[Tonger]

I think that the best thing to do is to drive the car and decide for yourself. With all due respect, I'd encourage m962b to drive a few as well. I've had a 996 for about a decade and also have a 930 - literally two different ends of the spectrum. From my perspective there is no greater bang for the buck than a 996. More than adequate power, super brakes, and for just a little extra $ - a very responsive suspension (ROW M030). You can daily drive the 996 and not worry that it will overheat or that the AC won't work like the air-cooled cars. The convertible top is an engineering marvel and has a glass back window that stows itself. You can bring it to the track and beat the hell out of it, then take the numbers off and drive it out to dinner with your wife.

The interior is rather plastic and the slide out cupholder looks and is rather fragile. Aside from that, I've had rock-solid reliability and just don't worry about the thing. The RMS seal thing is a minor fix and is honestly much easier to deal with than the premature valve guide wear, cylinder stud replacement, weak 2nd gear synchro, overheating, or unreliable solenoids/fusebox of the 930. The headlights don't make me feel like less of a man and you could argue that the 02+ cars with the turbo lights actually look pretty good. In the mean time, I'll drive the piss out of it and not worry about depreciating it - best of all worlds. When the time comes to do the clutch, I'll do the IMS - no more expensive than all the stuff that wears out so fast on the 930. That said, I would still look for an '02+ car as the 99's have a statistically higher failure rate and you can get one for just a little more dough.

To me, the 996 turbo is an absolute steal. With 930's taking off and 964/993 turbos already out of reach of many enthusiasts, I don't think that you can do better right now. The Metzger engine coupled with modern reliability is a great combination. So much in fact that prices have already started to rise in our neck of the woods...