Why does the 996 seem to be cheaper than the 993?
 

I've been price shopping hard to find a great 911 between 94-99 and I've noticed the 996 seems to be cheaper on average than the 993. Are there technical issues with the 996?

I'm a bit of a porsche noob on the technical side. Just starting to immerse myself in the car I loved as a child. (mid to late 90's 911)

Very different car, a search on the forums or google for 993 vs. 996 will get you a lot of reading material.

The very short answer: the 996 is not considered to be nearly as good a car as the 993 is, in almost every respect. The market prices reflect that.

If you want the very long answer, you can do an exhaustive search on this site.

Welcome to Rennlist! :burnout:

:corn:

Not as reliable or as good looking, i.e. IMS, RMS, coil pack issues, pretty routine on a 996...........

Sold my 2003 C4S and kept my 95...........after $12 K in warranty work on the 996 and 68 K miles.......could not afford such bills going forward after warranty was out........had no confidence in the car............so I guess the word is out on 996s in the general market, etc...

My 993 after 16 years.......no major work AT ALL after 54K miles....change the oil, tires, belts, tune-up and fixed the speedometer........still have original brakes and clutch....

Because they are.

The 993 is viewed by many to be the Holy Grail of 911's. The last generation of the storied air-cooled 911.
The 996 is the first of the new generation of water cooled 911's.
Personally I hate the fried-egg headlights and the flatted profiles of the body panels.

And good can also be defined as durable. As noted, market works very efficiently.

Consider the lineage of the earlier torsion bar 911s: "Longhood" ('69-'73) is worth 3-4X of the next generation "shorthood" ('74-'77) which is worth half of an SC/Carrera ('78-89). Let's say, equal condition, $25K v. $8K v. $15K.

If your budget doesn't put you in "good" 993 territory, consider a 964 series, or even one of the later torsion bar SC/Carrera models. Buy the best of what your budget allows--be it $35K, $25K or $15K.

I have been doing lots of valuable research on rennlist. The folk here certainly know their stuff. I just wanted to confirm my findings that the 996 was indeed a cheaper and inferior car. I think when it all boils down I'll purchase a 964 or 993. Thanks for the quick replies.

All things considered a 993 purchase is all win. Just do your due diligence and buy a car with your head and not your heart (surprisingly hard when it comes to an older gen Porsche) and you'll be doing OK. Get the inspections done, ask for opinions on this forum and enjoy the search. There are lots of cars out there but its becoming harder and harder to find good'uns.

I'm not a 996 fan at all, but in fairness, it's not a horrible car either. Another reason they're cheaper is the supply - way more 996s were made than 993s.

x2.

996 = Worst of breed IMO. Interior is typical GM rental car plastics. Exterior looks awful. IMS issue, etc., etc.

And I guarantee that if you inspect 10 each '98 993s against '99 996s, each with 80-100K miles and having lived reasonably similar lives, you'll see a dramatic difference in how they've aged cosmetically.

You should def get out there and try to drive the different generations.

Sometimes the air-cooled generation may not be what your looking for in terms of driving expectations vs say a water-cooled. They have a completely different driving feel, just really depends what is for you.

Ive had 2 996's and hated them both. Had 3 993's and will NEVER be without one again! They are just different cars. Im in a polite mood :)