fatmike

I don't see it as absurd. The 993 and the 986 were coming out of the factory at the same time. Both cars require pro-active maintenance. Both cars chew up tires and brakes. The Boxster has lots of little things that break and a long list of engine mechanicals that fail.

By comparison the 993 is a tank once you get it right.

Sorry you had a bad experience sorting out your 993, but that's not typical.

The 993 isn't an unfamiliar cost of ownership if you've owned an older Boxster and drove it as a daily.

/

Gbos1

Mid Engined Water Cooler and Air Cooled are 2 different animals. I didn’t have a bad experience ..... I got exactly what I was looking for... my car was minty stock as a blank slate and not all hacked up like most out there.... most of the costs I incurred were at my own choosing as the OCD is strong to do things right the 1st time with Porsche OEM or RS parts.

I used to own a 2001 Boxster S in Lapis Blue loaded to the gills with every available option from the factory new..... don’t get me started on comparing the two. Boxster Oil Change $150 vs $300 if your lucky for a 993? Double the cost right there and don’t get me started on the cost of parts either for the 993 vs the Boxster which are a dime a dozen like a Ford 150.

I can name plenty of examples of people who bought into 911 Air Cooled ownership bandwagon knowing nothing about these cars only to be shocked and awed by the running costs and finding a good mechanic that they could trust and more importantly knew what they were doing to giving up on the headaches of ownership and sell at a loss.

Buy the best example you can buy ..... save then if you can’t because it will cost you to sort out. Hell... look at some of the suspensions others are doing here just to sort out $10k in coil overs and suspension parts... heck that is the cost of a nice Boxster you could buy at $10k..... just an alignment and corner balance is $500 bucks easily for a 993.... I could keep going on and on........ but I will never sell my 993. Best driving / looking car out there today.

TexasPorschelover

Your avitar is strong as battery acid......

notabot

I get you. There’s so much to replace and sort out because of the age of these cars. Pretty much every piece of plastic and rubber needs to be looked over, and there’s a lot of “while you’re in there” work. And I don’t really trust myself to do things right. If I’m getting something replaced or fixed, I want it done by a professional so I don’t have to worry about it afterward. Of course that’s not with everything. I didn’t need a professional to replace my hood/decklid shocks or fix my steering wheel, but things like suspension or a new clutch? Yeah I want someone who knows their stuff doing those things. I’ll pay a premium for peace of mind.

edit: the reasons above are why I didn’t stress over finding a “perfect” example because these cars are so old at this point pretty much all of them will need work, even a top-end rebuild, sooner than later. I just wanted a rust-free example with a pristine interior. My car ended up having a little bit of rust hidden under the rear window seal, but it’s nothing to cry about

Gbos1

Just make sure you get a PPI before you purchase including Leakdown and Compression Test from a “Independent Mechanic” other than who you are purchasing the car from that doesn’t know the person. Don’t let your emotions of seeing the car get the best of you clouding your purchase! This will give you a somewhat fair assessment of the car. Also buy a car with history of maintenance records or walk away unless it’s a screaming deal.

notabot

Yep I got a PPI and tests done by a veteran air-cooled mechanic whose shop overlooks Road Atlanta. It failed the leakdown test so the seller knocked a huge chunk off the price and didn’t make me pay for the PPI/tests. I ended up getting a top-end rebuild and still came under the cost of most manual 993’s because I got a really good deal on the rebuild. The seller asked the mechanic to help me out and they did.

Now I have peace of mind and no oil leaks for the foreseeable future. Some people might think I’m nuts, but I feel really good about my purchase.

edit: it was a single owner car with no accidents, too.

rk-d

DD'ing a 993 is a totally different beast, but I would not want to scare anyone off 993 ownership in general.

I bought my car with very little consideration of finding an air cooled mechanic, or estimating running costs or imagining that I'd do anything to modify the car.

1.5 years later and the car is reasonably sorted after a lot of time and money. And this was a "good" car. I have a good shop, though it's far away. I've made it work. I'm still doing stuff, but now it's fun stuff.

Had I known ahead of time about the time, money and effort I've put into ownership, I'd probably have passed. And that would be a shame, because I would have missed out. I don't regret any of it.

Sirenty

I drive my 964 this way, several times a week, usually shorter trips. My “daily” will actually sit there for a couple weeks at a time, so maybe the 964 is my daily and the M3 is my fun car?

My trick is I extend all trips so they are at least 30 mins long, usually via backroads and whatever curves I can find, even if I am only going 5 mins away. I also go for an hour+ drive every weekend. It gets an Italian tune up every time it leaves the garage.

I run up the miles without a care, though. Having as much fun as I can with it is way more important to me than some future sale price that won’t even happen if I can help it. I am actively reducing my car’s value with a giant smile on my face.

Agree with everyone that buying a sorted car makes it much, much easier.

stevensivak

I have a different opinion...
I think like most here that the car is ultra fine- never to be repeated again...
and not to be consumed fighting traffic..

Many roads are in poor shape as the infrastructure has fallen to pieces... I guess
I believe that there are better vehicles for stupid driving.... that can deal with the road
surfaces and that need very little attention.... a lexus perhaps with 100k on it....

Sure, you can daily drive it but would you daily drive a Ferrari 360?

Too much worry and too many things can happen and some of those things are expensive...

I have developed a lot of empathy with this car and sitting in traffic and just barely slipping
the clutch hurts both me and the car....

Sick, I know...

pp000830

All true and valid, unless you want a 993.

pp000830

Is the concern about taking short trips some sort of urban legend? My 993 has 100K+ miles in primarily short trips, The Home Depot is just around the corner.

I think this is a non-issue don't know where it originates from but in my humble opinion, it is just silly.
Andy

rk-d

I don't know. If your daily drive is only a few miles and the car effectively never warms up - I think you're higher risk for coked up SAI ports and crankcase condensation and oil dilution. I'm guessing more aggressive oil changes and occasional Italian tune ups would help mitigate that.

evilfij

What are you all buying? What are you doing to “fix” them? I spoke with a well known aircooled Porsche mechanic, he basically said they all leak and don’t waste your money chasing it (yet everyone does).

I bought a high miles cab off craigslist. No PPI, I did not even test drive her. In three plus years, all she did was eat a dry rotted fan belt which I knew was on the way out when I inspected her and spit out the non-Porsche replacement. Maybe I am biased because I am a Land Rover guy, but if I had to put money on it, I bet she is more reliable than the GT3T over the long run. 993 is basically the last VW bug. They are almost that simple. I buy on reliable and 993 is near the top (four banger tacos, 12 valve cummins, and 7.3 powerstroke are about all that supersedes a 95 993).

notabot

Mine doesn’t leak. And hopefully it won’t start leaking. Engines aren’t supposed to leak oil.

JimPA

My car was purchased as a DD 18 years ago. I've added more than 90,000 miles since then, summer and winter, rain and snow. I've never regretted a moment of my ownership.

I had a 10 mile commute through the country (just enough to warm up the car) until retiring 10 years ago and have periodically made longer (1000-1500 mile) trips too. Contrary to an earlier comment, I find it to be a great road car and it's also highly reliable. Further, a standard golf bag fits handily on the passenger side.

Maintenance and repair can be costly but I knew that going in. I do some of my own work and have a very reliable independent Porsche specialist for the rest. Cleaning up the car and keeping it looking good, especially after the winter, takes time and energy but is very satisfying. Our PCA chapter held a COVID-sensitive Cars 'n Coffee last Sunday. Although surrounded by many newer and faster P-cars, mine still garnered a lot of positive attention/feedback.