RS 197

993,

have you driven both cars?????? Shut the door on the 993, feel the difference. Look at the interior, see the difference. Legendary air cooled motor, or water cooled peice of crap. Egg shaped headlights, no curves.
There is "No Comparison", 996 is the ugliest, cheapest built peice of crap I have ever driven. I have 3 budies that have had them and hate them. No joke. It has a Subaru engine and a throw away gear box. It would be a great car for your wife. Has more in common with a honda than a porsche.

My .02 for what it is worth. Hope it helps.

TroyN

I've had my 993 for 4 1/2 years now and a few months ago got a '98 Boxster. The Boxster is a great car, and even though it's only 2 model years newer, it feels much newer than the 993. At first I was pretty amazed with the car but not long after, started to find myself wishing it had more of the rawness of my 993. I realize the Boxster and 996 are not the same, but they are similar. Anyway, my vote is for 993.

RJT

Owned two 993s previously..........Drove a 996..........Just bought our third 993!!!!

Robert

Gary996

I had been away from the Porsche marque for over 20 years and decided to buy a 996 C2 last year. I found a 2002 C2 and thoroughly enjoyed owning and driving it for over a year. I found the 996 to be fast, modern in design and feel, and my particular car was extremely reliable with Zero service or repair issues. I sold it a week ago since I have a new 997 GT3 on order.

I discovered that my GT3 won't be here until fall '07 so I bought a 993 C2 cabriolet (44,000 miles) with the intention of driving it unitl the GT3 comes in. I figured that I could drive it for 9-10 months and not lose much $ on depreciation. I have only had this 993 for a short time, but I absolutley LOVE this car.

My vote would be for the 993.

Thaddeus

I considered a 996 but the ones in my price range were early models and I worried about the RMS. I'd have gotten an 02 or later but they were in the 40's.

I know a lot of people think the RMS is a non issue. YMMV.

mrsullivan

this is actually very easy.... the way that you have described the usage of the car (daily driver), you should absolutely get a 996

Ed Burdell

I spent a year or two window shopping 996's and never went further with it - the looks just didn't grab me. Then I turned my attention to 993's and the passion went thru the roof...and yes, the right color combo is what made me finally pull the trigger...wound up paying more than what I could have gotten a 996 for, so it certainly wasn't economics that drove my decision.

A dear friend of mine reached the opposite conclusion and has an awesome '01 cabrio which he loves just as dearly. Go with what your heart tells you - this is not the most rational of cars to buy, anyway, so cold calculation takes you only so far.

Tiptronics are fine, especially if there are times you can't be bothered by shifting every two seconds. On the other hand, putting the tip into manual mode is very satisfying - you can get the revs up and the car likes it better.

RS 197

Or a Honda Prelude, or a Toyota Celica, or a Camero, or a Acura Integra.

Not quite the same, but they would make way better daily drivers, 1/3 the $$ and will last forever. Maybe get one of these for a daily and then buy a 993 for special occasions.

No matter how you slice it a 996 should not be the choice for a real Porsche person. They lost there mind when they made that car. Good thing they saved themselves with the 997

c993k

Get a 996 if it going to be your daily driver and only car because if you get a 993 you'll never get anything done.
You'll find yourself driving aimlessly to other towns for no apparent reason whatsoever!
You'll see less of your family and friends and
you'll be spending most of your time looking for mods and reading the Rennlist 993 forum.
Get a 996!
Chris

DaveM993

Not to make generalizations...but...not sure there have been many who have bought a 993 and later wished they bought a 996...but I do know of a few cases where the reverse is absolutely true.

Chuck W.

I bought my 993 tip over three years ago as a daily driver. I drove it for 18 months as a daily driver on the Los Angeles freeways and loved it. In rush hour traffic in mid summer I found that the oil temp would get a little too high for me. I had a manual oil fan switch installed and took care of that concern. I drive the tiptronic in manual mode 99.9% of the time and have learned to love it. One of the advantages of using the 993 as a daily driver is you don't mind the drive. It also gives you something to look forward too. But, drive both then decide...Good luck and let us know what you decide on.

David Ray

I believe the 993 has the vote, but there again, this is a 993 forum! In all honsety I went throught the same thing a year ago with the ubiquitous "buy the most Porsche you can aford within your budget". The 993 competes very well against the 996 price wise due to all the aforementioned reasons and flaws.

The one reason that stands out here is true - you'll find yourself driving the car aimlessly just to drive IT!
1. to the the store for no apparent reason,
2. going to Home Depot (20 miles out of the way),
3. and just telling the wife and kids, "I'll be back in a little bit (just to drive around the block a couple of times)".

Although I purchased my car with the the aero package, sport exhaust and suspension upgrades and lowered included - the other to 996 neighbors are envious - Happy New year -

Leland Pate

Go ahead and buy the 996. Then every time you pass a 993 on the road you can tell your buddies how you "almost bought one of those"...



...then you can go home and cry yourself to sleep.

Monique

a 996 is a vulgar hot water kettle.

Tiptronic??? You been drinking too much

Thaddeus