roadsession

Frankly I am so tired of the negative 996 quality issues being the predominant topic these days on this forum. I mean it's down right depressing to read.

Perhaps it's because most of the cars I read about now are approaching 8 to 12 years of age, and owners are experiencing increasing number of problems and this may be a place for commiseration.

But at my age I've gone through so many brands I've lost count. My first car was in 1983 - a Daihatsu Charade - then a Mazda 626, a Nissan Laurel, then Volvo 164 and 244, followed by an Acura Legend, and many successions of BMW's (3'er, 5'er, 7'er) and then a Mercedes ML320, another succession of BMW's, and a 996.

Every single one of those brands had a 'catastrophic' achilles heel that led to catastrophic engine or transmission destruction. Of course most weren't as publicly well known - after all it was waaay before the internet forums were popular. My first forum I joined was MBWORLD.org - a great bunch of guys but again very revealing on the amount of catastrophic failures plaguing MB's and you'd wonder how MB sold a single car in the US. Then I joined Bimmerfest.org, and again so many reports of catastrophic failures plaguing BMW's you'd wonder who would ever buy BMW's!

So for all you folks out there with your first Porsche - we are NOT alone!
Don't let all this stuff detract from enjoying your car.

If you really are worried about this, don't buy it and worry yourself sick - you're missing the whole point of enjoying this car.

And NO - Porsche does NOT owe you something that you think you're entitled to just because the hood crest says "Porsche"!

Dennis C

I had similar experiences on the Saab forums when we owned Saabs. They had issues with coils, PCV valves, engine sludge, transmissions, etc. My Saabs didn't have any of these problems.

You can certainly find the same thing here - I've seen it on the Cayenne forums and the 996 forums. I don't worry too much about it - it's just information. These are problem solving forums, and so most of what you read is about problems with the cars. I just drive mine and don't worry about it. Our two Porsches are among the most reliable, trouble-free cars I've ever owned.

thirteeneast

+1

Well, I know my RMS and IMS were done when my car was a year old by the first owner under warranty (only OEM parts obviously).

But I will drive this car till it breaks.
I'm sure after-market companies love to charge 2k for a bearing, And all the free advertising they get by the scaremongering.

My Farther used to drive a London taxi (Austin Fairway FX4) When it was about 8 years old and had been around the clock three times the Garage showed him that the axle Had cracked and then bent and how it needed changing right then and there.
He said "No thanks, When it falls out Ill change it I only drive around town."
Soon after the speed o stopped working.
He had that Taxi for another 12 years!. Only God knows how many more times he clocked it.
It then went to carry on its life. Might still be out there somewhere.

So will I be replacing Hard to reach bearings in my 996 "NO IN MEMORY OF MY DEAR OLD DAD, ILL BE TAKING MY CHANCES IN LIFE"

Damm, What if I changed that bearing and the following day a tree fell on my 996.
What if, what if, what if.

Live your life, Enjoy what as Little boys we dreamed of.

Optical TDI

Aftermarket IMS bearing is around $600 IIRC.

Barn996

Timing chains with Audi TTs were certainly a weakness, they were failing long before suggested replacement by the factory.

03911TT

Great points guys! Virtually ALL automobiles have known weaknesses. Most cars don't have the loyal ownership following of a Pcar and as a result these cars just fade away to be replaced by a newer model. Pcars get passed on to new owners who are just as passionate as the prior one. Our cars are special to us and I for one would rather talk about virtually anything else than IMS.

RallyJon

Of course they do. That's precisely the point.

When you can buy similar function for 40% of the (new) price of a 996, what's the upcharge for? Porsche style, Porsche history, Porsche prestige and, yes, the assumption that a Porsche has that extra bit of engineering, that extra quality, that extra durability under high performance driving conditions.

And when it turns out that they don't, owners are justifiably pissed.

fpb111

roadsession,
That was my point in another thread.

"It's always something" (Thank you Rosanna Danna)
So drive it, enjoy it, break it, fix it, drive it some more!
We have got new owners so paranoid they almost have a heart attack when the wheel weights fall off.

Marc Gelefsky

Frank has it 100% correct
If you cant handle this, go buy a Honda like Tim

I have owned many cars that had "weaknesses" to look out for, on the majority of them I never saw an issue. Not to say these are not real issues it's just that in this day if instant communication these things really grow legs fast.

redridge

yup.... the biggest weakness of them all.... the internet.

Van

Amen, brother.

ivangene

LOL @ Buy a Honda !!

My suburban is wonderful.... if you dont mind the occational "seat gone wild" episodes, where the seat goes to some position set by a 4'10" WAY BEFORE my days ? ? ? It just smashes me into the wheel... NICE HUH? So it has a couple gremlins... and yea, all cars have them, or one car of all of them does and people dont come here to say how wonderful the car was today,.... they come for help on PROBLEMS

the basis of this forum is problems (that is why I fit in so well )

Here is a thread of "mostly happy" stories

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...funny-sad.html

Rob996

I totally agree too much attention and time is being spent on the negatives of the car.

As i sat in my 996 this morning starring at the large tach before firing up the awesome engine, i was thinking what a wonderful car this is, and how happy i am driving it. ( I have owned this one for 5 years). I never owned a car that i still loved this much after 5yrs... As i arrived into the underground parking at my office, i will never get tored of the sound of the exhaust and engine howl..

I love my car,,,,

soverystout

What he said +1

johnsjmc

I,ve owned a dozen 911s and they have all had issues with things like chain tensioners,syncros etc. I had a 944 Turbo new in 1986 which had a cam belt fail at less than 30000 mi. Since it was out of warranty but 300 mi short of the first cam belt inspection Porsche split the cost of repairs. This sort of goodwill repair is often done by other manufacturers also. GM has issues with intake manifold gasket leaks and Ford has had some early transmission failures.They will help original owners even out of warranty Less expensive cars can easily be junked by a worn out auto trans which might cost over $3000 to replace . That said I bought and sold a 996 in 3 months and bought a 993.I know the 993 has some expensive parts also BUT I no longer cross my fingers when I drive the car. The 996 doesn,t have the same solid feel of the 993. I expect the 993 to wear out over time and probably continue to be rebuildable. I expect the 996 to wear out over time also but if the engine blows then it isn,t likely rebuildable and probably will result in junking the car. Planned obsolecense like every other car, not what I have come to expect of a 911.