Fallen out of love with my 996, anyone else been here?

Has anyone else ever fallen out of love with their 996 I hate to say it, but that’s where I feel like I’m at right now. Lately it just seems like one thing after another has gone wrong, and my confidence in the car has really taken a knock. Every drive now has that little voice in the back of my head wondering what’s going to fail next. The frustrating thing is that it wasn’t always like this. Two years ago I absolutely loved the car. I did a brilliant road trip around Europe in it and even took it around the North Coast 500 with hardly any drama at all. On the right road it felt exactly like what a 911 should be. But recently the constant faults and bills are starting to take the shine off ownership. Instead of looking forward to driving it, I’m starting to dread what the next issue might be. I’ve even caught myself browsing the classifieds. Cars like the Aston Martin V8 Vantage have caught my eye, or maybe even moving into a newer Porsche 991 so I’m not constantly chasing age-related problems. Then again, part of me is tempted to go completely the other direction and get something really simple like an Austin-Healey Sprite — no sensors, no complicated electronics, just something basic where most things can be fixed cheaply. The annoying part is I know how good these cars can be when they’re on song, because I’ve experienced it with this one. So I’m curious — has anyone else been through this stage with their 996? Did you push through it and fall back in love with the car, or did you eventually decide it was time to move it on?

Wow mate, that's crap.....what's going wrong with her now..? Having only owned mine for 2.5 years and covering 14k miles in her in that time i've not once felt like this... drove her on wednesday and am still in awe of the thing and she's only a 99 C4 Coupe.....!!!

Everything….. nothing major just lots of small things. I’ve done 43,000 miles since ownership, it had a Hartech engine rebuild at 140k, I bought at 160k. Present issues Speed sensor Reluctor ring Suspected fuel pump issue Air leak Noisy AC Window motor Recent issues New clutch and RMS Wheel bearing New diff Camshaft sensor, involved dropping the engine Oxygen sensors MAF New Bilstein shocks new suspension arms,drop links coffin arms etc New Dansk exhaust Power steering pump and lines New brake lines through out after a failure at speed, luckily the hand brake brought it to a stop. AC pipes List goes on and on Etc, etc etc All age related, just frustrating and confidence destroying, just completely fed up with it. I need to be pragmatic and sort the jobs one by one but I know the list will just keep growing. I’ve got two other Porsches, one of the first Boxsters in the UK, never have any problems total confidence to drive anywhere and a 924 that I bought for my daughter but I look after it and use it occasionally, again total confidence in the old girl.

There are always going to be things that this age of car need. By the looks of your list of done and needs doing, that's most of the usual stuff. Once the needs doing list is sorted you can probably relax a little and enjoy the car. Over all my experience has been they are reliable - just plenty of age related things to keep on top of. Hang in there is it will get better. A mate of mine had a Vantage and that was even worse for eating money... They do sound good though...

I never actually fell out of love with my first 911, a 996.2 C4 but after 3.5 years I knew how gutted I would be if my previously reliable car had let me down in a big way. With the car on SORN over the winter months of 2012/2013 my Porsche fix was limited to reading and watching stuff on the internet. Stories of IMS failures were rife and the thought of mine succumbing to it gave me a shiver. I took the decision to pre-emptively spend the money a rebuild would cost by looking at 996 Turbos. I ended up spending a bit more than I intended but justified it by it being a newer, lower mileage car with nearly an extra 100 horses. It was a sad say when I said goodbye to my beloved 'Helga' but after that I never regretted my decision and I haven't looked back.

I like the Man Maths T8, I wonder what I could buy for £30k?…

Aston Martin v8 Vantage would have you pleading for your 996 back in no time , a whole new large can of worms to open with one of those, Since your car already has a hartech motor in it i'd be sticking with it knowing it's a good engine . Chin up , sort these minor problems out and it'll be alright.

Wrong person to ask as the 996 is my 70th car! I usually get bored quickly after the thrill of the 'hunt'. Although this time i went older from a 987.2 to the 996 because the 987.2 didnt need anything and felt a bit sterile. I hadn't appreciated 911 porsche paranoia - especially around 986's - like you say ever knock makes you wonder how much that will cost. i can't suggest either older or newer is better, but just think of the depreciation on a newer car

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A really nice one of these.

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Stop it, keep looking at convertible ones of these

Me too

...and me

They are gorgeous but I know 2 people who have them and my problems with my car pale in comparison

Or I could keep the 996 and hope it doesn’t give me any more big bills and add a ‘Sensible’ Sport/Tourer to the bike collection now that I’m not as flexible.

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Nightmare to work on. The 911 frunk will feel like a warehouse in comparison to the boot. Isn't exactly a sports car but neither is it a GT with its stiff suspension. Suffers in narrow B roads as it is much wider than a 996. They do look gorgeous though and very theatrical if you have the sports exhaust