Matt Lane

Posting this here on the 993 board because I value your opinion, and
many of you, like me, have had more than 1 Porsche model at some point or another. So here's the deal.

Good buddy of mine is looking for a 2nd car.

Usage is occasional driving in the city, say 3-4 days a week, limited miles.

Wants to do PCA DE, 1 or 2 events a summer to start.

Needs the back seats to fit young kid(s) occasionally.

Looking at a budget ideally $25K or less.


My initial inclination would be to try and find a cherry, low mileage 968. Should be doable for less than $20K. Trouble is, these are relatively rare, and they are getting old. Not cheap to run (is anything?), but fairly reliable AFAIK.

OR, some 996 variant. The 996 is a lot more car/performance for sure, but has its own issues as we all know. Very easy to find, $25K should buy a decent example.

But he is planning to keep this car a long time (I could see him "running it into the ground" over 10 years, as an example). How bad of a proposition will a 996 be once it hits 100K miles or more and 20+ years of age?

I'd hate to steer him wrong. Please chime in with your thoughts, pro and con.

Any other ideas?

Best,

Matt

Bob Rouleau

996 is your best bet. 993 is too much, although a 964 would be doable for that money. A manual 968 coupe is hard to find in these parts and gawd forbid something goes wrong with the head .. big $$$$

ilko

I don't have experience with 996s. But what about a 964? $25K will get him a well sorted one that will retain its value and is a lot of fun to drive.

Mike J

Can he afford a big bill if something goes wrong? On these older cars, there is always the chance of something failing, and if its big, will that sideline the car?

I believe in both considering the capital and the operating costs on these vehicles. A 996, if the RMS and IMS have been sorted, should be quite reliable. A 964, if a top end has been done, should be quite reliable. In both cases, there is always the background risk of larger issues.

Is he focused on Porsche for some particular reason? if not there are other options for a good used car that have back seats - Subie STI - 4 doors and really goes (but late models have brittle pistons), unstoppable in almost all weather conditions. Mini Cooper S Works (front wheel drive, lots of understeer, not cheap to fix)? M series BMW (even more to fix)?

Maybe what I am saying is make sure he considers all the factors before moving ahead.

Cheers,

Mike

vincer77

I think 964 would be good choice also. I think that a 996 would be great also. I think that the IMS issue is the only major problem here, and the probability is low, though could be catastrophic. Peole I've spoken to who have them say they are very reliable. Looks like a couple of nice examples for sale in classifieds.

The back seat requirement throws out the best choice of Boxster.

Linnm

Recommend a 996 (try to get a CPO)--no one can look 100,000 miles down the road.

Norra Norra

I know this may not be what you are looking for, but if reliability is a concern, and city driving was one of the requirements (air cooled porsches have a really short wheelbase yikes) I'd consider the new Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S. You could buy one brand new, its got kid sized back seats and should be a hoot to drive.

baca

Your buddy should check out the 04 c4s for $28,500 in the classifieds with less than 60k miles.