Thinking of buying a 996

Well, I've had a 964 and a 993 and then I fell down that slippery slope and bought my (third) Corvette - a Z06. Now, 18 months later, I find that I hardly drive the plastic vondercar and I miss the character of a Porsche. I liked the 964, wasn't all that crazy about the 993. Driven several 996's (test drives) and was impressed with the improved ergonomics over the earlier cars, but didn't want to spend the money. Now that '99 and '00 cars are getting reasonable in price, I've put the Corvette up for sale and I'm starting to test the waters... In my perfect little world, I'd like an Arena red coupe, but they seem to be rather rare. Black would be my next choice. It appears to be sacriledge on this board, but I don't want the weight, complexity and cost of the C4 and will look for a nice C2. Six speed, of course. PSM is also something I just don't see the need for (I have thousands of track miles under my belt and I think I can handle a car OK) but especially don't want to pay extra for it. Yes, I'm cheap. I'll spend 30-50K on a nice car, but I won't spend an extra $10 on something I don't want. Other than the RMS problem, are there any '99 or '00 specific issues, or general 996 issues that I should look out for? I live in Cary, NC, on the off-chance that someone here is looking to sell exactly what I'm wanting... Thanks in advance for all the help and advice. Michael

I'd get PSM, you can't retro fit it and the one time it kicks in you'll be glad you have it.

I agree with Rob. One thing to consider is that on a used car, 99/00, the added costed of PSM is going to be minimal. And you can always deactivate it with the switch on the dash.

Michael, Depending on the build dates of the 99 cars there are some improvements between the early 99 cars and the late 99 cars and the 00 cars. One rather large difference when comparing 99 to 00 for the "C2" is e-gas. The RWD cars in 99 did not have it. Some like it some do not. The early 99's had some issues but they should be sorted out by now. If you find one that has what you want then just make sure it has had all the Technical Service Bullitins addressed. As for C4 vs. C2 I too am in the minority and have elected to get a C2. I understand your reasoning on PSM and you are correct in general you will pay a premium for a car equiped with it (it was not available in the MY 99 BTW). Contrary to what it seems many believe on this board, and as you are well aware from your experience with the 964 and 993, a Porsche 911 can be driven very safely and effectively without PSM. The only reason I have elected to get PSM is because I plan on driving the car in the winter and like the traction control aspect. The 996 (actually even the 964 and 993) have so much of the notorious early 911 handling characteristic dailed out with the multi-link suspensions they basically driver like any other rear wheel drive car. Not to derail your thread but I am curious on what you disliked about the 993 over the 964. Good luck in your search.

PSM is never completely deactivated. When PSM is "turned off" it continues to monitor the same parameters as when engaged it just will not intervene as quickly. If certain parameters get out of whack enough PSM will step in. This is fine for the less experienced drivers (myself included) however, for certain situations on the track this can be a nuisance and hindrance to experienced drivers who want the full ability to throttle steer the car through certain types of corners.

I never thought much about 911s until I went with a friend to look at several used ones for her. Then I was captivated by them, the sounds, the feel, the great feedback. We were looking at late 80's Carreras. And so I decided that I wanted one, and ended up finding a fairly nice '90 964. I picked it up on Friday morning, put it on my trailer, took it to a shop where I had new tires mounted and then went straight to the track. That's where I learned how to drive it. As Brian points out, the famous handling characteristic of the older cars was pretty much dialed-out, and I enjoyed the hell out of it. Loved that "waterfall" gurgle of the oil pump. Unemployment forced the sale of the car, to my friend who originally got me interested in the cars. She still has it and loves it. Anyway, a few months later the employment situation was resolved, and I bought a pristine '96 993. More power, more reliable, slightly better suspension, bigger tires, better handling... everything you'd want. Except that (I felt) it was missing a little bit of the charm of the 911. The gurgling oil pump was gone. There were more computer controls, more sensors, more weight. And although everyone thinks that the 993 is the pinnacle of air-cooled bodies, I really didn't care much for the US spec suspension. And I didn't feel like sacrificing the ride quality to go with an (expensive) aftermarket solution. Honestly, I didn't like the car enough to dump a couple of grand into it just for cosmetics. And so after a year, I sold it to another friend, who still has it and loves it. I bought the Z06 because I like Corvette performance and maintenance costs, but I miss the 911. Now the 996 probably has even less original 911 charm than the 993, especially being water cooled and all, but I think that the improvement in interior components and ergonomics may make up for it. Now, after doing some more research on available cars, I wonder... Except for maybe the first year, over the first 6 years of its life, a 911 is going to depreciate at roughly the same rate, say about $7K per year. This decreases somewhat with age, so that by year 5 or 6, we're down to maybe 5-6K. So maybe I'd be better off getting a newer '03 or even '04 still under warranty and thereby not having to worry about a catastrophic repair, rather than an older car. The difference in cost of ownership is therein really just the cost of capital. And the way the stock market is these days, I could do just as well sticking my money in a depreciating asset as I could with some of the stocks that I've been picking recently... Long answer to a short question. And now I've raised more questions. Oh well. Michael

I just sold my 993 and bought a 1999 996 with 35,000 miles on it. For me this is a much better car. My black 993 was a real attention getter. My Arctic Silver 996 is much less sexy. But there is no question for me or my wife which car we prefer. We had a big family get together here at our house for Easter weekend. Everyone wanted a demo ride in the 996. Just about 2 miles from my house there is a little travelled "Porsche braking and cornering demonstration road" that leads up into the Cascade mountains. A few times I really pushed this 996 (maybe a little more than I should have) in an attempt to show my son, sister, nephew, etc what a great handler this car is. The testimony is that even though I was a little stupid the car worked far beyond my capabilities. And at no time did my passenger scream ! In everyday driving now I actually use a little less bravado than in my 993. The 996 does not beg me to corner aggressively like the 993 although I feel that the 996 will handle right with the 993. Full throttle power in the 996 is faster than the 993. The cost difference for me to the 996 may be offset by the fact that I like this car well enough to keep it for quite a few years. In the 993 I was looking for something more quiet and smooth. Mission accomplished.

mike, i went through the same rationalizations as you. i ended up with a '00 c2, without psm. '00s where better optioned than '99s. full-leather may do nothing for performance, but i consider it minimum on a $75k car. that option was far more prevalent on '00s for some reason. the elephant skin on the base car, looks way too cheap and hyundai-like, imo. as for psm, i don't have it. i have lots of track time in different cars, and the 996 is a real pussycat to drive fast at 9/10s--especially when compared to the 964 and earlier cars. I'd never benefit from it, but for guys in rainy climes that don't want to get 'caught out', it's cheap insurance.

Mike, just curious, and I only bring this up since you have a Corvette right now. Have you given any serious thought for a Viper?

Never. Brutal, stupid, lousy stinkin' chrysler products. I know this only because I instructed a guy in one once. Fantastic torque though. But I had to crawl into the car, it was cramped, loud, and really, doesn't it just scream "Hey, look at me, I have a small *****!!!!" I've pretty much given up on track driving. Just burned out, too many students trying to kill me, tough on the car. Now, when I get the 996, it'll go on track, at least once, for fun, but it won't be an every week thing like it used to be. One of my "rationalizations" for getting rid of the 'vette and back into a 911 is that it would function more as a daily driver, can put the kids in the back seat, groceries and such are easier to get at with the lower trunk. Speaking of the trunk - do the 996's have a remote release for the trunk, or must I still open the car and flip the lever to get in there? Michael

on the '00, you have to open the car to release the trunk.

MY 01 has trunk release on the remote fob also.

A little extreme I would say, since you're highlighting all the negatives. The same can be said by many other drivers of luxury cars about 911s. It's all a matter of perception and relativeness. And for my 99 there is no trunk release on the key.

Ok, what is "e-gas"? Is that electronic throttle versus a real throttle cable?

Precisely.

Ahh--a real throttle cable--yet another reason to get a '99 996--first reason was for the limited slip diff option--these '99s are proving to be the "driver's 996"!

They are where it's at! Some minor inconveniences due to a 99, but I love it - it's the lightest, most mechanical, and most pure 996.

i agree lowside67 the 99's are the one's for me, the only draw back for me was power and to compensate i supercharged!

John - Welcome to the Porsche Phunny Pharm! That sounds like a nice looking P-car you have. Maybe you could post some pics for us to see, 'cuz we love pics! Just a "heads up" for you: one of the rules of the Rennlist forum is that only "Paying Members" are allowed to post For Sale items. When this post gets read by one of the moderators, it has a high probability of being deleted. The reason for this rule is to keep short term, one time posters from just accessing the forum to sell their car and then split. Since this is your 1st post, and you have listed your car for sale, you fit into that category. "Membership" is only $18 for one year. FYI on the For Sale post.