Bvalka

I have recently been given the go ahead (from wife) to purchase a 993 as long as it is convertable and has a back seat (two small children). I have never owned a porche but have always thought they were great looking/performing cars.

I have been researching cars on-line at Victory Motors in Houston, TX and have found a 1997 cabriolet with 55k miles for $38k. Does anyone know if this is a good price and/or has experience working with this dealer? They seem to have the largest selection I have been able to locate.

As I am a complete neophyte, I would appreciate any help/recommendations on what to look for and be wary of when purchasing.

goofballdeluxe

I'd stay far away from Victory Motors. They are known here to be very shady. Do a search and you'll read many posts about fraud, deceit and worse.

Here's some great advice: get a 993, but only after a comprehensive PPI from a qualified mechanic that knows air-cooled Porsches.

Good luck. The best Porsche you could buy would probably not be from a dealer, but from a fellow Rennlister.

dave morris

As said, recommend you do a search of that particular seller. Seems quite a few have been disappointed. Good luck.

Mark in Baltimore

Vic (screenname vjd3) is selling his super nice guards red cab. Shoot him a PM.

Too many stories with Victory. Stay far away. Also, beware of individuals who pass themselves off as private owners when they are, in fact, car dealers or curbstoners. Shoot me a PM if you want more info.

Bvalka

I did some research as you all recommended and let's say, I won't be traveling to Houston.

Thanks

Chuck W.

Use the search feature on this forum. It will keep you busy for hours.

I second Mark's recommendation to look at Vic's car.

https://rennlist.com/forums/for-sale...-upgrades.html

It is a beauty;

95 NC 993

PM sent. Too long. Best of luck!!

ble2011

I love Vic's 993. But, I could be biased!

craig001

Just be aware that your kids won't fit in the back for long. Lots of discussion about cars seats in the forum. A dealer here in St Louis had a white 95 Tip Cab a while back, IIRC it's Luxury Motors. It is a pretty clean example, but I did not have it inspeected as I was not interested in a white car.

DJF1

I'm selling mine too https://rennlist.com/forums/for-sale...-for-sale.html

race911

As much as we love our cars, I still strongly suggest actual comprehensive seat time to figure out if one of these is right for you. I'm "dealing" with a guy I counseled pretty heavily ~6 months ago on what a 993 (really, any air cooled) is, and isn't. He bought one, pretty nice car actually. But all I hear is how it's: slow, uncomfortable, rides rough, shifting sucks so his wife hates it, lately how the a/c is poor, etc. This all after rides in both the 4S and yellow car on track, and riding and driving the 4S on the street.

Again, WE may love them. But you have to understand them in the context of how everyone seems to perceive new/near-new cars, and the power arms race.

vjd3

Thanks for the heads-up, gents ... I've exchanged a couple of PMs. Although every time I drive the car or see the pictures, I think I must be crazy for thinking about selling. Who needs a turbo?

I think it would be remiss not to add to the thread for future cab seekers, though, that it's smart money to convert the cabriolet top to partial manual operation. The cab mechanism is actually a holdover from the 1983 911SC cabriolet, a primitive 2 cable operation that uses brute force to raise and lower the top. As it's designed, the cables shorten with age until things either get misaligned or one cable fails, and those motors attempt to force the top up (or down) from one side while the other side jams.

If you're lucky, it will just refuse to go up or down. If you're not, and it happens midway, you will either twist the top frame or snap one of the arms. You don't even want to know what a new top and top frame costs ... the previous owner of my car has a $7500 receipt in there from 2006.

Doing it manually, you use the power switch to latch or unlatch the top, then just step out of the car and lower or raise the top by hand. This gives you the added advantage of being able to ensure that the top folds correctly on the way down by checking that (as designed) the metal bar inside the top falls toward the back of the car as the top folds. Sometimes it won't, and that allows the top fabric to fold on top of two positioning pins which will eventually pierce the top fabric. It's common to see a 993 convertible with holes on both sides of the top right above the back edge of the side window ... that's a result of the top folding on the pins. And, if you're attaching the boot cover when the top is put down -- you ARE putting the boot cover on to protect your headliner, right? -- you're getting out of the car each time anyway. If you've ever found it difficult to snap the boot cover over your top, it folded itself incorrectly, because it sits up an inch or two higher as a result of resting on the pins and you have to really muscle the boot cover on there.

Cheap insurance against a potentially expensive repair. The 996 top is much more sophisticated than the 993 variety. You can read the top horror stories on the 964 board, too, it's got the same system. It might work fine for years ... but some day ... it's gonna cost you.

LvnTheDrm

Vic--great heads up on the case for going partial-manual. Thanks. Can you give just a few details on what's involved in making the switch? T.I.A.

vern1

Bvalka, just posted my 1996 triple black cab for sale if interested

My top was manual but went back to fully auto to sell the car. Pull the covers off where the motors reside on the sides and you can see the motor bolts behind them. Loosen them a few turns and voila, manual operation - very easy. The top latching motors then just pull the top snug to the frame.

vjd3

The quickest way is just to loosen the two large bolts behind the plastic covers on the carpeted cover that contains the rear speaker (it's over the two top transmissions). The top will be manual at that point.

If you want to lose some potential rattles (and a few pounds of weight), you can pull the cables out of the motors (underneath the rear deck), and unbolt the transmissions themselves from the sidewall of the car, removing the bolt that attaches the transmission arm to the top arm. The top arm will just hang down and not interfere with anything.

It's not a big job to restore the car to power operation again, it's just a question of re-inserting the cables into the motors and then realigning everything. Someone who's familiar with the top can put it back together in an hour. But I wouldn't do it.