Schnell Gelb

This will rattle your cage??
http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/get-yo...ust-1791362708

5CHN3LL

Tavarish is up to his old douchebaggery, I see. Every 996 reference that is dangerously close to being complimentary needs to be diluted with a catty remark.

"The interior is a goddamn masterpiece compared to the garbled mess that is the 996, and the exterior was so popular that Porsche did little to deviate from it for its newer 991 generation, while 996 owners are currently scrambling to find body kits that will update their runny egg headlights to something that resembles this body style."

Yeah, man, the headlights were ugly, and the spartan interior will always be a bone of contention when compared against the Cessna-grade furnishings of the "classic" 911 and the gratuitous gadgetry that permeates the 991. Puerile Jalopnik articles haven't made me hate my 996 yet...and I don't imagine that's going to change any time soon.

No matter how many "goddams" Tavarish works into his articles, he won't ever be as clever and engaging as DeMuro.

stan23

I hate writers that try too hard. That said, I do enjoy his articles. Just wish he turned it down a notch.

porsche951

Douches

Schnell Gelb

Seem to be some serious factual errors in the article.
Indicates that for anyone except a total PCar geek there are bargain niches to find and awful money pits to avoid. Tavarish seems to have failed in making that fundamental distinction.
Got to wonder why he would not have run his ideas through Rennlist before making an *** ...........
He even muddles maintenance and repairs. The maintenance is a known ,predictable expense that is easy to forecast. The repairs are not. Conflating the 2 is feeble at best. But he is the journo, we are not. So we should comb through his article ,correct it and make the logical recommendations about a stupid cheap 997/996 privately to ourselves !

TonyTwoBags

Apollo 911 defies this article

jandackson

Nearsighted comes to mind. Remember, in the 80's, an early Porsche, especially the short wheel base cars, were sneered at by owners of newer hardware. Largely seen as a toy or upgraded VW and not a ground breaking, elegant design for its time. Then the late 90's came along and the 993 was king. It wasn't until recently that an early to mid 90's car started commanding respect and gaining in value.

At the risk of sounding like a cermudgon, the new cars really do not get me going: too big, too heavy, too many driving "aids", too expensive. I am happy as a turd in chopped peanuts to scoot around in my low cost, low desire 996. At some point, it will be cool and expensive at which point I will have to put it in the garage as it is too risky to pilot on the streets. Or maybe not.

johnireland

Well I guess he had to fill the pages with something. I've always found the 997 S and Turbo interiors is butt grotesque...the cheap silver crap with the telephone style center section and the bad paint that crumbles off the switches...plus the pimped up white dials on the dash...it all reminds me of the old Black Gold version of the Datsun 260Z. The 996 interior is one of the best interiors of any Porsche ever made. 997 equals Big CRAP! And the car doesn't have a spare tire or a dip stick....it is a cheap toy that can't be trusted to take you on an overnight trip without a flatbed standing buy to carry you home. The 996 (including its warts) is a far more real car.

VivG

I dunno, I agree that the 997.1 interior is better than 996, but it isn't "good". 997.1 is basically on par with the E46 and E90 3-series, which were ~$30-35k at that time (my 2003 had a base price of like $27.x) I think the 996 body has aged well over time, and they kept essentially all of it around for 997 other than the lights.

What is correct though is that 997.1TT pricing is getting reasonable. There have been a few decent ones in the 55-60k range that I've seen recently, and I think it's a better buy than the high-money 996TT examples out there. If you're spending more than 45, it just makes sense to jump to 997. That thing is a rocketship.

redlineblue

Just a quick reminder that
a) the 996 interior was created for 993, but Porsche couldn't afford to build it then (because sales were in the crapper, partly because the 993 was obsolescent and overpriced upon release and the market knew it).
and b) the plastic *finishes* on the stock 996 interior are questionable, esp. on the .1 cars. But tick a bunch of leather options and you're in a distinctive, efficient, modern cockpit. (Whereas 997 door panels could be placed in a LeSabre without raising an eyebrow-- slabtastic.
I know: first time Porsche have ever specified "serviceable" finishes installed at close tolerances, and demanded additional ransom for luxury and touchability.

Til I'm blue in the face: 996 is just another 911.

VivG

Having full leather makes it way more tolerable, and I assume painted center console is a big help too. Doesn't fix the ****ty turn signal and cruise control stalks though, or the sticky radio control dials.

redlineblue

Cant argue about the stalks. I don't recall those in my '70 or '84 911s being especially "satisfying" either, though. I'm just not convinced Porsche ever gave a crap about switchgear feel , so knocking the 996 about it seems silly to me.
Would you trade 5% of how sublime the brakes and steering feel, or 3% of the throttle's microprecision, or half a fathom of the paint depth, for 15% swankier turn signal feel?
I wouldn't.

Schnell Gelb

How significant are any of the aesthetic comments when faced with a huge repair bill because you bought the wrong 'stupid cheap' model Tavarish foolishly recommended ?
That is why I suggested we improve his article and nominate the best bargains among the 996/997 alternatives. Is the 997 turbo PDK or TIP really the best bargain? He does not even mention Sport Chrono.
And my prize for a misleading and foolish assertion :“Take care of it, and it’ll take care of you.”

VivG

They're much better in 987/997, so apparently they started to care at some point. I don't know why it matters so much to me, but going from the E46 (great feeling!) to the 996, the difference was pretty obvious. Newer BMW switchgear is a lot less satisfying feeling, so I'm just strange I guess.

Other than the shifter though (and that's easy enough to swap), there's not at all much difference in feel between 996 and 997 in the stuff that matters. And I guess that's why we buy these cars.

FRUNKenstein

That's funny. I know Tavarish has to be a Rennlister based on his previous articles. My money was on him being one of your alter egos. Guess I was wrong. No?