Considering a 993 purchase

[Drdogface]

I presently have a 78 SC and love the car but am tempted to move up to a 993. I am so used to the reliability of the 3.0 motor that I began to wonder about that issue in a 993. I would want a '95 since it is still OBD I and in Ca that is easier to deal with smog...at least that's what I believe at present.

Can anyone tell me if I'll be in for more frequent and/or expensive repairs if I make this change ? At what milage do they start to show problems ?

[Jim Richards]

My old 95 only suffered from a failing dual-mass flywheel which I replaced around 60kmiles. Otherwise, it was a solid car. I sold it at ~65kmiles, IIRC.

[Drdogface]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

My old 95 only suffered from a failing dual-mass flywheel which I replaced around 60kmiles. Otherwise, it was a solid car. I sold it at ~65kmiles, IIRC.

Jim,
Thanks for the reply. I was not aware of this dual mass flywheel problem. Was it a problem with all of them? What was the problem/symptom? My 06 Dodge Ram diesel I think has one and it often takes a while to start. They say that is the cause.

[briefescape]

I have two 95 993 no engine failures of any kind in either one . One has 140k miles
the other has 106k miles . Just regular maintenance and oil changes .
I have changed clutch and replaced flywheel (while I was in there ) in both .
IMHO 95 obd1 is a good choice

[aigel]

Mine is as reliable as the SC. It is more expensive to run but I am happy to buy an extra oil filter (and have no valves to adjust) or spend $1k on brakes (and have big reds to stop the car). Mine has needed nothing for 20k+ miles aside from normal maintenance items.

George

[Jim Richards]

Mark, Porsche made a change during the 964 production years, going from a "Freuden-whatever" DMF to the "LuK" DMF, which significantly reduced the frequency of their failure. Unfortunately for me, I just happened to get one of the LuK 993 DMF's that did fail. It wasn't a failure that stopped the car from working, either. I would just hear/feel a clunk whenever I accelerated. It wasn't that big a deal, as I yanked the engine out, put in a fresh clutch kit, and did the 60kmile service on the car with the engine sitting on a stand. Easiest way to replace spark plugs.

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Mark,

We kep the SC and have a '95. We had a complete top end done on the '95 right after purchase. With north of 40,000 miles on the re-build in three plus years we have only had minor stuff with the car. Bulbs, oil, filters, oil temp sensor (leak), tyres, and a couple of o-rings that started to seep. Tyres and oil are the most expensive things we have done outside the re-build. I now need to fix the cord to the sunroof but that is time not money.

I have had more expense on the SC but that is more due to the car sitting for years before we bought it and needing to repair things with the greater age.

SC requires more "work" to drive and is more seat of the pants. 993 has A/C that actually WORKS!!!!!!! 993 is easier to drive. I HATE the 6-spd in ours, Wife loves it. We have never actually used sixth though the car has seen some high speeds with Wife.

Two rather different cars, I have not had high maint costs.

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by Groesbeck Hurricane

I HATE the 6-spd in ours

When I bought my 993 years ago, I was initially looking at 964's. The only regret I had was the 993's 6-speed. Its gearing never really felt right. The 964's 5-speed was a lot more fun.