996's

[DL Lawrence]

Interesting thread! I'm a newbie here, and have been researching my first P-car purchase for some time now. Until now, I had it narrowed down to 3.2 Carreras.

As mentioned, the nice ones are in the mid 20's for the most part it seems. I've been watching the price of 996's go through the floor- so I called a longtime friend of my Dad's, who heard I was interested in a Porsche, and let me know he would be willing to sell his '99. I've never driven a 996, so this past weekend, I went down to drive his car. In short, AMAZING. It has an tremendous amount of power, handles amazingly well, responds instantly to input, and is phenomenally comfortable inside. It will do everything you ask it to do. His has 65,000 miles on it, and he is the original owner, has all records, etc. He has never had a problem with it, only regular maintenance (at the dealer), and tires.

However....I got home and began researching threads on this board and others about the 996's, and discovered the dreaded RMS issue, catatrophic engine failures, and the alleged "disposable" nature of the engines in these cars (due to lack of availability of parts). So now, I'm really in a conundrum. Do I continue to search for the "just right" 3.2 for around 20-25K, or do I "buy the newest one I can afford" , and jump on this car for 28 or 29K, and have the creature comforts of the 996? Do I go with an older Porsche, and plan on 2-4K annual maintenance costs, or jump on the 996, hope I got a good one, and be forever wary of the possible 12K engine replacement looming?

While the 996 sounds like a Porsche to me (just quieter), it just doesn't have that raw sound, smell or feel of one of those old 3.2's. As someone has said, while it was extremely impressive, it just did not seem to have any "soul". Does anyone think this peception will change as the 996's begin to get older? Will resale values ever bottom out or go up?

Man....and I thought this was going to be easy.....any comments or suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance!

[racer]

Buy the car that you want!

Many say to buy the newest Porsche you can afford and that is correct. Porsches tend to be emotional and not rational purchases. If you intend to drive the Pcar 300 days a year for the next 5 years, you might appreciate the comforts of the newer car. If it is a weekend/fair weather toy, you might be willing to live with the shortcommings of the older car in exhange for its more "raw" feel.

Realize that maintaining a Porsche is NOT cheap, but a lot of the work can be done by an owner.

Cars are depreciating assets. Its taken nearly 35 years for 911's to get back to a price corrected (for inflation) re-sale price. 35 years. Unless you plan on holding on to any car for half or more of your lifetime, you shouldn't worry about resale value (I assume you are not a collector )

[matt13421342]

Originally posted by racer
Unless you plan on holding on to any car for half or more of your lifetime, you shouldn't worry about resale value...

Amen to that. Besides, as long as you make an intelligent purchase, you won't suffer horrific depreciation, and think of the hours and hours of excitement you'll get!

[Jay H]

Originally posted by DL Lawrence
While the 996 sounds like a Porsche to me (just quieter), it just doesn't have that raw sound, smell or feel of one of those old 3.2's. As someone has said, while it was extremely impressive, it just did not seem to have any "soul". Does anyone think this peception will change as the 996's begin to get older? Will resale values ever bottom out or go up?

There are people that think only a 356 has soul and the 911 is not a REAL Porsche. Some of us think only the pre impact bumper cars (1973 and earlier) are really true 911's with the feel and soul of the intial design getting somewhat muted in the years after.

When the 1978 911SC came out, it was written that the 911 had become very luxurious and a lot of feel was dialed out for the sake of comfort. Writers were complaining that the 911 was basically dying and had lost a lot.

So, the 996 now doesn't have any soul. What's new.

If you wait long enough, Porsche will continue to refine the 911 and dial more and more rawness out of it for the sake of being quicker and more quiet. Then, the 996 will probably feel like a absolute beast. However, how long do you want to wait for the enthusiast market to then bless the 996 as a raw and true sports car?

I've driven enough 996's and I like 'em. I would not buy one for a toy car, but I'm toyin' with the idea of getting a higher mileage one for everyday chores (they are so cheap!). They do have most of the old school feel completely dialed out. They are however very competent sports cars in their own right and the aftermarket is full of stuff to sharpen handling and make 'em noisier.

Only you can determine what you like best; a 996 or a 3.2. Drive as many examples as you can and then make a decision based on how YOU feel.

Good Luck,

Jay

[Christien]

You didn't say if you've driven a 3.2, or are just interested in one. You might be a bit disappointed with the power, having now driven a 996. That being said, it's a completely different car, so the comparison doesn't quite work. I guess a lot of it depends on what you want out of the car. If it's just sheer performance or driveability, go 996, no question. There is definitely an intangible missing in the 996s.

The question of engine failure is a good one. Here may not be the best place to look (because there are so many air-cooled people here) but maybe do some research on rennlist. I wouldn't exactly call the 996 engine "throw-away", though I do remember hearing something about Porsche just replacing warrantied engines when they died, rather than fixing them, because the replacement was cheaper.

As far as resale value, I wouldn't ever buy a 996 with that in mind. They just made so many of them, and so many are available now for peanuts. Yeah, maybe in another 30-40 years, but even then, there were far more 996s made than, say, 2.2/2.4's, and with the technology available now, a significantly higher proportion of them will be on the road in 30 years than 911s that are 30 years old now.

[DL Lawrence]

Thanks guys for all the responses. I've driven a few 3.2's, and I kind of like the feel and sound of them. It's definitley apples and oranges. This may sound weird, but they have a great old smell too, which I like. This car for me would probably be a 5-6K mile a year car (3rd car), but as mentioned, the 3.2's don't have that "glue you to your seat" power that the 996's have. Grins per mile factor for both is pretty close in my mind. Comfort on longer trips is a consideration as well, but most of all, the price of 996's is almost too good to ignore, and getting better. I think the "newest one you can afford" school of thought is good advice- it's a car that I will have for a long time. At least that's the plan.....

[Jay H]

Originally posted by DL Lawrence
This may sound weird, but they have a great old smell too, which I like.

I bought an '84 3.2 last May sight unseen and had Intercity Lines drop it off at my door. Honestly, the first thing I said to myself (maybe out loud to my wife too who was standing there with me) when I opened the door of the car for the first time was "Damn, I LOVE how these cars smell". It's that aging leather and oil smell that isn't duplicated in many other cars. So, your comment above is not weird. It's the smell us car guys really like about 911's.

Good Luck!

Jay

[Rockafella]

My first Porsche was an 85 911 Carrera. Great for the classic Porsche feel, but I was driving it every day so I bought a 996 daily driver.

Performance and comfort wise, the new cars run circles around the old ones. Yes, the older cars have character and are good for a spirited weekend run or a sunday cruise. They will not show up your neighbor's M3 in a performance contest .

I am fortunate to have both a 996 and a 911SC. If I had to give up one, the SC would be gone without a second thought.

The 996s are inexpensive for two reasons:
1) Primarily, oversupply. Porsche sold a ton of them during the late 90s (weren't we all rich back then?)
2) Apprehension of new technology/reputation (water cooled, RMS problems, Toyota production techniques, etc.)

The 996 is a phenominal car, but it has limited enthusiast acceptance, especially amongst the DIY/hot rod crowd. People cite the total replacement of engines as an example of technical inferiority. I feel that this is a business decision driven by production economics and customer satisfaction/marketing concerns.

In the end, a 911 is an emotional decision. Buy the one that tugs your heart strings the most.

[Macroni]

I think true car guys look to the character of the car. Otherwise, we bore quickly. I have a Carrera Cab, while it is a thrill to drive. The Cab feeling for me negated the performance aspect. Thus I wanted to purchase a classic performance oriented coupe. This lead my search to an early S / E, a hotrodded longhood, SC or [dreamily] a 996 /997 GT3. Money & reality [read: wife, two kids] played a factor. I purchased a nicely done T w/ a 3.2 for 25k. The result being a classic Pcar which I can DE, autocross or use on the street ozzing in character. The conclusion being you need to determine what you ultimately want to do w/ the car. Then purchase the best car you can that fits the requirement.