Help me decide

Personally, I don't like the looks of any 996 version be it Turbo, RS etc. What about the 997 or 993 Turbo?

 

If you can afford the extra $ get the TT.
Its a different car.
Drive both you'll see.
The cost to mod a C4 to get even close to the TT's HP would surpass the cost of the car if it can be done.

 

I don't understand why so many Porsche guys feel this way. I've had seat time in both 993s and 996s and while I prefer the 993, the 996 is an amazing car. I think a lot of the anti-996 remarks come less from its abilities and more from the fact that it was water-cooled, produced in mass numbers, etc. Objectively it is a great car.

 

What LightGuy said........

How fa$$$$t do you want to go ?

You cannot modify just the generic 996 engine (either the 296 or later 320 HP versions) sufficiently to get you more than the output of a stock 996TT (408 HP) without spending way more money, than the current price difference that exists between the two cars in the used marketplace. Even Porsche did not do it because it wouldn't last the life of the warranty. The last all out race engine I built was $35K at my cost as a dealer ($45K at retail) and it made 348 HP at the rear wheels on a dyno. Then you still have to lay out the dollars to do the rest of the stuff.

Obviously the cheapest, most logical, and easiest route (the tuners who want to sell you stuff will disagree here, so, ask them for their dyno graphs first and read the forums out there before you buy anything) would be to locate a used GT3 engine and swap it into the C4.....but you are still short on HP (385 versus 408).......and you don't have all the additional goodies that come standard on a Turbo......and you've still paid way more than buying a Turbo would cost, and you're not at 500 HP yet.

If you want more power and are going to daily drive it year round, go and buy a higher mileage Turbo priced in the high $30's.....lower $40's. It is financially imprudent and illogical to do anything else IMHO. Spend $10K on an exhaust system, an ECU flash, diverter valves, a BMC air filter and then you've got your 500 HP. Want 600 HP.....add another $10K. Been there, done that......several times.

 

If you're going to be winter driving it, you probably aren't going to want the widest tires and tons of horsepower.

Because it's going to corrode and the interior will likely get wet, I'd take advantage of 996 bargain prices and get a later one.

The 993 is nicer, but I'd hate to see it get destroyed in New York driving.

Objectively, the 997 is better, for those who like water-cooled and the newer look.

The 996 was one of the more trouble-prone 911s, along with the early 964 and the old 2.7 litre 911. Porsche improved it as it went along (2002 and newer are better cars), but they are the first 911s that don't feel like a bank vault. The 993 feels directly related to the 356 in its integrity, and its traditional interior still looks good: the 996 already looks dated.

For traditionalists, the 993 looks better, is better made, and has probably hit the bottom of its depreciation curve already. (I bought and later sold a 993 cab for more than I had paid for it, excluding service costs.)

The only reason I could see buying a 996 is that they are cheap cheap cheap, and I wouldn't feel bad about running it through a commercial car wash, parking it outside, etc.

 

This is my problem though - throughout your post you're saying the 993 is better, which I believe it is. But if left standing alone in its own right, the 996 is a very, VERY good car. When you compare it to its predecessor, of course it falters - anything would falter compared to the 993. But if you take the 993 out of it and look at the positive qualities of the 996, you'd ultimately find quite a few.

 

The 996 would make a good daily...modern conveniences and technology. Modern power and weight too. The classic 911's from the Carrera to the 964 to the 993 have their legendary traits and quirks. They offer their own unique ownership and driving experience. If I were looking for a daily, I'd go modern. If I were going for a weekend toy for driving bliss, I'd go air cooled or the special water cooled cars (GT3, GT3RS etc).

 

As an owner of 39 Porsche's (all moded), I would agree with just about everything that has been said here. I can not believe I am saying this (I must be getting old), but the C4 has plenty of power, and it would make a nice all season car. I do not know what you're looking to spend, but early model 997's are a good buy as well. About the most power you are going to get out of a NA Porsche is maybe 30 hp. Do not believe all the tuner BS, I have been doing mods to cars longer than some of them have lived, and many claims, are just claims.

 

I don't think everything will falter against a 993! It's purely personal, I just don't like the looks of the 996 both outside and inside the car. 997 looks far nicer - if I had a standard 993, I would have no hesitation in buying the 997 but as it happens, I have the RS version and that is special. Whilst the 997GT3RS will still go down in price my car is unlikely to do so - it has doubled in price since I bought it . The only Porsche I will replace the RS is the 993RS Clubsport.

 

In isolation, yes. But with the 993 and early 997s available left and right, I couldn't make a case for a 996 other than that it's cheap (which is a perfectly valid reason for a used daily driver in a bad weather city, btw). I.e., if you can live with the lack of "soul" and the computerization of the newer Porsches, the 997 is the way to go, IMHO.

 

996 may be cheap but not if you end up with major issues known to this model - it will be just as expensive fixing the problems as if you bought a relatively new 996 out of warranty. I see a 996 parked out in my work place and it is butt ugly . You won't see me in one of those.... On the other hand 997 do look good in a modern way. A few of those around in my work place and I have no problems if I were to drive one of those . After all this is the Ferrari forum, majority of the cars are absolutely gorgeous and you can't blame me for not liking the 996!

 

I loved the 2001 996 that I just sold and it got more stares than the 360 and as much compliments as the F430. I really like the looks a lot.
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All 993 Turbos are AWD with exception of the GT2 which costs are really high.

 

Luis, that is an exceptional looking 996.

 

Thanks Tony, some people don't see or know the possibilities.

 

elpadrino........

All of the 993 Turbos are AWD cars........the earlier turbos (965 and 930) are RWD.

Be prepared to have an aftermarket supercharged car give you problems and not run right all of the time. Our shop did a few (993 & 996) and we finally reached the point where we told people who came to us, that we were not interested in doing any more of them, and to go somewhere else.

If you are going to proceed down this path, get a 1995 C4 as your first choice if you can........it is an ODB1 car........also, it will not have the secondary air injection valve problem of the 96+ later OBD2 cars, and it will be the least expensive variant of the 993. Always test the viscous coupling properly, with the car inthe air on a hoist, as replacement of that part can run $5-7K+ easily (depending on the shop) and they commonly fail with time/mileage. You'll need the cheapest car you can find because you'll get killed on resale as you've just cut out 90% of the market for the car by sticking a supercharger on it. Expect to get none of the money spent on that back as well......if you are OK with that, go ahead.

Just "helping you to decide". Forget what you like, but a 996TT and be done with it. You'll get over it after 2 weeks and be better off financially than trying to cobble something together.

 

That is what everyone says. I am keeping it forever........

 

If you know nothing about Porsches, make your life easy and get the Cayman, you don't need awd if you already have an Audi and Sube.

 

Id say the mass #s are one of the biggest problems. Coupled with peoples image of the boxster. I personally like the way the mk1 996 looks vs the mk2 but thats just one mans opinion. The standard 996 cars are kind of riddled with problems... one being the Rear main seal which costs you a brand new 8-15k engine, and then the interior wears terribly a 40k mile car looks like it has 80k on it. its crazy. I would never but a car because it was water cooled vs air cooled and I think by now everyone realizes that watercooling is much better and is the way of the future. its neat to have nostalgia every now and then, but there is plenty left in the ass engined 911.

 

RMS failure does not cost you a new engine, never did either........it costs between $800 and a $1,000 to replace, depending on the shop.

In the first 2 years Porsche was replacing whole engines under warranty and sending them back to Germany for teardown to figure out what went wrong.

 

I sold my 996 with 40k miles and it looked brand new in the interior too. I'm sorry to put it this way but since there were so many sold many of those ended up with people who are filthy or very careless with their cars, we find those in all brands.