As a reward for half a life of hard work, I was about to go to my local dealer and order a 997. As a lurker on this site for a few months, I have been impressed by the knowledge and helpfulness of members. Simply stated, I've learned a lot. Just for the heck of it, I wandered over to the 996 discussion this afternoon. One of the threads horrified me. It seems as if 996 motors are destroying themselves with some regularity. Now I realize that fora are really good places for blowing off steam, and that these posts may not be representative of general experience. But I'd like to hear your take on whether or not these worrying problems have been fixed. I agree with some 996 posters that we are not buying economy cars, but if P-corp knows of these problems and refuses to address them, any financial considerations will be overwhelmed by a feeling of having been misled. Since we buy these cars not for transportation but for enjoyment, well, we need to feel good about the company. Since the 997 is still relatively new, do we have the data points to tell if the problems have been fixed?

 

Not all but seems every new car is better than the last. RMS still seems to be somewhat of an issue although much less on the 997 if that is your concern.

 

Since the forum is a natural place for people to complain and feel that they are not alone with their problems, you're going to get more problems and fewer "nothing wrong in 100,000km's" type of post.

The problems might "appear" to be less in the 997, but then there are far fewer 997's out there than 996's...

The car comes with a warranty - if you get RMS failure Porsche fixes it.

 

I don't own a 997 but from what I've read on this forum, it is a superior car to the 996. Moreover, you'll be covered by a warranty so in the unlikely event that you experience a serious problem, it will be repaired at no cost to you.

Porsches are very reliable cars and their overall quality is outstanding. They will however breakdown and when they do, they will be very expensive to repair, especially if you have to take it to a Porsche Dealer. I think you'll find that most of the guys who experience catastrophic problems, bought used cars. Buying any used car is a risky proposition and the risks are greatly increased when you buy a high performance used car.

So bottom line is that if a 997 is the car you want, you should reward yourself and buy it. I don't think you'll find many 997 owners who'll advise you differently.

 

If you do concern the RMS porblem and plan to keep the car for a longer time, you should get the extended warrenty. My understanding that the RMS will fall under the extended warrenty coverage. I get a 7/100 extended warrenty from the selling dealer for $4K. You should not let the RMS keep you away from get one. Good luck and have a happy New Year.

 

996 vs 997.

They are both Porsches.

They are both cars.

They will break.

RMS is just a seal that can be replaced. The bigger issue is engine production and how the engine mounts at the tranny, and the lack of concentricity of the two points. If out of round too much, the problem will continue, resulting in an engine replacement.

But in the majority of cases, you are talking about a seal. Something done under warranty (assuming warranty still in effect), and usually cured first time.

Don't sweat it.

 

You can't be timid about $$$ and own a Porsche. Just accept the fact that at some point you're likely to have an unexpected repair of us$3000-4000; maybe also a few repairs of us$1000 in addition. IF you have no problems then consider yourself lucky; you got to enjoy the greatest car around AND it cost you just an arm. If you really want to NOT spend money then buy the Porsche and do NOT buy the 40foot sailboat (Porsches are cheap in comparision). Owning this car is about blowing money on the enjoyment of a great car. I hope this clarifies things a bit.

 

MMD, Can't agree more

 

Oh, allow me to recite the old affirmation:

BMW repairs are very expensive.
Porsche repairs are extremely expensive.
Ferrari repairs are astronomically expensive.

 

Like what I said, buy extended warrenty if you want to limit your out of pocket repair cost. I did.

 

We can pick that extension warrenty service later on, right? I mean can I buy it a few weeks before the mfgrs warrenty expires?

 

SDP,

I think that you hit the nail on the head. That is, you will tend to hear more negative news than overall positive reports. It will be hard, if not impossible, to make a fact based decision based on the data here.

Historically, every 911 model has had at least one issue of significance. We have seen head studs, case failures, clutch failures, head-to-cylinder leaks, CEL, RMS, and not to forget the ubiquitous worn valve guides that have been omnipresent for decades.

If you wait until the "perfect" 911 finally comes along you will have long expired your second half of your lifetime.

An extended warranty may take some of the uncertainty out of your purchase. Essentially, it is a risk calculation and you have to decide if it is worth it or not. On the plus side, Porsche has historically been very good for picking up the tab on failed engines and such that have been long out of warranty when the circumstance merits. Generally they stand by their products and their customers better than most companies.

All of these things should help give you a warm fuzzy. Will you get through ownership unscathed? Consult an 8-Ball. Who can say, but you do have a good company and extended warranties to make your mileage more enjoyable.

 

MMD, I think you can buy the extended warenty in a later day from a outside company. (not a dealer related company). However, I get mine when I pick up mine a couple of weeks ago thru the dealership. I am betting on if something happen along the road, the dealership will take care of everything since the extended warrenty was purchased thru them. If it is from an outside company, you will need to go thru claim approval, etc. There may be problem

 

Yeah, thanks for the clue. You make me think I better get working on this ASAP. Got the car in Sept, I hope I didn't inadvertantly burn any bridges by putting it on the back burner.

 

While this is my first Porsche I went in to it realizing that it is an expensive toy to buy AND to maintain - and if I drive it as often as I want to and the way I want to,...well then I'll occasionally have to fork out to keep the car and myself happy.