300cd300sdl911

I'm fortunate to own several P cars. Two air cooled's, a 997C4S, and a fully track prepped 996 for DE's.

I just love the 996. It's so much more capable than my air cooled cars with a purchase price (fully track prepped) in the low 20's. also must admit to liking the headlights... Go figure. While the 3.4 can't keep up with the 3.8 it's really not that far behind. I have the Fisker hack mufflers which really make the 996 howl under hard acceleration.

So to sum up, I really don't have a favorite year they all seem to have their place. The 996 is so capable And affordable it's just hard not to really appreciate them.

fpena944

Well all but the wing will fit my car...Hmmm, something to put on my list for Santa.

producerjohn

Says the guy with the car I described.

Look. It's not personal. You guys can convince yourselves all you want, but the fact is that very few people find the standard 996 to be an attractive car. In fact, it’s almost universally panned for its dopey appearance. There’s just no love out there for the poor NB 996. Sorry.

Naturally, a bunch of NB 996 owners in a forum group dedicated to said car would disagree, as well you should. There is no denying the many virtues of the NB 996, but that isn’t the premise of the thread. The question is, what will be the legacy of the 996?

Aside from a few exceptions (widebodies and GT3), it doesn’t look good for the future values and reputation.

Unlike the 964 that suffered “ugly stepchild” status for some time and has since bounced back, the criticism of that car was never really aesthetic.

Ask any used car dealer if they want a NB 996 on their lot and they’ll tell you it’s a salesproof car. It will sit for months until some kid that just wants to drive a Porsche crashes it on a test drive.

Go to any non Porsche specific auto enthusiast event and watch the snickering and snide remarks. It’s sad. I don’t think it’s right, but it’s the truth.

Like others have suggested, the trick with a NB 996 is to love it and drive it for the fantastic car that is with no expectation that it will be a collectors item one day.

producerjohn

I really don't mean to suggest they are delusional. I just think they're missing the point.

I like Taco Bell burritos. I also know that just because I like them, doesn't mean they are good. If I went around telling everyone that Taco Bell made the best Mexican food, well. You get the picture?

producerjohn

I mean really? You're putting a Boxster and 912 in the same category? Think this one through man.

The Bosxter was introduced to the market as an entry level car for the brand. Then in Porsche's infinite wisdom they introduce their new flagship car with the same front end? I understand the cost savings involved, but it would have done the 996 a huge favor if they had just changed that Miata bumper right from the start.

The 912 is a less expensive 911 unlike a NB 996 which is perceived as an overpriced Boxster. (Don't tell me how it isn't. I know. I said perceived.)

jasper

Yeah...actually the man has a point. I'm a *very* happy MkII 996 owner. Mine has performace mods on the dark side of sensible and it scratches pretty much all the itchy parts. But a beauty queent it ain't.

I got a compliment the other day from a road check RCMP officer (of all people). After he verified I hadn't been drinking he started gushing about how beautifil my car was...I was dumbstruck. As I drove away I tried to tell him how great the car was *despite* how it looked.

Unlike John however, I do think time will treat the aesthetics well. I never liked the 964 because of the door sills and the bulbous bumper, but I always admired the mechanicals. I have gotten past the looks these days, and I think in anther 15 years the 996 will be appreciated as a whole package.

The 997 however will *always* be the prettier car.

pfbz

You are truly enlightened.... Must be great to know exactly what everybody else thinks!



I do agree that some 996's look pretty hideous. Let's just say that based on your other thread, we definitely don't share the same automotive taste...

producerjohn

Nice try. If you had actually read the thread you're referencing you'd have noticed that I posted the first two pics as examples of how bad even a wide body can look.
That thread was about how wheel sizes and ride height effects the look of a 996 C4S.

Regardless, I don't expect many people here to agree with my mod choices as it's pretty clear I'm no purist. Also, I'm not trying to convince anyone that what I like is what should be "liked"

BTW, we disagree that this is a great example of a 996? It happens to be the very same car as the one in the 3rd pic you site. The new owner hadn't had the Rotoform wheels added yet.


Anyway, you dig NB 996's? Great. So do I kinda. Not many people agree with us. Don't shoot the messenger.

This reminds me of the time I posted a thread on another forum telling them that Ed Hardy cloths are lame, lol.

Black_on_black

Fwiw somebody asked me yesterday as we peeped into the garage if my car was the "new GTS". I think definitely there is love amongst the wider audience for the "specials" like the widebodies

frisbee91

Excellent Trolling

Personally, I'm in the camp that's glad that the Porschephile community dislikes the 996 because it looks like a Boxster or it's just not "attractive". They have contributed to the undervaluing of this fine drivers car and lighted the load on my wallet.
To the rest of the general public, 993=996=997=991=Boxster=Porsche.

Quadcammer

god this is such stupid nonsense.

people, who cares what the general public, jim bob your neighbor, or the rcmp or whatever think about your car. If you like it, then be done with it, or admit that its a vanity exercise.

Anybody who buys a modern car (with maybe 2 exceptions) for resale value needs their head examined.

rpm's S2

What he said.

Add to that the easy credit/lease stupidity of the time and you realize that the major element of depreciation is the sheer numbers of 996s purchased during the period.

DK570

Exactly, most non-car people think the 996 is very new, and better looking than all the bug eyed Porsches. I don't agree with how 997 or 993 owners seem to dislike the 996, but I don't care. It's that irrational dislike that allowed me to buy one so cheaply. My favorite comment I once read was claiming the the change from 996 to 997 was the greatest turnaround in automotive styling history. I thought that comment was hilarious, because they look almost exactly the same other than the headlights. I have had 3 different dealers ask me in the last year if I was willing to sell because of the demand for 10 year old 911's. I really like my car, and so does everyone I've ever met in person.

Gonzo911

I was at my chiropractor's office yesterday and he saw me drive up in my 996. When I went in for my appointment he took me outside to show me his brand new to him 07 997 C2S with tech art package. Only 13k miles. He just got it yesterday. We were joined by several guys from the waiting room, all car guys apparently and after giving his car the once over (beautiful btw) they moved on to mine. Of course my interior did not have the bells and whistles and one of the guys asked me what year mine was. When I told him 03 he looked at both cars again said, "Boy, they haven't changed much". That pretty well sums it up for me.

RF5BPilot

When I look at the depreciation schedules of other models, I don't see that the 996 is following a dramatically different path than most other 9xx series cars. The significant sales of the 996 conflicts with claims that they're so ugly. Had sales tanked, there would have been a dramatic, immediate style change (if necessary).

Yet, it's just a car. For the company's first foray into a consumer-based, mass-produced, water-cooled flat 6 -- it's had remarkably few problems, and no genuine fatal flaws. Yep, there are items that have limited service lives -- but that's hardly unusual.

However, the 996 has entered the "uncool" period of its lifespan. Not new enough to garner status. Not old enough to be interesting or unique.

Will it ever have the CACHÉ of a 993? Probably not. But I owned a 993 for several years and was happy to replace it with the 996....and am still pleased -- as the 996 is a much more enjoyable car with fewer compromises for the driver (more leg room, steering wheel is actually in the middle of the seat rather than offset, cheaper to maintain, etc.)

Eventually, the value of unmolested 996's will start to increase--and may even garner a following as the first water cooled 911. Given the numbers of them, the interest will be modest -- unless there becomes some mod, some future thing that can be done to the cars to skirt around tightening regulations.

But I welcome all the young guys who are heavily modifying their cars. You are hastening the day when it will be hard to find an original. I'm patient.