buying a 964 - Page 3 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

Hi there It doesnt really make a difference where you find the car, most 964's are in fairly good (dependant on the old owner of course) condition, what I would however suggest is that once you found one have it checked out by an OPC (Official Porsche Centre), I think I paid about £90.00 for the check. You would very sorry if you did buy one and it turned out to be an Ugly sister. Most trade sellers would honour the repairs found by he Porsche check and some might not, Be careful! and be safer than sorry! I hope you do find the car you are looking for ! GOOD LUCK!

Going to see a C2 tonight on a H plate for £20k. The car has a full PSH, done around 52k miles. New tyres atc. Seems preety good. So probably best to hglle then send the cavalary in!!!

I'd do it the other way round. Firstly - Don't view any car that you can't/won't pay the asking price. (Have to assume it's in A1 condition and they won't drop - although obviously this isn't the desired choice) Secondly - You'll be in a much better bargaining position if you've got a list of probs from the OPC. Remember, that'll flag EVERYTHING that needs doing - you can negotiate for this but don't need to get it all done, just the stuff that bothers you. £20k is alot of money for an 'H' plate 964, I know that's probably the going rate buit have you considered a LHD 993 for the same dosh - I've had both and you'd be getting more car for your cash?

Yea thought about a left hooker. Gonna use the car quite often. Is it worth saving a few quid more and buying a 993??? Is there that much difference. Have to say I was at Paragon last w/end and the 993 look a damn sight nicer. But underneath is what I want, so differences. Had a P1, then an Elise so kinda looking the right Porsche.

If your budget is in the 20s, you ought to consider a 964RS if you want a very sporting 911, or a 993 Carrera if you want a grand touring/everyday 911. My 964RS makes the standard C2 seem a bit heavy around the gills, so if you like 964s you should think about one. Scottster picked up a 993 Carrera for about 20k recently, and it is fabulous. A much better 'grand touring' 911 than a 964 shaped car. He uses it everyday and it is the perfect choice. The best place to buy would be privately from an enthusiast. Porsche Post (PCGB mag) is a good bet. Dealers can have good cars and will often fix small faults/give warranties, but you could pay another 3-4k on top for the privilege. See what small ads are on here. I know that a PHer called gibo was selling his black 993 for about 22k, and that has had some useful bits and bobs done to it in the maintenance dept. Cheers Domster

Simultaneous posting before, so in light of what you say: 1) To replace the Elise or P1, you *must* get a 964RS 2) If it is an everyday car, and you hated the impracticality of the Elise, you should get a 993 Carrera in LHD (they are a fundamentally better car than the 964, Carrera vs Carrera)

Seems the 993 is the way to go. I bought the elise as a bit of a substitute but sold it after a few weeks after driving a 964 C2. Trying not to let the heart rule the head here. Is the 993 Ok for everyday use. Gonna try and get a lower mileage one.

What kind of money are we talking for a RHD 993 and a LHD 993??? Obviously cars will have the usual FPSH etc. Cheers. Godamn Focus is driving me nuts.

The 993 is excellent for everyday use, as long as you don't go to B&Q too often. It is a bit boring compared to the 964, let alone the 964RS, because it is the 'school swot' of the range. Good at everything, but not much fun unless you bring out its bad side with a sports exhaust etc. Prices start at about 19.5k for a LHD L plate Carrera, or at about 25k for a RHD megamileage one. For a nice selection of LHD ones, try www.rsjsportscars.co.uk For some RHD ones, try www.paragon.gb.com >> Edited by domster on Monday 22 July 10:53

Saw a 993 M reg private for 28k around 48k miles. Is that around the price I'd be looking at for a RHD. Guess LHD around 22k. I was very close to buying a 964 from paragon last w/end, guy beat me to it K reg black 58k miles. Sold in a day. Said to the guy with grey hair I'd prefer a 993 but just don't know if I can stump that kinda cash up??? Guy then went for a test drive in the 964 and bought it. Kinda wish I'd beaten him to the gun, but after what you guys say about the 993 guess I'll have to hang on a wee bit longer. I take it you've had a left hooker, I guess you just get use to driving it that way

I think between us Domster and I are on about our tenth LHD Porker. They're no problem at all and you get used to it very quickly.

What about insurance. Although I am 32 so should not make much diff.

Sorry to jump into this thread, but I've found a G plate 964 C4 (LHD) that needs work for an MOT (details unknown as yet) for £10k - does that sound too cheap or worth a look. Any advice appreciated. Cheers Paul

Sounds bloody cheap - but always worth a look I guess.

I bet it's failed on emissions, and needs a top end rebuild costing 3.5k to sort the smoke out... as long as you see what is wrong and how much it costs to fix, you will be able to make a sound judgement on the car. If it is over a couple of grand, it won't be worth the hassle unless you are a mechanic yourself.

there's a known design fault to look out for because it costs £1000+...They all have twin distributors connected internally with a small timing belt. This belt snaps and is non-replaceable resulting in a huge bill for the new distribs. The belt lasts about 40-50k miles, so check for new distributors in the history. The fault was fixed in the 993. The only other weak points are the clutch and aircon condenser (if not used every week) - both are also huge bills. Other than that they're bomb-proof.......

I think I will find out a little more info regarding exactly what needs doing. Thanks for the info, the car has done 47k so the distributer fault will be worth investigating. Cheers Paul

I'm also toying with the idea of swapping my TVR for a 964 at no more than £20k. I find Autotrader's Web site carries a fair number of ads but I guess there must be lots more in the channel that don't make it into Autotrader.

The dizzy fault need not be over-exaggerated. Although the dizzy belt can snap due to a build up of ozone inside the housing, if it hasn't happened yet you can put a vent kit in and a new belt. This comes to about 90 quid - Porsche actually do a conversion kit. Some main dealers will sniff your money and suggest twin 993 dizzies as a precaution, which are a vented design already. These are about 300 quid or something. Maybe the 1000+ figure comes in if the belt snaps and does engine damage. In many instances a snapped belt may not even be noticed by the owner, apart from possibly a slightly rougher idle, fractionally down on power etc. However, if the belt snaps and the free spinning rotor arm happens to stop on 'open' it will put a permanent feed to the plug at all points of engine revolution, which your engine won't like at all. I suppose in these circumstances you'd have to take the head off etc and repair the damage, possibly a 3.5-5k bill.

Even at that price I would jump at it, A 3.8 conversion would cost about £5K and you would still have some change from £20K if you did the pipe and suspension! If you got the money and time, BUY IT

What about Dual Mass Fly Wheels?

We like to forget about them - If they break, you replace them. if you can't afford that, you shouldn't be buying a car you can't maintain. Agreed tho, the DM flywheel is potentially your worst expense (other than an engine letting go of course or hitting a tree at 60mph*) *Domster is of course our resident expert here, but can't retaliate as he's on hols!!

What TVR do you have? I have a 964 and am after a griff or chimaera.

I have had mine for nearly two years (C2 1990)and use it everyday. It is very useable everyday car. It idles better than any other car I have owned in traffic(including lots of boring VWs etc). You feel the bumps a bit but the driving experience more than makes up for it. If you take it easy you will get 30 to the gallon as well. The one thing I would add to all of the useful things already posted is that Porsche in their wisdom painted the insde of the cam cover and this flakes off blocking the oil ways that lubricate the cams etc. I have seen the evidence myself when I had the top of my engine rebuilt. I would be inclined to go for a car that has had the engine done already rather than a lower mileage example that is waiting for you to pay to have it done! Also remove the rear under tray it minimises cooking of oil seals and improves the sound. Apart from the engine re-build at 118,000 miles mine has been 100% reliable, drives like a car with 100k miles less and has no oil leaks. I have test driven the 993 and it is excellent but has exactly the same dash and feels virtually the same as a 964 but costs £15k more. Hope this helps. I am thinking of selling mine and getting one of the last 964s. If you are interested let me know but don't think my comments are influenced by my wish to sell. I would say buy one in any case.

I've got a Chimaera 4.0 which is currently being put through the pre-sale routine of a front-end respray -- should be done in a couple of weeks, then all I have to do is pull the private plate off it and it will be ready to sell. However, I've been doing some more research since my last posting here and, to be honest, I've gone off the idea of a 964. Not because of any particular issue with the car (I'd still love to own one) but I'm selling because, frankly, for the moment I need a car that's going to cost me significantly less to run than a TVR, and I'm not yet convinced a 10-year-old Porsche fits that bill. A pic of the car is available through my profile, if you're interested. >> Edited by manek on Wednesday 7th August 21:08

I have a 964 Turbo and it's the cheapest car to run I have ever owned (fuel not included). It is also the only car that has not needed anything done when I had it MOT'd. Find a good'n and your can run them for VW money. If you buy from a specialist you should be bill free for at least a year.

After the TVR, the cost of fuel is the least of my worries

964s can be dirt cheap to run. Mine is eleven years old and doesn't cost a lot more to run than my Rover 414i. Lots of independents for servicing (37 quid an hour from JZ Machtech for example), lots of cheap parts (11 quid brand new Bosch headlight lenses) and plenty of second hand bits (G50 gearbox about a grand). Also, they are built well and thoroughly 'productionised' unlike Tivs. The sum of the problems on my car at the moment are about one or two dash/switch bulbs that I notice have gone! I got my 964 because I needed a cheaper maintenance proposition than my Lotus Carlton (7k GBP in about 15k miles!). A 600 quid 1991 Vauxhall Senator could cost you more to run in 6 months than a 964 in two years.

Given the way the economy is right now, I'm looking for a 'head below parapet' car (financially speaking). So I'm more inclined to head for a BMW 328ci with low depreciation and running costs but still offering reasonable performane and toys. I'd plan to keep it for a year or two, and then get another TVR -- or maybe a 993... >> Edited by manek on Thursday 8th August 10:02

A pretty reasonable decision, but I'm not sure the BMW will be much cheaper to run (mainly because labour rates for servicing tend to be higher) and the depreciation will be heavier. All IMHO of course. I am a real fan of mid range E36 BMWs for offering value for money, build quality and reasonable performance/handling. Not a bad choice at all. If you reconsider a Porsche later, try the 993 or the rawer 964RS if you want something as exciting as a TVR 'out of the packet'.

I suspect it would appear on the surface to be cheaper to run. I had one for a couple of years and 20K miles and found the servicing wasn't bad at all. True the labour rates are high, but this is offset by the fact that the number of hours required for a service is pretty low. I averaged about 30mpg, which is not bad since I believe strongly in what used to be called "making good progress" in the good old days. However you are spot on about the depreciation - it was about 50%. And depreciation is the major cost of motoring after all, so overall, it might not be cheaper.

What have you had to spend and on what?

Go on, you can tell the Porsche forum . No sniggering at the back, Scottster!

Domster - that's a terrible thing to say, you know perfectly well I'll never have a bad word said about Blackpool's finest............. the pleasure beach that is!!!

Careful, I've still got one at the moment so let's not start all that again. Although a certain panther black 993 C4 with 18" wheels is still beckoning. If it hadn't been so humid this week the lack of a/c may not have put me off going to see it (yet).

Bitch. The Blackpool Pleasure Bitch. And she's mine.

Most of the 'Blackpool pleasure bitches' I met last month were rougher than Dom's Mum - I wouldn't touch them with UV's !!

Hey Scrottster, the only time I have ever spoken to a northern bird was to sack her for not cleaning my house properly. Should have known better, I’ve seen the state of cars that northern blokes make >> Edited by ultra violent on Thursday 8th August 17:00

Blackpool is famous for it's open topped trams.

Isn't Zuffenhausen famous for its open topped prams

ref buying a 964 model 911 the advice from the iguana is go careful. Now that most are over 10yrs old the model is proving possibly the most problematic 911 to date. They are not a loved model (exl RS) and this is why they are cheap as chips and real nice G50 3.2 Carreras are worth a whole lot more. reasonable lhd 964s are plentyful & avail from £10k for high milers. The RS is a different kettle of fish if ya like ya cars raw then this is ya baby, think caterham 7 with a roof but go easy on bumpy b rds coz they are race car twitcy and can bite, much unlike a standard 964. coz so mush stuff is deleted there is less to go wrong (esp the useless duel mass flywheel and loads less electrics- although the rare & in my opinion pointless RS touring does have most of the 'normal' 964 stuff) I love 964RS's even more than Holly Valance.....(well ok nearly as much)but they are pricy & that price is actually rising you will struggle to get a nice one even privatly for under £25k and that will be a left hooker and lots have been realy heavily trackday abused or coz they are twitcy bastards have been crashed & repaired (and not always repaired very well either!!) Domster you are kinda right about the twin distribtor prob but most porker (non main dealer)specialists can replace the little belt between them. the belt costs sod all like £3 but it does take a few hrs of labour to do. gen porker dealers won't do this.. so £1000 to replace!!! like i said go carefull, 964 ownership can be a minefield so consider a sweet 3.2 or a higher mileage 993 for similar wedge. The iguana

Well you can fit two children in the back if that counts.

I think people are way to negative about the 964. The old oil leak/DMF problem was resolved on even the vary earliest cars. In fact the good DMF that replaced the crap one is statistically more reliable than the one used in the 993. Oil leaks should only be a problem on the gasket-less blocks. 89's I think. I used to hate the 964, but it has grown on me sooo much. I would never buy a 3.2 over a 964, although it does probably make more sense to go for a higher mileage 993. That is of course, if sense is what you are after... www.rennlist.com has a strong 964 forum, worth a look.

I agree. My 964 is totally relaibel and used every day. Running costs are low. As with any 12 year old car you need to be careful what you buy. The difference in cost between an good early 964 and a 993 will however pay for alot of extra servicing.

Search the threads, found one or two bits of info. Just needs some info. What I sould look out for. Should i go iindependant dealer or private, hazards etc cheers guys