Red 968 CS part 2... - Page 2 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

I can certainly imagine a 968 to feel a little ordinary after driving a 996, specially without the M030 suspension. I suppose it's the opposite to my experience when I went to pick up my 944S2 after driving my Peugeot 309 diesel

interesting that you went for it despite not being impressed m8, i assume you needed a daily driver fairly quickly? is that also the 1st 944/968 youve driven? have to say i wasnt bowled over on my 1st testdrive either (drove down in a 330i), the engine really doesnt help but i found the seats ok (maybe it helps to be larger? im 6ft 3" and still find the position almost too low) tho obviously for trackdays you want recaros, what clinched it for me was the steering feel, no modern car ive tried matches it (how does the 996 compare?) ive got that copy of 911&porsche in front of me, it was loaned to me by a m8 when i was looking, ill ask him if he wouldnt mind passing it on but he does cherish his magazines either way congrats on a new buy, i was probably a bit more excited than you when i got mine but it didnt feel like id bought my 1st porsche (probably because its not a 'real' one ) since then i have been disappointed occasionally where i thought it would be quicker/better controlled but ive also had a good few late night drives which made me grin like a fool you might have been able to get a civic type R or impreza for the money, i know which id rather have >> Edited by CoupeMan on Sunday 11th May 19:52

You can pick up Recaro SPG(?) buckets in cloth from Recaro direct. To my mind the Pole Position looks more like it, but the man at Southbound told me and he's the man for these things. Budget: cloth, each, new - 315 quid leather, each, second hand - 500 quid if you can find them leather, each, new from Southbound - 750-1000 quid, can't remmeber as the upper price may have included runners etc. leather, each, new from Recaro - in black, approx 600-750 if I remember I would probably go for the cloth as that is what they orginally had, but you'll need new runners or something The lack of initial excitement comes down to drab interior and engine note, if you ask me, plus they're not that quick. Come the corners and I'm sure you'll start to forgive it... If you got it cheap enough, sounds like a bargain Cheers Domster

Thanjs Guys...to be honest the steering is fine,just had a new steering shaft fitted..It's just it seriously doesn't do anything better than the 996...sorry. I wanted one for track work,,if I have a mare in the 996 it could hurt the wallet..in the 968 it will be less of a bind. Dom..i think i will look out for a 2nd hand set of seats,if someone is serious about racing one they may put the real deal in..If they are say £1000 new for cloth replacements,hopefully I can get second hand for 1/2 that ????...No rush!

The problem is simply rarity with those seats , CS. They hardly ever pop up. They were only aftermarket Recaros anyway, with the small addition of Porsche's million per cent mark up. Here is URL if you can't find s/h pair... www.recarodirect.co.uk/motorsport.asp Cheers Dom

Thanks Dom...they look great...i was tempted to get the credit card out there & then!...I should probably get the car first.....just in case I have to end up getting another 4 pole positions to complete the set in the dining room.

Glad you went for it. Hopefully the red will grow on you as it did me - Red wheels definately give it a harder, sportier look if that's what you want. The Recaro's are superb (as long as you are not too wide) and go a long way to making the interior look a bit special, especially when they're colour coded. Good luck.

Hardly a fair comparison between the cell of modern Porsche and one derived from that of the ten year older 1985 944 turbo. I highly suggest you to get a decent suspension fitted as soon as you can, that's IMO the very first thing to do. The stock suspension must have felt horrid during the test drive especially if the shocks have not been replaced yet : stock units do not get old well. >> Edited by Thom on Monday 12th May 09:28

The ride is fine Thom,just the seating position is not ideal. I will sort the seats out first,then worry about things like suspension at a later date. Do ypourself a big favour head down to your local Porsche dealer,blag a drive of a new 996 with sports suspension/seats/exhaust and see how far things have come. The only thing the Cs is does better is it looks more red than my current car. The reason I am buying it is that it is a bit of cheap fun that I can use on the track....I hope it will grow on me a bit ? If not then I will sell her,,,,,,fancy stepping up from a 944 mate?

As a prospective purchaser of a 968 for my first Porsche (coming from a TVR) from what I'm reading here it seems the 968 isn't that highly rated by Porsche enthusiasts? I was taken for a drive in one on Saturday (the LHD CS they have at 911virgin.com which was mentioned in another thread). And although it obviously didn't have the out-and-out grunt of the TVR V8 it seemed to have plenty of poke and on paper the figures aren't that far off a Chimaera 4.0 (which was my other choice). Additionally I found the comfort seats quite supportive although admittedly we were driving it on public roads. I was quite impressed by this car and was seriously thinking of making an offer subject to me test driving it and confirming a few details. However reading the above has made me think twice. Some reassurance or some alternative suggestions are needed here! P.S. The one I looked at had some stress cracking round the corners of the number plate recess in the rear bumper where it's been reversed into at some point. Is this fibreglass or moulded plastic? Can it be repaired easily? Edited to add: Coupeman, I wondered what you meant by your comment "it didnt feel like id bought my 1st porsche (probably because its not a 'real' one". Is the 968 a parts bin special or is it based on the floor pan of another car or something? Sorry for all the questions but I'm not too up on my marque history with Porsches. >> Edited by t1grm on Monday 12th May 10:26

You should do a little research mate before spending your dough. 968 is based on or an evolution of 924 which came out in 1976. They are not bad cars,,,,I didn't mean to put you off with the above,but a new 996 3.6 ltre with sports spec is sublime a 996TT is sublime with jam on it & 993GT2 or RUF is ambrosia. If you got out of a Tuscan S into a 2.9 litre S series how would that be. The front engine Porsches have a huge following they handle well with 50/50 weight distribution. The 968 Cs in particular is well respected in Porsche circles EVO/performance car magazine car of the year 1993.....most mags today give it ***** (stars) or mention it as one of their rwd handling benchmarks. I am slightly biased having had rear engine 911 for the last 9 years,,you may say front engine Porsches are less desirable or at least less marketable. just look at the value,what you pay for a good 968 in comparison to same year 993....i would have to pay 2.1/2 times the money to have the engine in the back...some would say a 968 CS handles better,,i would say the handling of these 2 cars is different. Don't let my thoughts above put you off,you are gonna get a lot of positive responses about the car on this forum. you may get even more responses about buying a car from 911 virgin!...Good Luck..

Excellent news Paul. Hope to see you driving at the next off road hooning event. DAZ

t1grm - do a search on these forums re 968s and 911virgin. Previous posts are a mine of information. Also, on the Porsche section accessed from the home page, you can see a 944 buying guide. The 968 is an evolution of the 944. Cheers Domster

No, the seat position is just about perfect. I take it you did not take the time to adjust it to your preference. It seems to me you have been even more disappointed by this ride than you seem to let out. Of course a 996 with appopriate suspension will be more efficient than a 968 CS, and I do not need to drive a 996 to be aware of it. As such I cannot figure out how you had expected for a second the 968 would have scored better than your 996. Judging on how you take things I doubt this car will grow on you whatever you do to it. You should get rid of it as soon as you can otherwise it may end in a rather frustrating experience. Just my two penneth >> Edited by Thom on Monday 12th May 13:01

Great news, Paul. When do you pick it up?? Bugsy first ride in it. I'll be interested to see how it feels compared to my 944S!!

Anyway I've pretty much made my mind up that I'll be going for the LHD 968 CS they had assuming. 1. There's no skeletons in the cupboard (HPI check) 2. The cosmetic faults are easily repairable 3. It drives OK when I do get to test drive it (I was a passenger with Henry Firman on Sat) 4. I can sell the Mundeno before it's sold ! It seems a clean car for 12K and quite a lot of car for the money. P.S. Domster, thanks for the pointer. I've already read the 944 buyer guide on PH.

Great cars. If you're considering the 911 Virgin 'no warranty' deal, try to ensure camchain/cams are inspected before you buy. Seems to be the one achiles heel with these cars, probably already discussed to death on this forum.

Thom...I don't think I was any more disapointed than I stated..don't think I expressed much excitement at all. I am only buying the car as it is a good example and I got it at a good price. One thing is I want to further my overall Porsche experience I have had some good 911 ,now I will try a 968 CS...This will leave me in a good position to comment objectively on these cars,rather than..this is the best,so much better than that model...etc...a bit tedious really when the commentators have never driven such cars in the real world. William...i am collecting the car tomorrow afternoon from Bristol. GR4 Is £12k a good deal for a lhd 968 Cs ?????????? give you a clue that is way more than i paid for 50k miles OPC history & RHD....If you want it I would push Henry a bit harder. I just looked at the piccies of the car at 911Virgin. That has the same awful sports comfort seats I am talking about...and it doesn't have the correct CS leather 3 piece non airbag wheel,which is another £250 to replace...maybe it's what you want but for a CS it is getting further away from the CS ideal....maybe our 'enery hasn't even noticed these variances on CS spec? >> Edited by clubsport on Monday 12th May 14:42

This is actually what I had understood however I cannot understand these reasons. Anyway, all the best with this car.

Thom thanks for your good wishes,,,unfortunately as a decision it comes down to more time & money than sense, seriously don't even try to work it out!

I like the irony, thank you Paul

GR4 Is £12k a good deal for a lhd 968 Cs ?????????? Clubsport - You've been in the market most recently but when I was looking, private LHD were £10k 'ish (lowest I saw was £8k), and RHD £12k to £15k depending on age and spec. Sounds like you did a very good deal, comfort seats or not.

'The reason I am buying it is that it is a bit of cheap fun that I can use on the track' Clubsport - you've just broken most 944 drivers hearts, we dream of being able to afford 968's Maybe I should have worked harder at school t1grm - Make sure you don't buy the first 968 you see, there is a vast difference between good and bad, you won't know if that is a good one until you've tried some bad. BTW I doubt very much if Henry will let you drive it before you buy, he's never let me. I echo the camchain comments, make sure you have it replaced or at least inspected. It is very common for the chain to stretch then snap or round off the cogs on the camshafts. It's a £200 procedure or a many thousands rebuild. This is not really a weak point of the car but a stubborness from Porsche that they still refuse to include the camchain in any type of service schedule. The 968 is a great handling car but if you compare it with a low mileage 996 on new shocks and suspension etc then it must start to feel a bit tired.

Unbelievable !

I wouldn't even humour anyone that wouldn't let me drive a car before buying!! That's alot of cash to pay for something you haven't even driven - just backs up most of our views on the t**t's attitude to customers tho.... HtG - You recovered at last??

No. Felt bloody awful yesterday or at least I did until I bumped into my Spurs colleagues and Scouse from the pub who now owes me a tenner.

You're avin a larf right ? I haven't asked yet but if I do make an offer I will want to drive it first. I can't believe that he would expect anyone to pay for any car - let alone a Porsche - without having driven it.

...and don't ask how many miles it has done either.

Well obviously a lot of buyers humour him because he shifts a lot of cars. I walked away from both the cars I looked at purely because I couldn't test them. They looked fine, the documentation was fine, the passenger seat felt fine - but that's not enough for me. >> Edited by diver944 on Tuesday 13th May 20:07

No more comments on Henry, please - Ted has to keep his arse legally covered. If anyone wants off the record discussions they can search the forum for key words like 'Henry' and '911 virgin' then ask respondents individually for their views - whether good or bad. I believe that neonfox bought from Henry, so he may serve as a good counterpoint to any comments from Scottster, myself etc.

Well after the responses that I had towards the colour,which were not that unfavourable.I went to see & road test the car today. I had a busy day ahead of me & didn't feel that bothered about the whole thing.I have seen pictures and had several e-mails & telephone conversations with the seller. We agreed to meet halfway which was a 90 mile trek. The car looked ok in the flesh red is not so bad as the rear lights are all red so it gives it a distinctive look. I found a small parking scrape,which had not been attended to. We head out on the road and all is well,,,it's just a bit ok...ish! Without trying to sound like a to55er when you drive 90 miles in a 996 to get in arguably the best 924 derivative it's not that exciting when you may be spending your hard earned. Driving the car was ok,,I recall how low you sit and here is the problem....the car was fitted with the seats out of the sport rather than the Kevlar seats you normally see in a CS...The sports seats are less supportive than bean bags I have sat in at Ikea. I have checked codes and these were fitted at new . Drove it for 10 miles on a B road and found clutch is near to end of travel. We got back to meeting point for a coffee and I am thinking how do I let the guy down gently after he has driven all this way? I go through to myself what I like.... 2 owner car no accidents / no track days /no sunroof. 4 x new pirelli 50K miles,recent & full OPC service history In the last 5000 miles,,new discs & pads & top end rebuild all at OPC. 1 years MOT & tax I thought the above and actually said what I didn't like; Parking scrape on front bumper Comfort sports seats rather than CS sports may need a clutch soonish? Last service pointed out front widhbone bushes would need replacing soon Standard with no M030 options The mature owner wanted his car to go to an enthusiast apparently and came down to a price to allow for all of the above. I left a cash deposit and will pick the car up in a few days subject to HPI. So I have bought myself a very straight 968 CS as it was too good to walk away from. I have honestly never been so unexcited about any car I have ever bought before,but hopefully it will grow on me once I get it on the track. I didn't add the car is L***AHS featured in the 5/2000 911 & Porsche world 968CS buying guide...which is nice! So I am on the look out for a copy of this issue if anyone would let one go at a sensible price. Secondly I need a pair of REAL 968CS fixed buckets with ideally Guards red or black backs. sorry this is a little long guys,,,but at least we have another CS in the fold and I can live up to my sign on name once again.