A4Ultrasport

Hi Everyone,

I've been a porsche fan for years, but have always been an Audi driver. I'm giving some serious thought to selling my '12 S4 and trying to find a guards red 993 (completely obsessed with this color). I've done some searching on various questions, but was hoping to get some more recent responses and updates on things I'm thinking about as I begin getting more serious about buying a 993.

1. As far as financing, what kind of rates have people been able to get on a 15+ year old car? Any thoughts or tips? Sounds like credit unions may be the way to go?

2. How much should one have on hand as a sort of 993 maintenance fund? Obviously depends on the car purchased, but what do people feel comfortable with sitting in the bank dedicated to their 993? I'm guessing 4-5k minimum?

3. Are there significant differences between model years? I don't think I'm quite so concerned about minor things (even hp) at this age, but am still curious, especially from a reliability perspective.

4. Hard to generalize, but at what mileage does major maintenance/repairs tend to pick up? 70-80k? Is it bad to buy a car that has had no top end work done? Any things that must be commonly done? Curious if it's better to buy one with 80k miles and prepare to spend 7k on top end work vs. a more expensive low mileage car.

5. Anybody interested in selling their beautiful guards red coupe?? Thanks in advance for the help!

hkspwrsche

1. Didn't finance so don't know but a friend of mine said his bank was not opposed. Check with your lender.

2. $4-5k should be plenty if no engine rebuild is eminent

3. 95 should not have the immobilizer issues but also does not have the vario ram intake system which boosts torque, obd II is only 96, up which can pick up a check engine light on the sai system. Reliability isn't significantly different between them.

4. 70 k miles is a good range to look for some items. There is an FAQ with good info if you search the list and the clutch, steering rack and the valve guides/leak down/compression
are some quick hits.

5. Guards red shouldn't be too hard to find. Check all the normal places for used cars.

996scott

I am still new to 993s (1 yr) so I don't have all the answers but here is my .02
1. Credit unions are great. Mine was offering 2.99%.
2. I have heard anywhere from 2-4K for just in case stuff. Some of those might be needed repairs and some might be those mods that you REALLY want. No way to know what you may need in future. I think if you buy a car in good shape with a clean ppi you can drive it and enjoy without worrying too much.
3. If you are comparing model years then I don't think there are big differences. The biggest I think is that the 95 has a few less hp (I think 12) than 96-98s, doesn't have varioram ( I think you loose a little low end torque but you can get a chip to help), and the
Best of all, the 95 does not have the problems with OBDII or the immobilizer that the 96-98 have.
4. Hard to say on this one I think. Like any other cars, you can have some go into really high mileage with no problems at all and some low mileage cars needing a top end done. Without a crystal ball there is no way to predict.
5. Don't have a guards red to sell. I only have a blak 95 and no way I am selling, love the car too much Good luck hunting, the 993 is a great car.

tctung

In general, 993 is a reliable car. If you get a good PPI before buying, you won't need much maintenance fund, maybe 1K or 2K dollars enough.

Mine is a Euro spec 1994 with about 80K miles. No top end and engine still runs like new. I change oil every 7K miles (Mobil 1 15W50) or every 2 years whichever comes first.

BLT

I'm a new 993 owner but did a lot of research first, and my first question would be, have you spent much time driving any 993s? I've been driving an A4 2.8QT for 15 years and the 993 was quite a shock in how different it was. If you're coming from a new S4 that's going to be even a bigger difference. Apologies if this is obvious.

Other than that I only I have observations from my research. At 70-80K if the clutch hasn't been done you're probably looking at that soon and when that's done do a lightweight flywheel and possibly consider the top end based on PPI.

Others here will have way more experienced advice. A lot of it comes down to how the car was cared for and how well documented that was.

Good luck! I still love my Audi but now I also love a Porsche. Apparently I'm just a ****.

BT

Knight

My best advice would be to get out and try to meet some 993 owners in your area, time of year isn't best but once spring hits keep a watchout for pcar events. Or maybe some rennlisters are local to you.

Best to drive a few, you'll know if its for you or not. Once you know, I'm sure like most members here you'll spend countless hours researching the details about the 993. This forum has a great amount of info!

Good luck!

A4Ultrasport

Thanks everyone. Yes, I have driven one local 993 that I found for sale at a very small local car service/dealer type place. It had 80k miles, and I don't think it was in great shape (was excessively smokey when it was started). But... I definitely loved the way it drove despite it feeling like a much older car than I was used to with my S4. It had a ton of character. One thing that bothered me a little bit though on the drive was the pedals. It seemed like the clutch was positioned oddly (maybe I'm just not used to floor mounted pedals), but it made shifting take a lot longer than I'm used to. Is this normal?

pp000830

Let’s see, ay the low end DIY
Clutch at 70-100K - $2000 – no need for engine out on 993 to do this, lowers job cost.
Synchros and rebuild standard diff 80-120K - $1000+, no need for engine out for this on 993
Struts 60-80K, once in the life of the car- $3000, DIY $2000
Valve lifter cartridges, once in the life of the car 70-100K $1500
Rebuild steering rack, once in the life of the car 80 to 100K $2000, $350 DIY
Odometer fix all cars age related, once in the life of the car - DIY$60
Clock electrical fix sooner or later most cars - DIY just some solder, no direct cost
Driver door check strap fix shows up by 70K, can avoid by modifying check strap rubber friction part. $300 to $800
Brake pads - 40-60K - OE pads if desire quiet brakes, aftermarket for performance $200+/- DIY
Flex brake lines - optional, age related all cars $150 DIY
Replace rubber fan housing flex cover/pipe - 70-90K, part cost not expensive <$100
Ignition wires - once in life of car, done when engine is out for other service not priced recently
Distributor internal belt 80K-150K, I lube the shaft on the 2nd distributor when changing rotor and cap to forestall this. Prices all over the place.
Clean HVAC fan - 70K+ easy DIY no cost
Repair or replace HVAC duct valves/actuators 50K or later - have not done this no line on cost.
Other normal stuff as in any vehicle.
The key is to have an accounting as to what has already been done of the above items.

Seems the options include buying a low miles example or one with $80k on it and many of the above items done already. Best value in a driver would be one with $80 on it and most of the above items dome.

Andy

pp000830

Let’s see, ay the low end DIY
Clutch at 70-100K - $2000 – no need for engine out on 993 to do this, lowers job cost.
Synchros and rebuild standard diff 80-120K - $1000+, no need for engine out for this on 993
Struts 60-80K, once in the life of the car- $3000, DIY $2000
Valve lifter cartridges, once in the life of the car 70-100K $1500
Rebuild steering rack, once in the life of the car 80 to 100K $2000, $350 DIY
Odometer fix all cars age related, once in the life of the car - DIY$60
Clock electrical fix sooner or later most cars - DIY just some solder, no direct cost
Driver door check strap fix shows up by 70K, can avoid by modifying check strap rubber friction part. $300 to $800
Brake pads - 40-60K - OE pads if desire quiet brakes, aftermarket for performance $200+/- DIY
Flex brake lines - optional, age related all cars $150 DIY
Replace rubber fan housing flex cover/pipe - 70-90K, part cost not expensive <$100
Ignition wires - once in life of car, done when engine is out for other service not priced recently
Distributor internal belt 80K-150K, I lube the shaft on the 2nd distributor when changing rotor and cap to forestall this. Prices all over the place.
Clean HVAC fan - 70K+ easy DIY no cost
Repair or replace HVAC duct valves/actuators 50K or later - have not done this no line on cost.
Other normal stuff as in any vehicle.
The key is to have an accounting as to what has already been done of the above items.

Seems the options include buying a low miles example or one with $80k on it and many of the above items done already. Best value in a driver would be one with $80 on it and most of the above items dome.

Andy

Cowhorn

There are loads of Guards Red 993's for sale on Autotrader.com and Cars.com. Some are very nice. I recommend you try to buy from a private party because you will get a better deal on the car.

Try to buy the newest, best example possible. It is often worth the extra money up front.

Budget $2-4k (or about 10% of purchase price) for immediate repairs and improvments.

Be SURE to get a PPI from a mechanic who knows air cooled Porsches.

Good luck and enjoy the hunt. Post pics!

chaoscreature

The slower shifting is something you just have to get used to. I have never driven an Audi with a manual before, but I came from a domestic muscle car background where the manuals could be hammered into gear, the Porsche requires a little more finesse. No more powershifting...
First off the synchros can't handle abusive shifting and the "two finger shifting" method should be adopted.
2nd'ly the transmissions are ridiculously expensive to repair if you do break something (ask me how I know).

That being said 993 ownership is one of the greatest joys in my life. The PCA/POC are great if you plan on getting involved with a car club. Tours, track events, rally's etc. can keep your weekends full.

race911

That's the most important aspect of the conversation. You aren't going to the new 1995 Porsche store. Even if you could, the cars are positively crude compared to even a pedestrian car today, when looking through the lens backward. For those of us who remember tooling around in a 2.0 car (let alone a 356), they're the definition of luxury and refinement.

What Borg Warner synchro 911 trans, absent being heavily abused, needs repair? Ever. (Only partially joking about that.) Zero idea why any standard differential needs to be looked at. Limited slip, perhaps? The 140K unit in my second RS America was nearly within spec. Even so, I doubt they're of much benefit to most owners driving on the street. Especially under braking.

Last I checked, lifters were ~$35/ea.

BLT

Well said Ken.

Jeff U

On a 96-98 the SAI (Secondary Air Injection) system can be a pain. If you use a OBDII reader and find that some of the monitors are showing "incomplete", beware! It could mean the seller just cleared them to eliminate the check engine light and there is a significant issue lurking around waiting to bite.

If the ports become clogged, it will trip your CEL (check engine light) and you fail emissions testing if the CEL is on. The fix:

• Mechanical clean out costing, $700 or so but does not always work
• If it does not work, you are looking at tearing into the motor and a top end job. $10,000

Does Minnesota have emission ("smog") testing ? If no, then this is not much of an issue.

The '95 models have the same port clogging problem but their electronic monitoring system (OBD I) does not monitor this issue. As a result, no CEL and no problem passing emissions testing.

rcg412

I have a 2011 S4 and a 1996 993TT... the two cars are not comparable. I would not want to use a 993 as a daily driver, despite maintenance (which is not terrible on the 993... but they are aging). Why not look at 997, i have a 2007 997 which i drive all the time, might fit your needs better...