To invest or not to invest that is the question!

Well it's now official my 68K 996 C2 Tip Cab has bore scoring :!: :damn: So the 10K plus question really is. Is it worth investing probably 12K with VAT in sorting it once and for all using the very well proven Hartech Engineering capabilities? 6 new liners plus the block mods, IMS upgrade new chain, bearing set, pistons? etc. etc. When finished and accepted onto their Lifetime Maintenance Plan then it's probably a 24K sunken cost car. It's a great little car. I drive it far more than my 991.2 C4S PDK Cab. Obviously these are first world problems as I don't 'need' it as it's a fourth car. But there is something pure about it compared to the sublime modern variant that does everything you ask of it a little too well! I could of course sell it to the next owner as a project car and they could do it. What does everyone think of the future values of the 996? At some point I will probably sell it as we get older and less inclined to spend time on it. Thoughts anyone? Cheers Spart

You won't get the full cost of the rebuild back when you sell so only you can decide whether it's money worth spending. If you think that you'll get a decent amount of use out of the car knowing that it will be a relatively more desirable car come sale time then it's probably worthwhile. If not, I'd sell it as it is.

How long have you had it? What did you pay for it? How much time do you spend driving it/miles have you done? Has it been worth the (now) depreciation? It's worth £5k (???) as is. Rebuild could cost more than £12k and there are always other issues that will crop up on old cars. The world seems to be going electric and fuel prices are rocketing up. What could you do with the money you don't spend on the car? Time to do some maths VFM vs love of the car, only you can decide.

Personally if I was going to sink the funds into a 996 it would be a C2 manual coupe :bandit:

Is it a prime candidate to convert to electric ? similar cost :dont know: i have seen a few 996's done on you tube so it's possible.

Nice idea, however EV conversions are mega money. Electric Classic Cars have just converted a 944. See their vdeo on YouTube. Very interesting. 'The Porsche 944 conversion costs from around £85k excluding any restoration or upgrades that may be required. We currently have a waiting list of around two years." Personally: all depends on your attachment to car and how much you care about budget. Very subjective. Purely from money POV probably best to sell on. Plus there's likely to be other costs when you start on the project. Or you go the whole hog and get the increased capacity same time.

Unless you've got proper sentimental value in th 996, I'd sell as project car, don't think 996 prices will bode well against the cost of the repair, not to mention all the other bits you'll want to do whilst its stripped..

Agree with many that it's most likely not cost effective. BUT if all else seems good with the car and you drive it more than your modern car then you must love it a fair bit. Id probably have it done and suffer the initial pain knowing I had a rock solid car for a few years to come. It isn't really a lot more than a couple of years deprecation in your 991.2 after you've piled the extra miles on that one having lost the use of the 996.

I'd fix it 8)

mine had similar and I spent the cash and fixed it, mine is a keeper to be fair!

Along the lines of other comments, if there's something sentimental or specific about that particular car, or it's the ideal spec for you, then it might be justifiable. Otherwise, sadly, the market is unlikely to catch up with its sunken cost for a long time (though inflation may help...).

I wonder how many cars out there have bore score and the owners have been completely unaware for years of doing very little mileage? If you do very little mileage and the pistons and liners need replacing anyway, is there any harm in driving it with regular oil changes for a few more years yet? Prices may rise, making repair a more viable option by then. Unless it's so serious already and has gone unnoticed for so long, I reckon they can carry on being driven for a fair bit yet.

Difficult choice. I don't see 996 M96 cars as investment material. Consider also ongoing wear and tear on suspension, brakes and other bits and jobs and you'd have sunk a lot of cash into that motor. The decision is entirely yours.

I wonder what the responses would have been if we had forums like this 20 or 30 years ago asking similar questions about 3 litre SC's with second gear issues, 3.2 Carrera's with worn piston rings or 964's and 944/s with leaking head gaskets or 944 S2's or 968's needing new cam chains etc. I guess they would be much the same - how I wish I had managed to store the cars we sold back then - I could have retired on their increased value long before now. But the future is going to be very different than it was back then. Porsche's always dropped in value - then levelled out for a few years and then slowly appreciated and eventually sky rocketed - but they will become so much more unique when the Internal Combustion Engine is no longer used and these icons from the past have such styling, heritage and raw performance - surely they can only become even more desirable? I can think of lots of Porsche's I owned personally that I regret selling over the last 50 years - but needed the money back then for other things - I cannot think of one I am glad I sold. Bore scoring can usually be tolerated for a long time with occasional use but reliably re-manufactured engines (and especially well engineered capacity conversions reducing consumption and emissions) increase driving pleasure, value and investment potential. Yes you will never get back the re-manufacturing cost immediately (but you never could with any make or model) but a Porsche is one of the rare cars that long term it pays of in driving pleasure and appreciating values - short term (and of you have no particular love of the marque) - and you have interest in another make - probably best to sell as re-manufacturing costs will not go down with engineering in general, inflation, wages , oil, petrol and overheads are bound to accelerate for the next few years before settling down again. One bright spark would be anyone lusting after a Porsche for years might now find one reasonably priced (with evidential wear) and set about owning their dream, getting it sorted out, enjoying the unique driving and ownership experience for years to come and probably - eventually - no depreciation at all (probably the opposite). I think it mainly depends on whether they are keepers or not. Baz

First off you say "invest" - but you can't call it an investment and if that is your logic then you are best off walking away and selling it as is now before you lose anymore money on it. If the car has some sentimental value then you need to think what it is worth to you to get the engine restored. I don't agree with Baz's comment about old 911s, 944s, 928s etc. sure those cars were produce in much smaller numbers and anyone with hindsight would have bought them up and stored them somewhere. The 996 on the other hand was mass produced and made Porsche what it is today. I think if you look at the market a tiptronic cab is going to be the least desirable car also unfortunately. My vote sell it and put the money and the £12k you were going to put into the engine rebuild into savings against a good condition car.