[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by GeorgeK

Matt,
986 for sub 8K exist.
996, not yet, but around here you find them for 15K on their 2nd engine.
Hence my phrasing.
Problem is, even if the engine failures are rare, they are overwhelming when compared to the air-cooled engines, and it seems to the 2009+ engines.

Someone buying a 996 will be in for a shock if the engine lets go and the cost of replacement is not economically viable.

Yes I have driven 996s. they are vastly superior to my 911, but lack the feel, the looks, the do-it yourself maintenance. They are not "the 911" we know and love.
As paul said, you pay your money and make your choices...

Big difference between 986 and 996.

Quantify "overwhelming" please. Because I'm pretty certain that very few air-cooled 911s make it past 100k without AT LEAST a head refresh, if not a total rebuild. And lets not get into oil leaks, exploding air boxes, chain tensioners, distributor belts, pulled/snapped head studs, air injection ports, yada yada yada. There's a LOT of M96 equipped 986/996 out there with over 100k on their original engine. Of my 5 986/996 I've never paid a mechanic to do a single thing, they are just as easy to DIY as the early cars and without the ass pain of adjusting valves. Oh yeah, and the A/C actually works.

ANY Porsche, hell any used car, has some potentially expensive fatal flaw. But it is sheer ignorance that glosses over the air-cooled cars well documented failure points only to bash on the newer ones.