Riad

I see your +1 and raise a +1.

Benjamin Choi

You 3.4 fan boys can cheerlead for it all you want (predictable), but when I was making the decision going from the excellent S54 to the M96, many of the reputable shops that I called on in the Bay Area communicated to me very succinctly to stay away from the 3.4s if you can get the 3.6. Let's be clear: these guys see 911s come in for fixes, installs, mods day-in and day-out and have no pom poms to shake around.

I have much greater faith in the long-term reliability of the M division's S54 engine than the 3.4 unit in the early 996 Carreras. People who know just enough to be dangerous will, once again, predictably point to the rod bearing failure. Pls. BMW stepped up and proactively released a fix and backed that up with a very long warranty. It is less common (much, I'd speculate) to find an E46 M3 with a complete engine replacement whereas in the 996 M96 cars, it's almost preferred (crazy, yea?).

To stay true to my original advice for the thread's author, if you have to get a '99-'01 Carrera, get a warranty, if the engine's been replaced even better, if it's been sitting around for an inordinate amount of time, look elsewhere. Else, scrounge up some extra cash for the 3.6 and if the engine's been replaced by a Porsche dealer under the original warranty, more power to you.

I know people will clown on the E46 M3 and say any 911 all the way... speaking from personal experiencing having owned an E46 M3 and now drives a 3.6 996 with all the niceties, there are times when I do miss the M3's rev happy nature with the superb, bulletproof S54 engine that's won numerous awards judged by people who are dangerous because they do know it all.

BruceP

Ben, I can recommend some terrific BMW forums for you, if you'd like to share your passion.

BTW, I don't recall the S54 debacle quite the way you do. Yes, it was supposedly fewer cars, and yes, BMW did something for many owners. But it took a lot of kicking and screaming to get them to act, and they had a vested interest since the engines were still in production. If you overlay the Porsche story on a similar time line, you might see that Porsche wasn't all that much worse while the 3.4 was in production. How many S54s did BMW make good on this year? Or last? How many subsidized motors did they sell in the last three or four years?

I like it when you stir things up around here, but not when you just troll.

Pugnacious P

Ben, as you are on my ignore, I don't see your posts, but I just clicked the page and saw that ONCE AGAIN you have no idea of what original poster was asking.

He ALREADY has a '99 with limited slip differential, so your opinions as to if he should buy a 3.4 are useless to him. Try reading the posts you respond to, they may be more helpful that way...

Anyway, back to iggy...

AndyK

I'll go one further: I'd still rather have my 3.4 911, with the possibility of engine problems, over any BMW with a bullet-proof engine.

I buy cars because I love them, not based on what Consumer Reports says about reliability!

Benjamin Choi

Not I

Same here

1999Porsche911

Stick with the better driver's car. If you need more "sissy" controls and less feel for your car, then get a newer one. There are no stats that show that the 3.4 engine is any worse than the 3.6. Even in performance you won't find the 3.6 996 any better than your 3.4.

newport996

The problem with that statement is you are trusting people for info, not facts...There are MANY reputable Porsche shops that say stay away from ALL 996s, get a 993...there are many reputable Porsche sops that say stay away from C4/C4s's because they break down more....but that doesnt make it true....there are PLENTY of high mileage original engine 3.4Ls...and there are plenty of low mileage 3.6L failures....so I say buy the nicest car you find (3.4L or 3.6L) in my case it was a 3.4L and get it with a warranty so if you do have issues, its taken care of....The reason shops saw more 3.4Ls is that there were more out there with mileage....as 3.6L's started getting mileage on them, people saw them as well.

Benjamin Choi

You have a 3.4, right?

trackjunky

I don't have a dog in this hunt. So put your flame throwers away. But, It's almost laughable how this M96 engine story is blown way out of proportion.

I did quite a bit of calling around to Porsche people that are well respected in both the dealer industry and the aftermarket industry. All of them say the same thing. The M96 engine "discussion" seems to have taken on an internet life of it's own.

Let's review:
1) 2.7 liter engine issues - well documented
2) 3.2 liter valve guide wear
3) 964 poor sealing and distributor problems
4) 993 valve guide wear and other potential problems
5) 944 rod bearing and timing belt
6) 928 too complicated and an electronic nightmare

God, why would anyone buy a Porsche after all that. I don't want to downplay anyone who has had an engine go south on them, but it does happen. Even to Toyota and Honduh.

Hell, life has risks. I say, stay at home in your house with the windows closed. You don't want to get hit by the sky as it is falling.

Ciao'

auto-xr

I picked my 99 3.4 b/c it was the lightest of the 996s and it has a factory LSD. It did have the RMS issue but that was fixed at 38K miles when the clutch was changed. I didn't go for a 2000+ model b/c I didn't think it'd be worth the cost of putting in a bigger engine (electronic throttle). A 3.6 would've been nice b/c of the updated looks and bigger engine but I didn't think the differnce in price was worth it to me. Plus, I'd have to get the anniversary ed. to get the LSD which would up the cost even more. I'm currently at 40K miles on my and have taken it to track/AX multiple times. I drive it very hard and it's been solid. I'd stick with the car you have and enjoy the heck out of driving it. That's my 2 cents worth.

njim3

After reading all of your inputs, i decide to sell my 99 996 and save more money for the new M3. The 996 has very good image to alot of people but the interior looks really cheap like toyota. I owned both 944T and 996 for awhile but the 944T was a well build car, eveything looks and feel solid and it is still faster then my 996. Thank you all of you and enjoy your P car.
I relized that the 3.4L, 3.6L. M3 etc... has it own fans does not matter it has issue or not.

Jim

redridge

GL with the new M3, you didnt mention that was part of the equation

Stefan Richter

While I respect your decision, I suspect it wasn't based merely upon the opinions in this thread. The M3 is a great car, as is in my opinion any 911. Faced with a similar decision last year, I made an "emotional" purchase and bought the car I really wanted. While I think you can spend a lot of time doing a "better car" analysis, you will nontheless buy the one that simply appeals to you most. That's the way it should be - otherwise an Avalon or Accord would do just fine.

Stefan

Ray S

A ton of Porsche's image problem on the M96 is the way they have handled repairs. On past models Porsche chose to fix the engines in the field. However, with the M96 Porsche has gone forward with a core exchange program to replace motors with a re-manufactured engine and take the core back for repairs. This program has fueled "blown engine" and "disposable engine" hysteria IMHO.

Porsche has undoubtably made improvements on the 996 3.6's and even more improvements on the 997 3.6's and 3.8's to improve their reliability. However, there is no reason that you can't have good reliability with a 3.4 Your odds for a problem are just a little higher (with the older cars).