996 HELP - Page 3 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

Why are you selling the 456 Bennno?

i will write something for you if you desire? in short wonderful car, but a bit like a tvr only ten times as expensive when anything happens. i got offered fairly close to what i paid for it and basically decided to use the money to buy a 6 month old 996 - to remove the risk element of running the fezza and to get something i can use every day. so is it cab 996 or coupe 996 ted?? Bennno

i'd go for cabrio, and not the aerokitted coupe. I wouldn't want to pay that much £££ for a car that looks like something it isn't However, either would be pretty cool

That would be fab - I'm sure there are plenty of readers on here that would be interested to hear the real experiences of an owner.

Cabs are for girls.

thats my concern frankly that said it comes with a ali hard top and when the sun shines you can make full use... i would obviously keep the hood down in the rain to dispell any girl type comments Bennno

to help you visualise the cars these look similar.. or Answers on a postcard please, need to chose by 9.30 tom Bennno

Easy choice. A friend of mine came around in his Cabrio the other day. Despite having the GT kit it still looked like a pretty lame car. I think the coupe is a much more purposeful looking motor.

coupe would be my choice too

Benno - hate to say it, but... NEITHER!! The coupe looks a bit 'riced' and cabs ARE for girls. You should be patient and wait for an alternative coupe, but not in silver - too common. Which dealers are these cars from?

SAme question, but different context. My wife is committed to getting 996 cabriolet, I would prefer a basic C2 or, at a push, the new Targa. Anyone driven the new Targa?

yep agree that silver is fairly common but this one looks a bit different. i had a red one last time which i was not keen on when i bought it, but it got a lot of positive comments. its a personal thing but i personally would only have a coupe with 18" wheels and an aerokit, i think it can look a bit plain without bennno

Mmmm i fail to get the "cabs are for girls" theory myself.... I'd hardly call a Griff a "girls car" because it's a cabriolet.... I would go for the cabriolet and fit a bodykit to that if you desire, but I don't like the bodykit anyway, it looks crass and max power... At least with the cab you get the best of both worlds. Hard and soft top....

Benno, go for the cab if you get both hard and soft tops. At least you've got the best of both worlds, and I do think the 996 looks wonderful with a hard top on it (somehow a HT Boxster doesn't cut it with me - sorry Don !) The only downsides I can see you having are: 1) Both only have the 3.4 engine and not the 3.6; 2) Placcy window on the Cab (I think) - liveable with - the Boxxster's not bad at all, but I wonder if you could retro fit a 2001 hood with a glass window ? All MHO, but whatever you go for, you lucky lucky lucky bugger. And I'm looking forward to the write up on the 456. All the best, Greg

The coupe looks like the dog's pods. Porsche cabrios always look a bit lame (apart from that new GT thingammyjig). Shades of hairdresser/posey yuppie I suppose. Griffs escape because they have an overtly sporting character, rather than an overtly luxurious one. Get the coupe Bennno - good to have you back in the Porsche fold... soon ;-) >> Edited by domster on Wednesday 10th July 09:49

Coupe - Mate of mine has a C2 with the Aero kit but for some reason he put 993 wheels on instead of the GT3 ones? Lovely car, and I personally think Porsches cabrios are a bit soft...

Go for the Coupe - looks fantastic ! Cabrio - nice car, but doesn't exactly stand out from the crowd does it ? Nice choice to have to make ! Cheers P.

neither - read my profile on past cars owned.....

Will the cab not hold its value better? If they are the same price, I'd probably get the cab, at least its not silver.

Oy, Ninj, No ! Our silver Boxster looks rather nice with its red leather inside. But...I concur slightly - it's a pain in the ass it wax - you see every goddamn tar splash on your paintwork - not good. Dark colours next for both cars (Merc is silver as well)

What is all this " Cabs are for girls " bullshit , i just dont get it at all , as most TVR owners should know all about the joys of roof down driving you cant beat it , i just do not understand the slagging off , oh yeah a Griff is a real pansie car, NOT , oh and then there is the Girly Elise and the poofy 360 spider

For 993s, in the long term, coupes have held their value better relatively. The 996 is still too young to gauge. Not sure the cabrio will ever have better residuals than the classic coupe shape, but I may be proved wrong by the markets.

Marki, I pointed out the difference between girly cabs and Griffs in a previous post - a Griff is an open topped sports car, and exudes sporting intent from every pore. It could be in baby pink and still look more menacing than a Boxster with a Max Power makeover. I have had a couple of Caterhams and they are as far from girlie as you can get. The reason some Porsche cabrios (and some other cabrios, like Audi TT cabrios and MX-5s) look soft, is because they don't seem to exude much sporting intent. Remember, most cabrios are heavier because of a hood mechanism, structurally less stiff, and run on softer suspension settings to compensate for the lack of body rigidity. This doesn't apply to some open topped sports cars like Caterhams and Griffs, so they shouldn't be confused with the softer cabrios out there. Also, Porsche cabrios often play the 'luxury' or 'poser' card, by dint of being a very expensive, very nice piece of Monaco eye candy. Which makes them seem less sporting than say a GT3, a Turbo or even a normal 'unpretentious' C2. Don't get me wrong, I love cabrios, but my 944S2 Cabrio was undoubtedly a hairdresser's car compared to my Caterham, which was undoubtedly not. Not *all* cabrios are soft and girlie. But some of them - maybe even the 996 Cabrio - may seem that to some (especially the hardened PHer).

Immaterial anyway - I'm not convinced bennno is going to hold onto it long enough for it to depreciate

I get what you are saying domster , and yes i agree but in a lot of cases isn`t it the owners that earn the reputation for the car .

Benno, did the dancing donkey cause you some grief then?

Hi Marki Yeah, my bouffant hairstyle in my 944S2 cabrio did have something to do with my hairdressing reputation

a little bit of grief, but it was more that i got offered good money for it, wanted more of a sportscar (456 is best GT full stop but only ok on the twisty stuff), and wanted to avoid the £2,000+ service that was coming up and the £2400 warranty extension that was due at the end of the year. in short it cost me about 4k for 4,500 miles, think i got off fairly lightly and if nothng else...at least i once owned a ferrari its funny but with most of these things as they become obtainable they lose a bit of their magic...sure a few people on the web site know what i am talking about Bennno

sorry guys i am taking up hairdressing. you can blame the sun coming out today for my madness. both were near as damit the same price, but the hardtop / softtop arrangement gives lots of flexibility and will be nice on a hot sunny day besides once you see the roof open or close from the key fob you can only stand in awe...perhaps it is not as PH as the aerokit coupe but at the same time as many people whom think the cabs are a bit woofter seem to dislike the aerokit cars as all show... Answer would really have been to have bought both, still at least the cab gets delivered tomorrow now Bennno

Congratulations on the new car. And I can agree with what you say about it losing some of its magic once you have it. Couple of times I have looked into the garage and thought "Shit I paid that much money for what is simply just another car?". But when I fire it up I understand again why I did it. But its obvious that one day I will probably revert to a Porsche. Its easier to live with. That said, I would like make enough to buy and run both.

cheers ninja, i was close to buying a 355 spider but with a kiddie and another on the way the 996 was about the best sporting cab i could find some bas*ard pulled out of the petrol station yesterday in a spider as i was filling the car and boy did the sound make me rethink being sensible Bennno

good on you bennno, I'm sure you (plus the nipper and nipper to be) will enjoy it hope today's sunshine continues

I read this too late to catch you in time Benno, but the way things have turned out it probably wouldn't have suited you anyway. My dealer has my 996 for sale at £66695 and no doubt will be open to a haggle - by how much I don't know, but worth a try judging by the markup. For anybody else interested the details are as follows: 996 Carrera 4 Tiptronic "Face Lift" Coupe, registered 12th October 2001, 2450 miles, Midnight Blue Metallic with Graphite Grey interior, Litronics, heated electrically adjustable seats, lumbar support, 18" Turbo alloys, cruise control, CD autochanger, Tracker. Unmarked and barely run-in. A real "good un" which I can vouch for 100%. This is an aspect of PH where we can help eachother with truthful info - a priceless advantage when buying used! Email me for more if required. Incidentally, the Tiptronic was an eye-opener, and I thoroughly enjoyed (and recommend) it!

McNab, TT arrived then?

McNab, what are you driving now then? 996 TT?

TT due in September - took me by surprise a bit, but looking forward to it like a schoolboy....

Ah, but is the 996 TT going to be a Tip as well, Ian ? If you've ordered the sludgebox, then I would venture that you're a braver man than most.

I think Bennno has done the right thing (for once ) The 996 he had before was fantastic to look at, but once you got in it was the same as any 3 series beemer. With the roof off this will look class, and will be ideal when we head off to the warm climate of Southern France later in the year. Mrs Flashers Merc SLK could be called girly, but I love driving it and it's legions better built than my Tamora, although not as evil . We need to remember that Ben has one child and another on the way, so what else could he have picked to keep the Missus happy ??? This is the best option I believe and includes the top-down fun that is missing in the Fezza and the 996 Coupe. I missed my Griff when I had the Cerbera purely for this reason. Good choice Ben, and remember, a hairdressers Porsche is called a Boxster not a 996...

I really quite fancy a low miler 996TT once my london place has sold. I've been keeping an eye on their prices over the last few months. For the first time the OP site has one in the high 70's, somewhat better than the 90odd average a few months ago. I may advertise my que place for the C2 in the porsche mags - someone may want to jump the year long wait.

mc nab, sorry but was offered a choice of several 3.6 C2/4's all at list price and sub 1k miles.eg. 996c4, silver, metropole blue, sports seats, 18" wheels, sports chassis, bose system, psm for £61,995 the spec of yours is slightly better mind.. I am sure the 3.6 is a fair bit faster? but felt i wanted a cab in the end, and the one i bought is about 66k to buy new so at 55k with 5,500 miles i thought it was a pretty reasonable buy New 996 next time round Bennno >> Edited by bennno on Wednesday 10th July 16:35

Hey, congratulations on the new baby too! When is the ETA? (Sounds a little "military" that doesn't it?) Get the kids used to top down motoring from an early age?

Benno, there isn't all that much performance difference in the real world of day-to-day driving, and the Cab you've bought sounds great! You lot down there live in a different world - we've had TWO fully dry days this whole summer, and the temp hasn't reached 20C even once. Global what? No roofs off in Perthshire. Even Flasher would shrink...er, well you see what I mean (I hope)! Yes, Tiptronic (unclutchworthy left foot), but apparently last year's Turbo sales were 146 manual and 109 Tip. Sissys?! I don't know, and honestly the Tip is hardly slushy at all now. A little accelerator nudge with the side of the foot on downchanges and it's instant. Up the way a whiff of a lift-off works a treat if you time it right. Good fun. Perhaps I've been hitting the Meths too hard again...

I know what it's like as I worked up there (Glasgow, Perthshire, Edinboro) for three months last year.... bloody beautiful (except Glasgow) but bloody cold.... Your welcome to the weather McNab... Me ? Shrink? that would be some diet

Actually I didn't know you could get the turbo with a tiptronic box. I always thought that they where manual. Does anyone know if the 993 Turbo came in a tiptronic box?

You will love the TT, they are awesome. Cheers Lee.

"Actually I didn't know you could get the turbo with a tiptronic box. I always thought that they where manual. Does anyone know if the 993 Turbo came in a tiptronic box?" The 993 turbo was not available as a tiptronic. DAZ

Someone was asking what the Targa was like - i've just swapped my 996 3.4 C2 cab for a 1,000ml 3.6 Targa as I prefer the image/rigidity of the coupe but wanted at least a partial open top. Actually very difficult to tell the difference between it and the coupe with the roof closed as its now based on the coupe unlike the 993 Targa which was a cabrio with a glasshouse added. Bought in black as i think it looks odd with the black roof against the lighter colours. Also from a security aspect driving in london I always felt quite vulnerable in an open top 911.

Hi I also have gone for the 996 Targa, and love it. It gives a totally different feel when in the car, wife loves it as well plus the rigidity of the coupe. Silver with black roof. Wow. every time I look at it. Wow. :smile: >> Edited by superlightr on Tuesday 16th July 17:35

I'm off now to give up my C2 cab for the new targa - i'll let you know my impressions tomorrow when i've had a real chance to see whether i made the right decision.

i am buying a 996 tommorrow and I am totally stumped between a ... Y reg C2 coupe with,aerokit, psm, gt3 wheels. In silver, y reg, 2k miles and as new condition. or, same price X Reg, C2 convertable, lapis blue, turbo wheels. x reg, 5.5k miles What would you go for of the 2?? I am stumped i think the coupe looks better with the kit, but the way the cabrio hood opens from the key fob is a sight to behold - and it would be nice to have wind in the hair Bennno >>> Edited by bennno on Tuesday 9th July 23:10