I will try to be brief. So that you know where i am coming from i want to give some background.

Never owned a manual drive or a sports car so i canceled my order of a SMG M3 bmw last minute and stepped up to a pure sports care. Bought a 95 993 6speed coupe three months ago. I have rediscovered driving. I only started to read rennlist and will become a member very soon because this web site is terriffic. I also went to the LA porsche get together last weekend. This website and that get together makes me realize what a newbie i am to P-car and cars in general.

I went into buying this car with high expectations so here are some surprises i came across.
Positives surprises -
my car has 39k miles and is 9 years old and i can not believe how tight it is..no rattling or creaks or any other noises.
Exterior design of the 993 (polar silver) continues to wow people.
Seats are very confortable.

Negatives
Not very fast.
Interior is so bleak for a $70k car (when new- not what i paid).
Can not believe Porsche sells more SUVs than 911s.
Tight quarters - my knees almost touch the steering wheel. (im 6'1)

Other random thoughts. Still can not believe 911s are $70k and up...i think they are overpriced even though i love the car. Even though they make so many SUVs and i don't like the 996s i think the company is going down the right path. Better interior, water cooled engines etc.

ps. i met the president of B&M performance and he is going to prototype my gear box and start making short shifters for the 993 2 wheel drive. Dropping my car off nxt wk. - will let u know how it goes.

Since most of people on this site are experts i wanted to give a fresh perpective on a classic car since not only is this my first P-car but my first sports car.

Thx again to all the people who make this board so useful. When i was looking to buy a M3 i was on their board and all they really wanted to talk about was street racing and beating p-cars on the road....not very helpful.

 

Congratulations on your purchase, and thanks for sharing your "newbie" perspective with us. Your first take is spot on, both with the positives and the negatives; although I'm quite short, and I love the stark 993, so your negative is my positive. Oh, and I solved the "Not very fast" thing.

 

$$$ will solve the "not very fast" thing. However, "not very fast" compared to what?

 

mostly not fast relative to my expectations, mustang GT, benz c32, even a benz e 320 or x5 4.4. probably part of the problem is i am not a great driver w/ this car yet.....going to get that fixed at button willow in couple of months. but when i step on it there is little torque or separation btwn me and the surroundings.

also i looked into adding some punch, but i don't want to mess with the car yet. also from what i have read i can increase it 20hp with a chip and some air intake stuff, but i don't think that will be meaningful. ps i the car came with the exhaust that this board recommends...i think rsr.

 

Interesting, the 964/993 and RX7 3rd gen. are my favorite interiors. Tach. in perfect reading position, everything easy to read with no fluff. I have a friend w/ a 993 4S and a Boxster. He likes the Boxster interior better which I can't understand. The gauges are much harder to read. I love the interiors of the air cooled as much as the exterior.

I was slightly disappointed w/ the acceleration of my 964 until I put on a MAF/chip and that helped things tremendously. The best $1,400 I have ever spent.

 

If you've never owned a manual tranny or a sports car, I bet you still haven't found the right shifting RPMs. Make sure you're at least in the 4K range and it will be a different car.

 

Are you sure you're stepping on it?? (993's feel pretty sluggish under 4500 RPM.)
You really have to wind these cars up.
A good driver in a 993 on a twisty road, will leave pretty much anything in the dust...

 

good suggestion on the RPM. i don't want to baby the car, but since i am used to automatic tranny after the car hits around 4k i feel the car is working too hard and i start to shift too soon....so i am working on it.

ps any drawback from anyone out there who have a short shifter or have driven a short shift p-car.

 

Life begins at 5,000.

 

welcome,

you will probably like the car even more as you get to know it and get better at driving it at speed.

regarding the 'stark' interior...yes, nothing really catches your attention in the car but for the tach right in front of you that's the size of a pie plate!
the interior is pretty much 'all business'.
also, the basic interior design/layout is 30+ years old. How do you think the current 996s interior will rate in 2030?? You call it 'better' ...quality material wise I don't think there is an improvement. Ergonomics of several items are definetly better. Guages are not. I am sure it is the design that you prefer.

part of the high purchase price has to do with the air-cooled engine. very expensive to produce compared to the water cooled. there IS a reason a used 996 3.4 with a leaking rear main seal demands the same price on ebay as an old 2.4 S engine with moss growing on it!!

not very fast: straight line against some of the modern machinery...yes, not the fastest. But, a ride around a race track with a good driver in a well sorted car will probably open your eyes they are very capable cars, but demand a very capable driver to push the limits.

the one thing that i like best about the 993 is the ties to its heritage. Design that did not fix what wasn't broken, yet changed to meet more demanding emmisions and crash rules, without losing the car's character or performance ability.

There are some things I just don't get about the 996.....until I think "accountants". ...never really had to do that before

best of luck with the new car!

max

 

I second what Matt Davies said. As it is a 95 without Varioram the torque comes on a bit higher in the rev range...above 4500 is another story.

 

You comment on how tight and solid the car is in one sentence, but then question the $70K in the next. Hmmm. See an issue there?

911s have never (excepting Turbos) been the "fastest" car for the $ (assuming as I am you mean 0-60 times), or even the "fastest" relative to their competitors...they are light, agile, well handling, unbelievable braking, beautiful and nearly unbreakable pieces of engineering. You're paying for (pre-996) race car technology thinly veiled on the street.

Many say the 993 interior is modern but timeless. The car evolved into the 993 over 30 years, it's history and class over glitz, if you ask me.

Do some reading, drive the car some more, then report back to us.

BTW, congrats! (No offense or slam intended.)

 

Welcome. Your 993 should be faster than all the cars you mentioned, and in a completely different league from the X5 4.4 and E320. Above 4,000, things change. Peak torque is at 5,000 and peak hp at 6,100. You ain't seen nothin' yet...

 

thx for the suggestions....and i promise to report back in couple of months after button willow and getting the new short shifter.

in terms of cost/value - i still think porsche is a bit overpriced. the way i see it i am paying 10-20k for the prestige, and overall feel of a porshe (996). I test drove the 996 and m3 back when i was deciding btwn the two b4 i woke up and realized my real dream car was half the price of the 996.

well the 996 was 20k more than the comparable m3. for what? not statistical performance. interior of the m3 is superior. i did like the driving experience of the 996 better, but hey the m3 is no wimp. by the way the 3 series will go down as one the most amazing and profitable, critically aclaimed cars ever. i had a 3series for 10 years and they too are very tight.

so again u pay for the history, prestige and feel. which many will do including me, but objectively i think the cars are very a bit over priced.

unless u can buy a used 996 which seems to be a better deal.

by the way used m3 are holding up much better than their comparable 996s in the used mkt. not a good sign...porsches should hold up better than a bmw again becasue of the history, prestige, etc.....

let's hope for better in the 997 and 998s.

 

thx for the suggestions....and i promise to report back in couple of months after button willow and getting the new short shifter.
I don't think a short shifter is going to make the car faster.

in terms of cost/value - i still think porsche is a bit overpriced. the way i see it i am paying 10-20k for the prestige, and overall feel of a porshe (996). I test drove the 996 and m3 back when i was deciding btwn the two b4 i woke up and realized my real dream car was half the price of the 996.

Did you drive the m3...996 before buying a 993? If so why did you buy the 993? There must have been a reason

In any case. Welcome to rennlist