What is up with the 1999 996?

scottmandue · 03-20-2010, 09:57 AM

Being an ordinary guy with a ordinary paycheck the only Porsche I will every own is a (very) used one.

I know that the 996 is the red haired stepchild of the 911 family... but I actually like the body style (beauty is in the eye... blah, blah, blah... but I rally do like them!).

All the better for me! I can pick one up for a song!

But they are giving away 1999 996's... is that a lemon year for the 996?

What years did they produce the 996?

PS, purchase is a year or two away because we need to get the wife a new(er) car first.

Thanks in advance.

R K T · 03-20-2010, 10:04 AM

"search this thread" is your friend! I'm not sure a 99 996 would be though.

Racerbvd · Racerbvd's Garage

Smaller engine too, AVOID unless it is free.

speeder · 03-20-2010, 10:26 AM

He means, "search this forum". At least that's what I think...

I had an early (Feb.98) production '99 996 and it was probably the best car I've ever owned. I've owned way over 100 cars/trucks. It had 205k miles when I sold it and had been seriously abused and neglected when I bought it as a bank repo. My engine had been replaced at some point by Porsche, many of the early 996s had defective engines and were changed-out. The engine that I was using had way over 100k miles on it and it was flawless.

The styling is subjective but like most Porsches, (most cars), they respond well to tasteful mods such as suspension/aero, etc. The overall toughness and low-maintanence durability of my 996 absolutely crushed any of the earlier Porsche products that I've owned. (And loved). I changed the Mobil 1 and filter every ~8k miles and almost never opened the hood otherwise. I've owned old Toyota PU trucks that needed more attention. It was almost eery. Took it to the track, drove it hard on the street, sat in traffic a lot w/ AC on, etc., etc... Unbelievably tough car.

YMMV.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeder

drove it hard on the street

I can personally vouch for this.

fuelie600 · 03-20-2010, 11:10 AM

I had one from 99 to 01. Never had a single issue with the car. I didn't put too many miles on though, cause it sat in the garage in the winter. I also had a coworker that rode in my car and decided to buy one. His never had issues either. YMMV....

scottmandue · 03-20-2010, 12:31 PM

I am fully aware and capable of using the "search" function... but I'm lazy.

I'm also aware that there are dedicated forms for the 911 and 996... but felt I would get a more interesting cross section of opinions here in OT.

I had a little more time on my lunch break and did a little research.

To answer my own question the 996 was produced from 1998 -2005 and I suppose the adage "buy the newest Porsche you can afford" holds true.

I am looking for a bargain so maybe the smalled engine is not such a bad thing... and at 296HP it sound like it would still be a fun ride.

Thanks for your replies, especially Denis... when/if the time comes I can buy a 996 with out fear of it blowing up in my face.

Oh Haha · 03-20-2010, 01:09 PM

I was thinking the same thing. They have come down ALOT in recent months.

scottmandue · 03-20-2010, 01:18 PM

Tell me about it... $20K

Lets see... Honda Civic... or 996?

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

It's the new SC...

Tishabet · 03-20-2010, 05:22 PM

I too have been watching the 996 market and while the 993 is still my dream car, it's hard to ignore the price point of the 996... a lot of car for the money!

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

As a 993 guy who's been in plenty of 996's, none of them have made me even think of moving to one. I don't think I'll ever sell my 993. If I did, it would only be for a longhood. 1998 was truly the last good year for these cars.

slow&rusty · 03-20-2010, 05:30 PM

I have three Letters for you:
"I"

"M"

"S"

followed by another word:

"failure"

89911 · 03-20-2010, 09:19 PM

Lets see. Spotty reliability, questionable styling (1/2 Boxster), difficult DIY maintenance, did I mention reliablity?. Ok, I am not going to bash the 996 but it is cheap for a reason: NOBODY WANTS ONE! Can I be more clearer. This discussion has superseded the 964 debate vs the older 911. I can't even debate that the 964 or the 996 isn't a superior car to the pre 89 911's. There are a lot of cars that don't have a Porsche crest on them that are faster. Lovers of older 911's enjoy the nuances of road feel, engine noise, lack of electronics, simplicity in design. None of which the 996 has other then its rear engined. Go get a Subaru STI that will blow rings around a 996 if performance is what you want. OK, I've said my mind. Time for another glass of vino.

mattdavis11 · 03-20-2010, 09:24 PM

beat that sob like a 944 and it's a whole different story, sure look pretty tho...

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

When I took the WRX to Streets iirc I was turning laps comparable/better than stock 996s. If you tweak them I think they get a lot quicker.

scottmandue · 03-20-2010, 10:15 PM

I'm thinking of more for a weekend cruiser... and a comfy fun ride for trips up the coast with the wife... stuff like that.

Subie probably is a better car for burning up the track...

Not what I am thinkin tho...

993 is probably the more visceral Porsche, would love to have one but not likely to find a low mile example for $20K

speeder · 03-20-2010, 10:57 PM

First of all, $20k would buy a really nice early 996. I sold mine for $14.5k w/ full H&R suspension including adjustable sways and new PS2s on hollow spoke 993 turbo rims. And prices have probably come down since a year ago when I sold.

Stock 996s are boring as hell, IMO, but they respond to mods really well.

89911, have you ever worked on a 996? I have and I can tell you that they are a hell of a lot easier to work on than an air-cooled 911. In fact, they're easier to work on than any vehicle I've ever worked on. Brakes, clutch and tune-ups are so easy that it's practically a joke. All Porsches are designed with racing in mind so brakes change out quickly but on the 996 it's mind-blowing. Two (2) big allen bolts and the caliper is off. Another tiny allen bolt and the rotor is off. A clutch job is an absolute piece of cake; unlike early 911s, (which are easy as well), the trans on a 996 comes out easily by itself w/o disturbing the engine, just like on a domestic RWD car. Tyson Schmidt told me that he did a 996 clutch job once in 45 minutes start to finish. (On a lift w/ a full shop, but still).

As for the "nobody wants one", they outsold any earlier 911 by a factor of 3-to-1. One of the reasons that air-cooled 911s are more precious on the used market is because "nobody wanted them" when they were new and therefore the used supply is limited. Just the opposite is the reason why used 996s are plentiful and cheap.

The 996 chassis is on a completely different realm from a Subaru. With track-oriented suspension mods and aero, it's an extremely capable car.

Schumi · 03-21-2010, 01:55 AM

Denis- your car you sold was definately an outlier as far as used 996's go-

I think more than 50% of the people on this forum wanted to buy it, included myself!

Your story definitely inspires confidence in buying a 996.

89911 · 03-21-2010, 04:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeder

First of all, $20k would buy a really nice early 996. I sold mine for $14.5k w/ full H&R suspension including adjustable sways and new PS2s on hollow spoke 993 turbo rims. And prices have probably come down since a year ago when I sold.

Stock 996s are boring as hell, IMO, but they respond to mods really well.

89911, have you ever worked on a 996? I have and I can tell you that they are a hell of a lot easier to work on than an air-cooled 911. In fact, they're easier to work on than any vehicle I've ever worked on. Brakes, clutch and tune-ups are so easy that it's practically a joke. All Porsches are designed with racing in mind so brakes change out quickly but on the 996 it's mind-blowing. Two (2) big allen bolts and the caliper is off. Another tiny allen bolt and the rotor is off. A clutch job is an absolute piece of cake; unlike early 911s, (which are easy as well), the trans on a 996 comes out easily by itself w/o disturbing the engine, just like on a domestic RWD car. Tyson Schmidt told me that he did a 996 clutch job once in 45 minutes start to finish. (On a lift w/ a full shop, but still).

As for the "nobody wants one", they outsold any earlier 911 by a factor of 3-to-1. One of the reasons that air-cooled 911s are more precious on the used market is because "nobody wanted them" when they were new and therefore the used supply is limited. Just the opposite is the reason why used 996s are plentiful and cheap.

The 996 chassis is on a completely different realm from a Subaru. With track-oriented suspension mods and aero, it's an extremely capable car.

Ok, I came off a bit one sided. Like a debate and I had to pick a side and defend. I am using the term "difficult" in a sense that you have a huge increase in computer management over the very early cars which is normal for the newer cars. As far as the car being race ready, didn't these 996 suffer from oil starvation at the track from lack of a dry sump? Didn't they use an entirely different engine for the GT3 base? Why? B. Anderson mentions the problems (RMS) in every issue of Excellence that reviews the early 996's as used car potentials, so I'm not exaggerating this. Seems that if you need to check if a cars engine has been replaced or significantly ovehauled before buying it, you might want to move on. I would buy a GT3 of these years though, so I am not totally anti 996.