What year 911 was considered the most mechanically reliable?

Classic and Sports Car magazine just named Porsche 911 RS 2.7 the Greatest driver's car ever. Congrats to the ones out there that own one!! I think the E36/E46 M3 should have made the list imho.

 

Can't argue with that, although I really like the Lotus Exige. Both are raw, fast, and light. I think the RS 2.7 was going sub-6 seconds 0-60 back in 1973...

http://www.caporsche.net/images/carsinprogress/TangerineRS/images.html

I think this one is north of $350K, although it is being restored to "you can eat off the suspension" levels of perfection.

 

get 'em under 1,000 kilos and pump 'em up to 250bhp awesome little car.

 

Gulf blue is the colour.
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I vote 05 C2S!

 

I bought new in 1990 a carrera4,wife drove it for 3 years was a good /safe car.

 

You should ask some mechanics I had a friend with a Porsche shop and he used to get 1980 era Porsche's in all the time with 200-250 K miles. Workhorse's

 

My brother's first was a '92 964 Targa. IIRC it had the common oil leak problem that required major work, although Porsche apparently paid for it.

The 964 wouldn't be my first recommendation by any stretch.

 

Did the '05 have the upgraded IMS? It's certainly a tough argument to say that any IMS Porsche is more reliable than the likes of cars with the GT1 block or the 80's Carrera 3.2.

 

I've had '78 911SC, '87 Carrera, '93 Carrera 2 (the 964).

Of the three, the 964 was the best- I owned all 3 (one at a time) over almost a 20 year span. These weren't beaters- the '87 I had from 30,000-40,000 miles, and the 964 for 13,000-27,000 miles. Don't believe all you read about the 964- a well maintained on is very reliable, and well performing car- each one was better than the prior one- 87 had better transmission and more power than the '78, the '93 had better torque all over the RPM, much better transmission than the '87, better handling and aerodynamics and still retained the 911 feel (one of only complaints with the 964 is the steering had excellent feedback, but nothing compares to the non-power assist steering of the '89 and before cars)

Pretty much all air cooled motors drop some oil, however there was never one drop from my 964 (there was a flat tray under the motor, so maybe there were some drops in there when it was removed for an oil change, but never enough for the mechanic to mention, and never one drop that hit the floor.

The only reason I sold the 964 was to get my 360.

The 87 is more raw and I like the look a tad more so some day maybe I'll get another, but really the well cared for 964 is the better car. I've driven a 993- I prefer the feel of the 964.

The early 964's had a factory service that put a head gasket in thus the bad rap the 964 got- these were the early cars from 1990-early 1992, and most if not all have been fixed by now.

The main cars to stay away from are the 2.7 liter 1974-1977 911s...by '78 the SC was bulletproof (with the carrera chain tensioner update, again which by now virtually all have been updated).

If you don't know much about 911s, I'd highly recommend a well-regarded mechanic do a PPI- a well bought/well maintained 911 is a highly reliable car (within reason- all the air cooled cars are over 13 years old now).

For more information, go to rennlist.com it's the f-chat of the porsche world

 

I heard the later 964s were better, although didn't they all have condensation/trapped water issues with the rear lenses?

Looks-wise, I like the 1972-73 with the 'S' front spoiler best among all 911s, but obviously the cars rust badly. If the OP can handle more frequent maintenance, though, the 911E 2.4 is a very cool ride, especially with the sunroof, sports seats and other options, and doesn't carry quite the 'S' premium.

 

All the rear turn signal lenses and centre lens on the 964 eventually delaminated, got misty, cracked, and/or faded with age.

It's nothing a quick $750 won't fix.........which is the rough replacement cost for the 3 pieces last time I bought them.

 

what he said. had 6 so far, but i do like the 915 trans in the 84-86 cars over the " too easy " feeling the 87-89 G50 trans has.
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I guess any of them could have that but it's just a cosmetic thing (think about the sticky parts on the ferrari interiors )

My 1993 was mint, but I wondered if my rear lenses were faded (they never had condensation), so I bought new ones. They came in and were EXACTLY the same color as the original- the lenses were never a deep/dark red color new! Anyway, I put the new ones in and sold the mint used ones on ebay for a few dollars MORE than I paid for the brand new lenses! It was several years ago and I don't recall where I bought the new ones- probably pelican parts or something (I didn't buy them at the dealer).

The other thing to mention is my car was very low mileage and always garaged, never driven in bad weather etc- if these things have the original lenses on a car that was a daily driver and lots of miles, yes the lenses could leak/crack/fade, but not a major issue with the car in my opinion. Other things are some of the gauge faces could bubble or flake from the sun- I had a little bubble in my tach and pulled it out and sent it to Hollywood VDO to be refaced for I forget, maybe $125 or so? The gauges look pretty cool- they are back lit in the 1990-1998 911s vs the earlier cars. Lots of big and small upgrades with the 1990-1998 cars...

There is something for every sports car desire between the light/raw early 911s (1965-1973), durable and still rawish SC/Carrera (1978-1989), durable still 911 personality and bank vault build with better handling, driving and even more power (1990-1998). For me that's where it ends....The 1999 model year marked the end of my interest in 911s (that's another story alltogether)

 

I had a 97 Carrera S and did nothing but put gas and oil in it over an 8 year ownership. The best car I ever owned by far and regret selling it. The F430 makes a nice replacement though

 

if anyone is intrested/air cooled/listed under cars
1996 porsche 993/6 speed/112k miles/hard back sport seats/has it al/everything was done
mark..(954)338-5211
florida

 

I think the generally accepted thing to do would be to simply link to your FerrariAds.com listing...

[For Sale] 1996 PORSCHE 993/6 SPEED/BLACK/CASHMERE/HARD BACK SEATS/NO SLIPPERY SLOPE HERE - FerrariChat.com​

It can look a little spammy to keep hitting us with all the stats and your telephone number.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

I'm still trying to figure if mine with engine code M97 has the IMS worry. No problems so far in 15.3K mile since new.
Jim

 

probably saying this will be the kiss of death but my 88 3.2 has been very reliable for the past 9 years i have owned it. other than general maintenance, i have only replaced the DME relay and a power window switch. Paasing emmsions has been easy also. haven't owned my 79 turbo long ench to gage it.

 

SC + Carrear many 250k+ miles and one old ones has 387k miles.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/374847-who-has-highest-mileage-911-here-5.html

 

1994 RS America with sunroof delete, radio delete, and air conditioning delete.