lordsinclair

Hi all, I'm in the middle of negotiating a deal on a 1999 996 and am wondering the advantages of this MY over the slightly later ones. There seems to be a dedicated following for the '99s and I'm wondering if the fans, (and naysayers!) could post their thoughts.

Dennis C

You'll find lots of supporters of the 1999 model. Jake Raby in particular recommends buying the earliest 1999 that you can find due to build quality and the double-row IMSB.

That being said, there seem to be more reports of intermix issues due to porous engine blocks in early models. Here's some additional reading from The Porsche Buyer's Guide 2012 (Supplement to Excellence Magazine):

"BEST VALUE
2000 - 01 911 Carrera ($16,000 - 22,000)

The base Carrera is a wonderful car at a wonderful price. Our only advice is to skip the 1999 model in favor of the 2000 - 01 Carrera, which is safer (when equipped with the optional PSM traction control), more comfortable (with better-quality interior materials and updated lighting), more powerful, and more reliable (fewer RMS issues), while being just as capable a sports car."

If you do your homework, find and buy the right car with appropriate PPI, etc., then you'll probably be fine regardless of the year.

lordsinclair

Thanks Dennis.

Akshun

im happy with mine.
I drive it like its meant to be driven , change the oil regularly and i am thrilled everytime i start it up.

soverystout

advantages: price. light weight. good track car that you can gut and not feel guilty. not sure I'm sold onthe double row bearing advantage (due to seeing pics of double races heavily pitted and destroyed).

if you are purchasing a 99 for more than $22K (and for $22k, the car should be perfect and laden with options) you are grossly overpaying for the car. It's 14 years old, not a collector item and as Dennis stated some early engines had some engine block pourosity issues.

Is it as much fun to drive as the newer 996? Yup. happy huntng.

5CHN3LL

For the record, Jake did indicate an affinity for the 1999, but he did not enumerate reasons for this preference.

I do like the '99 because of the more robust dual-row bearing. If you're looking at a 99 C4, it does in fact have PSM, so that argument against MY99 may be moot.

I have not found the quality of the interior to be objectionable... but then I've always thought the Lotus approach to interior appointment was appropriate for sports cars.

Good luck! Keep us posted.

5CHN3LL

I paid $30K for mine last year. However, it was equipped with full aerokit, full suspension, exhaust, wheels, etc. The previous owner made every upgrade with the best available parts... and there is not a trace of stick-on carbon fiber anywhere in the interior. Approx. $20K in "go" mods without a single tacky "show" mod...

I mention this because it may be worth investigating a car even if it's selling for $5K more than the Internet thinks you should pay.

mmahon04

Pros
Mechanical
1) Double-row bearing (twice the load capacity as later variants: less prone to failure).
2) Matched coolant port sizes in head gasket (greater coolant temperature equalization between head and block, and between cylinders: fewer problems with head cracks).
3) 5-chain, double-roller design (noisier, but anecdotally less prone to failure).
4) 3.4L engine (shorter stroke: less prone to bore scoring).

Personal
1) Cable actuated frunk and trunk.
2) Lighter vehicle.
3) Cable throttle.

5CHN3LL

Excellent points!

1) Cable actuated frunk and trunk. This seems minor... until your battery dies, at which point this is probably the most fantastic thing about '99s.

3) Cable throttle. Unless you get a C4... they're e-gas, even in '99.

Dennis C

I thought I saw him mention the things I said above. Perhaps I'm putting words in Jake's mouth. In any case, I know he likes the early '99s and he sees lots of cars.

Personally, I think the MK I 996 with an aerokit is one of the best looking versions of the 996. I drove several before I bought my '02 C4S, and I didn't notice a big difference in the interior, especially in cars that were optioned with the full-leather package.

soverystout

+996

The 1st 996 I test drove was an early 99 (Arena Red/Savanna) with virtually no options. it was bizarre to look at the under frunk sticker and see only 4 codes. The previous owner had the dealer install a Porsche single disk cd player since the factory radio was a cassette deck!.

it drove great, the owner wanted crazy money for it, and the interior was really bad. not worn or beat up, just really cheap and mustard colored.....

Barn996

I stumbled upon my 99 C2...in Sept. 06' with 35k miles on it. At that time, I really didn't know much about the first water cooled 911 from Porsche in the USA, although the internet was occupied with RMS issues and fixes. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another MY99, but I'll stick with mine with its original IMSB and to date,a very reliable Porsche ownership experience covering the past 7 years. Many will suggest a newer 996 if your budget allows, but I'm happy to own the MY99.GLWP

Down South

+996!

A couple of things I'd look out for, after a good PPI and thorough examination:

The full leather option really dresses out the interior
A later '99 has clear headlights and taillights as opposed to the amber. Really makes it look newer with them

Good luck with the hunt!

lordsinclair

Great comments guys - I'm hearing conflicting reports about the 99. I've just spoken to a veteran indy Porsche mechanic who says he's seen way more 99s suffering from coolant leaking-related problems than the 2000s or 2001s and when I told him the car I'm considering had already had hydraulic lifters, cylinder head gasket, chain tensioner, intake valves, adjuster glides etc (20k miles ago at a total of almost 7k) he told me I should run away from it as it's bound to happen again with this car. He really didn't have much good to say about the 99s, although I think if they really were that bad then they'd be famous for it - and they're not. Guess he only sees the broken ones right? Anyway I'd still love to hear more opinions...

Thundertub

ALL of these are excellent reasons to look at the '99. I particularly want to point out that it is in fact lighter than the 993's before it, and the 996's after it. If you pick up a copy of 911 World they list all of the main specs for each year in each issue. You have to go way back to find a lighter 911, and unlikely to find a newer street 911 that is lighter.

Also, I personally went back to a '99 after owning my first '99 new, then a new '01, then a new '03. The '99 C2 has a cable from your gas pedal to the throttle body. YOU decide how much gas the engine gets, not some computer deciding how much it will let you have. My two later cars sucked at the track with PSM because the car would refuse to go if it thought I was giving it too much gas for its programming. I thought I was driving at the edge and the car was saving me, but Hurley Haywood (who was riding along at the time) told me to turn it off. HUGE improvement. Faster times, smoother faster exits from turns.

Just saying.