All Porsche models are special and beautiful. A great car maker does not build bad and good models, they are all great otherwise it would not be Porsche.

 

you've obviously never seen nor driven a '77 924.

 

Those of us who purchased a 997 or a 996 could have purchased a 993 or a 964 or almost any other older Porsche. Those of us who have purchased a 993 recently know that with high purchase prices and extremely high maintenance/repair costs(ever pay to have a clutch replaced in a 993?), we could have purchased a new 997 with a full warranty and been ahead of the game financially for the next four years. The point here is that if you think a 993 is cooler, better looking and more fun(and it is!), go out and buy one. If you want the comfort and the modern features of a 996/997, go out and buy one. I see no reason for owners of either model to be critical of each other.

 

The “invisible hand theory”, of a free market economy has already answered this question in spades:

For cars of equal condition and mileage - the value of a 1998 993 exceeds a 1999 996 - same is true of a 993 turbo vs 996 turbo

Thanks to Adam Smith - The Wealth of Nations

 

Nothing personal, but put the crack pipe down and step away from the computer. The 993 is one of the most reliable 911s out there. Why does the GT3 use its engine block and not that of the 996/997? Even assuming one was foolish enough to overpay horribly for a 993 with SAI problems, bad valve guides, and a wasted clutch (all of which can be identified by a good mechanic in a PPI), there is no way the four year ownership cost of a new 997 is financially "ahead" of that of a 993.

 

Oops, sorry Ben.. I was quick typing.. I thought that was you up above, but it was another rennlister.. My bad.

B

 

Ok, go out and spend $40k to $50k for a very nice 993 and drive it for 50k miles over four years and tell me how you can get away with less than $4k or $5k in maintenance/repairs per year over the four years? Right now, you can buy a new 2007 997 for about $75k. With the 993, if you get hit with a worn out clutch, a bad climate control module, and a top end rebuild, you can add another $15k or so over the four years. Granted, these are dealer prices.

I have had a 993 and it was a great car. It is very expensive to maintain. With the 993 in my garage, there was no way for me to support a crack habit. Now, with my 997 with its warranty and basically an oil change every 20k miles, hmmmmmm...

 

Interesting theory, but at least according to comparisons on both Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds it does not seem to ring true:

Kelley Blue Book:
1998 Carrera S coupe ($28,000.00)
1999 Carrera coupe ($29,600.00)

Edmunds
1998 Carrera S coupe ($26,428.00)
1999 Carrera coupe ($27,989.00)

Besides, this is the 997 forum, and we will still have to wait a while to see how a 2005 Carrera S holds its value after 8 or 9 years!

 

When i was 5 years old, my mother bought herself a nice birthday present, a 1991 Carrera 4 Cab...for 15 years we had it. When the 993 style came out i loved its new advancements, it was one of the last "classic" sounding 911s. Sure you can pick up the 911 note in the new water cooled motors but the 993 is just so "classic". If had the money, I would buy a 993 over a 996 anyday. Even more so, a 3.6L 965...thats my personal favorite 911. Closely followed by the 997TT (which now we are getting) and and old classic...a 911 3.3L Turbo Targa.

I understand that the 996 style helped keep porsche alive, but the early ones before the facelift looked very "cheap" to me. After the facelift they were acceptible to me, but forever i will like a 993 or a 964 with its less reliablilty and so on. (the motor on our 964 blew up this past summer).

The classic styling of the 993s and older outweight the newer cars tech. enhancements. Sure a 996/997 are much better for a DD, but i feel more connected to the older ones.


the 996 was styled to bring in new client base...and expand porsche sales. They didnt design it to just have previous owners upgrade, thats what the 997 was for. Once the 997 came out now, People who would have never been interested in porsche prior to the 996, now are leaning towards upgrading. 996 expanded the porsche namebrand along with the boxster at that time.

 

Ouch...you plan to change your oil only once every 20K miles? Are you serious? Is your car a lease? If you own it, I'd recommend that you don't follow that oil change interval. if you lease...who cares.

 

YES YES..they are deluded and think their cars are better built...great resale but man they feel like junk compared to new ones..

 

The dealer says that I would be wasting my money changing it any more often. But, I tend to agree with you. I will be changing it probably every 7500 miles.

Special note to Dr. No: your ocean blue 993 is beautiful.

 

Now that we've all had a good laugh...

 

$16-20k in maintenance to drive 50K miles over four years? If you spend $40-50k for a "very nice 993" you would not spend anywhere near that, unless "very nice" just means "pretty." $1500 for a 30k service - let's say you need two of them during those four years, plus a generous $2000 for other routine service. If you got hit with all of the things you mention, you did not buy a "very nice 993," you did not factor those things in the price, or something went desperately wrong in your $200 PPI and you need to have a chat with your mechanic, IMO.

 

Thanks, but sadly that is someone else's Maritime Blue 993. One of my favorite colors though and a neat picture.