Giovanni

Hey guys, I am thinking of getting a 996 in a few months. Does the 1999 have problems with engines? I heard a few stories on ebay of engines being replaced etc. Also, the prices seems to be dropping e.g. $36.5K to $39K is not unusual, at least that is what is seems :-).
What are other things to worry about 996?

I was considering 95-96 993 but for the price I might as well get a newer car?

Help please :-)

I need to have a good research to show my wife, hehe.

quick968

In Feb, from The Porsche Store in Plano, Tx, I purchased a 99' coupe, Black/Savannah, 18" Turbo looks, new P-Zero's, otherwise lightly optioned, 24,500 miles, Porsche Certified warranty, $39,000. Been just a joy to drive, a big step up from my 968 Club Sport.

Flying Finn

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Giovanni:
<strong>...I was considering 95-96 993 but for the price I might as well get a newer car?...</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Giovanni,

There's a reason for that. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

Re: -99 Engine's. I'm not real 996 expert but from what I've heard, 996 engines had oil starvation problems, manily cars drivern hard (as these car are supposed to) at track etc.

Older 911s (and 996 Turbo, GT2, GT3 and race cars) have a dry sump oil system (they all have 993 crankcase) which is better and prevents that but I think this problem is some how (I don't kow how) solved in later 996s.

I've heard other engine problees as well but I'd think since -99 car is few years old already, those hould be sorted out.

But if you are planning to track you car, there might be a problem but I think you should be able to check (from the car's records) whether something has been done or not.

And remember, PPI is a must when buying Porsches.

996FLT6

Well having a '99 996 since new never had oil starvation issues at the track and go to about 11-12 DE's a year. I imagine if you're planning on 12 hr enduro races maybe a different story but with DE's most last 25-30 minutes each track session and other then seeing a few pushrods blowing a cylinder-oil starvation doesn't seem to be an issue with many cars. Like Finn said get a good PPI as with any car. Make sure TSB's have been taken care of ie RMS/rear lid corrosion/coolant tank/gas cap/air bag lite seems to be the main ones. Regards. Mike

Art_Z

and check the Build! the newer the better. July 99 was the last month before they switched to making 2000s. The newer the build, the better the chance all of the early bugs were worked out at the factory, rather than at the dealer

Speed

I had a '99 C2 cab with a Sept. 1998 build date that was a daily driver for 3 years and 51k miles before I traded it in for an '02. Never had any problems with it other than the minor TSB's mentioned by 996FLT6.

Bill - Chicago

I have 99 996 and the first year I drove it on the street and de's with no problems. I then started club racing in the PCA and had one problem after another, including oil starvation. I know another club racer that had the oil starvation problem too. I would say as a daily driver/part time DE car it is fine. But it you put a race suspension on and run R compound tires, you are going to have problems.

In 02 Porsche replace 80% of the engine parts, for just an additional 20hp. I don't think you do that just for 20hp. Also one of the big changes was the oil system.

I track/race a 993RS now and have had no mechanical problems with it. I drove both cars the same way.

Also I believe Porsche says the oil system on all 996's is a dry sump. The big difference between it and older 911's is the oil tank is external vs. internal.

Waz996

996 no regret. take care of it as if it were your baby and, i read this somewhere in rennlist, ''drive it like you stole it!!''

Waz

Sloth

With a 2/98 build date on my C2... I have had very few problems. However, I did purchase the extended warranty to help cover my a$z just in case.

adsc4s

What type of research do you need?

The 996 is a newer car but is probably out or close to out of warranty as well, so that's a wash.

The 993 is a little easier for the DIY'er.

The 996 is faster and easier to drive. If this car will be your daily driver, get the 996.

Parts and maintenance will be high for either.

Looks are purely subjective, so what do you think of the two?

Air cooled vs. water cooled. The 993 3.6 motor is the final evolution of many years of building air cooled motors. The 996 3.4 motor is the first mass produced water cooled motor in a 911.

Prices are about the same for either so you can figure out the depreciation of both.

Can't go wrong with either, unless you get a lemon or one that has not been maintained properly.

Giovanni

Thanks for all the info.
My plan is to get a daily driver and ''drive it like you stole it!!'' car on occassions :-).
I'm pretty sure I don't want a Cab as I don't like Convertibles but they look good with a hardtop. It all boils down back to price.
I would rather have a watercooled thought, less noise?

docjackson1

i had a 99 996-one of the first made. i had it for 2 and 1/2 years and used it as a daily driver-it was bulletproof.

CarreraFour

Daily Driver C4...no problems...concur with the "bulletproof" daily driver the only equally or as reliable Porsche I owned was my 928. My 993 was not nearly as problem free as either my 996C4 or my 928.

Edward Kay

I think a great thing to do is to find a 99 that still has a month or any time left on the factory warranty. Buy it and extend the warranty with a good aftermarket bumper to bumper warranty like Warranty Gold or Warranty Direct. I was just going out of warranty and I bought a 7 year 100,000 mile warranty on my 10,000 mile Cab. That is 7 years from the date I bought it plus 90,000 more miles on the odometer. Cost will be in the high 3K range most likely for the top bumper to bumper plan, but that is cheap insurance for that kind of mileage and time period. This is something you could never do with a 993 (all are out of the ORIGINAL warranty). It was one major item that sold me on a 996. I was looking seriously at 993s originally.

Giovanni

That is a good piece of mind.
:-)