The 996 Porsche 911 Doesn?t Deserve the Hate - Doug DeMuro

The 996 Porsche 911 Doesn�t Deserve the Hate You Tube

Thanks Phil. Good to see DeMuro is a fan. What I don't get is why some of these guys use the click bait headers which shows their ignorance of what really happened. There wasn't any hate back in the day. I was there and bought one. DeMuro was still a teenager. More than 175,000 996s were sold which was over twice the number of the combined volume of 964s and 993s sold. It was a "hot" car when it came out and its now a "hot" 911 again. What created the problem for the 996 was the RMS/IMS issues and class action lawsuit. It created confusion and fear to a problem that was successfully solved for when LN rolled out their Retrofit IMSB and then rolled out the Solution. But hey, we still have owners and media today that still dont know this issue is a non-event with an upgraded IMSB. Its inevitable that the market will eventually wake up and realize that they can buy an incredible classic 911 for $25k and upgrade the IMSB, upgrade the AOS, replace the OE water pump every 5 years, and run high quality, high viscosity, high moly oil and change it 2x a year and easily solve for every M96 issue. AND, if they are smart, they will buy one that's already been solved for by the previous owner.

The 996 sucks, please stop buying them.

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Hah! For sure. And don't bother to upgrade your IMSB and AOS, and dont keep your water pump fresh, dont run high quality oil, and dont ever change it. Its so easy to keep a 996 running in top form.

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You are dead on, the text of this click bait title is what holds back younger or first time Porsche buyers from acquiring the best entry financial point for the Porsche brand. I have owned almost every model of the brand and find the 996 is my current favorite for what it truly is not what it was reported to be. Rich

Interesting quirks I noticed about this particular car that Doug didn't touch on but are 996 IYKYK: GT3 Center Console Delete - IMO the best interior upgrade visually as well as ergonomically for longer legs The Coco mats - great retro upgrade and one I want to add to my car in the future.

I would even posit the idea that shoddy/incompetent/unethical mechanics/dealerships have been a big part of the problem for the 996 in general - fortunately for us owners that can diy, most of these problems fairly easily diagnosed and fixable. Let�s face it many Porsche owners either can�t or don�t care to fix their own cars so they quickly become quite expensive to own and maintain.

Certainly didnt help the bores when the Porsche factory was recommending Mobil 1 for 20k miles between oil changes. After living thru the RMS/IMS go-no-go era, the key was having a Porsche Dealership that had a great service group that was on top of the developments. At this time, the indies were just focusing on mezger engines. It alI had to go thru the dealerships. I spent alot of time smoking cigars at the track with mechanics from the dealerships trying to understand the issues, developments and procedures. Quite frankly, it was overblown since better factory RMSs were found and IMSB upgrades were developed by LN. But it was a time of confusion. But the confusion is gone today since we have the simple solutions.

[QUOTE=GC996;20347852]Certainly didnt help the bores when the Porsche factory was recommending Mobil 1 for 20k miles between oil changes. 100% ^^^

All of the above leading to grossly undervalued vehicles (for what they are) being purchased for used Corolla money, but having the maintenance needs of an $80k performance vehicle, by folks who just needed the P badge. The inevitable result was many ratty 996's in the market further tainting the model's overall reputation and value... The market now appears to be getting past that with premium cars starting to fetch realistic prices, again for the vehicles' capabilities. The 996 deserves the 964's market resurgence (rehabilitation?). It will never fully get there though and it probably shouldn't, but it does deserve better.

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Something like this? I don't consider a Porsche complete without Cocomats! All ours have them.

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Love it!

Instagram this jackass decided to just ignore the 996

Kind of a broad brush 1973-1989 ? all the same that video would have been much better without the numeric entries when they are so vague. I do like the visual progression. Rich

A 25 minute video on the base 996 and the IMS bearing was not mentioned once.

Yep. It was all about headlights, styling and air cooled vs water cooled. Typical shallow stuff.

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Exactly Because Doug believes that �shallow stuff� is one of the main reasons 996s are so cheap. He talked about the IMS bearing in his original review of the 996 C4S back in 2017. Back then he said it was something you simply needed to budget for replacement. Eight years later it�s simply a known issue not worth mentioning. I like that. Doug has always been and continues to be a champion for the 996. Just a few weeks ago he said that it�s the last analog 911. The shallow stuff doesn�t matter to the driving enthusiasts.

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Phil, I appreciate Doug as an advocate. The point is that what he says was not the whole story. Been there. It was a complicated topic at the time with the RMS/IMSB and go-no-go tool. Porsche turned a blind eye to it which created even more confusion. Hence a class action lawsuit. You cant sell 175k 996s without extreme interest and crazy demand for a car at full price. It was a very slow evolution over time starting with the RMS/IMS/Go-No-Go and engine replacements followed very quickly by the Great Financial Crisis which tanked prices that didnt recover until the pandemic years. By the GFC the damage was done on the 996 reputation and new buyers moved on to the 997. Then the 991, then the 992 as what has always happened. The sales pitch for the 997 was part of the problem because it amplified the headlight conversation because Porsche came hard at selling the round headlights. By that time the RMS/IMSB issue was solved by LN and was a non-event. Its just your classic example of how people behave amd spread stories. They build upon themselves. No question the diehard air cooled guys didnt want a water cooled car. But it didnt matter because 175k people wanted the new, faster, better handling, more aerodynamic 996 between 1998 and 2005. Unless Doug and other Youtubers lived and breathed it at the time, its tough to pick up the evolution by watching videos and reading articles from guys that weren't in the middle of it. So they repeat the same general stuff. These comments are certainly not directed at you. They are directed at most youtubers that talk about this stuff. Importantly, I have always appreciated your contributions and will continue to. You are a straight shooter. But I applaud Doug. I just dont applaud half the story. The good news is that the aftermarket designed a boatload of better parts including the IMSB, AOS and many other parts that address every issue we have talked about here on Rennlist. Now the 996 is the best bargin in Porscheland as promoted by Doug. Yep, I completely agree him on the topic.

@CG996 as the original owner of a 996, you have a unique perspective. I appreciate your knowledge on the subject and welcome hearing it. So it�s a little more complicated than headlights and water cooling? haha

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Hah. For sure. But its all behind us. Thanks to the historical evolution, the aftermarket stepped in (LN, @Porschetch3, and many others), and built better parts, better solutions, better procedures that have bullet proofed the 996. Here is the funny thing. I wouldnt change anything on the 996 history. Not to mention, knowing what I know today, i would buy my 2002 996C2 all over again 23 years ago. Its just too damn good of a car.

Here is another example of the silliness in the Porsche world as it pertains to reputations that are misunderstood and wrong. Its a video on the 944. But it could be the Carerra GT, 911SC, 964, 1995 993, or the 996. All of these models have been in the doghouse until folks figured out its all a bunch of BS. All had issues and all issues were easily mitigated. This video is from James Reeves who started a car channel to compliment his fire arms channel on you tube. He is very detail oriented and common sense. Just like the 996, the 944 is a very durable car. But you have to do the right things to it. We have a very large group of guys here in the Chicago region that still track their 40 year old 944 very competitively. You Tube

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I bought my first 996 in 2004. It was a 2000 ME manual that had only been driven 1k miles. I did my homework. By 2004 the IMS defect issue was already a known issue. There were no aftermarket solutions then. So I bought a powertrain warranty for $1500. Which paid off big time when the IMS cratered my car at 55k miles in 2008. I just sold that car to a good friend about a month ago. I loved it. Raised my kids in it when they were young. Spent lots of money maintaining it. The point is that if you do your homework you usually - usually - can mitigate risk when you purchase used cars. One of the problems with the 996 is that Porsche never stepped up and admitted the design defect. So a lot of people who didn�t do their homework got burned. Which is too bad since 996s are great cars. I now have several including a 996tt.

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You're kidding, right? My 99 model is a joy to drive. It may be slower 0-60 and quarter mile time not so impressive anymore, but it's still fun and can out handle most of the high hp SUV models on a curvy road. I am not afraid of driving it cross country either. 93k miles, engine doesn't smoke on startup, no funky noises and pulls as strong as it did when new. I just had the belt replaced, oil change and tune-up. Mileage dropped though. I got 28 miles per gallon on a recent 300 mile trip from SC to Va. Averaging 75mph the whole way. Reminds me of my Toyota 2012 Avalon. Hwy mileage supposed to be 23mpg. At 80mph, it would get 29 mpg.