Edward

Warning: misc meanderings alert:
Well, I don't have a "worst, so far" story, but am wondering if you folks do? The reason:

With the slate of news stories on high gas cost, I was just contemplating my "cost" of owning this car. Since 2001, my '95 has been a rock-solid commuter (even pulling double-duty on the track for first 3-4 years of my ownership), and here I am just shy of 140K miles and she drives amazingly tight, steering/suspen. intuitive and responsive (hmmm, is all that old rubber really still that good? ...it actually feels like it), she revs to redline with abandon, stops like I've dropped anchor, and still manages 20mpg or so. Um, wow! And the "worst" so far, if one can call it that, was a heavy price tag a few years ago at clutch replacement time ...and not so much for the clutch alone but all the "as yer in there" items when the engine's out.

So am I jinxing myself by posting this? Is there a shoe that's waiting to drop on me? Any of you folks have a "worst thing about my car is"? ...Or should I just revel in what is Ferry's over-engineered marvel; that even to this day seems to defy current standards of performance? What's your "worst?"
...oh, did I mention I love these 993s?
pssst, btw, the 911sc is likewise amazing ...and that's an 82

Edward

goofballdeluxe

The worst thing is not gas, or clutch. It's the terrible valve guides that requires a top-end rebuild to remedy.

All else pales in comparison, and is the major downside to these cars.

mdude

Gas cost is not high unless you happen to live in CA, and CA-ers only have themselves (or more precisely, their elected and unelected officials) to blame. Winter blend, summer blend, virtual impossibility of building new refineries...

Mike J

I had a car that was one the worse - the 96 Targa I had. That car almost killed me on the number of repairs I had to do to it -> but I did learn just about everything there is to know about 993 mechanicals as well as the nuances of that pesky roof.

I do separate the costs of the slippery slope vs pure maintenance. My 1983 SC cost me less than my wife's pathfinder over 9 years of operation factoring in depreciation, the 1996 Targa was off the map with its costs, and we will see with the Turbo. So far, one year in, very solid (knock on wood).

However, I do not think I would own one of these cars if I could not DIY on almost everything - that alone saves I would say over 1/2 the cost of ownership.

So the worse thing? The unknown suprises that could be waiting for you around the next corner given we are all driving cars 14+ years old.

Cheers,

Mike

goofballdeluxe

Yeah, like voting changes anything

I live in CA and would love to see them build more refineries. Trouble is, ALL politicians are in Big Biz's pockets, regardless of party affiliation. That, not the average CA citizen, is the real problem, in my humble opinion.

177mph

I've seen some threads on a/c repairs lately that were up over 4k - that's not a good thing to look forward to. But i don't think its widespread.

Carrera GT

$4K for a/c? You could replace the whole system for $1K. I guess the labor was exorbitant? Or a lot of "while we're in here" stuff?

vincer77

You have now entered the twilight zone... Doo DOoo Dooo...

EckFe1

Gas in CA is easy compared to gas in Germany. We're at $ 9.-/gallon for European 98 octane gas.
I'm glad I'm not a commuter with any car. I take the train and I'm lucky I can do it that way.
BTW, I have to agree with goofball, the valve guides is the starter.
Of course you can't just overhaul the heads. They need to be properly ported. New hot cams will have to be installed but for that you might want to raise the rev limit. So you better have better rods installed and at 140k miles I'm sure the cylinders don't look so good anymore. So the 3.8 kit moves in. Convert to mechanical lifters and new injectors and new programming etc. What else could possibly happen?
Ed

Quadcammer

Really? You can get a condensor, evaporator, compressor, drier, and expansion valve for $1k?

Do you have links?

goofballdeluxe

I can answer this for you, Ollie:

He can't, and he doesn't

richardew

140,000 high mileage. ROFLMAO
I've replaced the alternator, clutch @ 90K, some suspension bits, and not much else.

race911

And we're about the same for our 100 octane unleaded. Granted, it's not sold in bulk. Anyway, can you compare the cost simply on the conversion rate? Go into the way back machine when it was introduced, and the all-time low was nearly flipped. A Euro at 1.4-to-$1 would make gas seem cheap............

I always look at it as how much it labor it takes to buy, based on a median income. So that's ~$20/hr. right now. Equates to about 1/5 hr. per gal. How's that compare to elsewhere? Let's omit the difference in taxation for the time being.

(Not sure why you can't merely replace guides on a top end, if that's all that's worn. My $30K 3.8L has ~35 more HP than stock. Hardly anything anyone can feel.)

tcsracing1

id say top end rebuilds and A/C are the worst of it from what i have read.

Now, as far as targa and convertible roof repairs, that is a seperate issue along with tiptronic rebuilds....

Anybody ever have trouble with the awd diffs?

Quadcammer

European and NA octane are not on the same scale. their 98 is like our 93.