Thinking About Moving Up Into a 993.....
 

I am starting to seriously consider getting a 993.....

- What are problematic things to look out for on these cars?

- I got an idea of what they are going for, but whats a good
price for a good car?

I'll probably just end up getting a C2, but a C4 is not completely out of the question. I wish I could get a Turbo, I'll have to wait a little longer for that.

Hey Anthony. We are slowly converting you :) The 993's are great cars. I had a 1995 a while back. You have to be careful of the CEL and carbon build up clogging some items up. Valve jobs are not cheap on these suckers. I would recommend and inspection by the guys at Aase Motors in Fullerton. They have done many of these valve jobs and know what to look for.
I also had problems with a few of the hydraulic lifters failing (could of just been me)
Overall a great car. Just get it check really good. Be careful also, I have read guys will disconnect the CEL "Check Engine Light" so the poor buyer does not see it. That is a dead giveaway for the carbon clogging.

Rick Lee posted some great informaiton not long ago.

Check out this thread:

993 - What to look for

think about whether you are moving up ... or down.

I'd go with a '95 993 since it doesn't have the injection port/check engine light issue. Not that any 993 would run poorly with clogged injection ports. It's purely a smog control thing. The cars continue to run fine but you can't pass smog without cheating if the check engine light comes on.

Anthony, I have a 95 as well as a 78SC. if you are looking for help with your 993 or even considering getting one. go to rennlist, most of the 993 crowd hangs out & posts very actively there. my 2 cents, if u want to modify a 993 or want the one with the least problems....buy a 1995 model with the OBDI not OBDII. aside from the CEL issue, there are others that the 96-98 are prone to.
Kyle.

What they all said, great car but it's got issues and they are not cheap...
I loved mine but in the end the car was too "deceptively" fast. Even with RSR mufflers, not raw enough, and went thru rear tires like there was no tomorrow. Great cars, great resale value, not much different in the cockpit than your 79 SC unfortunately (or happily, depending). It'll shift better and the AC actually works !

PS: Other issues not mentioned... Noisy squeaky windshields (fixed witha rubber rope kit and oil), failing ballast resistors for A/C and oil cooler fan (cheap but a PITA to reach), clutch slave cylinders sometimes go bad, 2nd gear does not take abuse too well, wiring harness recall->96.5 or so, some steering racks have been known to leak, and the car seems to chew out its suspension more than average 911s. Ditto on the 95, that's how I'd go if I went there again. The power is about the same as a varioram car with a 95-chip and no ODBII issues - besides I like the basket handle !

Hey, the CEL issue is getting some more attention and does not necessarily call for a head job. On the very cheap side, you can DIY clean the ports with about $200 in parts and a day in the garage. Otto's and Hergesheimers have a fix that runs in the $900-$1000 range too. Excellence covered it in the June issue. If it's burning a lot of oil, then there's no getting around it. But if it's just a CEL due to SAI ports and you're getting over 1000 miles per qt. of oil, then you can put off the rebuild for a while.

After 9 mos. of owning my SC, I swear the 993 is easier to wrench on. I've done it all with my SC and it's usually been a PITA. At the very least, on a 993 bolts are not seized, parts are not brittle, bushings are not worn. I R&R'ed both my 993 mufflers in 30 min. Try doing that on an SC. Ballast resistors aren't that tough - there are shortcuts. www.p-car.com is a super resource for 993 DIY'ers. I've only done one 993 engine drop and it wasn't that bad. My biggest complaint about the 993 is that it needs an expensive alignment every time you pull the engine. If it didn't, I'd pull the engine to do spark plugs and lower valve cover gaskets.

Chad, I've been long converted. A year ago I didn't have a Porsche and now I'm working on number two.

Thanks, everyone for the tips and link of things to look out for.

The main reason I want a 993 to replace the SC is because I am looking for something that is more comfortable and newer. A/C is important to me as well as some more power. It's more logical to me to buy a nice 993 opposed to building up an SC motor and upgrading the A/C.

Boxster?

Why not jump right to a 996? If you don't like the look, I can understand. But mechanically sorted they are superior in almost every area, and YES, I have wrenched on the 996. Several to be had with 70k miles now for under $30k.

If it's a 96+, I would make a OBDII code read for the SAI and readiness code as part of the the PPI. The seller could reset the CE codes to mask the SAI problem. The buyer would then be unable to smog the car b/c the readiness code is not ready. By the time it is, the SAI code may show up and the car would not pass smog.

I've looked at a couple Boxsters too, they are very nice cars. I didn't realize early 996's were that cheap. In the end, I want a 911 or I wont be happy.

Early 996s are often cheaper than the 97-98 993s. I don't know if that "tells" you anything, but then again, I'm biased :)

BTW, over 4 years of 993 ownership, daily driven and tracked regularly, and the car has been rock-solid reliable. Only "complaint" is parts prices for consumables are more pricey than your typical SC/Carrera prices. Also no harder to wrench on than my SC.

Edward

Anthony, I meant converting you to start racing Porsches in VARA :)

early 996s have some issues too. they are not infallible, so do your research on the early 996s if you consider going that route.

With 996s it's mostly Rear main seal issues... Problem is, to date, Porsche has not fixed this ! SOme 05s have the issue, still....

On the + side, a new crated engine for a 996 (should you ever need one) is "only" $10K - that's less that the cost of a thorough 993 rebuild (crate engine for a 993 is $30K).

Really, it comes down to one thing: find a car you like in a good shape that passes a PPI with flying colors, regardless of model...

well put Greg.

Why are people even mentioning 996's? Didn't he say he wanted a 993? They have almost nothing in common.