Thinking of buying my first Porsche

Just been reading the forums and was horrified to hear some of the tales about the 996 and Porsche dealers. I've wanted a Porsche for many years and am now in the position to seriously think about getting one. The problem I have is this: I need a car that is reliable and is going to get me to work and back, so I intend to use my car every day. Most Porsche owners I know have horror stories about huge repair bills for their cars (mainly 993s). The question I have is this: Having wanted a Porsche for many years, am I better off NOT buying one and preserving my desire of the marque, or do I take the plunge and risk spending a fortune running and repairing the thing? How much does servicing 996s cost? Is it a viable option as a day to day car? I'd considered the Boxster, but don't really want a soft top. I work 6 days a week, so I need a car the will work reliably in all weathers. Is the 996 up to it? Or do I keep dreaming and buy a Nissan 350Z or BMW instead (we already have 3 BMWs in the family). All opinions, stories and suggestions welcomed. Spending £50k on a car is not a decision to take lightly!! Adam

The 996 will be fine. It is a very capable every-day car. Serviceing cost are quite reasonable. You won't be disappointed.

Absolutely - as somneone said - you can use 1 996 like a VW Golf during the week and race it at the weekend. As an all round proposition it will not diisappoint, Spizz

I have had Porsches for 20 years and, for the first ten, used them as my only daily car. Reliability was excellent and running costs were not much more than a mid-range BMW. My wife has a Boxster S and uses it everyday with, as they say, the reliability of a Swiss watch. The 996 is a terrific car and a standard C2 Coupe is perfect. The important thing is to get the spec. right, with all the day to day convenience options you require. Plenty of people on this Forum will advise you on the 'must have' options. Also, it's best to also have a cheap run-around for the times when you want to keep the 911 at its best (trips to the supermarket or the local tip, long term airport parking, picking the kids up after rugby etc). A 911 can do all these things, but, like the Passat ad, you'll want to keep it nice.

Adam and All, I use my car every day (2003 996 Cab / Manual): Perfect! The 996 Cab is my second Porsche. With the previous one (2001 996 Coupe / Tiptronic) I've done more than 2,000 miles a month. The only problem I got was the RMS (fixed under warranty by Porsche Reading). I reached 45,000 miles when I part-exchanged it for my current Cab. To summarize: a fantastic car to drive every day!!!. Cheers, Fab

Buying new you will have no issues as the 2 year warranty covers pretty much everything. After that it can be extended (for something like 1K I believe). A second hand car comes with a years warranty, which covers major items, but not oil leaks, and also excludes consumables like clutch and brakes. It has so far been reliable for me (C4S), and has been driven in sun, rain, wind, snow, fog, hail etc. It feels completely solid under all conditions - there are few things I would rather be in. It definitely useable as an everyday car, indeed it is hard to resist the urge to drive - you want to use it everywhere. You may find yourself thinking of somewhere to go, just to have a reason to drive[ ] I travel 60 miles a day communiting in it, and also use it for work. I needed something that would be reliable as well. Whilst any individual car can show problems, if you look at the various surveys, Top Gear, JD-Power, etc. you see that the general level of reliablilty is higher than other German marques, including VW, BMW and Mercedes. Whilst not in the Toyota league, but then no-one else is either, it is more than acceptable. (BMW btw seem to have a longstanding Vanos problem that leads to repeated failures.) When I bought mine, I looked at the cost for me to run it for 36-48K miles, and it is actually no more expensive than my Nissan 200SX (which is probably similar to a 350Z). All 996's require servicing every 12K miles, even the turbo. Tyres cost a bit more, but not ridiculously so. Comfort for long journeys is fine. Whilst perhaps not initially feeling super comfortable, you never get out aching even after 4 hours, so the seats can't be too bad. Climate control works well, so you don't really notice it. Wind noise, tyre noise and engine noise are also perfectly acceptable. Fuel consumption at motorway speeds, on a long drive, such as Nwebury to Manchester, is 25-26mpg. Fuel costs are really not that bad. Obviously when driven hard it will consume more juice, but in everyday driving you don't have many chances. With the PSM, if you are tired and driving home, and it is frosty or wet or the white lines are a bit slippery, it keeps a watchful eye over you. You can be over exhuberant with the throttle without having to worry. I was a little nervous about driving it at first, but it is very friendly, flattering and easy to drive. It gives you confidence and is communicative, so you know what it going on (the single most important requirement in my mind). Obviously to get the best out of it requires skill, practive and time, but in normal driving on the public road, it is hard to really go wrong. Tyre wear is not that bad, I mostly drive on motorways though. The Continentals seem to last well. "NOT buying one and preserving my desire of the marque" Why! If you have the chance to have one, why not have one. There is no point thinking that you could have, should have, would have had one, if only you could have summoned up the will. If all else fails, they depreciate quite slowly, compared to other cars, so you can always sell it if it is not for you and get a good chunk of the money back. I'm not sure what repairing is going to be necessary, unless you're expecting some accidents. Parts are expensive if it does go wrong, but then it doesn't go wrong often. If you were to keep 3K in a fund to cover emergencies, then this would remove (most) of the worry. Whilst there are never 100% guarantees, the most likely outcome is that you will have a trouble free partnership and will enjoy every minute of it. I was worried that it would not live up to the hype or my expectations, but it does and it has. It's all about smiles per mile.

The 996's are great cars I do about 12 -20 k miles a year and I use mine as an every day car. I might add this is my 3rd Porsche with few major problems. As for costs, the servicing is about the same as a mid BMW and there are no major problems with the current crop of 996's. Fuel consumption is about 25 - 30 mpg, but this depends on your driving, expect to see less than this if you have a heavy right foot. As the gentlemen above suggest, look for the right spec first before you buy one. There isn't much difference between the C2 and C4 unless you are pushing it in the rain or on the track. Both the triptronic and manual are good cars. As for me, I want a C4S or Turbo next, but that's a couple of years away. Still it's nice to dream a little. eugene 996 C2 Speed Yellow 18" Turbo wheels (colour coded) Full Porsche Sports kit Cargraphic Sports Exhaust Porsche aero kit Porsche upgraded sound package Dab radio/CD

I am on my 8th PORSCHE - 996 C4 and they have never let me down apart from a fuel pump relay on my old 944 many years ago. All of them have been used as a daily drive and 3 out of the 4 911's I have owned have been high mileage with no serious issues at all, which people seem to get hung up about. My latest one is just coming up for 6 months of ownership and 74K miles, so I hope you have the same luck as many of us. Mark

Adam, I have a 996 C2 but only had it for a short while but great car so far 1000 miles in my hands. Dont forget if you are looking at new you will be looking at the new 997 due for Sep onwards, would suggest not buying a new 996 unless very cheap !, lots of pictures on this and other sites, especially www.rennlist.com Order a new 997 and if you dont like it you can allways sell it and get your money back if you are near the front of the Q. Regards

You have posted to the right place ( PCGB 996 forum ) to get encouraging answers ! Porsches are expensive , if you want a RHD 996 you will have to put down 35-65k depending on age & spec....for 50k quoted you can get a recent used car with a high spec but point is you dont have to spend that much if you have some residual doubts. Have you driven many ? Thats really the crunch , never mind the 'reputation of the marque' , does it suit you, does it feel right ? When it comes to cars, one man's meat is another man's poison.....eg there are plenty of porsche-holics who would not touch a 996 with a bargepole because its not air-cooled , or its built quicker and cheaper, or its too quiet , or even too 'soft'. Servicing cost and daily use reliability are not an issue, in my experience pretty close to BMW. Suggest you start with a basic C2 manual, secondhand in a 'safe' colour , from an official dealer , build up from there. ? I dont get the 350Z reference , that's a significantly cheaper car with different marque values, not knocking it as an enjoyable drive, but it is a different animal. The Porsche brand has been evolved from single minded engineering and racing, and the iconic 911 is one of the few cars you can drive to a track then trash it ( ie drive it as the designers intended ) then drive home again unbroken.

The various iterations of the 911 (911, 964, 993, 996) have different characters, They were built at different times, with different requirements to suit the market at the time. The current car (996) is not as shapely as the 993 (coke bottle) and may lack some of the character (read idiosyncracies) but there is no denying its capabilities. Whether it is "soft" or not depends on your view; it is a more modern car for a different target audience. Crash testing, pedestrian safety, aerodynamics, performance and emmisions/efficiency considerations have lead to a different car. I do not believe Porsche would be able to sell a 964 if it built one today as a new car. They all share very few components, the only real similarity being that all have the engine behind the rear axle and they have a similar silhouette. What unites them is that they were each in their time very successful (in race spec) in the formulae that applied. Which one appeals most depends on a large number of factors and largely a matter of taste. I had wanted one for quite some time, and planned to get one eventually, but I was in danger of putting it on a pedestal. It is after all, just a car - it possesses no mystical powers or magical abilities. It is a well engineered piece of machinery that has some character and is fun and rewarding to drive. Porsche make many variants because people have different requirements, depending on how race-car you want it to look, how fast you want to go, what creature comforts you want, whether you want to change gear, whether you want the wind in your hair, and how much road/track emphasis you want to place on it. Drive it softly and you will wonder quite what all the fuss is about and notice some interior trim and ergonomics issues, drive it hard and you will know. The image and brand values are built upon how it drives, not the other way round.

Well although it does not possess the above..... it never fails to stir my passion for the car, from my humble begings of 924, 944..... the 911's I have owned (964, 993 x2) make me feel special when i drive it ....... sad i know Mark

I'm at the same point - a 996 seems perfect for everyday/fast which is partly why it is my choice. The other reasons are that less definable thing which is ultimately why we are all here. All I need to do now is find a decent model! See the previous post about imported cars.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I've decided what to do, and I've decided I'm just not ready to jump in and take the risk. I'm just not ready to deal with huge repair bills if things go wrong. Once again, many thanks for the feedback. Adam

Adamdavid I'm not sure you'll be able to spend £50k on something that'll go wrong? It will buy you either a brand new Boxster S with literally every extra on the list or a very good used 996 from the dealer which will be covered by a substantial warranty. It's your money off course....

Live the dream or you will never realise it. Adam, its the most phenominal car ive ever had and ive driven everything. Complete 'Babe Magnet Too' although don't tell the wife that! Sure if you want to go for some Japanese rubbish then join the rest of the earth, but a Porsche 911 is on a different planet and is worth every penny. Half the A322 in Bracknell was drooling as i stormed past them tonight 350Z included., and that will be you next month. Can be expensive depending on how hard you drive it. ie if you race it every day then the odd thing may go. But generally they are pretty bomb proof, and if you have a 12 month Porsche warranty each year then you should be fine.You have to be sensible with your finances of course, if you can't afford the car, insurance, servicing, warranty and petrol then you shouldn't be in one, like 99.97% of the country. Good luck. Simon