New guy thinking of transitioning from a C6, need some schooling...

Way back when I bought a barely used C6 w/ 7k miles back in 05 and after 4 years and 85k miles of daily driving, weekend fun, cross-country trips, and track days, I feel it's time for something new. I had my eyes set on some C6 Z06s until, on a whim, I stepped into a Porsche dealership and soon found myself out in a 997 C2S for a test. Whoops... haven't again considered another 'vette. What hooked me was the feel - that connection between man and machine, the tossable chassis, and the composure over varied surfaces. The car felt like a solid piece of automotive engineering designed solely to please the driver. By comparison, the C6 felt more remote and distant, providing less feedback and requiring the driver to have blind faith as the car approached its limit. It showed me the difference between putting up great numbers versus how the numbers are put up. The problem: 997s are expensive. They're do-able, but I don't want to stretch and the one I tested had many more miles than I'd care to consider. Since the plan is to put a ton of miles on the car, I'd rather do this right than compromise on a less than stellar example at discount pricing and find myself screwed a year down the road. Taking that into consideration almost rules the 997 out. So now I'm looking at 02+ Carreras of all sorts and the Cayman S. I know the Cayman will have the feel and connection, but not so sure on the 996 as it's older and was the first generation for the water-cooled era. What pushes me to the 996 over the Cayman is the looks and power. The 996 is slightly more powerful than the Cayman, and I can't quite grasp the rear-end styling of the Cayman. The only huge positive I can find for the Cayman is it's a CPO-able car, may even have factory original warranty still in effect, and is just newer overall. My plan for the car would be an all-weather daily driver that goes for fun runs or shows on the weekends. I believe in using the car and maintaining it aggressively. It's just part of loving cars. I don't plan to track my DD again, though. That being said, here are my questions about the 996: 1. Just how reliable are they as DDs? I have my eye on two 996s, both with less than 15k miles... 2. Is service as brutally expensive as the myths make it out to be? I'm used to cheap service - ie, plastic part breaks in C6, replace with new GM plastic part which is cheap and plentiful. Also, crate LSx motors are cheap and plentiful for that worst-case-scenario. 3. Is it dumb to buy an 02-05 996 and expect to drive it for 4-5 years and put 80-100k miles on it? I ask this because doing so in a 'vette has been relatively cheap and hassle-free. All the rumors about Porsche maintenance suggest a protracted and painful financial apocalypse... again, I have no clue, new to these. A friend says I should get a Cayman simply because of warranty and age... an 02/03 996 is already over 6 years old. Thanks, and you guys have some beautiful cars, been browsing the threads a lot! Seems like a cool place and everybody seems to be a true enthusiast from the threads I've read so far...

porsche owner= rich, or a mechanic. im the latter

Quotes source post: 6864711

Since I am one of the ones around here that currently owns a C6 ('07 Coupe) and a 996 ('04 Targa), I think I can help you a little. I use both cars as daily drivers alternating from car to car basically tank of gas to tank of gas. While there is no doubt in my mind that a 996 will withstand the type of driving that you have in mind, your days of cheap repairs will be over. From what I've seen, a remanufactured engine for a 996 appears to cost about the same as an LS7 crate block. A replacement tranny will be something north of $6,000. While my local Chebby dealer charges me $75 for an oil change (5 qts of Mobil1 + filter), the local Porsche dealer gets $250 (5 qts of Mobil1 + filter). A replacement fob for the C6 is $150, but a replacement key for the Porsche was just shy of $400 when I price one. Cheap and plentiful are just not in the Porsche vocabulary as near as I can tell. The insurance is about the same for the 2 cars on my policy. But the Vette gets better gas mileage. My drive to the office is about 12 mile one way and it's about 65% boulevard 45/50 mph and 35% freeway 70mph. The 996 averages about 17 mpg on this route while the C6 get about 19.5 mpg. Not really a big deal since I didn't buy either car to save gas, buy I don't drive nearly as many miles as you intend to. 2.5 mpg over 100,000 miles ain't exactly a throw away. Like you, I think that the Porsche is more of a driver's car. But, I miss the low end torque in the Porsche. Good luck with your decision. But if I were you, I would insist on buying a CPO Porsche. Hopefully, you would never need this. But, in the 6 months that I've owned my Targa, the CPO warranty has already saved me about $900 for the labor incurred to find an electrical short in the fuel system.

If you find a clean CPO Porsche that gives you two years of coverage, I think the maintenance in the scheme of things isn't a deal breaker. My 996 gets an oil change every 7-10k miles, and otherwise seems fine as a daily driver. Towards the end of the two years, if you are going to keep pounding on it, factor in $2k for extended warranty through a Porsche dealer as part of the overall cost of ownership, and that may get you in the 80k mile range without significant financial exposure due to severe mechanical breakdowns.

I just changed my own oil for under 60.00 in my 996. It takes around 9 qts not 5.

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WHAT?? - what oil ?? I do my own and spend $100 + !! (Q horsepower 10w-40- formerly Shell Helix Ultra) OK what's a C6 is that a 6 wheel drive Porsche - If you plan on putting 80k miles on in 4 years you might spend more than your share at the parts counter, and more time replacing them than the vette too. Things are sometimes in tight places on these cars. Tires get 10k miles for rear and 20k for fronts - oil at 10k mile intervals is a bit long IMO - I am doing 4k - parts cost money...lots of money...a trip to the dealer takes a wheel barrow of cash and takes a while sometimes. - I dont want to turn you away...fact is you might end up scoffing everything else on the road after owning one.....just know, its a great daily car, great in all weather (even snow!) and you will pay, so protect yourself and prepare yourself... (its worth it) BTW my car has 111k miles on it

If you are looking for a low mileage 2004 c4s with a 4 year transferable service contract please pm me. Thanks, Rayton Here is the link : https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-2004-c4s.html

I drive my C4S every day - and my office is about 30 miles away. It is a 2002, and it has roughly 83,000 miles on it. I drive a mix of city and highway, and I average about 22.5 mpg. If you don't mind turning a wrench yourself, then the maintenance isn't bad at all. I love this car as a DD.

Walmart has jugs of synthetic oil for $22.00, I could have done it for $50.00 if I didnt buy the filter from the dealer.

Don't buy that oil. This shouldn't be an oil war but that don't get that stuff.

Its not Walmart brand, I didn't want to start an oil thread.

The CPO program works for cars up to 8 years old with under 100k on them. There aren't many out there, (most P-car dealers don't want to stock too many 01 to 04 996s) but they are available. My car is an 03, 35K on the clock when I got it with a CPO warranty until 2/2011. With a CPO, I'm not sure I buy the whole "this thing is really expensive to maintain" deal. Buy your tires from the tirerack. Buy your filters (oil/air/cabin/fuel) plugs, belts, hoses from Pelican/sunset. Buy your oil from Walmart. (I hate walmart but I like the 5 quart jugs for cheap) Based upon my reading (reading only mind you) the 996 is far less expensive to maintain then the 993. 6 plugs as opposed to 12 no valve guide issues. coil on plug ignition compared to a 2 headed distributor etc etc etc Yes the RMS/IMS issues are always there but and our friends at GM have been utilizing roughly the same engine since 1955 but it all comes down to feel. You know that the 996 has it and the vette wants it.

One thing to consider is that the Porsches seem to respond worse to extended sitting than (I think) American cars do. People who drive them regularly in an "adult-like" fashion seem to have fewer problems and lower wear-related replacements. Porsches also respond more harshly over time to people who are rough with clutch, transmission, lugging, etc. Young guys love to say, "drive it like you stole it." But don't assume you're not racking up increased wear. A bit of finesse goes a long way.

If you can wrench on one, they dont cost much to maintain. 'Vettes are numb compared to a P-car. Try an older air-cooled one for a go-kart feel.

all cars have a cost to drive (per mile). especially if you factor in resale value. if you plan to drive her till the wheels fall off this doesnt matter much. (like me, unless i win the lottery and buy a 911 turbo) when taken into account this. all you have to do is ask yourself. "do i really want to drive the porsche here?" imo. if i drive throgh traffic to work, it is not worth driving a top notch sports car. lol. or if im running down the street to the grocery store 3 times a week in a 45MPH zone, its not worth it. (ill ride the motorcycle) but hey you might have the $$ for the maintenance, i dont know. the schedule isnt that bad its just the dealer prices. and our rear tires dont last very long from what i hear. i have to admit IF i havent driven her all week i WILL take her to the grocery store! I am approaching 45K and so far she has been good to me (in the short 1500 miles ive had her)

I rented a C6 from Hertz recently. Loved the power, but hated many of the other aspects of the car. + Nice Torque. A lot more zing than the 996 down low, but they feel similar in the upper rev range (seat of pants). Bottom line the 996 is far from slow, but in a drag race I'm sure the C6 would smoke my car. - Driving position, you sit down low in the Vette and outward visibility sucks compared to a 996. Piloting the vette felt like piloting a low flying missle (unfortunately it seemed to want to corner like a missle). - Feel......the C6 steering still sucks (it's better than a C5, but come on GM!!) and the chassis just doesn't communicate with the driver like a 996. Additionally, a C6 is about the same size as a 996, but it feels and drives much bigger behind the wheel. - Storage space. The 996 wins hands down here. Bottom, if you offered to trade me a brand new C6 for my car I'd turn you down. That being said the C6 was the best Corvette I've ever driven. As for ownership cost, I have no idea what it costs to own a C6, but my 986 and 996 have been super reliable so far. Dealer visits are a bit higher than other cars I've owned, but I do the simple stuff myself and I've almost never had anything break on either car so they really have not been extravagent to own.