a bit when I say we will take the 993 so we tend to grab the 991. I love the 993 but I get disheartened that its hard to keep up with the little things in the 993 and I dont have the time to keep it as nice as I want it to be. that said, I installed a lift and still work on it because I definitely dont want to get rid of the 993