Purchase question, 993 vs '99 996?

I am looking to spend 45-50k for a pre-owned Porsche. Had a '95 C2, loved it as a drivers car, not fond of it in L.A. traffic. Question for those of you who have owned both; what is your recommendation...get the '99 for the evolved ergonomics etc..and other ease of driving attributes (are the 99 reliability and recall issues worth avoiding?) ... or get the 993 and grin and bear it. Your input and opinions are appreciated.

I have a '99 996 with almost 30k miles on it and it has been near flawless. Great on the street/track-jekyl/hyde personality. I modded the car so ride is abit different but have always modded my previous car's for that nice firm ride. Other then the noted TSB's for this car-all should have been taken care of and covered under warranty ie Rear main seal(oil

I have a '99 996 with almost 30k miles on it and it has been near flawless. Great on the street/track-jekyl/hyde personality-have gone to 7 DE's last 8 months-asskicker on the track. I modded the car so ride is abit different but have always modded my previous car's for that nice firm ride. Other then the noted TSB's for this car-all should have been taken care of and covered under warranty ie Rear main seal(oil leak),air bag lite,gas cap(triggers check engine)-didn't h

I got out of a 96 993 Cabriolet and into my current 99 996C4 and all I can say is I wish I had done it sooner! It is completely worth it to take the step up from the 993 to the 996...totally. C4

I owned a '96 993 C2 prior to my current 996 C2. You can't go wrong with either choice. I love my 996 but also miss my 993. I find myself browing eBay listings all the time looking at 993s. Now I just need to justify to myself why I need two 911 Porsches because I don't plan to sell my 996.

Sorry for that double posts(please if some one can delte the wasted space for me)-my computer went apecrap. Car has almost 30k miles and has been near flawless. Great for street/track-jekyl/hyde personality. Have done 7 De's in last 8 months-asskicker on the track : ). Ride is abit different now but all for the better-always liked a firmer ride with the ROW suspension. Other then noted TSB's-Rear main seal(oil leak), air bag lite, gas cap which may trigger check engine lite(didn't happen to me)-but new recall for new gas cap, coolant reservoir replacement(causes coolant lite to lite up) and rear decklid repaint(rust issue TSB)-but all is covered under warranty and should be all fixed up. You have to test drive one yourself and see if you like it-I loved it. Having driven the 993 C2S at a dealer lot- definitely the styling is there and the handling department(better steering feedback comes to mind) but thought 1st gear is abit long whereas the 996 is actually useful but then again that can be offset with ROW gears on the 993. I thought shifting and available trq early on is better on the 996 too. Reliability 993 got the best history, 996 is wait/see approach-I'll let you know once my cart reaches the 100 k mark : ). Regards and good luck. Mike

Have to disagree about the 993 reliability. There have been problems with early valve guide wear, blockages of the air passages in the head, and synchronizer wear problems, all of which are expensive fixes, just to mention a few. Great looking car, but be prepared to spend money to keep it running right.

[quote]Have to disagree about the 993 reliability. <hr></blockquote> Have to agree...I had loads of issues with the infamous 993 "Check Engine" light. End result was a disappointing $6000 of engine pull and glass beading the intake of carbon build-up. C4

[quote]Originally posted by CarreraFour: <strong> Have to agree...I had loads of issues with the infamous 993 "Check Engine" light. End result was a disappointing $6000 of engine pull and glass beading the intake of carbon build-up. C4</strong><hr></blockquote> Just FYI, nowadays they do Techron treatments (I think 996 or every other Porsche owners should do them) and one other, which I don't remember the name, to cure that. That carbon build up happens to any car. Some 993 owners unfortunately had to go through these $6k repairs but they were unnecessary. Hard driving (stop & go traffic really kills engines) and regular treatments like that and you'll have none of these problems. If anyone needs more info, ask Stewe Weiner at Rennspeed motorsports, he has dealed with these things. We all know these things (Porsches) are meant to be driven hard! Just noticed <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" /> , you mentioned that you drive your car in L.A. traffic and you didn't like it with your 993. I guess it would be better to get 996 tip since it's easier car and don't require as much 'driving' as what 993 does.

I wanted to go all out and do the HR coilovers plus GT3 stabilizers(nice lowered look and better for track) but wife factor made that prohibitive but love a nice firm ride so ROW 030 was my only option and so far I've been really happy. Regards. Mike

IMHO you should get the car you want. it appears that what you really want is the 996. you'll never be happy with a 993 if you plan to "grin and bear it" so why do it? if you wait a while maybe the 2000 MYs will be trading at about the price of high end 933s.

[quote]nowadays they do Techron treatments <hr></blockquote> OK I guess it is your assumption that I never did, tried, or knew this. Not to be rude or crass but, I "knew" that long before I owned my 993, "did them" regularly, and the dealership "tried" it one last time before disassembling my 993 for repair. Check the 993 discussion board on this. It is a common problem in the 993 and is difficult to avoid, regardless if routine techron treatments are done. C4

"Common" problem grossly overstates the issue. Turned 50K yesterday -- flawless so far. They're different cars -- try a 996 and see if you like the drive as much as the 993. If you do, buy it -- it's a nice car. I tried it, and I clearly prefer the 993 -- MUCH more involving in my opinion, at least until you attain very high speeds in the 996. Do you want to "grin and bear it" in traffic or the rest of the time?

[quote]Originally posted by Rohan Nath: <strong>if you wait a while maybe the 2000 MYs will be trading at about the price of high end 933s.</strong><hr></blockquote> This is a key statement in my mind. The value of a 996 will contunue to flop for a few more years yet - the 993 will not and hasn't.

C4, I guess I assumed you didn't use it, I'm sorry for that. I've checked discussion boards and (at least) Steve Weiner does some other "cleaning" than techron, I don't know the name yet and he said that he has treated cars that are diagnosed to need $6k repairs and had good results (=problem fixed). You said that it's difficult to avoid it? And I kinda agree with speedracer, I think that 'common' problem is what, 1% or less of 993s? I just wanted to point out that it really is not a reason for not to buy 993, many different sources agree that so far it's the moset "bullet proof" Porsche there is, obviously if your 993 was one of the 'lemons', it might be hard to believe but I tend to believe what experts (Bruce Andersson, many shops etc) say. We all know that every Porsche has it's own share of problems... But since it's mostly sitting in traffic, I recommend 996 for you hiway1now.

[quote]Originally posted by Christer: <strong> This is a key statement in my mind. The value of a 996 will contunue to flop for a few more years yet - the 993 will not and hasn't.</strong><hr></blockquote> Have to disagre completely, here, the prices are falling down for the 993, while the 996 prices are getting stable..Just a situation market Many 996's ones against 993.. And that's a Porsche AG maketing strategy. Many people in this forum seems to forgot all the issues at the begining with the 993, already resolved. Just take a look to the 993 forum & archives. Then compare them to the 996's. I don't want to shoot over the 993's ,just a try logical answer against a "heart beat" way of thinking.. just my 0.02cent